Easy Halloween Tees!

~ EASY HALLOWEEN TEE SHIRTS! ~

It's been WaY too long since I last blogged,

no excuses, just one or three major life events

may or may not have occurred in quick succession

(and some concurrently);

but here I am, and I'm sharing something

that is SO typically ME!

That is, I've been agitated lately that I'm

so busy driving and cooking and cleaning and

scheduling and checking and packing
and loading and unloading and moving and
sleeping and unboxing and tidying

that I have no time for crafting!

Then as I drop the boys off at the gym

at 0700 this morning, I'm thinking

"oh my gosh, it's Halloween in two days

and I should really made the kids

a tee shirt to wear on Thursday!"

What?  Who said that?

The same person who hasn't had time to

do anything in four months and now

suddenly you want to start a complete

project and have it finished today?

Yes.  I work well under pressure.

I haven't done much sewing this year,

and it's been over ten years since I added

to my fabric stash, so I just started over.

I live fifty miles from the nearest craft store

so I was stuck with Wal-mart's scaled

down version of a craft aisle.  Seriously,

there aren't even bolts of fabric or buttons

at this Wal-mart.  Ugh.  So my selection was

beyond limited.

 I (finally) found a tee shirt for my Little girl -

not my first or my second choice,

but it will do.  I'm pretty happy with the

orange ringer tee I found for my Little boy,

but the Big boys tees are just okay.

For the witch, I made a pattern.

I have the pattern scanned, but
I don't know how to add a link for you
to be able to download it.  If you would like
the pattern, just let me know and I
will email it to you.
Also, if there are any technically savvy
readers out there that wouldn't mind giving
me a quick tutorial - I would love
to learn how to add free patterns to my

crafty posts.

I should google uploading patterns.

Anyway, I made a pocket-shaped

face, hat and hat brim, and I used four coordinating

fabrics.  Not what I had in mind when I

got this little gem of an idea five hours ago,

but here goes:

Follow the directions

on the Heat n Bond(R) Ultrahold(TM)

to cut a large background piece from the

purple print fabric.

Face is cut from green

fabric, hat from black fabric, hat brim from orange.

  

Instructions say to wash garment first without

fabric softener.  I did not do this.

That would not be conducive to immediate

gratification, which I so look forward to.

I used a hot iron to adhere the background

shape to the center of the tee shirt.

Guess what?  I decided to use rick-rack as

hair, and I didn't want to glue it.

So I ironed the rick-rack onto the Heat n Bond

and it worked BeAuTiFuLlY!!

Guess what else.  When I removed the 

paper backing from the adhered rick-rack,

I was able to pull on the attached Heat n Bond

and it just came right off!

I was prepared to use scissors and everything.

No need.  I love wonders.  May they

never cease.  Ever.

I attached the face, then arranged the

rick-rack hair and adhered each piece with the iron.

  

I added the hat, then the hat brim.

It still needed something so I cut out 

a wart and a star for the hat brim.

I have some Swarovski crystals that are

just calling out to me - they

think they would look amazing somewhere

on this cute little witch, and I agree.

PS I added the eyes and the mouth

with a black paint pen.

NEXT!

I rushed through the Little's shirts

because I really wanted to get this up on my blog,

but have a better plan for the Big's shirts.

I'm going to cut out all my skull pieces, use 

the hot iron to adhere them to the fabric

that I want to use as a background,

THEN I will cut around for the background shape!

I just had a little trouble with

the spacing ... and I'm a little OCD so I

can deal with it on the Little's tees but I will be

much more precise when making the Big's tees!

Make a pattern for the background piece

by tracing around the skull design and leaving

about a 1/4" space.

I used the green as the background.

As you can see, I had some difficulty getting

all my skull pieces to line up inside

the background piece.  I had to do some

trimming.  I wasn't thrilled, but it worked.

I started with the top of the skull first.

I sort of got that lined up and pressed it down,

then I added the rest of the face pieces

and each bone, trimming and pressing

one piece at a time.

