Silhouette Iron-on Glitter Paper Tutorial

Wahoo!  So, I made another Renfrew short-sleeved top, using some blue knit I got from a street vendor in LA.  $1/yard, you guys.  You can’t beat that with a stick.

I made the size 6 Renfrew again, and graded out the waist slightly.  So. Much. Better.  I also made the band at the waist much wider to accommodate my hips, and I just love it.

Also, our dear friend (we call her AdriAunt) was with me at the store the other day, and found this iron-on glitter transfer paper.  She insisted that the girls (and I!) needed some, so she bought it.  It came with 3 sheets: blue, silver, and pink.  She also bought each of the girls t-shirts to iron onto, because she’s thoughtful like that.

I’ve been on a Silhouette kick lately, so we decided to cut this stuff up with the machine and see what happened.  The first few attempts didn’t turn out so well, so I’m going to show you how I did it, if you want to make your own.

First step is to get out the green carrier sheet.  When you pull out the glitter paper there is a plastic backing on the back, and a thin plastic sheet protecting the front.  Take the front sheet off and throw it away.  Trust me here.

Next, place the glitter sheet GLITTER SIDE DOWN on the carrier sheet.  I promise everything will be ok.  

Make sure everything is lined up.

Get your design, and then get your Silhouette loaded up.  Here are the settings I used — note that I double cut the design.  That’s very important.  I also used the pink cap when I cut this out.

Note: if you’re using text, you’ll have to mirror the letters.  It’s upside down, so you don’t want your letters backwards!  Unless you do.  In which case, carry on.

Once it’s cut out, peel the design off the carrier sheet, and take the plastic backing off.

Make sure you know which side is up!  The glittery side is up, gluey side is down.  Ask me how I figured this out.

Then position the iron-on transfer where you want it.  I tried my shirt on, and marked where I wanted the unicorn to go.

Once it’s on there (glue side down! glitter side up!) then cover with a pressing cloth, or in my case a scrap of fabric, and iron for about 30 seconds on the highest setting your fabric will allow.

Turn inside out, and iron again for about 15 seconds.

Check to make sure the edges are all sealed and nice…

and you’re done!  Magical, no?

We did unicorns for me, Charlie, and Phoebe.  Thea got an owl, and Belle got BACON across her shirt.  Amazeballs.

Really easy to do, and I like that I can use the Silhouette to get incredibly precise cuts without having to go at that stuff with scissors.  No thank you.

P.S.  Look how long my hair is now!  I actually think I want to cut it all off.  It’s annoying and gets caught on stuff, and one time a woman on the subway actually grabbed a handful of my hair by accident.  Ugh.  But here’s proof that I have super long hair.

The end.

iPhone Cross Stitch

So, you guys.  I was reading Regretsy (do you ever check out that blog?  some super funny and disturbing shizz) and they linked to a cheap-ass cross stitch iPhone case.  $5.  I couldn’t believe it, and I sure as hell couldn’t pass it up.  I also bought some cheapie iPhone cables and wall plugs, because I’m really nice like that.

Anyway, when the case got here I spent the next THREE DAYS trying to come up with a pattern.  I originally bought the pattern from Subversive Cross Stitch here, and it made me sad: the case I had was only 22 stitches wide, and that pattern was too wide to fit on the case I bought.  I thought about putting the pattern on the case sideways, but that would be weird, and the cute little motif would be hard to rearrange.

Instead, I pored through cross stitch charts and Google searches for the Taylor iPhone Cross Stitch case, hoping that someone would have either a) a chart, or b) a free pattern that I could mooch.

I found a few, but none that I loved, and I was really frustrated that I couldn’t just put my own damn text in.  I searched high and low for a stupid program that would help me come up with a design, and I found the free version of MacStitch which I tried to use, but just wasn’t helpful to me.  I guess if you cross stitch a lot it would be useful, but hey! I don’t! So it wasn’t.  

In the end, I printed out some graph paper and used the alphabet chart that came with the case.  I found a really small floral motif and just free-handed the rest of the border.  The case came with some (ugly) charts, and a needle, and 5 colors of floss (red, yellow, green, blue, and black).

The husband just mentioned to me that I could’ve used something like Excel to create the chart.  UGH.  I bet it would’ve been easy as pie, too.  So there’s a tip for you: try Excel.  You’re basically just coloring cells, right?

Can I say that I love it?  I mean, I want to lick this thing silly.  Also, while the case itself isn’t top-of-the-line, I think it offers reasonable coverage on the phone and it fits well.

