personalized flocked art {diy}

sorry for the long absence. i don’t have any excuse except that i honestly don’t know where time goes. i hope to soon have a better handle on time management, but i’m not holding my breath. but here i am, and not with a post about henry. well, i guess in a way it is, because it’s artwork from his nursery, and literally says henry, but he’s not the focus. though i’m sure some people wouldn’t mind if it was.

as seen in his nursery reveal, henry has personalized artwork on his walls, made by moi.

here’s how i did it!

the supplies i used for this project include a canvas, flocking powder (i bought mine at michaels; it makes for a furry/velvety texture), mod podge, pencil (standard wood one, not a mechanical one as seen below), printout of chosen design (henry) and paintbrush.

first, on the back of my printed design (for the design, the simpler, less detailed the better), i shaded the outline with the side of my pencil.

i find doing it against a window is easiest. make sure the lines are well shaded, but you only need to do the outline.

i then carefully placed my design on the canvas right-side up and traced the outline with the pencil.

this will result in a light outline of the design on the canvas (although very hard to see below).

then i filled in the design with mod podge, followed by a layer of flocking powder, one letter at a time. then i tapped off the excess.

(remove those lumps seen in the pic above)

after one layer, i saw where i missed spots, and found i didn’t do a thick enough glue layer.

i simply did a second layer right on top, which helped but it still wasn’t completely filled in yet.

after three it was sufficiently covered. then i used a clean paintbrush to brush away some errant powder to clean up some of the lines.

bam. done.

this was my first time using flocking powder, and i liked it! it was a quick project (that perhaps would have been quicker if i had done a thicker, more precise layer of glue first, or used a stencil taped down) that resulted in personalized artwork for my little man’s nursery. and because it’s a kid’s space, i think the velvety, furry texture is perfect – it can be fun for him to touch, like the touch and feel books.

now i need to figure out what else to do with the rest of my flocking powder. i’m thinking diy cards with some double stick alphabet letters i picked up…

have you used flocking powder before? any suggestions on another project to use it for?

{justine}

t-shirt blanket tutorial

six months ago (don’t hate because i’m so behind on things) i made a chicago sports themed t-shirt blanket for the baby shower of this handsome little man.

for baby showers, i always like to give something homemade (for a personal touch) along with something from the registry (for a practical touch). as our friend john, the dad, is a huge chicago sports fan, and they were expecting a little boy, the idea for the blanket was sparked when i saw another friend’s t-shirt blanket (theirs was a bit more complicated and larger, this is my simple version).

the blanket is fairly simple, especially since you don’t need to bind it. the hardest part may be collecting enough t-shirts to use! if you don’t have a bunch of extras lying around, like me, the thrift store is a great place to find them (and of course wash before you make the blanket, please). or you could ask friends and family to donate old shirts, so the blanket will be even more special.

(note: the size of the blanket is really up to you and your materials – the number of shirts available and the size of the squares from them, and the width and length of your backing fabric).

step 1. gather t-shirts to be used. the amount of t-shirts needed depends on the size of the blanket (or, the amount of t-shirts gathered decides the size of the blanket! i gathered about 16 shirts, and used 12 for the blanket)

step 2. decide how large you want each t-shirt square to be and make a template for easy measuring. the size of the t-shirts determines the largest size possible (the  area below the neck and between the sleeves). i found the smallest t-shirt i wanted to use and made the biggest square possible out of it, to be used for all other t-shirts.

step 3. use the template to cut squares of the t-shirts (i also used a straight edge for extra strength and my rotary cutter).

step 4. arrange your t-shirt squares to find the pattern you like. i laid mine down on my backing fabric (blue, soft minky, one of my favorites) to check how many across and long would fit.

step 5. flip over one square onto the square next to it, so the right sides are together. pin along the inner edge (the edge that joins the squares within the blanket – not a top, bottom or outer edge). sew along the pinned edge (i used a 1/4″ seam allowance).

step 6. open the two squares you just sewed, and repeat step 5 with the next square in the row. do this for all squares in your row (if it’s only 3 like me, the row is done; ignore my upside down squares below).