Love!!  I'm going to go pack up my

crystals now and my E6000 - I'll have four hours

at dance class tonight to sit and glue on

stones to make this witch sparkle!!

Peace and Happy Halloween Tees!

;)

DCC Blog Hop - Handmade Flowers!

April's theme is

~ Handmade Flowers ~

and as an additional challenge,

handmade flowers using items found

in or around the house.

 

Four growing children means I have

a plethora of outgrown clothing

at any given time.  I thought this challenge

would be the perfect time to use

that pair of old jeans I'd set aside!

 Supplies Needed:

old jeans ~ scissors ~ needle and thread

paintbrush ~ permanent marker ~

~ assorted buttons ~

~ green tulle ~ flower stencil or cookie cutter ~

~ DecoArt SoSoft Fabric Paint ~

~ DecoArt Glamour Dust

Ultra Fine Glitter Paint in Ice Crystal ~

~ Swarovski Crystals ~ E6000 ~

 First, cut along the seams on one leg

of the jeans.

 Use a flower stencil or cookie cutter to

outline flower shapes onto

your piece of denim fabric.

Cut out the flower shapes.

Choose several colors of

DecoArt SoSoft fabric paint.

Apply two coats of fabric paint

to each flower cut out.

 Apply glitter topcoat and

allow pieces to dry thoroughly.

Next, gather the fabric in the center

of the flower cut out

and stitch a button on to secure the fold.

Attach three buttons to the center

of each flower cut out.

~ Repeat for other cut outs! ~

Attach flowers to jacket or vest

for a little added pizazz! 

Hide your stitches behind the buttons.

Cut a length of tulle into a square.

Fold in half diagonally into a triangle,

then continue to fold and gather into a leaf shape.

Tuck tulle "leaves" behind the flowers

and secure with needle and thread.

Additionally, I used a single stitch

here and there to tack down

the flowers so they wouldn't curl.

 Attach Swarovski crystals to the

center threads of each button

with E6000 adhesive.

I added Swarovski crystals to the

center of each of the metal buttons

on the denim vest, just

for kicks.  And because the game was on

and I needed some busy work to do.

I enjoyed this challenge ~

I love that I was able to create something

fun and simple with items

I already had around the house!

Cost?  Zero!! :)

~ Peace and Happy "Recycling" ~

Sofa Pillow Make-Over

I bought these throw pillows when we moved into

this house four years ago.

They've come unstitched, and I've mended them.

Repeatedly.

They were looking p r e t t y sad when I

decided to make them over.

My pillows are constantly being folded, fluffed, tossed,

stuffed, and wadded up by at least six

(and sometimes more) people every day.

They prop feet, they prop elbows, they prop shoulders,

they're used as weapons, they're squished under tushies,

they're carried from room to room.

I wanted new covers that would

be rugged.  I wanted them to hold up to the beatings

and not burst at the seams with the slightest pressure.

I decided to use a canvas dropcloth.

After all, these drop cloths are used for years and years,

they're painted on, stepped on, dragged around,

folded up, shuffled around ... they must be tough.

Right??

Materials List:
Canvas Drop Cloth
Scissors
Sewing Machine
or Needle and Thread
Marker
Fabric Paint
Masking Tape
Paint Roller or Brush

So I washed and dried the dropcloth

with my favorite laundry soap and softener.

So they'd start out nice and fresh.

Then I measured my old pillows and cut

squares about 2" wider and longer than the pillows.

I ripped the seam running down the center
of the drop cloth so I'd have smooth fabric.

(I could have purchased a smaller drop cloth,

and maybe there wouldn't have been a seam,

but I purchased this nice big one instead).

I used a permanent marker to outline a square onto

each fabric piece, so I could sew nice straight seams.

I may not have cut perfectly straight edges, is what I'm saying.

I wanted to paint a quick and easy design on

the fabric.  I thought stripes would be fun.  

I used fabric paint and

masking tape with two different widths.

I taped off a striped design down the center of each

fabric square, and used a roller to apply paint.

I couldn't decide if I wanted a monogram on the

pillows, or another design element,

or just the stripes.  I decided to stencil a flourish

onto two of the pillow fronts.

