Scarf Tutorial - To Infinity and BEYOND!

I love scarves!  

They're so much fun to dress up an outfit with (plus they keep me nice and warm in these cool months).  The one frustration I have with scarves is how to wear them!  The options are endless (which is great) but it seems like everyone of them ends up shifting halfway through my day.

This is a scarf I picked up at a Dollar Store last season.  I love the gray color but its silky texture always seems to do the 'slide' all over...  
I love my Infinity Scarfs and thought it couldn't be 'too' tough to whip this baby into a bit ol' loop - right!?  RIGHT.

First I lined the scarf up end to end over the back of a chair (so the strings would hang down and not get caught in my pinning). 

I pinned the scarf to avoid slipping during it's adventure into my sewing machine.

One long stitch across the bottom was all it took!! 

(Now if you don't sew you could just as easily tie the strings of each side together knotting as close to the hem as possible).

I cut off the 'strings' and melted them with a lighter to avoid fraying.

Then TA DA in the words of Buzz Light-year 'To Infinity and Beyond'!!!

DIY Mock Screen Print! A Tutorial!

Hey! Julie here! 

I have been a busy woman lately & I'm about to show you ONE reason why!

See all of those shirts? Well I created them on my own! 

All but one of these started as a blank, plain shirts or tanks & I jazzed them up by using some very simple items: 

FREEZER PAPER.

EXACTO KNIFE

FABRIC PAINT

SPONGE BRUSH

HAIR DRYER

(OH, AND THE SHIRT OF FABRIC YOU WANT YOUR DESIGN ON)

Now, I know many of you may have already done this or heard of this...and my intentions were to send to you to someone else's blog who has already provided a tutorial, but I recently presented this demonstration to a MUMS group at an area church (hence the variety of shirts I've made lately), so I really want to provide instructions here, from me. If my instructions aren't good, I promise there is another blogger out there somewhere who probably will be helpful. 

HERE WE GO!

DIY MOCK SCREEN PRINT TECHNIQUE

Step 1. Print (or sketch) your design on the matte side of your freezer paper. (I cut my freezer paper out in the size of an 8.5x11" piece paper & fed it through my printer with no problems at all.)

Step 2. Carefully cut out your design with an exacto knife.

Step 3. IRON the freezer paper, shinny side down, into position onto your shirt/fabric.

Step 4. Place a piece of cardboard inside the shirt, or under the fabric you're working with.

Step 5. Get your fabric paint & sponge (or sponge brush) ready.

Step 6. Carefully BLOT the paint onto your fabric. Be careful not to shift the stencil or paint may creep into places you don't want it to.

Step 7. Once you've got the 1st layer on, use a hair dryer to speed up the drying.

Step 8. Repeat step 6 & 7 until you've got the look you want.

*Light colored paint on dark fabric usually takes several layers.

The tank above took about 6-7 layers of fabric paint.

*Dark colored paint on light colored fabric will take much fewer layers.

In my experience they've taken 2-3 layers of paint.

Step 9. Once you've finished painting, peel off the freezer paper!

Step 10. SHOW IT OFF!!!

 

AND THEN, MAKE MORE!!

The Navy tank was made for my lovely 12 year old niece & I really wanted one also after I saw how COOL it turned out. (Not sure how cool she'll think it is though that I'm going to be her twinkie! hahaha)

The turquoise tank below was a favorite of mine this past summer. Somehow I got a small stain on the front of it (from spaghetti sauce or something like that). Instead of throwing it out, I decided to paint a design on it!!! I LOVE that I'll get to wear it again as something else! WHAT A GREAT WAY TO UP-CYCLE CLOTHING!

And here's another example that you gotta see!
This one was MY FIRST mock screen print!

My friend Meg really wanted a shirt that said "Suck it up, Buttercup!"

So instead of paying $30 for one, I made one for her!

I created it in Microsoft Word, I think...or else on PicMonkey b/c they have such awesome fonts...And then I printed it out just as I did the other designs.

The coolest part is that it was given to her in a basket full of sunshine that our church put together for her.
Remember the BAG full of sunshine, I got? Can you imagine getting a BASKET full of sunshine?! 

Meg is loved...very loved!

I hope this tutorial was easy to understand & I hope that you are inspired to make one...or many!

Imagine the possibilities for gifts, birthdays, team t-shirts, anything personalized! You can even embellish them like I did with the pumpkin/bow, or use glitter fabric paint! I'm tellin' ya, there are so many ideas!

This technique just might change the way you give gifts...

The 'faux necklace' design came from THIS tutorial on Twinkle Toes's blog...check it out & meet Tina too!

Love, Julie-belle

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Have a great week!!!

