Stencil in a guest or two

With our baby coming soon we are looking forward to a visit from Papa and Me-maw. They will be coming at the beginning of July, so hopefully this little girl will be a month old by then. According to my due date she will be a month and one week old. According to my birthing history she will only be three weeks old. We shall see. Regardless, I'm going to have at least a little time either before or after the birth to put together a little some thing to welcome our guests. When I saw these guest tote bags I knew I'd found my answer. Amanda, founder and creative master mind of ruffledblog.com, made these for out of town wedding guests, but obviously they could be used for any occasion. Maybe it is the Southern in me, but I love a good hostess. Follow her step by step tutorial here and click here to download her pdf stencil "one love".If you are looking for some great DIY wedding projects or any information on being the perfectly vintage bride check her out.

-and a special thanks to all our contributers to this month's stencil project! Share the love.

One for the little guy

It seems as all my friends are having boys right now. Even in my hypno-birthing class I was the only one who was having a girl. So, I couldn't resist making a smaller, more simplified version of the tie T-shirt I made for my son. It's quick. It's simple. And, in my opinion, is so dang cute. Click here for the pdf download.

Two birds with one stencil

This idea comes from Elizabeth Hartman's blog Oh, Fransson! Check out her entire post for more pictures and her commentary on making some great artwork in a flash. After cutting out the image in freezer paper she used both the positive image and negative image to create two pieces of art from one image.

Stencil Your Cause

I happened to spend this afternoon at Tienanmen Square and the Forbidden City with my brother who is visiting. On our exit we happened to cross paths with two female Buddhist monks dressed in their traditional long grey frocks. They were beautiful. Maybe it is their devotion that makes me smile, but I love seeing their freshly shaved scalps in the sun. When I lived in Taiwan, some eight years ago, monks were a common place sight, however, here in China they are a rarity and even surprise. When I saw the stencil below I was both inspired to craft for a cause and left with the same grin as this afternoon on my face. Rich, the designer of the below stencil writes:

"I've created a source for stencil images of marching monks to support the 'Saffron Revolution' in Burma, at the suggestion of a friend who has been living on the Thai-Burma border with student rebels for many years. I made it simple so it's easy to use."

No matter what your cause may be, stencil and stand for something. For more information on Free Burma and other causes go to www.justseeds.org.

Click here to download the monk pdf.

The Modern Tote Phase II, the first initial

Some of you may recall our very first project here on Presserfoot, the modern tote. Just before moving to Beijing I had my kids pick out a canvas print, hoping that in the course of the move and 2 months they would forget all about it and be swayed that the Easter bunny had just their taste.

After some procrastination I finally got up the courage to plug in my sewing machine. I was sure it would blow up. I got everything out and ready when I realized that I still need an adapter because the plug prongs are shaped different. Defeat. So, I jumped on the internet, scrolled back to March of 2009 and began cutting my material.

Next was freezer paper stenciling their first initial on the front of the bag. Since I don’t have access to a printer yet I had to free hand the letters , but thanks to a mechanical pencil and a good eraser I am happy with the results.

The last modification I made tot he bag was to add a crayon pouch to back of the bag. I used vinyl, but any fabric would do.

Step 1 Before sewing on the bottom panel of your bag secure the vinyl panel (4 inches by 13 inches- the width of the tote) so that the bottom 1/2 inch is sewn in underneath the bottom panel. then iron down your bottom panel and top stitch.

Step 2 Working from the wrong side of your material make a grid system for your stitch lines. For the twistable crayons I used each crayon pocket required a stitch length of 3 inches, being spaced one inch apart, allowing for a half inch sew allowance on each side.

Step 3 Sew vertical lines, back stitching at each end.

Step 4 Trim threads on the front and then pull any lose ends through on the back and trim.

Step 5 Load up with crayons.

Step 6 Give the Easter Bunny a little help.

