Chillin' with My Peeps Stenciled Shirts

I was in the middle of about four other projects, when I had this idea for Easter shirts for my girls this year.  I am someone who is easily suckered by seasonal items at the store.  Before, it was mostly candy and decor, but now that I have kids my little love of all things holiday reaches into clothing as well.  This year for Easter, I wanted to make dresses for the girls (which are almost done!), and I got to thinking about other kinds of holiday-themed clothing, which is when I had the idea for these shirts.

Admittedly, the idea wasn't entirely my own.  I first saw it as a wood craft, but thought the concept could easily be really cute for Easter shirts.  Plus, I was able to use things I already had on-hand, so I didn't have to spend a penny on these.

My method was the same I have used on my stenciled shirts in the past, using vinyl cut on my Silhouette as a stencil.  It works pretty well, although I'd love to try their stencil vinyl or freezer paper.  I tried cutting freezer paper on my Silhouette a year or two ago, and it didn't work at all, but now that I have new mats(yes!) I am thinking it might work after all.

After I designed the graphics and cut the vinyl, I put the vinyl on each shirt and used my fabric ink and brushes to paint the shirts.  I had to do three coats of the white, which was a little bit ridiculous.  Once I was done painting in the stencil, and I pulled off the vinyl and let the paint dry.  For the eyes and noses, I dipped the other end of my brush in brown fabric paint and dabbed it on.  To make sure the ink was cured, I baked each shirt in the oven for one minute at 350 degrees.  This was mostly for the silver paint, since it doesn't cure just by air drying.

If you'd like the Silhouette .studio cut file for these shirts, just leave a comment with your email or send an email to audzipan at gmail.

Linked: Craft-O-Maniac, Skip to My Lou, Sugarbee Crafts, Shwin&Shwin, Tatertots & Jello

Etched Numbered Glasses

This morning I am going to tell you a little bit about a project I recently did. First off, I'll give you a little bit of background info.

1. There are currently four adults and four children living in our house.
2. My wedding set of glassware is down from 18 pieces to 9.
3. The dishwasher runs a lot around here, and the top shelf is usually the fullest, packed with plastic kids dishes and bottles.

In an effort to keep me from having to do the dishes every five seconds, I thought of an idea to help us remember whose glass belongs to whom.

This project required the use of my digital cutter, some pieces of vinyl, and some etching cream. I used the cutter to cut the numbers in the vinyl. I pulled the actual numbers out of the vinyl, then I put each vinyl piece on each different glass and used the vinyl as a stencil for the etching cream.

Overall, the whole project took me about an hour. I am super pleased with the results. The etching is subtle enough that it isn't totally obvious at first, and now I always know which glass is mine!

Quickutz Silhouette SD Digital Cutter

I did it! I finally bought myself a digital craft cutter. I have started looking at the possibilities of this particular machine, the Quickutz Silhouette SD, and I am blown away with the unlimited potential.

With this machine, I don't have to buy cartridges. I don't have to be limited by premade shapes. I don't have to cut paper out by hand anymore!

I can cut any TrueType font. I can choose from over 50 shapes that came with the machine, and many more that I can download free from other users. I can cut any vector-based image!

Since I already know how to use Adobe Illustrator, this is a dream come true! I can see why some crafters would be put off from this machine, especially if you are looking for something simple that you don't have to draw your own designs. But, for me, it is what I have always dreamed about.

I cannot wait to see what I can do with this. It cuts paper, cardstock, textured paper, and vinyl. I am still working out some of the finer points, but so far I am very pleased.