Nerd Alert: A Harry Potter T-ShirtMy sister Bekah has made brief appearances on my blog before, and like it or not, you're going to get to know her a little better today. #1 fact to know about Bekah? HUGE Harry Potter nerd. Seriously. Huge. I love me some Harry Potter, too, but this girl puts me and my fandom to shame. If I'm not mistaken, she's re-read all the books in the series every summer since they first came out. It wouldn't surprise me much if they are the only books she has ever read. More proof of her tremendous nerdiness: 1) The other day, she met a guy who said he worked in smelting. Like any hardcore HP fan, she immediately said, "Poke him with your Smelting stick, Dudley!", an obscure reference to the 1st book. When he was confused, she began acting out, in painstaking detail, the entire scene, until she realized she looked like a crazy person and sidled awkwardly out of the room. 2) When she came to my house the other day and saw a piece of dowel left over from a project I'll be showing you soon, she picked it up and said, "Is this your wand?", then pointed it at me and shouted, "Expelliarmus!" Thank goodness she went with a harmless spell. 3) I once called her at 11 at night because it was driving me crazy that I couldn't remember the name of the tub-thingy that Dumbledore used to store memories in (think fast! Do you know what it's called?). Over the phone, I said, "Bekah, what's that thing in Dumbledore's office--" and she said, "The pensieve." Just like that. She knew what it was. I hadn't described it yet. Unbelievable! So I shouldn't have been surprised when she called me yesterday morning in a tizzy because she didn't have a Harry Potter t-shirt to wear on this most important of days. We brainstormed a bit . . . my favorite idea was a t-shirt that would say, "I solemnly swear that I'm up to no good," on the front, and "Mischief managed" on the back (a tribute to the Marauder's Map, of course), and she wanted to recreate this Harry Potter pillow on a t-shirt (too much work). So we settled for something a little more subtle out of necessity (the necessity being we only had about an hour, and I didn't have many supplies on hand): Just a simple tribute to the boy who lived, made with a cardstock stencil (not the smartest idea, for the record, but I couldn't find my freezer paper) and acrylic paint mixed with fabric medium. I was going to protect the poor girl from internet scorn by cropping her wand out of the picture, as shown above, but what the hey, I know she's not ashamed of this: That's my girl. What a dork. (If I decide I enjoy feedback from strangers more than I enjoy keeping random blog readers from laughing at my family [which I do], I'll link this up to some of these bad boys.)My sister Bekah has made brief appearances on my blog before, and like it or not, you're going to get to know her a little better today. #1 fact to know about Bekah? HUGE Harry Potter nerd. Seriously. Huge. I love me some Harry Potter, too, but this girl puts me and my fandom to shame. If I'm not mistaken, she's re-read all the books in the series every summer since they first came out. It wouldn't surprise me much if they are the only books she has ever read. More proof of her tremendous nerdiness: 1) The other day, she met a guy who said he worked in smelting. Like any hardcore HP fan, she immediately said, "Poke him with your Smelting stick, Dudley!", an obscure reference to the 1st book. When he was confused, she began acting out, in painstaking detail, the entire scene, until she realized she looked like a crazy person and sidled awkwardly out of the room. 2) When she came to my house the other day and saw a piece of dowel left over from a project I'll be showing you soon, she picked it up and said, "Is this your wand?", then pointed it at me and shouted, "Expelliarmus!" Thank goodness she went with a harmless spell. 3) I once called her at 11 at night because it was driving me crazy that I couldn't remember the name of the tub-thingy that Dumbledore used to store memories in (think fast! Do you know what it's called?). Over the phone, I said, "Bekah, what's that thing in Dumbledore's office--" and she said, "The pensieve." Just like that. She knew what it was. I hadn't described it yet. Unbelievable! So I shouldn't have been surprised when she called me yesterday morning in a tizzy because she didn't have a Harry Potter t-shirt to wear on this most important of days. We brainstormed a bit . . . my favorite idea was a t-shirt that would say, "I solemnly swear that I'm up to no good," on the front, and "Mischief managed" on the back (a tribute to the Marauder's Map, of course), and she wanted to recreate this Harry Potter pillow on a t-shirt (too much work). So we settled for something a little more subtle out of necessity (the necessity being we only had about an hour, and I didn't have many supplies on hand): Just a simple tribute to the boy who lived, made with a cardstock stencil (not the smartest idea, for the record, but I couldn't find my freezer paper) and acrylic paint mixed with fabric medium. I was going to protect the poor girl from internet scorn by cropping her wand out of the picture, as shown above, but what the hey, I know she's not ashamed of this: That's my girl. What a dork. (If I decide I enjoy feedback from strangers more than I enjoy keeping random blog readers from laughing at my family [which I do], I'll link this up to some of these bad boys.)My sister Bekah has made brief appearances on my blog before, and like it or not, you're going to get to know her a little better today. #1 fact to know about Bekah? HUGE Harry Potter nerd. Seriously. Huge. I love me some Harry Potter, too, but this girl puts me and my fandom to shame. If I'm not mistaken, she's re-read all the books in the series every summer since they first came out. It wouldn't surprise me much if they are the only books she has ever read. More proof of her tremendous nerdiness: 1) The other day, she met a guy who said he worked in smelting. Like any hardcore HP fan, she immediately said, "Poke him with your Smelting stick, Dudley!", an obscure reference to the 1st book. When he was confused, she began acting out, in painstaking detail, the entire scene, until she realized she looked like a crazy person and sidled awkwardly out of the room. 2) When she came to my house the other day and saw a piece of dowel left over from a project I'll be showing you soon, she picked it up and said, "Is this your wand?", then pointed it at me and shouted, "Expelliarmus!" Thank goodness she went with a harmless spell. 3) I once called her at 11 at night because it was driving me crazy that I couldn't remember the name of the tub-thingy that Dumbledore used to store memories in (think fast! Do you know what it's called?). Over the phone, I said, "Bekah, what's that thing in Dumbledore's office--" and she said, "The pensieve." Just like that. She knew what it was. I hadn't described it yet. Unbelievable! So I shouldn't have been surprised when she called me yesterday morning in a tizzy because she didn't have a Harry Potter t-shirt to wear on this most important of days. We brainstormed a bit . . . my favorite idea was a t-shirt that would say, "I solemnly swear that I'm up to no good," on the front, and "Mischief managed" on the back (a tribute to the Marauder's Map, of course), and she wanted to recreate this Harry Potter pillow on a t-shirt (too much work). So we settled for something a little more subtle out of necessity (the necessity being we only had about an hour, and I didn't have many supplies on hand): Just a simple tribute to the boy who lived, made with a cardstock stencil (not the smartest idea, for the record, but I couldn't find my freezer paper) and acrylic paint mixed with fabric medium. I was going to protect the poor girl from internet scorn by cropping her wand out of the picture, as shown above, but what the hey, I know she's not ashamed of this: That's my girl. What a dork. (If I decide I enjoy feedback from strangers more than I enjoy keeping random blog readers from laughing at my family [which I do], I'll link this up to some of these bad boys.)

