4 Year Fire Helmet Shirt

Another year has passed & I'm sharing with you the shirt I made for Anders 4th (YES, his 4th BIRTHDAY)!

 I'm hooked on reverse appliques, I have made shirts many in the past. 

Here are the links if you want to revisit them...

2nd year

3rd year

2011 Valentine's

2012 Valentine's

This year, we are going with a fire truck theme for a party, so I made the shirt to follow suit.  Plus, I secretly hope this will become his "all time favorite shirt" that I need to pry off of him each night to wash to be ready for the next day.

I Googled images until I found one I liked.  This one has considerable more detail than previous tees I've made, So I reversed the image, to try something new...

  I sandwiched the fabric that I want exposed (black) between the reversed image & the wrong side of the shirt & literally sewed right thru the paper.

(my theory was a double negative, will make a positive)

 I then carefully peeled away the paper (this was trickier & took way longer that I thought it would).  I used a slightly smaller stitch length (3) than I normally sew with to try to prevent stitches from breaking while pulling away the paper.

Here is the exterior.  I went over the stitching again for security & because I like a thicker outline of the detail.

 Then I cut away the red... again, with this amount of detail & closeness of stitching lines, it was more challenging than past reverse appliques.

 I used a scrap piece of white knit fabric & Stitch Witchery for the front of the helmet & cheated with an iron on number (of which I stitched down also)

 WARNING:  With this amount of detail & closeness's of stitching lines, there was a spot that ripped :( 

I went back over the outside edge of the helmet with a small zig zag stitch to fix the hole & try to prevent future tears.

Overall, I do love the look of this shirt & so does Peepers!

Thank You

Today Is My Birthday

Yes, Today is my Birthday. However, the miracle of my birth is not the only reason for celebration.  The real miracle & cause for celebration is the fact that there is there is NO SNOW this year in MINNESOTA.

  

Yeah, we have had a few dustings, like the 1" we rec'd yesterday.  But we have had unseasonably warm weather & it pretty much melts in a day. 

Here is my front yard.

There are a few spots that don't get much sun, where there is still a thin layer of snow, but the grass is still poking thru.

So in the 40+ years of my life, this is the first Birthday that I can remember with no snow, zilch, nada, none!

And let's be honest, after last year's horrendous winter,  a mild, snow free Christmas & Birthday is just fine with me.  Happy Birthday to Me!

 Karla :)

3rd Birthday shirt

The Big Fry! The past 2 years I've made Anders a Birthday shirt special for his day & have to carry on this tradition for as long as he will let me. I feel like a saw a shirt similar to this some where but cannot find it - So I recreated it off of memory & much research (that is code for eating lots of McD's french fries).

I bought a toddler T- shirt at JAF & used scrap knit material. Then looked for clip art that I liked ( the carton clip art was separate from the fries - I liked that the fries looked more 3 dimensional).
Enlarge clip art to suit your needs & cut out of scrap fabric. Also cut out the pieces in Stitch Witchery. I trimmed the Stitch Witchery to be just a hair smaller that the fabric so it would not ruin my iron.

I used reverse applique to add an "A" to the fry carton.

I then ironed on the fry carton (the Stitch Witchery goes between the T-shirt & the carton fabric).
I used rulers to measure from each side seam to make sure the carton would be centered on the T-shirt.
Once cool, stitch the outline of the fry container & then stitch the detail. I used black thread & went over it 2 times to just make it "pop" a bit more.
Iron on your fries & stitch the edges. Then stitch the detail to make them look 3 dimensional. I used a orange-ish tan color thread to make the edges look crispy ( Thanks to all my research).

Finished!

Peepers thought this T was a big hit - Especially since he likes French Fries so much!

I had to get in a few tickles while we were taking these photos...

Thank you, Karla

Happy Birthday Kari

Today is my little Sister's Birthday. These are photos of her & her Hubby that I took this fall.
I love the ones against the ranked wood... it is just so "them".

Happy Birthday!!!

Karla

Family Photo Album

Peepers has been really good at identifying us & himself in photos lately.

I made him a photo album a year ago from a dollar store brag book... he destroyed it in minutes. So when I can across this blank board book at Good Will. I knew exactly what I would do with it. (for the record, it had an Oriental Trading label on it if you are ever looking for one).

First, I went thru my scrap scrapbook paper finding fun pieces and cutting them into half circles. I Mod Podged all the cut pieces on to the book.

I was on a mad hunt to gather photos of Anders.

As a baby...

With Mom & Dad...

With all of his Aunties & Uncles...

and even a few cousins will be in there too and Mod Podged them on the pages.

I then used a few punched letters for a nice cover.

Hopefully I've finally created a family photo album for him that he will not destroy.

A few more letters

Hi - this weekend I finished off just a few more letters from this project.
So that I will be able to spell out

"HAPPY BIRTHDAY ANDERS"

UPDATED PHOTO FROM PARTY:

Flag Banner

I finally finished making a flag banner for Ander B-day. It was super easy & really didn't cost much to make.

1) Gather up all your scraps
2) Cut flags. The ones I cut were 8" across the top and 8" long at the center. I used a pinking shears to finish the edges.
3) Calculate how many flags you need. I CUT WAY TOO MANY! 1/2" bias binding comes in a 3 yd (9 ft package) which will fit 13-15 flags depending on how long of a tail you leave on each end.
4) Purchase bias binding. Sandwich the top of of the flag between the folded bias binding & sew.
5) Hang and enjoy. Depending on the tail length, you can tie them from curtain rods & chandelier OR cut a small hole in the end of the binding & hang with a Command Hook.


I hope to use these over & over.

If you are interested in making one, let me know... I have about 60 extra flags I can pass on to you :)



UPDATED PHOTO FROM PARTY: