Freezer Stenciling Tutorial

Three more pillows done. Cream pillows with brown trim {again, I used the concept from the pillow and piping tutorial, this time, I used a back pocket so that the pillows could be removed from the case}. I love them but lets be honest, they are way too plain.

These, however, make quite a statement.

Can you believe, those pillows were transformed using fabric paint and freezer paper? Interested in learning how, keep reading.

Supplies:

Freezer paper
Fabric paint (I bought mine at Joann's for under $2 a bottle, there are a wide variety of colors)
Sponge (there are specific sponges you can buy but I like to save money so I used a sponge I already had, cutting a section off to make it easier to use)
Fabric you want to paint along with a smaller test piece of fabric
Scissors and or X-acto knife
An Iron
A Design (you can print anything and use that for your pattern)

Decide on your design, I printed out an ampersand {font: Baskerville Old size: 600}. Cut your design out of paper and use it as a pattern. Trace your design onto freezer paper. Trace on the paper side, not the shiny side.

Now that the design is drawn out on freezer paper, begin to cut it out. The first time I tried using freezer paper, I didn't realize what I needed to keep, for me, it was the opposite of what I initially thought. You'll want to get rid of the design and keep the white space around it or in it. So, it doesn't matter how you cut the design out BUT it does matter how you cut the lines where your design meets the white space.

Here is what my design looks like cut out.

Grab your fabric, in this case, I used a pillowcase {remove your pillow, before painting}. Fold the pillowcase or fabric in half, pressing down to create a crease, to determine the middle.

Using your crease as a guide, determine placement of your design. Make sure to place the shiny side of the design down and the paper side up.

Using an iron, set to cotton (depending on your fabric, you may need to select another setting), I ironed my design onto the fabric. I started by only ironing down the outside of the design.

Using my paper pattern as a guide, I determine placement of the inside pieces of my freezer paper.

Next iron those pieces onto the fabric {remove your paper design before you iron down the freezer paper}.

Grab your sponge, paint and a piece of cardboard to squirt some of the fabric paint onto. If you have a test piece of fabric, test how the paint will adhere before continuing. Before you begin, you may want to put a towel behind your fabric, in case the paint seeps through.

Dab your sponge into the paint, you don't want a lot of excess paint on your sponge. Start dabbing the paint onto the fabric exposed through your design, work from the edge of the freezer paper into the design. By dabbing into the design, this should help you keep your edges crisper. If you work from the inside of your design out, you may run the risk of pushing some of excess paint under or into the edge of your freezer paper design.

Continue dabbing your paint on all fabric exposed from your design.

When the fabric paint has completely dried, slowly start to peel up the freezer paper.

what you are left with is your design...

& I love it.

I loved it so much, I made 2 more. I used the same concept as described above. In steps, I painted a large circle {I used a large serving platter as a template to trace onto the freezer paper}. When the outer circle was dried, I painted the smaller circle {I used a smaller serving platter as the template}. Finally, I painted the letters in the middle.

I am not sure I'll ever use freezer paper for its intended purpose again.

The only problem, this is Riley's sofa. I worry that most of the time, my pillows will end up looking like this...

Fat Quarters

I often find myself running out to Jo-Ann Fabrics for my crafting impulse of the week. Of course, while I am there, I look around at the fabric clearance section and whatever else happens to be on sale.

A few weeks ago, Jo-Ann's had a 50% off sale on fabric remnants and fat quarters. The sale seemed worthy enough to stop and search through a few bins.

I am so glad that I did because I happened across these...

My favorite, by far, of the bunch is this one...

I am beyond in love with the color and the design {not so in love with the wrinkles}.

I passed it along to the Queen of Quilting {my mom}. I can't wait to see what she comes up with. Don't worry, I'll be posting pictures of the finished creation.

Time for new curtains

Have you ever noticed, sometimes redecorating is sparked from the addition of something new. In this case, when I added my grandma's framed recipe to my kitchen, I was inspired to make some other inexpensive changes. I figured, the best place to start would be with my kitchen valance.

I've had this valance since my first house. It's cute but I wanted to update my kitchen from cute...

to classic. When I saw this fabric at Joann Fabrics, it was love at first sight. I bought a yard for $6 and 2 1/4 inch grosgrain ribbon, to add as trim, for $1.50.

I knew I wanted to double the fabric so you could design not only in the kitchen but also from the back of the window. When I held it up to the window, though, the material was so thin, you could see the design from the back showing through the front. In order to make the curtain denser, I decided to line it with muslin. I realize, I probably sound quite knowledgeable at this point {don't let that fool you}. Though I knew it needed a lining, I just couldn't figure out how to add it.

My first attempt, I carefully layered the fabric so the right side of my materials were together and then I placed the muslin in between the material. Fortunately, I only sewed one side together when I realized how wrong I was. {Done like this, I ended up with one side being the design of the fabric and the other side being muslin, leaving the second piece of fabric stuck in the middle for no one to see at all.}

Thank goodness for seam rippers!

My second attempt went much better. With the muslin now on the outside, on top of the two pieces of material {facing right sides together}, sewing recommenced and I was able to complete my new curtain.

I had incentive to finish my curtain quickly, since it was one of those rare occasions I had fresh flowers.

Even from the back, I adore my new curtains.

I guess the moral is, if at first you don't succeed, try try again. I am definitely not an expert at sewing but I'm having fun learning.