Faux Cross Stitched "Love" Shirt

I love the look of cross stitching on clothes. It can really add a lot of personality to a dull, plain shirt. With Valentine's Day coming up, I thought it'd be fun to try out a little faux cross stitching on my daughter's shirt by using my CAMEO to make the stitches rather than hand sewing - and I gotta say, I love the result!!

The "stitches" are actually little X's made of transfer material that spell out "love." This shirt couldn't have been easier to make! And while I used my CAMEO, you could also achieve the same result with fabric paint and freezer paper stenciling if you're willing to take the time to cut out lots of little X's.

This shirt is the perfect project to make for your little Valentine :) Let's make one!

SUPPLIES: white shirt, Silhouette or Silhouette CAMEO, red heat transfer material , Silhouette cut file HERE, iron and ironing board.

Download my free Silhouette cut file HERE, or to make your own I opened up Silhouette Studio and typed out "love" in a bold font. Then, I filled in the blank space inside the letters with X's using the grid as a guide. After you've filled your wording with X's, click and move the wording off of the design area so that only the X's will be cut.

Before cutting, be sure to click and group all of your X's, then mirror your image so that your wording won't be backwards. Cut.

Follow the instructions on the heat transfer material to iron onto your shirt (I personally ignore the instructions and instead set my iron to "satin" and iron directly on the shiny plastic material on the back of the heat transfer. Then I peel off the shiny part and swipe a few times directly on my heat transfer material to make sure it's set.)

The result is an adorable faux cross stitched shirt that my daughter can wear for V-Day and beyond!

Love her little furry boots that I got from Target! They've been sooo handy during these snowy days we've had lately. When we get up the motivation to leave the house on these snowy days, that is ;)

Also, leggings are made by me using this gorgeous buffalo plaid from Girl Charlee.

Love is in the air!

Some Happy Buns!

More PJ's? Always PJ's, if you ask me. Especially when they have an adorable little bum panel like these Happy Buns Britches by Peek-a-Boo Patterns (affiliate) do. I told you I had an unhealthy obsession with making PJ's, and I'd be lying if I said this is the last pair I'd be making anytime soon.

This moose print and stripe print (both by Girl Charlee) were just begging to be made into PJ's, so who am I to ignore that call? I mean, seriously, the cuteness of that little bum.

We've had plenty of chilly days laying around the house watching TV and eating popcorn lately, so snuggly PJ's were just the thing this little guy needed. And the little bum panel on the Happy Buns Britches was the perfect solution for my out of control scrap pile. You only need a small scrap for the back, and there's even an option for a larger panel if you little one wears cloth diapers (which mine does not.)

The Happy Buns Britches are on sale for 15% off today only, so snag your discounted copy while you can. And psst, they're great for girls too. I love a good unisex pattern!

A Pretty Party Dress

Long time no see! It may seem like I've been sitting on my hands, but it's actually been quite the opposite. Between starting a new job and sewing for a wedding, Halloween, winter, my daughter's first piano recital, and making gifts for Christmas (yep, that's happening already) I've had my hands full! I have so many posts that are partially started, so hopefully one day very soon I'll be able to catch my breath and share all that I've been making with you.

One thing that I actually got a head start on, is making this beautiful lace holiday dress by Peek-a-Boo Patterns (affiliate) for my daughter

This is the Gloria Party Dress, and it's a versatile pattern that can be both a dressy party dress or a comfy play dress, depending on what material you want to use. I opted to make the fancy version, which has a sheer stretch lace overlay with knit underneath, so it's still a super comfortable dress compared to a lot of the stiff holiday dresses you see out there.

I love the peek-a-boo back!

The gorgeous stretch lace is from Girl Charlee, but it looks like this particular one is no longer in stock. You can find other colors here though. The lining is a navy knit from Jo-Ann Fabrics, and the navy ribbon is from there as well. The gray and navy together give the dress a more sophisticated look that I love. 

This girl loves her dresses, so she was thrilled with this one and with how comfortable it was, and demanded to wear it all day. I'm a mean mommy and made her take it off at dinner though so she wouldn't get spaghetti all over her new dress :)

You can snag your copy of the Gloria Party Dress in the shop today for 15% off (today only)! Go get a head start on your holiday dress making!

This post contains affiliate links. Thank you for your support!

DIY Skeleton Gloves + Silhouette Portrait GIVEAWAY!

I've got the perfect, quick addition for your Halloween costumes today (and make sure to read below for a chance to win a (Silhouette Portrait)!

My son, Connor, is obsessed with skeleton everything. It all started with the shirt he's wearing in the picture below, which happens to be an old shirt from last year that he refuses to give up. He now owns several skeleton shirts and a zip-up jacket in skeleton print that I made him this year.

The wonderful folks over at Silhouette sent us a Silhouette Portrait recently to try out, so I thought it'd be fun to make Connor a pair of skeleton gloves using their flocked heat transfer material to add to his wardrobe - and they were a huge hit!

With the addition of a skeleton shirt, these gloves make the perfect skeleton Halloween costume. Or just wear the gloves by themselves for fun! Who says skeleton gloves are only for Halloween? Not this guy.

Who wants to make a pair??