Baby Onsies

This submission came from the Skitzo Leezra Studio. I must say that my favorite place to stencil is on baby onsies, let's face it, babies are adorable and onsies are small so you just can't go wrong. Click here for her two freezer paper designs, but make sure to browse her other onesies with hand stitched designs. I especially liked the monkey one.

A Little More Detail In Your Design

If you've got a little more time and a really sharp exacto knife you might want to try some of the designs from Briar Press. They have some really beautiful images that would be great on handbags, walls, or adult T's. Here are just two of their 713 images that I liked:

Silhouette Designs

Remember stencil's can be made from just about any image, but the simpler the outline the easier it will be. Using silhouette images saves the time and trouble of cutting out and placing the inner workings. If simple is more your style then make sure you book mark this cite, Arthur's Silhouette Clipart. He has tons of stuff to choose from and all of it is free to use! Here are just a few examples:

Blame it on the Communists

Dear All,

If you haven't read about it yet, Google and China are at war. Lots of finger pointing and he said, she said, we found, they did. . . kind of stuff. What that means for those of us living in China is that I haven't been able to open my gmail for days and not all emails are getting through to me. What does that have to do with you? If you have submitted a stencil for this month's project and not heard back from me I'm sorry. Please try again or even send one for the first time. I hope with my VPN to some how get around the firewall, so don't give up on me. We'll be taking submissions all month long (dearpresserfoot@gmail.com).

-Rian

Pterodactyls on Parade

I am so inspired by you, yes, you, all of you. I was wondering how this month would turn out. Would readers participate? And the result is yes (though we would love some more submissions, dearpresserfoot@gmail.com). What I have found is amazing women who love the same things I do and a great willingness to share one's talents. Thank you. If you haven't noticed we don't have any advertising on our blog as of yet, maybe one day. For the past year all giveaways and projects have come directly out of our bank accounts. Some, probably including our husbands, would say that we are a little foolish, but the fact is we love what we are doing and for now that is all I need. This next submission speaks volumes about what I am talking about.

Meghan created this awesome dresser for her son. Check out her blog ...is five to follow the whole process, from inspirations to completion, and click here for her pterodactyl stencil pdf.

May's projects : Inspiration Anthro.

I have never bought anything from Anthropologie, but I must admit that I often shop in their store, try on their clothes, and have many "I could make that" moments while doing so. So for the month of May I am going to put my money where mouth is and actually try to replicate some of their coveted items (for a much lower price of coarse).

Here are the four items we will be replicating during the month of May:



So please check back in May 1st to make some of your own Anthropologie spring must haves.

Adding a Second Layer, Painting Over a Bleached Stencil

As a continuation of yesterday's bleach stencil's by Martha Stewart we now learn how to add the next dimension. If you are going to use a freezer paper stencil make sure to cut to identical ones for this technique.

Bleach Stencils

Today's great stencil idea comes from none other than the craft queen herself, Martha Stewart. Instead of using a fabric paint to display her graphic, she takes away the color of the shirt with a Clorox bleach pen to reveal her design. If you don't have the time or desire to watch all 8 minutes or so just skip all of her chit chat and start watching the actual process by forwarding to 3 minutes and 30 seconds. She uses a purchased stencil, but a freezer paper one works just as well.

If you have one...

I don't, but envy people who do. My older sister, not Kelli, has one. And now you'll know they are not just for making birthday cards and decorating your 3rd grade bulletin board. Watch the following video tutorial to learn how you too can use your Cricut Machine to cut precise freezer paper stencils.

Storm Trooper

The awesome thing about stenciling is that you can make someone a one of a kind, totally them, thoughtful gift. I just loved this idea from Skippedydoodah.

Just google any image

& cut it out of your freezer paper

Then iron the freezer paper,

paint, & you too can make this awesome T!

