Puffy Paint Backpack for Back-To-School

It's not too late to personalize those backpacks for back-to-school!

Save the cash you would lay down for a fancy designer backpack for your little princess and simply grab a pack of Puffy Paint to put a kitty face and her name on the front in no time.

Puffy Paint Faux Embroidery Pillowcases

Right now both neon and geometric shapes are totally in! And embroiderers have taken notice! If you want to jump on this train but don't want to spend the time embroidery takes, why not knock out some Puffy Paint faux embroidery? 

Reward Wheel or How I Converted an Embroidery Hoop Into a Chore Chart

I swear one day I will make a craft that is not related to children, really I will. If you look at my kid crafts most times they can easily be transitioned into an adult craft. For instance take the reward wheel I made today for I Love to Create. Mine is intended to reward my daughter for good behavior (saying please, picking up toys, not strangling her brother - even when he is being annoying). However, I got the idea from Martha Stewart and she intended hers to hold Christmas cards. I'm seeing one with heart covered fabric in place of floral and holding Valentine cards for next month.

SUPPLIES

Embroidery Hoop

Crafty Chica Paint red

Scissors

Tulip Fashion Glitter

Scrap Fabric

Aleene's Tacky Glue

Paint brush

Clothes pins

Carnival tickets

Glue gun

Using a paint brush apply Tacky Glue to one side of your clothes pins.

While the glue is still wet shake glitter on top. After you have a few covered with glitter shake the excess off onto a second batch of clothespins. I used 12 clothespins, but feel free to add as many as you like.

Once I convinced Baxter that the embroidery hoop was in fact not a hula hoop I painted it red. Actually, that is a lie. I used a smaller hoop in the end for the actual project but Baxter was such a cute helper I had to include this picture, never you mind the marker all over his feet.

Martha did not have fabric in her card holding hoop which in my opinion was a gross oversight. I had the perfect vintage apron to use. Once the fabric was in the hoop I glued the raw edges around the back.

Using a hot glue gun I attached my clothespins to the hoop when everything was nice and dry.

I used little carnival tickets for my reward wheel because they were cute, cheap and Tallulah is obsessed with amusement parks.

There are about a million variations on chore charts floating around on the internet. I didn't want to make mine so specific to things like making a bed or taking dishes to the sink. Instead I have decided to apply one of the few things I took away with my degree in psychology - the power of intermittent reinforcement. Meaning that when I notice Tallulah being nice to her brother, helps me feed the pets, puts her 7,000 Legos away before dumping out another bin with 6,000 bristle blocks I reward her. My tentative plan is that when each clothespin has 2 tickets we will go out for ice cream, get a gum ball sized prize, have spaghetti for breakfast. Some treat she gets to pick. Tallulah is almost 4 it is plenty early for her to start having a few jobby jobs around the house. Fingers crossed my reward wheel works.

P.S. I kinda have a thing for using embroidery hoops for things other than embroidery. In fact I wrote a whole blog post about it once. There was also that time I did a project flyer for JoAnn's.

A Christmasaurus Centerpiece for the Kids Table

My daughter's favorite Christmas book this year is called Merry Christmas Stinky Face by Lisa McCourt. We read it daily even though we have 20+ books about the holidays currently floating around. In the book the worried little child asks his mother question after question including one about a Christmasaurus.

After a trip to the Blue Genie Christmas Bazaar where I made a couple of purchases from a vendor by the name of Plaid Pigeon an idea was born. Today for I Love to Create I'm going to show you how to make a quick and fun centerpiece for the kids table. Usually kids dream of the day they will be upgraded to sitting with the adults, but with a Christmasaurus as the centerpiece they are never going to want to leave.

SUPPLIES

Plastic dinosaur

Crafty Chica Paint red

Scissors

Scribbles Paint in green

Small bottle brush tree

Aleene's Tacky Glue

Paint brush

Pom Poms

Small Ornaments

Glue gun

When your kids are not looking steal the plastic dinosaur toy that has been floating at the bottom of the toy box untouched for months. Using scissors or a knife cut a small hole in his back. It does not matter if the hole is rough looking the tree will cover it.