My sister Bekah has made brief appearances on my blog before, and like it or not, you're going to get to know her a little better today. #1 fact to know about Bekah? HUGE Harry Potter nerd. Seriously. Huge. I love me some Harry Potter, too, but this girl puts me and my fandom to shame. If I'm not mistaken, she's re-read all the books in the series every summer since they first came out. It wouldn't surprise me much if they are the only books she has ever read.

More proof of her tremendous nerdiness:

1) The other day, she met a guy who said he worked in smelting. Like any hardcore HP fan, she immediately said, "Poke him with your Smelting stick, Dudley!", an obscure reference to the 1st book. When he was confused, she began acting out, in painstaking detail, the entire scene, until she realized she looked like a crazy person and sidled awkwardly out of the room.

2) When she came to my house the other day and saw a piece of dowel left over from a project I'll be showing you soon, she picked it up and said, "Is this your wand?", then pointed it at me and shouted, "Expelliarmus!" Thank goodness she went with a harmless spell.

3) I once called her at 11 at night because it was driving me crazy that I couldn't remember the name of the tub-thingy that Dumbledore used to store memories in (think fast! Do you know what it's called?). Over the phone, I said, "Bekah, what's that thing in Dumbledore's office--" and she said, "The pensieve." Just like that. She knew what it was. I hadn't described it yet. Unbelievable!

So I shouldn't have been surprised when she called me yesterday morning in a tizzy because she didn't have a Harry Potter t-shirt to wear on this most important of days. We brainstormed a bit . . . my favorite idea was a t-shirt that would say, "I solemnly swear that I'm up to no good," on the front, and "Mischief managed" on the back (a tribute to the Marauder's Map, of course), and she wanted to recreate this Harry Potter pillow on a t-shirt (too much work).

So we settled for something a little more subtle out of necessity (the necessity being we only had about an hour, and I didn't have many supplies on hand):

Just a simple tribute to the boy who lived, made with a cardstock stencil (not the smartest idea, for the record, but I couldn't find my freezer paper) and acrylic paint mixed with fabric medium. I was going to protect the poor girl from internet scorn by cropping her wand out of the picture, as shown above, but what the hey, I know she's not ashamed of this:

That's my girl. What a dork.

 

Taken From Here

Painted Doily Tee

In case you missed this one when it was posted on Lolly Jane last month, here's a fun tee shirt refashion for you--a painted doily tee! (And, as an update for anyone who's maybe been hesitant about using paint with fabric medium on clothing, never fear: I've worn and washed this shirt many times since writing this post, and it's held up fine and dandy.)

I think we're all a little smitten by doilies at the moment, and as a hardcore crocheter, I couldn't be happier about it. I love the delicate, ladylike look of a doily and wanted to work it into something wearable that wouldn't feel too prim and proper . . . because, really, I don't throw garden parties with tea and crumpets very often, do you? So I picked up a package of little paper doilies and created this:

I used blue and black paint mixed with fabric paint medium to create a row of doilies working their way up the side of a $2 Walmart tee. I love that it works sweet feminine doilies into a unique design with fresh, modern colors. And $2 for a cute summer top? Yes, please!

