Applique T-Shirts

I don't know what has gotten in to me today but I am actually going to attempt to applique two little t-shirts.  The cost per shirt is around $2.00 so if I fail then I don't have much in it and won't feel so bad. 

Before washing.

Next, I stitched around each design.  

Detail of 1/4" allowance.

On the cross I stitch about 1/4" in because I want the edges to fray (the wonder under didn't go all the way to the edge in order to allow the edges to fray).

But, on the bird design I just stitched right on the edge.  Lastly, the cross t-shirt had to be washed to get the edges to fray.  The best thing about this kind of applique is that the more you wash it the better it looks.  I love the frayed edges and it hides any imperfections in my sewing (gotta love that).

My little devil angel in her new shirt.

This project turned out to be easier than I anticipated.  I might even be brave enough to try it again in the future.

Bottle Cap Christmas Ornaments

I started with these.

Then painted on the
 snowmen's face and buttons.

Ingredients:

White Bottle Caps

Paint Markers: Black and Orange

E6000 Glue

Red Ribbon

White Spray Paint

Directions:

1.  spray the inside of the bottle caps white and let dry

2. using the paint markets paint the snowman's face and buttons

3. glue the 3 bottle caps on to the ribbon and make a loop on the top (this is where you can add a hook or a bow to hang it on your Christmas tree)

4. Let the glue dry and enjoy!

Snowman Ornament.
Turned out cute!

Pitter Patter Project

Here is a project that has been a long time in the making.  I have the problem of starting a project and not finishing it if I get stumped.  Well, this is one of those projects, but I finally finished it today.  Whew!!!  It feels good when I finish something that has been on "perpetual hold" for such a long time. 

Anywho, I had the great idea that I was going to preserve some memories of my sweet babies by dipping their little feet in wet paint, stamping their foot prints on paper and framing it.  Well, this is easier said than done, let me tell ya.  This took several attempts to get the perfect prints from each kid.  It was a very messy job, but I am pleased with the outcome. 

I used acrylic paints with a metalic finish.  Next to each set of foot prints I hand wrote each child's name and age in pencil.  Then I carefully measured and calculated how big my three openings needed to be in my mat board and I cut the mat myself.  I went to Home Depot and had them cut the glass for me to fit my picture frame.  Then, here is the part that stumped me, I wasn't sure how to put it all together because the frame I bought was an open backed frame and therefore didn't have the removeable back piece that easily popped back in place.  So, unfortunately this project got set aside and forgotten about until this past weekend.  I came across it and decided to figure this out once and for all. 

Turns out all I needed were some glazing points and a self leveling hanger.  So, after a trip to Hobby Lobby, a quick lesson from the lady in the framing department and about 15 minutes with the hammer the project was finally complete.  Wow!!!  I hope I don't ever let another project get so far off track again.

Halloween Banner

I love decorating for halloween.  Lately I have seen several cute halloween banners and decided I needed to make one for my house. 

I used this really great card stock that has one color on the top (orange) and another coordinating color in the core (lighter shade of orange).  The idea is to dry emboss the paper and then sand it to get the core color to show through.  If you look closely at my pictures above you will see that I dry embossed all of the orange pieces and sanded every other one to give it a little subtle texture.  I used my Cricut to cut out the black and orange paper and then used a glue runner to stick them together.  I also cut the letters out on the Cricut and alternated the colors between purple and green.

I used black tulle and black double faced satin ribbon to hang the letters.  In order to keep them from sliding together in the center I added a small silver brad that goes through all the layers of ribbon to hold it all together.  Oh yea, I attached a large silver grommet to the top of each letter card for the ribbon to go through.   It turned out great!