freezer paper stencil tutorial

My friend taught me how to use this and I am SOOOO addicted now it's so easy.
I use it constantly since it is so easy to make stencils with my Cricut.
So here's my best attempt at explaining how to use a freezer paper stencil.
First of all. Always make sure that the SHINY side is down. That is that side that will iron on to your fabric.
When making a stencil you want to keep all the "negative" pieces. If you were going to cut out a fish, you don't actually want the fish. You want the outline and "negative" pieces (the pieces you would usually toss).

A good tip is to first iron on the outline. Then when that is in place it will be easier to then add the inside pieces and iron those on all at once, or one at a time.
After you have it ironed on slip a scratch piece of paper inside your shirt so that when you are painting it the paint will not bleed through to the back (yes, I learn this the hard way!) :)

Then simply make sure you are using a fabric paint. They come in all sorts these days. There is normal to shiny, to matte, to glitter, to dimensional....
If you use regular paint it will stay on your fabric, but will make for a grainy look after washing.
You can buy a bottle of "medium" that can be added to a color of regular craft paint to turn it into fabric paint. I love the stuff, just didn't have any on hand to picture it. It can be bought at any craft store, or even Wal-mart.

I apply the paint right on to the fabric. Saves time, paint, and a mess.

Paint it evenly. Eliminate brush strokes. They can be visible, but usually after a few washes disappear.

Use a blow dryer to speed up the process. I am the most impatient crafter and usually end of botching my work due to lack of patience. The blow dryer and me understand each other! :)

When it's dry simply peel off the freezer paper and Yeah!

You can then do other layers, things....

Remember when doing words, you don't want the actually letters. You want the outlines and all the "circles" and such that are inside them. So make sure you don't loose them. I usually just keep them on my sticky cricut mat until I actually iron them on. This saves a lot of time.
You can go all kinds of crazy with this, but here's just some quick basic shirts I made for a family vacation:

diy zoo, sea world, and disneyland shirts

I am so proud of myself for pulling these together (and on time too)! :)
We are going to have a blast on our upcoming vacation. I just had to whip out the old crafting supplies and come up with some cute shirts for the occasion.
Wal-Mart had these shirts on clearance so most of them were a buck! Come on, right? You can't beat that (especially at any theme park!).
Freezer paper, fabric paints, fabric, a little ribbon, and iron on adhesive.....
Zoo shirts:
Images-Create-a-critter
Font-Zooballoo
(the animals were done with fabric, applied with an iron on)
The bow was $1 at Wal-Mart in the baby section.



Disneyland shirts:
Mickey silhouette-Plantin Schoolbook (3 circles together)
Font-Cuttin' Up
The Head band is made of 3 twisted spirals glued together. I then glued those onto some cute elastic and backed it with black felt.


Sea World shirts:
Shark-Zoo Days
Fish and Jelly Fish-Create-a-critter
Font-Cutting' Up
Headband (not yet pictured) is made up of with painted sea shells glued on.

balloon ping pong

Balloon Ping Pong is an instant hit at our house. I made these with my kids first thing this morning to get them going, and BOY did it get them going! We had such a great time trying to keep our balloons up.
Popsicle sticks
tape
paper plates
balloons

for the bathroom

My cousin is getting married and for her shower they did that whole, "for the bathroom" "for the kitchen" "for the laundry room" thing. These are always fun, but make you have to stay with the room they gave you. I lucked out with the bathroom, so I tried to make the most of it.
I decided to make her a little kit to pamper herself with. I filled the jar with candles, warming oils, soaps, lotions, natural scrubbers, and a lufa. To tell you the truth, I really wanted it for me. I hope she likes it and takes time for herself as she starts this new chapter in her life....

iphone charger holder

I saw this pretty thing on pintrest and knew I had to make one. I decided to make one for my friend and sister for valentine's day. I love how they turned out.
It is made by simply modpodging fabric onto a cut out from a lotion or baby shampoo bottle. You plug the cord in through the hole and simple hang this holder on the outlet with the phone in it. So clever, eh?! :)




The edges were a bit tricky to have even and flat. Sand paper did the trick. It was amazing how smooth it made it.

Now I just have to get through some more shampoo so I can make myself one! :)

we got mail

I finally got around to making our Valentine's Day mail boxes. They were much more of a hit with my kids, much more than I thought they would be. My kids LOVED that they got "mail". They kept going back to their mailboxes to get out a treat or toy. I also liked them because it kept me restricted to size and amount. I ALWAYS go over board when I don't need too.
I had to add their little nicknames on the side for a cutesy affect.
I found the idea here.

red velvet cookies

Need a last minute goody for someone?
I got this great trick/recipe from Bakerella.
1 box cake mix
2 eggs
1/2 C oil
Mix and roll (plop) in powdered sugar
bake 350 for 8-10 min
Enjoy!

burlap i {heart} u

I used scraps of wood I had for this beauty. I simply cute squares of burlap slightly smaller and used freezer paper for my stencils. I nailed the burlap on the blocks, glued them together and tyed the twine around it. I love how it turned out.

burlap heart wreath

Cut strips of burlap and sew them together to make the strand as long as needed. Run a gathering stitch through the length of it. Gather the material and hot glue it onto a wire hanger that you have pre-bent into a heart form. Hand and enjoy!:)

burlap banners for valentine's day

Just cut your burlap into triangles, use freezer paper as your stencil, iron them on, paint over them, let dry, remove freezer paper, then glue on a strand of twine. Yes. It's that simple. And that's the way I roll! :)
These hand on mirrored windows in my kids playroom. They make me happy!

conversation hearts supersized

My mom gave me a pile of random hearts that she has picked up at thrift stores. I was so excited! They weren't pretty by any means but I was excited at the challenge of making them into something.
My crafter-in-crime, Aymee, and I got to work and came up with these cuties. I LOVE how they turned out. Paint, sandpaper, and vinyl. Doesn't get much easier than that!

To get the two-toned paint look simply paint your project on color (the one you want to be your undercoat). Let it dry. Then paint your desired color over it. Sand lightly in the areas you want the under color to show through.

friendly valentine's

I've loved all the millions of cute ideas I've found on various blogs and on pintrest. I finally decided to go with the bouncy ball one. Fast, cheap, and fun. I don't know a kid who doesn't love to chuck those things around and die giggling as they go crazy.

Here's my version:

love what you have

I went on a scavenger hunt around my house looking for red items...and this is what I came up with. Now it's your turn. Have fun.

insert {hearts}

My crafter-in-crime came up with this one and I had to make it. It's just hearts glued on with glue dots. The edges are inked and that makes all the difference.
If you plan on making one, make sure to position the hearts while your paper is in the frame. That will save you a lot of heart ache (pun intended)!

little bits of love

My friend spotted these babies in the dollar bins at target. I didn't think they were that cute until she turned me on to the idea of a little vinyl.

I have to agree. I little makes a huge difference. I think they are so cute and can't wait to put some little goodies in them for my little ones.

valentine's day + glitter = giddy

I love glitter. Valentine's Day is just an excuse for me to be able to use it like crazy! I first had fun covering a bunch of ugly hearts from the thrift store. Glitter is guaranteed to make everything look better! I also used in on some letters I picked up at a garage sale. Trust me, they weren't cute before!


Glitter paper is a must. I LOVE LOVE LOVE it. Cutting out these silhouettes was so easy and I just love how they turned out.