July 29, 2010

It's a Fire Truck Party!

I have a serious case of fire trucks on the brain!

My little guy turns 2 in a little over a month, and I am already planning for it! Okay, I've been planning for it for a while in my head, but now I'm ready to physically start planning for it!

We got him this awesome fire truck bed for his birthday (we bought it used off of Craigslist).
Its time for that big transition from crib to toddler bed! He actually has been sleeping in a toddler bed the last few times he has had a sleepover at his grandparents' houses and has done pretty well in them.

Since we got this fun bed for him (and one of his grandmother's *cough*I mean you, mom!*cough* has been giving him all things fire truck since his 1st birthday, AND we dressed up in a fire fighter theme last Halloween!), we decided to just make his entire new "big boy" room all about fire trucks. So, of course, to introduce this new theme it only seems appropiate to have a fire truck themed birthday party!

Here are some of the fabulous things I have found on Etsy to give me some inspiration:

Invitations



Cupcake Toppers



Banners



Cute, right?? I'm working frantically on digitally drawing an old fashioned firetruck which will be the main design used for most of the party items. Then its all downhill, right? Well, that's what I'm going to tell myself!

You can expect to see some fun fire truck projects from me over the next month or so! Some will have to wait until after the party because, unfortunately, I'm a procrastinator at heart! lol!


July 28, 2010

Where you can find me today...

Eek! You'll never guess where I'm guest posting today!


Come by and say hello!



July 27, 2010

T-Shirt Tuesday - Crop Night

Several months ago I shared the

Now we have the

Among those reasons...
No one will accuse of being a scrapaholic.
-and-
Its a great form of group therapy!

Happy T-Shirt Tuesday!


July 25, 2010

The 3 Technique Tee

If you'll remember back to Thursday's post, I went on and on about rosette t-shirts and how they are everywhere.

I found a lot of inspiration in the shirts I saw, and it led me to my next project!

Let me present you with:

The 3 Technique Tee!

It started off with my putting together this really cute outfit while I was shopping at Stein Mart.

Don't you just love that skirt?? Here's a close up of the lace trim...
Love it! Okay, back to the shirt...
Just a plain old v-neck t-shirt.

And here is what I am going to use to transform it.
1. Printable heat transfer paper (from Walmart)
2. Fabri-Tac fabric adhesive from Beacon Adhesives
3. Steam-A-Seam fusible web
First things first, I, of course, was going to put rosettes on the shirts so I picked out two different solid colors from my fabric stash. It turns out I had this fantastic natural cotton linen that was almost the exact color of the lace trim on the skirt! I chose a mellow aqua linen to accompany it.

Then, so that my iron on tranfers would match the rosettes, I scanned the fabrics and printed them out on the heat transfer paper (see photo above).

Then I attacked the heat transfer paper with my die cut machines. The two little leafy things on the left are an image that comes with the Silhouette and the rest of the die cuts are from the Vintage Findings cards for the Slice.
I noticed that if I wasn't careful with the thin edges of some of the die cuts they would start to rub off.... which gave me an idea!
Since my linen rosettes have a laid back feel to them, I wanted the iron ons to have that same feeling. So I decided to distress them! I very lightly (it did not take much pressure at all) sanded all of the die cuts with a small craft sander.

I followed the directions on the heat transfer paper and this is how I was rewarded with my distressing. I love it!!! It's exactly how I envisioned it!

I finished the rest of the iron ons then moved on to my plan of using the fusible webbing.

I wanted to incorporate some lace onto the shirt since it was on the skirt. I cut a length of lace I had on hand that was a similar color to the lace on the skirt. I used Fray Check on the ends so they wouldn't fall apart. Then I attached the webbing to the back and ironed it onto the shirt.

Basically the fusible webbing will make anything into an applique. Great stuff!

Next up was the rosettes. I added a fair amount of the Fabri-Tac to the backs and placed them on the shirt. I actually layered a paper towel directly under where the flowers were going so no adhesive would bleed through to the back of the shirt.

I also put some of the Fabric-Tac between the rosettes to ensure they would stay together when the shirt moved around.

And here is my completed shirt!! Don't you just love the colors!

I am soooo taking this to the beach with me in a few weeks!

Of course we have to have an action shot... or two...

It even looks good with jeans!
Notice anything in this picture?

No? How about this one?
Yep! Totally added rosettes to the skirt, too!!

Awesome!

Okay, now seriously, this was a super inexpensive outfit and project.

Shirt and skirt from Stein Mart were $5 and $20 respectively.

Fabric, lace, Fabri-Tac, and Steam-A-Seam were on hand.

Heat transfer paper was ~ $7 at Walmart (but its for about 8 sheets!).

So a $32 outfit, when all is said and done. I can live with that!


I am soooo proud of this outfit and can't wait to wear it out and about. And I am loving my first experience playing with the printable heat transfer paper. I see more projects in my future!!