Eh.  This didn't excite me.

But I forged on ... I can always make new ones.

With the right sides together, I pinned a painted

fabric square to an unpainted fabric square.

I sewed a straight stitch around the edges

of the fabric, leaving the center of one side

open for stuffing.

You know that saying, measure twice, cut once?

I probably didn't follow that ...

... which is why I outlined the square with

a permanent marker.  Then I just followed along

the black lines with my sewing machine.

I'm a fly-by-the-seat-of-my-pants

kind of girl.  Especially when it comes to sewing.

I sort of have a brand new experience

every time I drag out my sewing machine.

I have to re-learn how to use it.

It's that short term memory thing I've got.

That's my story, anyway.

Hey!  It worked!  I probably had to rip out a 

few seams and restitch them.  I'm not admitting anything.

I turned the pillow cover inside out.

I'm sure there were several ways I could have

gone about stuffing my new pillows.

Here's what I did: I folded each pillow into

thirds and crammed it into my pillow cover.

then I stuck my whole arm inside to make sure

that the pillows went all the way down in the corners.

Then I folded the open seam inward,

pinned it, and sewed it closed.

 Badda. Bing.

I may have had to rip the seams out

and restitch them a couple of times.  I'm sure that

wouldn't have happened if I'd just used a 

needle and thread to close the seams.

But stitching, ripping, and re-stitching seemed

faster, somehow.  Heh heh.

There!

Times four.

My eight-year-old said I should make new pillow

covers and use really soft, fuzzy fabric.

Ha!  Like soft, fuzzy fabric will hold up to what

they put these pillows through!

Not happenin.

I told him he can use these pillows when he's

on the sofa, and he can use his soft, comfy pillow

when he's in his bed.

Here's the BEFORE pic again,

so you don't have to scroll to the top to see

how much better they look now.

BEFORE

AFTER

* Peace and Pillow Fights *

Baby Jesus Ornament

This little craft is perfect for the

classroom - even the very young could

make these if you did a little

prep work ahead of time.

 You'll need the following supplies:

A 3/4" round head button plug,

a Woodsies giant oval,

a Woodsies small oval,

a scrap of gauze

(I had mine left over from Halloween)

acrylic paint: Flesh Tone, Marigold,

Extreme Glitter Gold, Multi-Purpose Sealer,

pink powder blush, a cotton swab,

a hot glue gun, glue sticks,

a permanent marking pen, a button, 

and a ribbon scrap.

Baby Jesus ornaments make me happy!

Here are two of my earlier designs:

  Hmm.  This one must be so old

I haven't even blogged about it.

I will put this on my To-Do List.  :)

 http://megpiedesign.blogspot.com/2010/11/baby-jesus-ornament.html

Back to this year's ornament:

  Paint the button head Flesh Tone and allow

to dry thoroughly.  Blush the cheeks

with pink powder blush and a cotton swab.

Seal with Multi-Purpose Sealer.

Paint the small oval Marigold.

When dry, brush with Extreme Glitter Gold.

 

 

 Wrap the gauze scrap around the oval.

I found that really stretching the

gauze tightly and tucking in all loose ends

works the best.  Use hot glue

to secure the end of your gauze on the

back of the oval.

 

 Once your painted pieces are dry,

you're ready to assemble the ornament.

 

Put a small amount of hot glue on

the front bottom of the halo;

press the back of the gauze wrapped

oval to the front of the halo.

Flip ornament over.

Use a dot of hot glue to attach the

ribbon for hanging to the back of the halo.

For added support, I used a button

to sandwich the ribbon between

the oval and the button.

 

 

 This is what the front of your ornament

should look like.

Add closed eyelids by drawing two

"U" shapes with the pen.

I thought the ornament still needed

a little something, so I dug

through all my supplies until I found

this holly sprig.  I think I liked it because

it looked so much like my earlier

ornament where I painted the 

swaddling clothes and I painted the

holly sprig.  Any little decoration would

do ... a star, a heart, be creative.

~ Peace and Baby Jesus Ornaments ~