I was really careful to make sure that I didn’t pull the stitching too tightly inside and warp the case.  Also, I like that there are holes instead of a woven-type case.  The holes sealed themselves up after the floss passed through it, and I don’t think I would’ve liked the open weave of the other variety.  It is, after all, a case to protect your phone.  I don’t want holes in mah shizz, y’all.

Now.  Because I’m the nicest person in the WHOLE. WIDE. WORLD.  I’m providing the chart for you to download, if you so desire.  But that’s not all.  I’m also including a free chart with the dimensions of the case, and I blacked out the camera-hole and the rounded edges on the bottom.  So you can print it out and use your own design, if you’re not into the awesomeness that I created.

I know.  You’ve probably never had the great joy of knowing someone so selfless, right?  I accept gifts in the form of baked goods and compliments.

xxoo

Download the Hustlin’ chart here

Download the blank chart here

Commence to getting your craft on.

Cloth Diapering 101

Ok you guys. I’ve been cloth diapering children since… 2004? 2005? Long enough to know a thing or two, and I’m here to share the knowledge. The thing about cloth diapering is that there’s an upswing in parents doing it now, but when I started I didn’t know anyone else that did it. I had to Google and search and research and try this out on my kids and learn the hard way. It wasn’t always fun, and sometimes it was really damn expensive.

Click on over to read the full post.

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Hair Towel Tutorial!

A long time ago my mom got me a hair towel for my birthday or something, and I love it so much that I copied the pattern and made myself several more.  They’re really easy and quick to make up, using a hand towel as the starting point.

I found some hand towels on sale for 50 cents each, and bought several.  Because I’m smart.  And because that’s how much I love these things.  I like that they’re smaller than a regular towel so they don’t flop all over the place, and there’s elastic in the back to secure it so it doesn’t fall off.  Also, it saves using 2 towels after my shower. 

My hair is really long, but it’s pretty thin.  If you have long/thick hair you could use a bath towel as a starting point instead, and just make your towel longer. 

I’ve made a sketch of the pattern and you can download it here if you want.  It’s a rough-ish sketch, but includes a 3/8” seam allowance.  It’s a guideline so you at least have the general shape — it’s easily modifiable if your towel is longer/shorter or you use a bath towel instead.

(When you print it out make sure that you print page 1 and check the 1” test box to make sure it measures 1” — you may have to remove the scaling option in your print settings to get the correct size).

Supplies needed:
Hand towel
Sturdy thread in a corresponding color
Heavy duty denim or jeans needle
3.5” of 1/4” wide elastic
1 button, approximately 3/4” or so wide
PDF pattern/guide

Step 1
Print out and assemble the pattern pieces.  There are 3 pages, meant to be placed exactly next to each other (no overlap).  Match the numbers and tape the pages together.

Step 2
Cut out pattern.

Step 3
Fold the hand towel lengthwise, inside out, matching up finished edges.

If you have a decorated hem/edge, you may want to place this at the top so it’s visible when you’re wearing the hair towel.

Step 4
Trace the pattern onto the towel.   Lay the pattern so that the long straight edge matches up with the finished edges of the towel.

You’ll see that the pattern is a little wider than my towel, so I ignored the overlap and traced around it.

Step 5
Cut along the marked lines.

Step 6
Cut 3.5” of 1/4” wide elastic. Fold in half. Open the towel, and pin the elastic between the two pieces, along the straight bottom edge.

Step 7
Stitch cut edges together using a heavy duty needle, making sure to catch elastic at the bottom of the towel between both towel pieces.

After using a straight stitch, go back over the cut edges using a zig zag stitch to prevent the towel from fraying.

Turn right side out. This is what it should look like when you’re finished.

Step 8
Along the top of the towel (the wide, curved edge) mark 1” down on the seam line.  This is where your button will go.

Center the button on the seam line, and stitch the 3/4” button to the towel, using your machine (or by hand).  Make sure it’s really secure on the towel.

And… that’s it!  All done.  Super easy, right?

Place it on your head, twist once or twice, and then bring the end back and loop the elastic around the button to keep it in place.

You can also add rickrack or an applique if you want to be fancy, or you’re making this as a gift.

If you make one please leave a link in the comments so I can check it out.  :)

Also, you can click here to download a printer friendly version of these instructions, if you’re so inclined. Am I thoughtful or what, right?  If anything’s not clear, or you have any questions, shoot me a message and I’m happy to help.