Once you have your hole paint your dinosaur. Mine needed two coats of red paint. Allow to dry completely in-between coats. Next go in an embellish with polka dots. I used Scribbles paint because I wanted shiny puffy spots.

When your polka dots are dry shove the base of your tree in the hole and adjust. From here squirt a whole bunch of Aleene's Tacky Glue inside to hold in place.

Decorate the tree with what you have on hand. In my case it was some pom poms I stole from my kid's craft pile and some tiny rogue ornaments that never made it on one of my 38 Christmas trees. I used a hot glue gun to attach. All that is left to do is display your new Christmasaurus.

A Freezer Paper Stencil Party

The other day we celebrated my niece's birthday.  She's a crafty one, so I thought it would be fun to let all the kids make their own t-shirts.  It was a little messy, but it was a real hit with the kids.  I think freezer paper stenciling would be an awesome activity for birthday parties.  Just cut some stencils ahead of time and purchase shirts for $3.  It beats the little party favors that no one really wants at the end :)

I cut several kinds of stencils and let the kids pick.  After searching around the internet for the best images of all the things they are into, I discovered something awesome.  When looking for images, search for pumpkin stencils.  Why?  Because there are a lot to choose from AND they are all one-piece stencils.  (That means there are no little pieces to fit into it like the circle in the middle of the letter "o" and all the little pieces you end up having to add on regular stencils.)

For example, here are some sweet ones I found that way.  See?  All one piece once you cut out the black.  Love it.

If you've never done freezer paper stenciling, I have a video tutorial for it HERE that will answer all your questions.  (Shortened version:  Print out your image, use a craft knife to cut it out, iron it onto the shirt shiny side down, paint it, let it dry, remove the stencil, and heat set your paint by placing a thin cloth over it and ironing it for 30-40 seconds.)

If you do a party, you might want to iron the stencils down for the kids and then let them paint the shirt.  To make things easier, I recommend using dark paint on light-colored shirts.  If you use something light like yellow on navy blue, you'll need lots of coats.  That can get tricky with kids.  We used the Tulip soft fabric paint for all of the shirts.

After all the painting and fun, here are some of the shirts we made.  My brother-in-law wanted this one.  Hee, hee.

We made a lot of Avenger ones like this one I made my son last week.

We made a Star Wars-inspired one too.

We also did a robot.

And everyone was pretty excited about their new shirt at the end.

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Stencil 201 - An Interview with Ed Roth and Handmade Stenciled Stocking Stuffers

I was giddy with excitement when Ed Roth's latest book Stencil 201 showed up in my PO Box. Stencil 101 was a huge hit at my baby shower. I made matching skirts for me and Tallulah using a stencil from Stencil 101 Decor. I have done glass etching with some of his stencils. I even busted out a blouse or two. What was I going to make with all the awesome-o patterns in Stencil 201? Since I am on a handmade stocking stuffer kick hip bibs seemed perfect!

With each book Ed Roth and his stencils get better and better. The stencils in 201 are plastic so you can wash and reuse them over and over again. The patterns do not disappointment with sugar skulls, bears and patterns. I used mine on bibs with some Tulip Fabric Paint, but think of all the holiday possibilities. You could stencil stockings, tree skirts or even make felt ornaments.

I was lucky enough to get a chance to chat with the stud of stencils himself Mr. Ed Roth.


What is the most creative way you have seen someone use your stencils?

Well, if you asked me that last year it would have been when Bust Magazine featured a pic of their toilet tank painted with my baby deer stencil but now, in Stencil 201, my barber buddy Eliath Pineda uses one of my stencils to cut a pattern into the side of a clients hair. I'd say that get's the most original award!

