I'm a Catch! 2013 Valentine's Shirt

I'm a catch!

I've had this idea to make this shirt for Valentine's Day since last year.

I followed the Freezer Paper Stencil Tutorial from Dana's Made Blog - there area ton of tutorials in blog land, this was my first attempt & they are all right... it is addicting! 

I can't wait to make some more fun graphics for summer.

 I just had one little spot that had "seepage" under the freezer paper.

 I then used left over "scaly" looking fabric from my Mermaid Halloween costume  circa 1998 for the body & tail of the fish.

(yes, that's right 1998!)

I actually stitched a few rows of scales in a contrasting color...

 Added felt fishing pole, eyes & heart shaped lips...

 Done - watch out girls... He really is a catch!

Thanks, Karla

More Christmas Ornaments - Boy Friendly

Hope you all had a wonderful Christmas & that you have a healthy & prosperous New Year!

Yes, It's past due, but it is never too late to get started on next year.  Here are a few last minute Christmas tree ornaments we made this year.

Race Car Clips:
You will need:
mini race cars (I got these for a steal on black Friday)

clothes pins paint
hot glue



PAINT CLOTHES PIN (I used nail polish, some even have a glitter top coat)



GLUE CAR TO CLOTHES PIN





CLIP ON TREE



Thank You, Karla

Peeps

So you might think this post is about Peepers... my Son.

No... It is literally about Peeps - the Easter candy & one of the cutest crafts around.

The Peep Bunting by Dana from Made.

I followed her pattern & directions for inspiration - but made a few minor adjustments:
1) Resized bunny to be about 6" tall  - cut 12 yellow & 12 pink.  I did the double layer method - so I ended up with 6 bunny's in each color.

2) Used 2 packets of rick rack

3) Spaced the bunny's about 12" apart - leaving about 18" tails of rick rack for tieing

4) Used Stitch Witchery to adhere the front & back bunny together.  I sandwiched the rick rack in between the layers for a true NO SEW craft.  I trimmed down the bunny pattern slightly after cutting the felt for the Stitch Witchery, because I did not want it to get stuck on my iron.

 So cute with the little painted face.

 We decorated out front staircase with the peeps... this is Christmas garland that doubled

 as St. Patrick's Decorations, that is now being used to represent Easter Grass.  

Who said procrastination never paid off?

Thanks for stopping by,

Karla

Peepers Growth Chart

Do you ever have one of those lingering projects? I finally crossed one off my list.
I literally started this Growth Chart last October & just finished it last night... actually it is done, but not even hung up in the house yet.

It's super simple to make & even the steps I did can be simplified if you don't want a weathered board.

You'll need:
house numbers (these were really wimpy & cheap, but work great for this project)
Board (I used a 1 x 6 x 7)
hammer
paint
Sharpie
ruler & tape measure
optional: chain, screw, sand paper, stain & a second color of paint.

Step 1 (optional):Beat up your board... swing the chain on it, hammer the corners good, put in a few nicks with the claw.

Step 2: paint your board. I used a mocha brown for the under color. If you are only doing one color of paint, I recommend 2 coats.
Step 3 (optional): Paint second coat of paint in second color (I used a burnt orange, left over from my last house).

Step 4 (optional): Sand your board to rough it it a bit more & have some of the first
paint color show thru.

Step 5 ( optional): Put a coat of stain on your painted/sanded board giving it a more weathered look. Wipe off excess stain with an old rag. I actually added a few more hammer marks the other night, It just didn't look beat up enough!

Step 6: Add you house numbers:

Step 7: Mark your increments with a Shaprie. I went back over my lines a few times so they were nice & thick.
Step 8: Measure your little one. I went back to his baby book & added all the milestone heights that I had previously recorded only on paper.

Thanks, Karla

Tale of 2 white Tees - striped painted lace

Don't you just love clearance white Tees? I bought 4 - 2 for next winter & 2 to make something fun. I cut off the sleeves of these two & hemmed them. Then I taped lace from HERE
between 2 large sheet of paper.
The lace is 4" wide - I marked every 7" with pins down both sides of the tee pinning thru both front & back layers of fabric (the first row of painted lace will be positioned just below the neck line & the bottom row of painted lace is just above the hem). Measure & pin carefully, you don't want your lace stripes to be crooked.

I worked outside on this project... working with spray paint, you need good ventilation. I laid the tee in the grass & laid the lace/paper over the tee. The top edge of the lace is positioned at the pin - make sure you can just see the pin on both sides of the tee.

Then spray lightly with spray paint...I went over it with a few light strokes for a subtle lace effect. I used a silver spray paint - I wish I would have used a fluorescent pink spray paint. Move paper/lace overlay, line up with next set of pins & spray again.

Flip tee over & spray stripes on back side. Hang to dry.
Thank you, Karla

Sewing/Craft Room Makeover - Finally

Hi everyone,

You may remember my blog post from 6 months ago about the disaster my sewing/craft room was in. Well, last week I took off a week from work (sent Peepers to day care) & finally did something about it! Most of the stuff for the room had already been purchased, it was just a matter of getting it done. Here is the BEFORE POST

First off, I need to thank my Hubby for helping me sort thru all kinds of CRAP (I mean treasures) before the magic could happen. We had a keep pile, a toss pile & a Craig's List pile.

Two years ago I had Artie ( My handy guy) install new task lighting... it is wonderful & a must for a room in the basement. I started out by painting the ceiling. It was very dingy and judging by how much @#$%! popcorn ceiling texture came off, I suspect it was the first time it was ever painted (see nice white square).

I painted the upper half of the exterior wall Light Lichen (left over paint from the porch). I also used this for the toddler table & chair set that goes in the craft room. Four years ago I bought the paint that I wanted to use for this room. So I had to take this back to the store & get it shook. I can't tell you the color because it was a "mistake paint" for $5.00.

DURING

AFTER

The wonderful wall of shelving.

the Closets ( I painted the trim too). What lies behind these doors still needs to be sorted thru & purged.

Anders Art Wall
Chalk board door, cork board wall & hooks.

Filing cabinets

Peepers & I are already enjoying the sewing/craft room. I'll post more photos about everything that is going on in the room soon. I just LOVE how it turned out. The color is pretty intense (yes, you feel like you are underwater) But, I like to think of it as being in a different world.

Thank you, Karla

Chalkboard Paint Pumpkins

HI All,

I had this wonderful idea (or at least I thought it was a wonderful idea) to paint a few pumpkins with chalk board paint for Peepers to draw on. Peepers is still too little to get into carving pumpkins & let's face it, the guts are gross (who wants to touch that icky stuff)!

Get yourself a few nice pumpkins & clean them off. If you are going to paint the whole pumpkin, tape off around the stem. Or tape off a square for your spooky/fall message to go.

Then paint. The instructions said a roller works best for applying the paint, but I used a brush & it worked fine. A roller would probably work best for a wall or flat surface. Let it dry & apply a second coat. It is wet in this photo... it is matte when it dries.
Wait 24 hours before drawing on it. The directions also said you need to "condition it" by rubbing chalk all over it & them wiping it off. Again, I did not do this on the pumpkins, but probably would on a wall. Cute huh? Peepers really enjoyed drawing on it too.
One Warning: After I wiped it down to start fresh, noticed that the paint " flaked" off in a few spots. I suggest that you draw gently on the pumpkin & make sure they are at room temperature before you paint them. I want to try this on a artificial pumpkin that you can buy at a craft store & see how well it washes/wears.
Here are 3 links for more painted pumpkin inspiration...

9 0'clock Dance of Joy

Keep Home Simple

Trinkets & Treasures

Thanks, Karla