Freezer Paper Stencil Shirt

Last weekend, my sweet godson Kevin was christened.  I wanted to make him something special, so I decided to stencil some custom t-shirts for him.  I wanted one shirt to simply have a "k," and the other shirt to say "no. 7" since Kevin is the 7th grandchild in my family.

I found the fonts I liked, and printed out the "k" and the "no. 7" to the scale I wanted.  Then I got out the freezer paper.

Freezer paper is great for stenciling, because it irons neatly on to the shirt, and peels off easily.  More on that in a minute.

To do this, first make sure the shiny side of your freezer paper is face-down.  Slide your design under the freezer paper, and trace with a pencil.

Then, using an X-acto knife, cut out your stencil.

Remember, the back of the freezer paper is shiny.  That's the part you're going to iron to your shirt.  Warm up the iron, and put your stencil where you want it on the shirt.

Iron it down for a few seconds.  As it heats up, it becomes like a big sticker and sticks to the shirt.  Use your finger to press the edges down...that will ensure that paint doesn't get under there.  Then, put a thin towel or heavy piece of paper inside the shirt, so the paint doesn't seep through.

Next is the fun part.  Get your fabric paint, and get to work!

I only had to do one coat with this green paint...it saturated really nicely.  I did white paint on a red shirt for the "no. 7" shirt, and I needed 7 coats of the white!

When I was finished painting, I let it dry for a few minutes (not completely), and peeled the freezer paper off.

I didn't get a shot of the finished "no. 7", but here was the halfway point:

Didn't they turn out cute?  I hope Kevin loves them.  Because I love Kevin!  :)

Halloween Mantle and New Baby

What a cah-raaazy week it's been.

The BEST news is that my sister, Audrey, gave birth to a beautiful, healthy, super-cute baby boy named Kevin.

Oh my goodness, you have no idea how smitten I am with this little boy.  Perhaps it is because I have the honor of being his Godmother (so excited), but I seriously could just eat him up.  Audrey and her husband Andrew are two of the kindest, most generous, most thoughtful people I know, and this little guy is just so lucky. Could you not stare at that photo for hours, just admiring his perfect little mouth?  LOVE.

Also, I am in the middle of completing my thesis for a Masters in Reading, and a huge part of it was due this past week.  I haven't gone to bed before midnight in days.  Thus, the blog was a little neglected this week.  I'm hoping that since a large chuck of the thesis is now out of the way, I'll have more time to write.  It won't be finished for-real until December.    Can. Not. Wait.

So, the real reason for this post is to show you my Halloween mantle.  It's nothing too fancy, because as you are now aware -- I've had limited time lately!  It includes some ideas I've seen floating around the web.  ("Floating" around the web.  Ha ha!  It's funny because I'm talking about ghosts! Get it?)

Okay, so the stuff on the topiaries is cheesecloth.  It was supposed to look creepy and spider-webby, but I think it just looks like cheesecloth draped over topiaries.  Maybe because it's wrinkled? Maybe it's because you can see seams in it? Oh well, next year maybe I'll try those fake cottonball cobwebs.

I painted the ghosts on the mirror with white Tempura paint.  It just washes off.  Easy!  (Ignore the spots on my mirror, please!

This pumpkin planter is my favorite.  It was an antique flea market find.

I used one of my Halloween Cupcake Toppers on the inside of the apothecary jar, and filled it with candy corn.  I love using candy corn, because I think it looks so cute, and there is absolutely NO temptation to eat them.  Yuck.  You can download the cupcake toppers here.

And there you have it!  My *kind-of-lame-because-I'm-so-busy* Halloween mantle!