I adore all your books, each one gets better and better and the first one was so dang good I didn’t think it was possible. How did you get hooked up with Chronicle books?

It's funny. years ago I set out to make a stencil book. Publishers scratched their heads when they saw my prototype book I made of 50 stencils. Having a background in web design, i built my own site and sold the stencils individually instead. Years later, I sat down at a dinner party with a friend of a friend who works at Chronicle. When asked what i do, i told him and he said "oh we should make a book!". And there it went!


When you first got started did you ever envision your stencils being used the way they are now to create fabric, wallpaper, jewelry and more?

Not really. I just loved painting t-shirts and walls and I sort of designed in that theme. I think I am lucky to always learn from my customers and people like you in the field that take the stencil use further. Look at guest artists Jenny Hart and Vickie Howell with embroidery and felting, these techniques combined with a nice stencil image create a new product I would not think to initially make. Love those gals!

I’m curious, I’ve navigated my way through the craft world for years. From vending at small punk rock craft shows to make and take booths for corporations at CHA. I know you are on the same trajectory. How has the craft industry been for a man? Do you think you get treated any different since it is such a female dominated industry?

I didn't notice. I don't think about that, I just do my thing. I love all the ladies I meet, the business gals, the crafting dames, everyone's been cool. I've worked with you, Jenny Hart, Vickie Howell, Erica Domesek, Kathy Cano-Murillo, and what's her name, oh yea Martha Stewart(bow). I think I've been welcomed!


Your new book Stencil 201 has a few “guest stars” how did you pick your contributors and did you let them choose how they would use your stencils or did you come to them with a pitch?

The choice of artists was so random. Christian Sumner, A Baker in Brooklyn, is a friend of mine and he is driven and just so talented I had to feature him in the cookie stencil how-to. Susan Rivas, I met when she offered me a slice of pizza and we got to chatting. She does amazing "collagistrations" so I had to see what she would do with the stencils. I was a guest in Vickie's book Craft Corps and we chatted creative stuff since so I wanted her in my book. Jenny is the queen of embroidery in my book and a Chronicle author so that was a no-brainer. Erica Domesek asked me some time ago to provide stencils for her Sharpie booth at NY Fashion Week and we became buddies, she's unstoppable. I featured Swoon since I adore her street art and met her at her opening, she is involved in so many good causes I had to get her in there. Elaine Elwick Barr is a craft genius and great friend of mine who has been one of those creatives who has taken my stencils to another level, shrinky dink jewelry, come on! Just love all these people!

What is the best selling stencil on your website? Are deers all the rage or do boom boxes dominate?

Hmm, ya know, birds rule. Nature in general has done well. But of course my graffiti inspired imagery does well too. But birds. yea. birds.


How do you trend forecast what stencils to make? Like I am just discovering foxes have been the new owl for awhile.

I guess like you, something out there resonates. I look at everything around me in NY, I live in a trendy area. Sometimes these trends are on high fashion clothing, sometimes they are used in decor. I think I watch trends and feel waves passing and think what's next after all this? It's a feeling. But also, in business, I have to see what does well and sometimes play off of that. Skulls> Birds> Octopus> Mustaches > who knows haha

I love the fun chocolate collaboration set you did with Alison Nelson. Are there any more little hidden Ed Roth gems out there we should be looking for? Any big collaborations coming down the turnpike?

I have decided it is my year to do many collaborations. I am very interested in co-branded products, developing some cool licensing deals where you see my artwork on home products. I have shown people for years how to stencil on a bunch of surfaces, now i will offer those things made as well. Also, I am also hoping to offer more Stencil1 art product with the right manufacturer so my users have more tools to create more. I am not so interested in sitting in a licensing booth, I am trying to break that formula. I am a small business and things like that can be costly so I try to take unique approaches to business. What i am saying is I am cheap, haha. Better word, resourceful.


Geez your stencils are popping up all over the places, movies, TV, magazines even Martha is on team Stencil1. What has been your biggest piece of press to date? The one that effected sales and clicks on the website the most? Like was there a huge demand for the twig stencil after the Country Living feature?

