Fabric Patch Onesies: No Sewing Required

This was my favorite project when I was pregnant with my youngest daughter.  I was set on making some easy handmade baby clothes and this one fit the bill.  You don't have to use a onesie for this you can use any article of clothing, and the best part is no sewing required. Let's personalize it!

Supplies Needed:

- Onesie or Other Clothing

- Fat Quarter of any Cotton Fabric

- Heat and Bond Ultrahold Adhesive 

- Iron

- Scissors

- Printed or Hand Drawn Outline

- Paper

Time Required: 30 min.        

Design It:

Time to get creative.  I find that the best designs are outlines, like a tie, or a cat.  Print or draw your design on paper, make sure it is the correct size for your garment.  When your finished, cut close to the outside lines.  Set aside.

Iron your garment, the design will be easier to place on a flat surface.  

Prepare the Patch:

I get my fabric adhesive from my local craft store, not glue but the roll type in the sewing accessories isle.  Heat and Bond brand adhesive recommend to pre-wash (which I hardly ever do). 

1. Set Iron to medium heat, turn off the steam. 

2. Place pre-cut design onto the wrong side of the cotton fabric, adhesive side down (paper liner facing up).

3. Hold iron on paper surface in place for 2 seconds, move and repeat on untouched areas until bonded.

4. Place pre-cut outline onto bonded cotton fabric, trace around it with chalk. Then cut around the shape.

Iron it On:

Place your fabric design on top of garment adhesive side down.  Press and hold iron in place for 8 seconds, repeat on un-ironed areas of design until it is attached.  

You can now place more pieces, or different fabric, or even overlay fabrics.  Marvel at your new creation.  Instant baby shower gift, personalized baby clothes, or a cool wearable design for you. Next time, I will show how I make classy flower hair barrettes. 

Sewing Tips: Faux Fur

My second sewing experience was using faux fur.  My first thought was, "How am I supposed to figure this out". Now many projects later I wish to share how I did it. I will be making faux fur cat ears.  I know some people prefer not to pin fabric but it is important when using this material.  I order my faux fur online from www.distinctivefabric.com but you can also get many types of shorter fur from a fabric store.  If you are not making ears ignore the blue instructions.

Supplies Needed:

- 1/2 yard of any Faux Fur 
- Exacto Knife
- Marking Chalk
- Thread
- Sewing Machine
- Fleece for inner ears (optional)

Marking the fur:

Chalk usually works better for this.  When you lay your fur down make sure it faces down, if you don't your fur won't lay right.  Starting at an edge mark two outer ear pieces. 

Cutting the fur:
Do not cut any kind of faux fur with scissors, you will loose chunks of fur.  Always use an Exacto knife.  Cut slowly along the chalk lines.  When you detach your pieces gently pull the any loose fur from the sides.  (It is messy) Cut two inner ear pieces from the fleece.  

Pin It:
When pinning I take it slow.  Start from the edge and push any fur sticking out towards the center.  Pin 1 outer ear to one inner ear right sides together, along 2 long sides of the triangle.  *The fleece will be smaller than the fur,  this makes the ears look more realistic,  you will need to stretch it a bit. 

Sewing:

Start sewing with a straight stitch at 1/2 inch seam allowance on both pinned sides. If a lot of fur is sticking out you can turn it inside out and use a seam ripper to gently pull it through.  (Do this now) Next sew a zigzag stitch along the edges that were sewn. Now we will close the bottom.  Turn right side out and sew shut with a 4.-4.5 size zig zag stitch. Don't worry if it is messy, it won't be visible.

Attach to Something:
Now you have to adorable kitty ears or have hopefully mastered sewing with Faux Fur.  You can now hot glue or hand sew them to a headband or alligator clip.  You can also add ribbons, bells, etc.

I hope this helps everyone,  if you have any questions comment below, I'll be happy to help. 

DIY Shrinky Dink Pins and Magnets

This was a spur of the moment project I took on when I was purchasing supplies in my local art supply store.  I was immediately intrigued with the tiny intricate patterned images in the display.  I soon found out that this item has many uses and my kids got a kick out of making tiny toy like images on plastic.  Whether you want to make a stylish pin, buttons, magnets or just cool doodles this is a easy project to try.  


The paper comes in several colors and brands, the one I used was matte Grafix.  People seem to relate it to shrinky dinks but I think the major difference is they do not have pre-printed images like a coloring book, you start with a clean slate.  If you aren't very art inclined it would be easy to trace a printed image onto the clear paper.   For this I experimented with many different drawing mediums; markers, colored pencils, pens, sharpies and watercolor pencils.   I will demonstrate the difference in the effects.  My favorite were the colored pencils and the watercolor pencils.

