I Need More... Catalog Copies [Nordstrom Bow T-shirt]

Late last summer, I lifted an idea from a t-shirt in a summer Nordstrom catalog.  I couldn't help myself.  The t-shirt was delicious and it just screamed "You can do that!"


Supplies:


T-shirt
Freezer paper
Pencil
Sharpie pen
Mark-B-Gone pen
Embroidery hoop, thread, and needle
Fusible interfacing, lightweight




How To:

1. Pin and trim a piece of freezer paper to the front neckline of a t-shirt.  With a pencil, gently trace the neckline of the shirt below the ribbing.  Still with your pencil, sketch a bow onto the freezer paper (or feel free to use my template) and trace the design with a black Sharpie.  

2. Re-pin the freezer paper behind the t-shirt and, with a Mark-B-Gone pen, trace the bow design onto the front of the shirt.  Discard the freezer paper.  (For the record:  It would seem easier to use tracing paper to transfer the design to the shirt.  However, the knit fabric doesn't play well with tracing paper.  Try it if you must, but be forewarned.)


3. Place the embroidery hoop over a section of the design.  With two threads, stitch the design onto the t-shirt.  Move the hoop as needed.  Be careful not to stretch the t-shirt as you sew.


4. Spray the design with water to make the Mark-B-Gone ink disappear.  Do this before you walk away from the project.  Mark-B-Gone turns somewhat permanent after a while.  (I learned my lesson the hard way on this one.)


5. Turn shirt inside out and iron a piece of fusible interfacing just large enough to cover the stitching.  This will help from knots coming undone or fraying.

I Need More... Holiday Handouts [Happy Valentine's Day 2010]

I know that when you're a kid all you want is the store-bought Halloween costume or cartoon Valentine cards.  I did.  But now that I'm all grown up, I appreciate all the hard work my mother did back in the day to make my holidays one-of-a-kind and memorable.  So I am continuing the lovingly cruel cycle with no apologies!  Below are Amelia's Valentine's Day cards which, for the record, beat the pants off every other card in her Valentine mailbox from school.  [Mother smiles slyly.]  Idea originally came from here.

Supplies:


Camera
White butcher paper
Photoshop or other photo-manipulating software
Colored cardstock
Hole punch
Cello bags & ribbon
Goodies for inside the cello bag or a lollipop


How to:


1. Create a blank backdrop for your photo.  Here's how I did it:  I pushed a storage tub flush against the refrigerator (to be used as a bench), unrolled several yards of white butcher paper from the local teacher supply store over the tub (held in place by fridge magnets), and have your subject gently sit on your "bench".


2. As the photographer I would suggest standing on a chair to get higher than your subject.  Then as they reach for the camera with their fist, you get a good angle.  And flood the room with light!


3. Using Photoshop or the like, crop or adjust your photo as desired.  I cropped to 4x4-inches.  Layer text onto photo.  I used colors for the text pulled from the colors in the photo.  Save as a jpg.

4. Print your photos.  I sent mine to Walgreens (because they always seem to have a special on prints).  Call the photo center and give them the final dimensions of the photo that you want.  Many of their machines will stretch your image to fit their 4x6-inch photo size, for example, if you do not instruct them otherwise.  My photos came back to me as 3.75x3.75-inches, so pretty close to the original size.


5. Trim off excess photo and mount on cardstock.  Punch holes near the subject's hand (where you will attach the sweet treat).


6. Attach your treat with twine or ribbon.


7. Sit back and enjoy your accomplishment!  And quietly snicker at those who bought their Valentines.  Hee hee.

I Need More... Subway Art [St Patrick's Day Print]

My friend, Michelle, turned me on to the fantastic blog Eighteen25 recently.  I love, love, love their Valentine Subway Art.  I downloaded, printed, and framed it (along with about a gazillion other folks).  I started decorating for St. Patrick's Day yesterday and decided that I needed a St. Paddy's version of the print.  So, I stretched my Adobe Illustrator legs and created this.  Out of curiosity, I hopped over to Eighteen25 and found their version.  (Impulsivity clearly got the better of me yet again.)  So, now you have two to choose from.  But you should probably download theirs considering it was their idea that gave me my inspiration in the first place.  Darn those cute, creative people!


I printed my 11x14-inch print at Costco for $2.99.  In case you're wondering.

I Need More... Mama Holiday

When I was a kid, I had a friend whose mother decorated for every holiday, baked like a pro, never missed a thank you note or birthday card, and still managed to keep her sanity.  I wanted to grow up to be like "Mama Holiday".  But alas, my middle name is "Chaos".  Well, NO MORE!

I heard about a webinar and planner called Cut the Crazy out of Christmas (and though I did not take the course and know only tidbits about it) the title alone totally inspired me.  So I threw together a planner of my own and I'm off and running.  So far, we're almost to March and I'm still on top of my game.  (If you really know me, you can stop laughing now...)  2011 may very well be the only year that the stars align for this surge of organization, but for now I feel happy. Just like Mama Holiday.

MAMA HOLIDAY ORGANIZER contents:

- Monthly page dividers -  Within each month I file special things not to miss, like:

- Birthday, etc. list - A simple list of important dates for the month.  All cards get mailed on the first of the month.  That way, I don't miss an event.

- Recipes - Seasonal ones like Michelle's Red Hot Popcorn for Valentine's Day or Natural Easter Egg Dyes for Easter or Peach Jam for late summer.  Recipes that I make each year and would be super sad if I forgot.

- Crafts to make - These are usually penciled-in notes or photos of ideas in plastic sleeves.  So far, this has kept me ahead of the game with Valentine's Day cards, and St. Patrick's Day gifts for my family.

This is not a fancy system and it may not even work for you.  But it's working for me.  Oh, and there is ONE rule:  Don't beat yourself up if you miss a holiday or event.  There's always next year!

