Apple Flower Shirt

Again and again I demonstrate my inability to follow directions. The Prang kit comes with stencils but you don't iron them on like you do freezer paper stencils (in my defense, there was an iron somewhere in the instructions..) Don't try this unless the look you were going for is a big yellow wax stain on a brand-new shirt. You just tape or pin the stencil on and pat on the paint with a stiff bristle brush. Speedball paints are nice and thick and don't bleed like the Jaquard paints. When making a multi-stencil design, it's important to note the order the stencils should be used, unless you like waiting and redoing a section because you just painted over your carefully applied red apple pits. It really is as exciting as watching paint dry when you are trying to finish your design late at night before your head hits the pillow.

In spite of myself I was able to make a good shirt just in time to give to my sister for her birthday! A little color bleed but overall pretty cute.


Plus a couple of strawberries for the girls. These are a little less cool vintage-berry and a little more country-fair cute but that's ok, the girls love them. I know, matching shirts, but they both want what the other one gets...


Details
American Apparel shirts, Jaquard and Speedball textile paints, vintage Prang stencil kit.

Prang

I found myself wandering an antique mall, which I haven't done in ages as I don't need to drag home more stuff. But I was there and I found this.

I know, what is it? Well, it's a vintage Prang Stencil Kit, essentially a set of pre-punched stencils along the same lines as Freezer Paper Stencils with instructions and some scary toxic paint. There are some 2-part and 3-part stencils (see the apple and flower image above, the stencils to make it are shown in the picture below..) that are just fabulous. I feel really inspired to mark up some things.

Also, I made another rubber stamp, a kitty cat, inspired by an illustration in a Margaret Wise-Brown book, The Summer Noisy Book. If you like kids books, check out The Little Island and The Wonderful House, those are really great reads,


Details
Speedball Speed Stamp kit (I need smaller blades for better detail. don't look too closely at the missing eye portion that I accidentally cut away. I also need more stamp pads or at least a re-inking!)

Apple Leaves

The checker gave me a funny look, “You drink that Kool-Aid?” My *dyeing wool* response didn’t seem any more believable from her expression.

My felting technique is improving: slap it against the side of the sink until felted, cut shapes, rub between palms, finish in the washer. Result, 15 light green leaves for bracelets. I’m thinking of a pretty ribbon band with snap closures.

Details
2 packets Arctic “It Tingles In Your Mouth” Green Apple Kool-Aid, 1 ounce wool.

Three Apples Up On Top

Two more shirts today, both with periwinkle apples. They just need to dry a little and a short pressing to set.

And One Little Apple Came Tumbling Down

In other crafting news, presenting...

The apple print shirt for babies! Inspired by an apple-stamped tote bag project from Good Things for Kids (a Martha Stewart magazine.)

I have to say, it's hard to slice the apple to get a nice cross section of the seed-holes (that's the technical name, right?) and it does make me wonder how many hundreds of apples were sacrificed for the magazine. It's probably best to use cheap apples and not organic ones like I did.

I only had one successful print, the second shirt is being washed for a do-over. This print is a little rough but I like the result even if it doesn't stand out so well with the pink paint. Stem and leaf were scribbled on with the side of a plastic fork. The fabric paint is stinky so it didn't live up to my hope of being a toddler project, though both girls are eager for their new shirts, which will have to wait for more apples.

Details
American Apparel shirt size 18 months, Jaquard Textile Colors in white, ruby red, and periwinkle, 2 Gala organic apples

Future project include something out of hemp (socks? hat?) and dyeing the fleece with some bugs (more info to come.)