step 7. follow steps 5 and 6 for all rows.

step 8. flip one row on top of the one below or above it, so the right sides are together. pin along the inner edge and sew, making sure to open the row seams so they lay flat.

step 9. repeat step 8, attaching all rows together. you will end up with one large piece, the front of your blanket.

step 10. lay the back fabric right side up, and the t-shirt front right side down on top. pin all around and sew (again i used a 1/4″ seam allowance), back stitching at the beginning and end. make sure to leave an opening to turn it right-side out – i left the length of a square unsewn.

step 11. trim the corners and turn right-side out through the opening.

step 12. pin opening shut, folding in fabric to match seam allowance. sew around entire blanket perimeter, back stitching at beginning and end.

done!

both the back and the front are so soft, perfect for cuddling.

one of my favorite t-shirts was too small to be used in the blanket, so i whipped up an easy burp cloth out of it. after trimming the shirt to size, i cut a piece of terry cloth fabric the same size for the back. with right sides  pinned together, i sewed around the edge, leaving an opening a few inches wide. after turning right side out, i turned in the opening edges to match the seam allowance, pinned, and sewed around the entire edge. done!

happy sewing!

though i have plans to make my son a chenille blanket, ryan has informed me that he also needs a chicago sports t-shirt blanket of his own. i need to start collecting the shirts now…

{justine}

linked to remodelaholic

envelope pillow cover {how to}

pillows are good stuff. they are comfy. they are pretty. they are easy to change out. and they are easy to make. if you can sew a straight line, you can make a pillow cover.

today we’re going to make an envelope pillow cover. it’s my go-to pillow style because you can remove it for washing (important with a dog that not only doesn’t lay on the floor, but lays on a pillow on the couch) or changing out to a new cover.

supplies:
- about 1/2 yard of fabric, depending on pillow size (front and back fabric can be the same or different)
-coordinating thread
-pillow form

tools:
-sewing machine
-scissors/rotary cutter
-ruler
-pins

first measure your pillow to find the true length and width (as it may differ slightly from its stated size). mine was 23 1/2″ across and 16″ tall.

{length/across}

{width/tall}

add 1″ for seam allowance to both measurements and cut your front fabric to size (24 1/2″ x 17″ for me).

{it’s my favorite vintage brunschwig & fils fabric again}

the back will be made with two equally sized pieces. start with the pillow measurements again. add 1″ to the height of the pillow (17″ for me). for the width of each piece, divide the pillow width by 2, then add 1″ for seam allowance and 2″ for the envelope overlap (so for me, 23.5 / 2 = 11.75″ + 1 + 2 = 14.75″). cut two pieces of your back fabric to size (14.75″ x 17″).

with the right side down, on both back pieces fold over one edge about 1/4″  along the width (my 17″ side) and iron.

fold and iron once again so you have a neat edge.

sew along the fold.

lay your front fabric right side up. lay your back fabric right side down (the folded edge will be facing up) with the folded edges towards the middle. match up the left side of one of the back pieces to the left side of the front, and the right side of the other back piece to the right side of the front. your two pieces of the back fabric should overlap a couple inches. pin around all the edges.

sew around the entire perimeter with a 1/2″ seam allowance, making sure to back stitch at the beginning and end.

snip across the corners, close to the thread, to help your pillow have crisp corners.

sew a zig zag stitch on the edges (or serge if you have a serger – but if you do i’m guessing you don’t need this tutorial, huh). this is optional, as these edges are inside the pillow, but it helps keep the fabric from fraying and getting all tangled up when washing.

and the sewing is complete! through the opening turn the pillow cover right side out. poke the corners out with something pointy like a dowel rod, orange stick (manicure anyone?) or scissors, like i usually do (be gentle though, don’t jam it in there and rip it).

insert your pillow through the opening.

voila. you’ve made a pillow cover.

once you master this, watch yourself – you may start to have more pillows than you know what to do with since it’s so easy and quick.  happy sewing.

{justine}

linking to remodelaholic