P.S.  When the webinar rolls around again next year in October, I'll be first in line!

P.P.S.  Sorry about neglecting this blog.  I'll be better because it's in the planner!  :)

I Need More... Sewing for Handsome Him [Ampersand T-shirt]

My crafts tend to lean on the cutesy/girlie/feminine-side.  But I've been wanting to make something for my darling husband (and prove to myself that I am actually hip enough and edgy enough to make something that he would actually wear).  Ta da!


Supplies:
T-shirt (Old Navy $6, on sale.  $8.50, retail)
Print out of your design (or you can freehand it if you think you're just that good)
Freezer paper
Contrast fabric (the size of your design, mine was about 8.5x11-inches)
Sewing machine

1. Print your design as large as you'd like it to appear on your garment.  I used an ampersand, font = Arial, as large as I could fit onto an 8.5x11-inch sheet of paper.


2. Trace (or draw) your design onto the dull side of a sheet of freezer paper and cut out.


3. Place your design, shiny side to right side of fabric, and iron for a few seconds or until the freezer paper has gently adhered to your garment.  (Isn't freezer paper magically delicious?)

4. Underneath your design, on the wrong side of the garment, place your contrasting fabric.  Layers: freezer paper design, then garment, then contrast fabric (right side up).  Stop and think before you make a seam ripper mistake here: the printed side of your contrast fabric is going to show through the design once the garment is cut away.  So place your fabric accordingly!  (Above photo is the t-shirt flipped up so you can see the underbelly.)

5. Stitch around the freezer paper design, but not ON the freezer paper.  I went around twice just for security and I liked the look of several stitches.  Pull off the freezer paper.  Then - very carefully - snip away the t-shirt where the freezer paper once sat.  This will expose your contrast fabric.  Do not snip all the way to the thread line.  Keep some t-shirt fabric "seam allowance" so that all your hard work won't start to unravel!

6.  On the inside of the garment, snip away the excess fabric outside of the design to eliminate bulk.

7.  And there you have it!  Something cool enough for even my fashion-foward husband to wear.  

I Need More... Color on my Porch [Burlap Wreath]

I stumbled across a darling burlap wreath tutorial at Tater Tots and Jello.  My front porch was in dire need of a new wreath (the current one screamed fall harvest and here we are well into April).

Supplies:

Styrofoam wreath shape (I used a 12-inch because it was on sale.  I wish I'd gone a bit larger.)

Burlap (about 1 yard)

Scrap fabric

Upholstery tacks (24 for $1.49 at JoAnn's)

Hot glue gun & glue sticks

I glued sections of burlap on the wreath rather than wrapping it as the tutorial instructed.  I found it a bit easier to manage.  And I used a popsicle stick to press the burlap down to the styrofoam.  Remember: burlap is loosely woven and that hit glue comes right on through to your precious little fingertips.  Ouch!  Oh, and have I mentioned how very itchy burlap is?  Double ouch!

Front of wreath, burlap complete.

I then began the messy task of cutting random-sized circles of fabric and burlap.  I spread them all out and started stacking so that very few were exactly alike.  I probably made about three dozen of these "flowers".  With a very small dot of glue between the layers, I secured them together and...

jabbed an upholstery tack into the middle of each "flower".  From there, I globbed more glue on the back surrounding the tack and placed it into the wreath, holding it until the glue set slightly.

I wrapped a ribbon around the top of the wreath and hung it.  I know it will get dusty and gross someday.  But for today, it makes me happy.  (And a little bit itchy when I think about it too much.)

I Need More... Ruffles [Ruffles, ruffles, and more ruffles!]

Let's face it - ruffles are hot.  J Crew and just about every other company right now have ruffles everywhere in their catalog.  And ruffles are about the easiest thing in the world to emulate as a seamstress.  (Hurray for one project that didn't melt my brain!)  For example...  J Crew currently has their Perfect-fit Cascade Tee selling for $29.50.  My version totaled about $10.

Materials:
2 t-shirts (same color), Nordstrom Rack about $5 ea
Coordinating thread
Rotary cutter, guide & mat


Directions:
1. Wash and iron your t-shirts.  Washing first helps keep shrinkage under control and ironing will help give you a more manageable canvas on which to work.


2. Spread one t-shirt flat on a rotary mat and, on the bias, cut strips 2.5-inches wide.  Cut the whole shirt.  You might not use all the strips, but you might.  Better safe than sorry.  I used leftover strips to embellish a dance leotard tuxedo-style for my daughter.

3. Cut the end of each strip so that it creates a nice square end.


4. Overlap the ends of two strips and sew with a 0.25-inch seam allowance.  (Backstitch if you're worried about the stitches coming loose.)  Continue with about three or four strips and stop.  Repeat.  This should leave you with a couple of sewn strips.  (The ruffle on the shirt s NOT one complete strip, but three.)  This will leave the seam allowances exposed.  Ruffle shirts are not an exercise in hiding seams, but in embracing elements like fraying, wrinkles, etc.


5. Run a 0.25-inch basting stitch along one side of each sewn strip and gently gather.


6. Stare at the J Crew photo and then begin pinning.  The beauty of ruffles is that there is no right or wrong design really.  Start at the shoulder and work down, making sure to hide the basting stitch of the layer below slightly.

7.  Once pinned, top-stitch over basting stitch.  I opted to look a little less like a pirate and ironed my ruffles flat.  Did the trick.

8.  Try it on and wear it out!  And, for heaven's sake, don't tell anyone you made it.  Let them think you bought it at J Crew!  The first time I wore my shirt I got stopped at least FIVE times in an hour asking where I got it.  Ah.  The perfect craft for the egoist.  [Insert evil laugh here.]