And did I mention this is my first t-shirt makeover?  :)




linking up to

July 23, 2010

Looking for Guest Posts

Would anyone be interested in doing a guest post for August?

Pretty please!

I'm swamped next month with our beach vacation coming up in a few weeks and then my son's 2nd birthday in early September.

I would love to fill up spots for
August 5th Taken!
August 12th Taken!
August 19th Taken!
August 26th Taken!

It can be a craft project highlight or just a plain old highlight of your blog and some of the crafts you done.

Any takers??

Can I bribe you with great blog exposure and my undying gratitude?



July 22, 2010

Rosette T-Shirts {EVERYWHERE}!

Obviously I've been living under a rock. And not a small little pebble, but more like a giant boulder.

I've seen crafty people all over blogland refashioning plain old t-shirts into super cute new creations using fabric rosettes. Ocassionally they share an inspiration shirt from an online catalog.

But seriously, I didn't realize exactly how big this craze is out there in department store world!

I made my 1st ever visit to Stein Mart (yes, I said my 1st. yes, I know you're rolling your eyes at me. yes, i'm sure I've completely exasperated you by now! lol!) a few weeks ago. Can I just tell you I hit the motherload? I found TONS of cute clothes and jewelry that I just gobbled up. Its officially my new favorite store.

And what was the main thing I noticed while there?

Rosettes everywhere on everything!

(all above images are from Anthropologie except for the last one in the bottom right corner, it is from IreneLim.com)

I honestly do not have time to shop around online for clothes, don't keep up with the latest trends, and obviously shop in all the wrong places when I do get to do some personal shopping.

Now I see why I've seen all these awesome t-shirt refashions around the blogosphere! It was like a big slap in the face to wake up. lol!


So, why am I sharing all this with you?

*begin singsong voice*
You'll find out on Sunday!!
*/end singsong voice*


Oh, and I promise to try and be a little more hip and keep up with this fashion thing a little better.

;)


July 20, 2010

T-Shirt Tuesday - Acid Free

There's only one thing you need to ask yourself as a scrapbooker...


This design is a little play on words with its psychedelic background!

Happy T-Shirt Tuesday!


Hoo Are You Tuesday!

NightOwlCrafting
Time for another round of Hoo Are You Tuesday with Leslie at Night Owl Crafting!
 
If you want to play along, be sure and visit Leslie and link up to her party!
 
 
This week's questions:
 
1. Have you ever broke a bone or anything on your body?
I apparently broke or hurt really bad my collar bone when I was born. But other than that, knock on wood, no other broken bones!
 
2. What is your favorite drink?
Coke 0! Yummmmm. :)
 
3. When is your birthday! You don't have to tell the year you were born!
February 9. I'm a water baby! I don't mind telling the year, but you'll have to do the math. ;)
1979
 
4. Do you have an allergies?
I didn't for the longest time, which is crazy growing up in TN where allergies are notorious. But now I'm starting the get them every year. Old age? Luckily no food allergies.
 
5. What is one of your all time favorite movies?
I'm an action movie/epic drama kind of gal so....
I'm completely obsessed with Indiana Jones. Have been for as long as I can remember!
Goonies, 300, Ocean's 11 (and 12...and 13!), Van Helsing, the Bourne movies, Braveheart, Gladiator, Lord of the Rings, the Harry Potter movies...
Oh, and Aladdin and Sweet Home Alabama...
Just to name a few. ;)
 
 

July 18, 2010

Family Frame Makeover

I found this really fun and cute frame at Hobby Lobby when they were having a 1/2 off sale. I love the scrollwork and the font on the word family.

But I didn't like...
...the cheap black plastic look to the frame. It definitely needed a makeover!

First things first, I took out all of the glass and cardboard backing. A good makeover starts with a naked frame!

Luckily the word "family" was just screwed on to the frame and not permanently attached. I unscrewed that sucker and got it off of there.

I turned the word upside down on the back of a piece of scrapbook paper and traced around the word with a marker. I then cut the paper with an X-acto knide. I couldn't get in all the grooves with the marker, so I'll tell you what I did about that in a minute. This did not need to be a perfect cut...

I used some Mod Podge to apply the paper to the word. A nice layer of Mod Podge, not too thick and not too thin, will do just the trick! After the paper and glue had time to dry, I went at the curves and corners with a small file to get rid of the excess paper.

I had just gotten my greedy little hands on some scrapbook crackle paint and was just itching to try it out. I painted two coats (the 1st coat wanted to flake off, but the 2nd coat did just the trick) all around the edge of the frame.

I covered the rest of the frame with the same scrapbook paper I used on the word "family".

I spritzed all of the paper and the crackle paint (while it was still slightly damp) with some Glimmer Mist to give it a little shimmer.

For one of the places for a photo, I knew I wanted something a little different. So I made this little sign using scrapbook paper and a flower. I think it gives the whole thing a little bit of charm.

And, viola! My new and improved family frame!

Now I just need to find the perfect place to hang it...


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