Michelle & Julie

Furniture Stencil with Lace

Since I've had so much success (& fun) using lace curtains for marker boards & trivets... I thought I'd give it a try on furniture!  (Stay tuned for more makeovers with this technique).  

I found this little dresser on a Garage Sale Site (I wish a had a before, it was yellowish green and just crying to be pretty again).  It had already been painted so that saved me time priming. 

Step 1 - Clean with a de-greaser (to get off all the crud that accumulates).

Step 2 - I painted the drawer faces a metallic silver (after I removed the existing hardware).

Step 3 - I painted the body of the dresser with Rustoleum Black Gloss Enamel.

Step 4 - I laid all 5 drawers faces up side by side (touching so the paint would not cover the edges.

Step 5 - I used a valance I picked up at a Garage Sale for $2 and laid it over the drawer faces.  I secured it with painters tape, pulling tight to avoid bleeding.

Step 6 - I used Rustoleum Black Gloss Enamel and lightly sprayed 2 coats (back to back) over the entire surface.

Step 7 - I carefully removed the tape trying not to shift the lace.  Then I pulled back the lace carefully.  

Step 8 - After the drawers dried completely I put the dresser back together.

Step 9 - This had to be the toughest part of this makeover... Hardware.  It came with hardware but I wanted something glass and fun... I ended up buying glass hardware and hating the look.. Finally I took the original hardware spray painted it black to match the dresser and.... TA DA!!

I just love how it turned out!!  (Now if I use a valance again - see the lighter 'strip' that's where a rod would have went... I would have measured and made sure it didn't end up crooked..).

I love how it looks with my Thrift Store Mirror & Sconces (now necklace hangers).

Stay tuned for this Lace Makeover next...

Thanks for dropping by!
Feel free to visit us on Facebook too!

Love,
Michelle & Julie

My Favorite Cookies: Chocolate Chip Salted Caramel Cookies

I love fall!!  I love all the colors and smells and pulling out all my warm sweaters!  I also LOVE these cookies (I'm not a crazy sweets lover but these cookies are too hard to stay away from!).

This is the basic cookie recipe I use for almost every cookie I make:

Basic Cookies

3/4 c salted butter (softened).

3/4 c brown sugar

1/4 c white sugar

mix these together

1 egg

2 tsp vanilla

add these to butter mixture

2 tsp cornstarch

1 tsp baking soda

2 c flour

1/2 t salt (I use sea salt ).

Mix into wet mixture

For Salted Caramel Cookies I mix in:

1 c Milk Chocolate Chunks

1 c Kraft Caramel bits

1/2 c pretzels crushed

Chill for 2 hours (okay you don't have to but it makes for a fluffier cookie letting the butter set back up after the melting).  Plus nothing beats this cookie dough!

Bake 350 for 8-10 min (they may not look done but take them out anyways and let them sit on the cookie sheet until they are cooled).  

 Enjoy!  We like to freeze them in baggies and pull out for lunches during the week too!

What is YOUR favorite Fall Food?

Christmas Thumbprint Trivet

I'm sure you've seen all the great posts all over Pinterest making your own coaster from a tile?  I've been there, done that - love them!  

I saw a cute pin awhile back making Thumbprint Christmas Cards and pinned it all the while keeping in the back of my mind what a great coaster it would make!  When I stopped at Mendards to pick up the coasters I noticed some 6" tiles... Instantly I thought TRIVET!!  (If you're wondering 'what is a tivet'... it is an object placed between a serving dish or bowl and a dining table to protect the table from heat or damage).

So when we were invited to speak at a 'MUMS' (Mother Uplifting Mothers) group locally I instantly thought this would be a super fun craft to show Moms!!

Supplies:

Ceramic Tiles (Coaster .11 or Trivet size .39 at Menards)

Cork or Felt Furniture Protectors (Dollar Tree - 12 for $1)

Permanent Markers (Dollar Tree $1 - package of 8)

Acrylic Paint (.57 a container Wal-mart)

Nail Polish Remover (just in case you make a mistake)

Ready?  

-Dip your thumb into a small bit of paint.  I like to blot once or twice to get the excess off before I put it on the tile.  Press thumb onto tile (spacing your 'lights' out).  

-Once paint has dried - use your permanent marker to draw the string and caps for lights.

-Add a message

Preheat over to 350 - bake tile on baking sheet for 30 minutes to set.  Once cooled add your furniture protectors, one on each corner.

This would make a great affordable Christmas gift and a fun craft to do with your kids!

Make sure you check our others posts for a LACE Trivet and coming next week a couple more ideas for Trivets!!

DIY Lace Ceramic Tile Trivet

I'm sure you've seen all the great posts all over Pinterest making your own coaster from a tile?  I've been there, done that - love them!  