                           

Time: 30 minutes    Cost: - $15.00 
Supplies Needed:    

- Shrink Paper (I used Grafix brand in matte)

- Drawing Medium of Your Choice 

- Scissors 

- Oven (To Shrink)

- Glue (To adhere magnets)

- Sandpaper (To hold pencil or marker color)

**If you are making a pin you also need a pin back with adhesive, they sell these in the jewelry making section at your local craft supply store.  And if you are making magnets you need any type of magnet backing. I prefer the round ones (They stay on the fridge better)

Making the Drawing

If you are good at freehand sketching draw anything.  If not you can print something from online, place the paper on top and trace it.  I usually draw my design on paper first then trace it onto my shrink paper.  I like to use a liner or a sharpie to add an outline to my drawing. Your drawing will be much smaller in the end than it was in the beginning, so check the packaging for the ratio. If you start too small chances are you wont be able to tell what it is when it shrinks.

Sand and Color It 

Like I mentioned previously, I prefer colored pencils or watercolor pencils for this. If you are using pencils or markers you need to rough the surface up with a fine grit sandpaper, no need to buy any just use what is laying around. Markers seem to make for a really dark image. The watercolor pencils give a really cool paint effect.  

Poke Holes and Cut 

If you are making a button, key chain, earrings or a charm for a necklace you will need a hole later on. It is not possible to get through the plastic after shrinking, so this is the time to do it. Remember small ratio, poke a large hole to get a small one later. A double hole punch should be big enough for a necklace sized hole. Now you need to cut it out, you can either cut right around the image or leave room, the border will be part of the final design.

Shrink it Down

The amazing part, watching your beautiful image become a tiny treasure.  I put my images parchment or wax paper over a pan just in case it sticks.  Preheat your oven between 300 and 350 bake for 3-5 minutes.  Do not remove during curling, wait until it completely flattens. 

Add Pin Back or Magnet

Now you have a beautiful tiny piece of art, all there is to do is add the finishing touches.  This is the time to add that pin backing, magnet, necklace or key chain.  Either with a self adhesive or glue (glue hold better).

Time to show off your creation, give is as a gift or stick them on your desk at work.  I hope you enjoyed this tutorial, stay tuned for more crafty tutorials.  

Spring Nail Designs

What a better way to start off the spring then with some cute nail designs.  I used to always go to the salon for cute nail designs.  Now I save a ton of money and do my own.  There is plenty of inspiration on Pintrest for new designs.  I find that the easiest are animal print and tip designs, I haven't quite got flowers down yet, but I am improving.  You don't need fancy supplies or professional artistry to give it a try so lets do it.  I will be posting other designs and a gradient tutorial in the near future.

Supplies Needed:

- Picture of Design (I'm using a cute watermelon motif)
- Nail Polish in Colors of your Choice
- Nail Striper or Long Skinny Paintbrush
- Nail Polish Remover (I use acetone free)
- Top Coat
- Q-Tips and Cotton Balls (For cleaning up mistakes)



If your nails don't grow well like mine you can get acrylic or gel overlay and request no paint or top coat. When you have a clean base to work with you can apply a coat of your under color.

Next I am applying my tips over my base color.  When painting tips I try to paint in one fluid motion starting at the left of the nails, brushing towards the center, then coming from the right to center.  Make sure you do not have too much paint on your brush or it will smudge.  If you need to clean up uneven lines soak a q-tip in polish remover and gently smooth out the lines.  Make sure the layer of polish is dry before using remover.

Next I will be applying details.  I used a black striper to make dots all over the bottom portion of the nails (You can also use a very tiny skinny paint brush).  Then I use a white striper to make the stripe between the green and red part of the nail. If your tip area was a little messy this will help it look smoother.

As an added bonus I took some light green acrylic paint and added 3 small thin stripes to the tip of my nails, this makes it look more like a watermelon (and less like a strawberry).

The last step is to add 1 or 2 nice top coats, this really cleans up the finished look.  Be sure to give them plenty of time to dry.

That's all that is too it. I always paint my left hand first completely (I am right handed) that way if I need to remove any polish I don't ruin my right hand.  Also if I don't like the look of things it is easier to remove paint from one hand. If you're not sure it's you, do a test finger!  And remember you get what you pay for with nail polish, if its cheap chances are it won't coat well.