Appliques and Freezer Paper Stenciling

I love finding a good deal on a plain shirt. I keep my eyes open at Wal-Mart and Target, especially, for those plain long or short-sleeved tees at the end of the season. I'll grab a bunch of them up for $1-$2 each. Then, let the fun begin!



I made this shirt for my three-year-old's birthday. We had a little bit of a strawberry theme going on. I just used old knit scraps from T-shirts in my scrap pile for the applique. I love using knit because it doesn't fray.



I found these swim trunks for my nephew and knew I had to make him a whale shirt to match. I used scrap fabrics here, too, and found a basic whale template online using google images.



I did a variety pack for a good friend's baby shower gift. I decided to try freezer paper stenciling for the first time. It was not as hard as I thought it would be. I used Dana's tutorial and it was actually pretty fun to do. In case you're wondering, my friend loves George Washington, fall, and has a pet great Dane. I'm all about personalizing these things.

If you're thinking about applique or stenciling, you should go for it! It is easy, takes a relatively short time, and it makes clothing unique and fun. It is also great for covering up stains on shirts you already have - no need to throw those away!

Good luck on prettying up all your T-shirts.

Birthday Organizer!

A friend had told me about the "birthday organizer" idea a while back but I couldn't picture exactly what she was talking about until I went into Archiver's and saw one on display. I love paper crafting so I knew I'd have a ton of fun putting this together. Not to mention, it would keep me from missing so many birthdays. :)

In the front cover, there's a pouch to keep stamps and envelopes on hand at all times. In the past, far too many cards have become "belated" birthday cards because I just couldn't ever get to the post office for postage--belated no more! :)

I also listed all of the holidays this year for quick reference.


My game plan to keep me on top of birthdays...Two Sundays a month I will sit down and write my cards for the birthday's that month and then I can tuck them into the sleeve on the right until it's time to stick them in the mail.




So for anyone who seems to miss birthdays like I do, or for those who can't sleep at night and are looking for something to fill those late night hours, this may be the perfect project for you as well. :)