 When I stopped at Mendards to pick up the coasters I noticed some 6" tiles... Instantly I thought TRIVET!!  (If you're wondering 'what is a tivet'... it is an object placed between a serving dish or bowl and a dining table to protect the table from heat or damage).

So when we were invited to speak at a 'MUMS' (Mother Uplifting Mothers) group locally I instantly thought this would be a super fun craft to show Moms!!

Supplies:

Ceramic Tiles (Coaster .11 or Trivet size .39 at Menards)

Cork or Felt Furniture Protectors (Dollar Tree - 12 for $1)

Lace - old curtains and tablecloths are great options

Spray Paint (I like the Rustoleum Enamel)

Ready?  

You can follow the same instructions HERE from our DIY Dry Erase Board only use the tile instead of the glass.

Once cooled add your furniture protectors or cork to the bottom.

This would make a great affordable Christmas gift and a fun craft to do with your kids!

Make sure you check our others posts for a Christmas Thumbprint Trivet and a Thanksgiving Turkey Trivet!

Painted Tire Planter

I've been wanting to do this for awhile now, paint tires for a planter!  We have had this ugly rock garden right outside our Sun room since we moved in.  Honestly I let it go because the thought of digging up all those stones sounded like a lot of work (and it was).

Long story short.  I had a TON of before and after pics on my phone from this Summers projects and when I decided to re-format my phone I lost ALL my pics.  It was a sad day.  So no before pics (it wasn't pretty anyways).

Now I thought it would be EASY to acquire used tires?  No.  Until my Super Awesome Father-in-Law aka 'Big Daddy' heard I was looking for some. He gave me 3 as soon as he heard ;-)

Supplies

Tires

Spray Paint

Dirt

Plants

Rocks/Bricks/Stones

I laid out each tire and spray painted (I did not prime and have not had any peeling or chipping).  When they dried I played with placement and stacking until I was happy.  I filled the tires with bricks/stones that had been in my flower bed (making sure I put bricks in the actual tire to weigh them down).  Then I added the top 1/3 with soil.  Added plants.

Now I did learn WHY there was a rock garden left from the previous owners (down spout from the roof floods the entire garden, washing away all of my mulch...).  Now I'm wishing I wouldn't have filled the tires with the landscape rock ;-(  

Anyone else have any great uses for turning something old into something new?

Rolo Pretzel Bites Recipe

Rolo Pretzel Bites

(with Toasted Cinnamon Almonds)

Oh how I love friends who make yummy treats!! My friend Morgan recently made these tasty beauties and brought them along to a baby shower. So I snapped a few pics & decided I needed to share this recipe with our readers! This is one that will be perfect for the holidays! 

...and it's too simple to be true!!

INGREDIENTS

Rolos

Pretzels

A topping (such as almonds, cashews, m&m's, you decide)

DIRECTIONS

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
• Place mini pretzels on a large baking sheet. 
• Unwrap the Rolos & top each pretzel with one Rolo candy. 
• Place in the oven for 4-5 minutes, until Rolo candies start to melt - but don't melt them all the way.
• Remove from oven & lightly press your topper on top of each Rolo (in this case she used toasted cinnamon almonds). 
• Simply leave on your counter to allow the chocolate to set. (To speed up the process, chill in the freezer for 20 minutes.)

Thanks, Morgan - for sharing your LOVE with us in such a TASTY way!

Love,

Julie

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Dollar Store Craft - Welcome Sign Pumpkins!!

This post combines two of my favorite things - Fall & Dollar Store!!  

Supplies

Dollar Tree Pumpkins (as many as you need - $1 each).

Re-bar or some kind of stake long enough for your pumpkins

Permanent Marker (Dollar Tree $1)
Peering Knife (Dollar Tree)
Optional: Pot to keep pumpkins off the ground & fishing line to tie the bar back.

I cut a 3/4" inch hole in both the top and bottom.  Since these are hollow & foam it was messy but simple.

I outlined each letter with a pencil until I got it exactly like I wanted (drawing on an uneven surface can be tricky to get the letter to look even on both sides).  We did WELCOME, possibilities are endless - your last name, house number or a spooky Halloween theme!

I put down a pot first since my flower bed isn't level (I'm hoping it will keep my pumpkins clean too).

Melody had a GREAT time helping with the craft!!  She couldn't wait to put the pumpkins on the stake and it was fun to have her spell 'welcome' backwards ;-)

My finished product!
I added the Mums later - hopefully they'll brighten back up and make for a fun Fall Decoration!  

For another fun Fall Dollar Store craft involving pumpkins - check our Friend Morena's Blog Post!  She also has LOADS of other GREAT Dollar Store Crafts and great Halloween Crafts you and your kids will love!!