Here's how I made my painted doily tee!

 You'll need:

- a tank or tee

- a package of paper doilies (you could use multiple sizes if you'd like; I just used one size)

- one or more acrylic paints

- fabric painting medium (I bought mine at Joann, and it has lasted forever!)

- foam brush or sponge

 - a piece of cardboard to place inside the top to prevent the paint from bleeding through

Place your cardboard inside your top so the paint doesn't soak through to the back. Mix your paint and fabric medium according to the directions on the bottle (mine says to use a 2 to 1 mix of paint to medium). I wanted my top to include a range of colors and each doily stencil to have a bit of a color mix, so I swirled the blue and black together without mixing them completely; that way, when I wanted a lighter doily, I dipped my brush in a lighter section on my paint plate, and when I wanted a darker one, I picked a darker paint section, so none of my doilies came out exactly the same. I like a little variety, and the imperfections are what make it fun!

 You can arrange your doilies however you want on your top--I wanted mine to wind up one side of the tee, and I worked from the bottom to the top, so I placed my first doily down near the hem of the shirt and lightly sponged my paint over it.

You don't need to get too aggressive with your paint--a little goes a long way! Just lightly sponge it around the patterned part of the doily. I thought it looked best to paint a little past the outer edge of the doily as well, but you don't need to go very far. Just let your brush go a tad over the outside edge. What you see along the bottom of the doily in the picture above is a bit too much!

Peel up the paper and admire that lovely paint job . . . oooh, isn't it pretty?

Now just keep arranging the doilies and painting over them. I liked to vary between lighter and darker shades on each doily and overlap the edges.

Work your way up the side of the top (or however you want your pattern!) and admire your colorful stencil work!

I worked all the way up one side of the top and placed one doily on the opposite side of the shirt as well, for a little variety (although you can't even see it in any of my pictures . . . it's there, I promise!).

Make sure to read the directions on your fabric medium--you'll probably have to to let your shirt air dry for 24 hours or more and iron it to set the paint. Don't you hate waiting to wear your new creations? I just about went crazy waiting an entire day. But I think this top is worth the wait!

Taken From Here

Lined Paper Tee Shirt Tutorial

In case you missed this post last month on Ucreate, here's my fun, sorta nerdy back-to-school (or anytime!) tee refashion project:

I think this lined paper tee is such a fun way to bring out the inner student, and possibly even encourage a little bookishness in a little one (maybe that's a stretch, but a girl can hope, right?).

(Oh my gosh, look how teeny Forrest is! Although this post only went up last month, I actually made these shirts and took these pictures when Forrest was maybe 6 months old . . . so about 7 months ago! He's so shrimpy! Never fear, I've kept making these shirts for him as he's grown . . . he has one that fits in his closet right now.)

It's really simple to put together, and you can easily make it in any size. And how cute would it be if you embroidered or stamped your child's name or a favorite quote onto the lines? 

Here's what you'll need to make this tee:

a white tank, tee, or onesie

masking tape

foam brush

blue and red acrylic paint

fabric painting medium (available at craft stores--you'll find it with the paint supplies)

To start, place some cardboard between the front and back of the top so your paint doesn't bleed through to the back of your shirt, then place your tape in straight horizontal lines across your shirt to mark the areas where you'll paint your blue lines. I put my first strip of tape right beneath the sleeves. I spaced the tape strips about 1/4" apart from each other, but only painted in every other open space (on an adult size tee) to create a little more distance between the lines. For my little guy's onesie, I painted in the spaces between each tape strip.

Mix your blue paint and fabric painting medium according to the directions on the medium (usually a 2 to 1 mixture of paint to medium), and lightly sponge it between your tape strips. A little goes a long way, so try not to get too heavy-handed with your brush. (And personally, I really like the look of a lightly painted, sort of splotchy paint line!)

(You can see here that I only painted in every other open space for the adult tee. For a baby/toddler top, you can paint in each open space.)

Give it some time to dry, then carefully remove the tape. Place two long strips of tape vertically down the left side of the shirt where you'll paint your red line. Again, place the strips about 1/4" apart, and make sure they're running straight down the tee so you don't end up with a wavy line.

Mix your red paint with the fabric painting medium according to the directions on the package, and sponge it on as you did for the blue lines. Let it dry for a while and carefully remove the tape.

If you're making a baby onesie, don't forget to lift up the shoulder flap to tape and paint underneath it!

Make sure you read the directions on your fabric painting medium to find out how to finish your shirt--you'll probably need to let it air dry for 24-48 hours, then iron it to set the paint. You can just turn the shirts inside out and toss them in the washing machine, and the paint holds up just fine.

If you make one of these shirts (or anything using one of my tutorials/ideas), feel free to add it to the Maybe Matilda Flickr Group so we can all check it out!

Also, I had a request a few weeks ago to make a onesie for a customer in my etsy shop, and she really loved it on her little girl . . . so there's a listing right here in my shop if you want me to make one for your little one! 

 

Taken From Here