Aw thanks, Well, Being on Martha was a good boost. BEing in ReadyMade years ago was a big boost too(RIP Readymade!). It's so funny, whatever stencil gets featured in press,well, that's the one stencil that you will see ordered! I offer over 100 designs on stencil1.com but people only bought the skull stencil after the queen of craft MArtha made a shirt with my skull stencil!

What does the future have planned for Mr. Ed Roth?

Oh boy. Lots to do here. Licensing my art, developing new art supplies and home goods, I am very interested in doing more video and have written a few tv treatments, more installation work for hotel rooms, I want to have an art exhibit, and I really enjoyed the book tour for Stencil 201 and that inspired me to do more events where people simply get to make art!


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Handmade Halloween Coloring Books

Did you know you can make your own notepad, coloring book, to-do list with just some Tacky Glue and paper? I didn't either until recently. My mom showed me a cute project in Country Living where they had made a weenie dog notepad doing not much more than cramming several pieces of paper together under a stack of heavy books and painting one edge with Tacky Glue. Always on the look out for purse size coloring books to have with me at all times in case of long restaurant wait emergencies I had an idea.


The first thing I did was scavenge online for cute Halloween coloring pages and my favorite embroidery patterns. These designs are by Vickie Howell. They look as cute colored as they do embroidered.


I printed the images four to a page and cut the paper into 4 squares using a paper cutter. I stacked my paper together into a neat pile and stuck it under several books.


Once my coloring book was in place using a small paintbrush and tacky glue I applied several coats to what will be the spine. I allowed the glue to dry in-between coats.


Presto magic a coloring book is born! Next I think I will make notepads for all the grandparents with my kids artwork water-marked in the background. Perfect handmade Christmas gifts.

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Yule Tide Bubbles

Besides the word train, Tallulah probably says bubble more than any other word.  The girl loves her some bubbles what can I say.  We have recently run out and I keep assuring her that Santa will be bringing her more.  That being the case I decided to make Tallulah some special customized Christmas bubbles as a little stocking stuffer.


SUPPLIES
Paper
Dishwashing Liquid
Glycerin
Pipe Cleaners, Bubble Wands, Fly Swatters - you name it.
Empty Jar
Tacky Glue
Trim or Ribbon
Scissors
Tape
Water
Crafty Chica Paint
Collage Pauge
Straw

MAKE BUBBLES
There are oodles of recipes online for making bubbles.  I went with this recipe....
1/4 cup liquid dishwashing detergent
3/4 cup cold water
5 drops of glycerin
Most of the recipes I read swore by using Joy dishwashing liquid, but 7th Generation is what I had on hand.  A few suggested adding food coloring for colorful bubbles, but to me that translated into stained clothing so I opted for plain.

CUSTOMIZED CONTAINER
I decided to make a customized label for my bubble jar.  In a shallow dish I added dishwashing liquid, water and Crafty Chica paint.  Using a straw I blew bubbles and gently placed my paper in the paint bubbles.  I let the paper dry completely and then came back and added a second color.

Once the paint had dried I added a little text with my Bic Mark-It Permanent Markers.  I just left it simple with Bubbles - Bottled by Hand in the North Pole.  I then cut my label out and adhered it to my empty jar using Collage Pauge sparkle.

I didn't want to leave the lid out so I covered it in some left over bubble paper and added a decorative trim band with Aleene's Tacky Glue.

The bubbles are complete and all that is left to do is wait for Santa to deliver them!  If only making trains were this simple I would be set.

You could always make a customized wrapper for a ready made batch of bubbles.  Just soak the container of Magic Bubbles or what have you in warm water until label comes off then follow the instructions for adding a customized wrapper.

WRAP IT UP

Be sure to make extra bubble paper because it makes great wrapping paper too!

Check out more of my I Love to Create Projects.

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