SUPPLIES: a pair of knit gloves (do not use leather or anything other than traditional knit or fabric gloves!), Silhouette flocked heat transfer in white, Silhouette Portrait or CAMEO, scanner, iron and ironing board, skeleton gloves template (available only in Silhouette Studio format.)

Note: If you'd like to use the skeleton glove template that I created for your own personal use, you can find it here. It is only available in Silhouette Studio format, but if you'd like to make this project without a Silhouette, feel free to trace your glove and draw the bones freehand onto the back of Silhouette transfer material, then cut out by hand.

ONE: to create your own skeleton gloves from scratch, first place one glove on a piece of paper and trace carefully around it. Scan your picture and open in Silhouette Studio.

TWO: next, choose the "draw smooth freehand" option and begin drawing finger bones.

THREE: continue drawing bones with the draw smooth freehand tool.
FOUR: after you've finished drawing all your hand bones, you can use the arrow to click individually on each bone and adjust them as necessary.
FIVE: add wrist bones, the use your arrow to select all of the bones. Right click and choose "group" to group all the bones in your hand together.
SIX: you can now move your scanned picture off of your work board.

SEVEN: to make a second hand, simply right click on your hand and select "duplicate." Once you've duplicated your hand, make sure to right click on it again and choose "flip horizontally."

EIGHT: now you're ready to cut! Load your flocked heat transfer material into your Silhouette Portrait and cut according to the recommended settings.

NINE: Weed out your design by removing the extra transfer material.
TEN: place your design sticky side down onto your glove.
ELEVEN: I know the directions say otherwise, but I've found that my heat transfer designs adhere best when I turn my iron heat between the "silk" and "wool" setting, and iron directly on top of the plastic (on an ironing board of course.)

Remove the plastic carefully, and now you have the perfect set of spooky skeleton gloves for Halloween, or just for fun!

Connor loves his new gloves! I'm sure this won't be the last year you'll be seeing these babies :)

----------------------------------------------------------

Now for the best part! We get to give away a Silhouette Portrait!

If that doesn't excite you, then there's something wrong with you! Between the two of us, Shannon and I own both the Silhouette Portrait and the CAMEO, and they have been essential to our daily crafting. You can make everything from personalized clothing, decorations, and gifts for friends and family. The possibilities are really endless! Need some ideas?

1. Monster Teeth Treat Bags  2. Trick-or-Treat Bags 

3. Skeleton Bones Treat Bags 4. Faux Stamped Jewelry

5. Library Tote with Library Card Pocket  6. "You Blow Me Away" Valentine  

What's great about The Silhouette Portrait is that it's compact in size (only 3.5 pounds), but has a cutting size of 8" wide, and can be used to cut fabric, chipboard, vinyl, you name it. You can read more about the awesomeness that is The Silhouette Portrait here.   

So, do you want to win one? Of course you do. Enter using the widget below. Good Luck! The lucky winner will be announced here Monday October 27th.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Guidelines: Open to US/Canada Residents 18 years old or older. Void where prohibited. Giveaway is not associated with Facebook, Instagram, or Pinterest. Prizes will be fulfilled by Silhouette America. Winner cannot have won another Silhouette America giveaway in the past 90 days. Winners should expect to receive their prize within 4-6 weeks after the giveaway has ended. The giveaway winner will be emailed within 24 hours after giveaway has ended, and will have 72 hours to claim their prize. If the prize is not claimed, a new winner will be selected. 

Trick Your Pumpkin with Michaels

Being a Michael's Maker has been AWESOME.  Honestly, these monthly challenges get me to craft and create things I never would have considered before.

This month they asked us to participate in their Trick Your Pumpkin sweepstakes.  

Crafters just submit their pumpkin creations via Instagram any time between October 4th through October 31 for a chance to win a $250 Michaels gift card and Plaid products each Friday throughout the month of October.  We think you should  enter the sweepstakes by uploading your own projects to Instagram using the hashtags #TrickYourPumpkin and #sweepstakes and tag @MichaelsStores.  Make sure you use the craft pumpkins from Michaels!

Here is our entry for this super fun contest!  ( let me add that these pumpkins are SO COOL )

Supplies:

Krylon Make It Stone Spray Paint

Craft Knife

Craft Pumpkins

Paint Pens

Battery powered pumpkin candle (purchased at Michaels, not on website)

Flower pot

Pencil

Use the flower pot to determine the size of the hole on the top.  Make sure to cut as straight down as possible so you can get the pot inside.  In the other pumpkin, the hole on top can be a random size, whatever will fit the battery candle.  Cut whatever designs into your pumpkin you choose.  (go figure, I chose triangles.)

Now it's time for the spray paint!  This Make It Stone stuff is AWESOME.  The time it takes to dry in between coats is NOT awesome.  It's non-negotiable, though.  I tried, trust me, you have to let it dry.

Next, do THIS while you wait for it to dry!

After the paint is dry and you have sufficiently tortured your pet to death with love, it's time to doodle on your pumpkin.  I quickly decided mine were going to be fancy with gold and silver adornments.  

Now, put your plant in it, the candle or whatever you decided to do and create your fabulous table scape!  Ta-Da!  I also think that these would make pretty wonderful hostess gifts for Thanksgiving.  

Don't forget to tag your project on Instagram using #TrickYourPumpkin #sweepstakes and tagging @MichaelsStores!!