Goals Scrambled. Outcome: Scrabble!

So....remember those goals I set back in January?  I did so well on meeting my January and February goal!  Check out my Barbie Birthday Cake and Lumpia.  I know that my March goal was to make a flowerpot jewelry holder but...I kind of skipped ahead.  I jumped on down to my June goal of making scrabble tile throw pillows.  With good reason!

My husband's best friend is getting married...TODAY!  We drove from Florida up to Northern Virgina for the special day.  I knew that I wanted to make the couple something rather than buy it...I'm that kind of gal.

I just knew the scrabble tile pillows I keep seeing all over Pinterest would be the perfect little gift for this funky fun couple.

Here's how I did it...

freezer paper Christmas

This Christmas I went a wee little bit crazy with my freezer paper stencils.  I LOVE them!  I made a bag for my mother-in-law and three sisters-in-law as well as a freezer paper stenciled shirt for my sweet niece.  I am so addicted to these babies!  I just wanted to share with you the most wonderful and simplest personalization trick.  I showed you here how to make a freezer paper stencil (read up quickly...we'll wait for you).  I just bought a pack of three canvas bags from Wal-Mart, I actually got two sets.  Once I got home I found clip art online that I wanted to use and used Microsoft Word to print out the letters and names. 

I found an ornate princess crown for my sister-in-law who loves Disney Princess'.   I used pink and white and gradually lightened the color by adding more and more white to the pink.  Now, this stencil took me quite a while to cut out but, I think it was well worth it!

I found a simple Fleur de lis for one of my sisters-in-law, I graduated from teal to purple doing the same as I did with the pink.  I decided to stencil the first letter of her name in bronze.  To do this, I waited for the Fleur de lis to dry completely and then started the stencil process over again.

and a  polka dot pattern in University of Florida colors for my seventeen year old sister-in-law.  Again, I did the polka dots first, waited for them to dry completely and stenciled the name on.

I then found a stylized letter K for my mother-in-law.

For my niece, I found a hand making the sign language sign for 'I love you'.  She is deaf and I knew this would mean a lot to her, I then just printed her name to put underneath the hand.  Now she can wear a declaration of our love for her!

I put a little something special in each bag for the ladies then wrapped them up and delivered them for Christmas!  I was so pleased with how they all turned out.  It never seems to amaze me when I full my freezer paper stencil off....it's like magic every time!  It's so easy to make personalized gifts this way and especially for those people with unique or hard to find names.

a butchers best kept secret

When I first heard about the technique I am going to show you I was a tad bit skeptical.  All the blogs I read that used it raved about how easy it was.  However, a lot of those blogs also make out of this world crafts and say they are easy too.  Then, my friend who has a blog told of how she did this technique.  I was sold!  I must admit, this technique WAS just as easy as everyone said it was!


For this project you will need:
Freezer Paper (not wax or parchment...freezer, like butchers use.  I got mine at Wal-Mart next to the wax paper)
Craft knife
Print Out of what you would like your stencil to look like
Pen or marker in a dark color
Craft Paint
Paint Brush
Iron

Step 1: trace onto the freezer paper (you should not be writing on the shiny side) the design you have printed out using the dark pen or marker.

Step 2: use the craft knife to cut out the pattern you have just traced onto the freezer paper.  I cut on top of an old magazine so I didn't cut up our coffee table.  Be sure to keep the insides of letters so that your letters aren't just blobs!

Step 3: use a warm (not hot) iron to iron on the stencil you now have.  Don't forget those little inside parts of your letters or designs.  Just a quick press will adhere the stencil.  Make sure you have the stencil shiny side down.

Step 4: use the paintbrush to fill in the stencil with the paint of your choice.  You can use fabric paint for projects dealing with fabric or just plain craft paint works just as well.  You can get both kinds of paint at your local craft store.

Step 5: allow the paint to set for a few moments and then peel off the stencil.  Now, this is a one time use stencil...but so worth it!

I can't believe how easy this is...it kills me that I didn't try this technique sooner.  I love it and plan on using it for MANY different things.

face lift for the floor

You may remember my post about how I painted one of the rugs my husband brought with him from his bachelor days (if not, get acquainted with it here).  Well, rug number two was just beckoning for me to make it so much prettier.  This time, I thought I would try something a little different than what I had done before.  I had a lot of people compliment my rug and I really did appreciate it.  Though, most seemed to see the process as somewhat hard to do.  I was like "oh junk, it's not...it's so simple!"  So, I thought I would do something a little less 'free form' and a little more structured and doable for those a wee bit less crafty than I.
I chose stencils as my weapon of choice.  My husband and I decided on two different small designs we liked and I used some paint from my last rug and bought one more color...for good measure.  (I talked about the paint I used for this projects in my first post, it's just fabric paint)  At first I wasn't quite sure what sort of pattern or design I wanted to do.  I knew I wanted to do a border on the rug, so I taped it off with painters tape.  I used the flap from a shipping box (thanks Mom for sending my craft supplies!) as my guide so that I would have a relatively straight line.  I use a cut off plastic cup to hold my paint, it works well! I then started from the corners, again because I had no real plan.  I suggest having some what of a plan, as it makes it a bit easier!  I decided on a pattern and stenciled it in, alternating the stencils.  I knew that being a textured surface, I would not get exact and perfect designs, so I just went with it.  The brushes I used were stenciling brushes.  You just tap the paint into the stencil, tapping ensures you don't get too much paint under the edges which distorts your design.

Well, there it is!  I just added here and there as my little imagination wheels turned.  I thought about doing a large P in the middle to personalize it.  Though, decided against it as I wanted this rug to be simpler than the last.  Once again, this was SO simple!  It took me maybe an hour total to complete this project and I used such common tools.  I promise you can do it!  Now that your inspired, get creative!