Things have been busy here! Whew! But, when is the opposite ever true? The kids and I were sidelined for about a week, week and a half due to illness. Aidan and I had bad colds and poor Olivia ended up with an ear and eye infection. However, we are feeling much better now! And just in time. We are hosting an early Ross-Boon Family Christmas next week. So, that motivated me to leave Julien with the kids this weekend for a 6 hour shopping marathon. It was exhausting but very productive. I have most people done and know what I'm getting the couple I have left. It's a nice feeling not to be scrambling this year. I even have most of the stocking stuffers. One Christmas present I've been working on for a while now has been Aidan's preschool teacher gifts. I decided to decorate canvas tote bags for them since, they were on sale, and I thought it would be a nice change from gift cards or candy.
I got inspiration from a friend who made kid's aprons as favors for her daughter's birthday party. (All the kids decorated cupcakes and used them at the party.) I loved the idea of fabric letters instead of using a printable iron on. I think it looks nicer and makes it a little classier. So with her help and use of her Criket cutter, I was able to cut out their names on cardstock, which I then used to cut out the fabric and iron on adhesive.
I used a product called Steam 2 Seam to iron them on. (Great product!) You don't even see it because it's under the fabric. Then after searching the Internet for ideas and free patterns I came up with the flower pattern. Now, this is where I ran into some problems. I used a no fray product to keep the fabric, hopefully, from fraying down the road and to keep it looking like new. The letters were ironed on before I used it and turned out all right. The flowers got it before ironing. And it showed. I ended up with some discoloration. The orange and red ended up being passable but for some reason the purple showed horribly. (I used a different type of fabric and I think this, along with the light color were to blame.) So I had to do some reconfiguring to fix it. In the end I think they ended up really cute and I hope his teachers like them. (I put a lot of work into them so they better! :) ) Actually how this whole project started was with Nana's birthday present. I wanted to make an apron for her that had the kids' hand prints on it but I didn't want to do the normal painted on prints. I wanted something that looked nicer and would last longer. I also wanted to put her name on it. And after a lot of thought about the design and some work, I think it turned out adorable. I would wear it. I hope Nana likes it as much.
So there are some of my crafty projects lately. My dresser is painted and in the house. It even has Christmas decorations on it. I'm waiting until the new hardware I ordered comes in this week and then I'll post a picture. I'm pretty proud of that one too. Next up will be the China hutch, after I get a paint sprayer. (I've learned my lesson.) Got some ideas for the kitchen so it may end up a pretty bold color. Until then, have a great holiday everyone! Try to enjoy your shopping. Remember, you're helping the economy. Next time I'll have to tell you about trying to take a Christmas card pic of the kids in front of the tree. Let's just say- DIVA! :)
I got inspiration from a friend who made kid's aprons as favors for her daughter's birthday party. (All the kids decorated cupcakes and used them at the party.) I loved the idea of fabric letters instead of using a printable iron on. I think it looks nicer and makes it a little classier. So with her help and use of her Criket cutter, I was able to cut out their names on cardstock, which I then used to cut out the fabric and iron on adhesive. 
I used a product called Steam 2 Seam to iron them on. (Great product!) You don't even see it because it's under the fabric. Then after searching the Internet for ideas and free patterns I came up with the flower pattern. Now, this is where I ran into some problems. I used a no fray product to keep the fabric, hopefully, from fraying down the road and to keep it looking like new. The letters were ironed on before I used it and turned out all right. The flowers got it before ironing. And it showed. I ended up with some discoloration. The orange and red ended up being passable but for some reason the purple showed horribly. (I used a different type of fabric and I think this, along with the light color were to blame.) So I had to do some reconfiguring to fix it. In the end I think they ended up really cute and I hope his teachers like them. (I put a lot of work into them so they better! :) ) Actually how this whole project started was with Nana's birthday present. I wanted to make an apron for her that had the kids' hand prints on it but I didn't want to do the normal painted on prints. I wanted something that looked nicer and would last longer. I also wanted to put her name on it. And after a lot of thought about the design and some work, I think it turned out adorable. I would wear it. I hope Nana likes it as much. 
So there are some of my crafty projects lately. My dresser is painted and in the house. It even has Christmas decorations on it. I'm waiting until the new hardware I ordered comes in this week and then I'll post a picture. I'm pretty proud of that one too. Next up will be the China hutch, after I get a paint sprayer. (I've learned my lesson.) Got some ideas for the kitchen so it may end up a pretty bold color. Until then, have a great holiday everyone! Try to enjoy your shopping. Remember, you're helping the economy. Next time I'll have to tell you about trying to take a Christmas card pic of the kids in front of the tree. Let's just say- DIVA! :)
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