2 Tone

Why use just one color when you can use two? Follow Bellgirl's fantastic crafting adventure, all the way from Melbourne, Australia. In this tutorial she takes you through the steps of adding a second color to you freezer paper stencil.

by the letter, by the car

I personally love initials. There is something about putting your personal stamp of "this is mine" on something. There are a lot of great fonts out there and an endless supply of where to get them from. A lot are free and some of my favorite ones are not. Of course there is always the grate fall back fonts that you get by just opening a Word document. Here is a new site I found with large pdf letters to print out. Each letter is created in shadow giving you the option of the smaller inside letter, the larger outside letter, or you can cut them both out and go for a two toned look. Duplicolor.com offers all of their stencils for free, including letters, numbers, flames, and footballs. What? Yes, this is stenciling made for men or a least car lovers. So get your husband, boyfriend, or maybe it's you into the mix and go do a little temporary stenciling on your car.

There are two images to every stencil

When I get in "the crafting zone" the rest of the world fades away and I make a huge mess on my floor. Everything non essential is dropped to the floor to be swept up later. However, I am now struck with horror at all the "negative" stencils I supposed to be trash and let fall to the floor. Such horror came when I read about Jean's first freezer paper stenciling adventure on her blog The Artful Parent. As seen in the picture below, Jean used both the outer stencil and the inner "negative" or "reverse" stencil that I usually cut out and drop to the floor. Well, Jean, thank you. Never, never, again.

Totes and more

Most stencil submissions have been for baby clothing, so when I saw this idea my vision was reopened to all the possibilities for freezer paper stenciling. Mother of three, Sarah, is a mega crafter who was even featured on The Martha Stewart show! Follow her blog Sweet Thing Designs for this and other great ideas.

Dragon Flies, Butterflies, & Flowers

I found this great stencil on the paperseed.com. Fellow crafter and stay at home mom Emily from Portland, Oregon made these adorable onesies, t-shirts, and rompers. Click here to download her free stencil design.

Making a Freezer Paper Stencil

For the ease of finding it, I am reposting my tutorial on making a freezer paper stencil. Hope you enjoy! Submit your original stencils to dearpresserfoot.com and they too will be featured on our blog.

Step 1 tape down your freezer paper, shiny side down (if I am making an image I think I will use again I will tape down 3 layers of freezer paper, it's just as easy to cut through, if your exacto knife is sharp)

Step 2 draw your picture or trace an image on the freezer paper

Step 3 cut out your image, it goes faster than you would think, so be careful (as you can see I use a self healing mat, I have a big one for fabric and a small one for paper crafting)

Step 4 iron your stencil, shiny side down to your fabric. you want to use the heat setting appropriate for the fabric you are using. I hold it down for about 10 seconds and then overlap onto the next section. when it is done there will be a tight seal, no bubbles, around the edges. Make sure you do NOT use any steam. My iron automatically adds steam to a cotton setting so I have to empty all the water out of my iron first.

Step 5 insert a layer of newspaper, etc.., in between fabric layers so the paint wont transfer to the other layers of your garment

Step 6 paint. I go back over it at least twice as the cotton soaks some of the paint in

Step 7 let dry according to the fabric paint manufactures instrustions

Step 8 peal off your stencil and enjoy!

I machine wash my painted garments inside-out and hang dry them to avoid cracking and fading.

Spring Top Week

You may remember that I was a finalist in the Spring Top Week last year over at Made by Rae. Well this year Rae asked me to be a judge. I am really excited to see what everyone comes up with and I hope you will all participate. Perhaps some of you will enter some Maternity or not Frocks?

Happy Spring Top Making!

Ballerina Baby Stencil

This design was inspired by my second cousin, I think that is right- it's my cousin's baby. This beautiful baby's mother happens to be a ballerina so I wanted to make a baby gift with her mother in mind. I took a simple white onsie and freezer paper stenciled some small pink ballet slippers on the top and sewed a pink tulle tutu on the bottom. Click here for my ballerina shoes pdf.