Printing/Stenciling Archives - Page 36 of 37 - Ashley Hackshaw / Lil Blue Boo

Making your own mural border template (and I added the large butterfly!)

July 29, 2009 by Ashley Hackshaw

I talked with a woman a few days ago about painting mural in her son’s room. She basically wanted the exact “waves” border shown in this photo on the Pottery Barn website:

Making your own mural border template via lilblueboo.com

Photo from www.potterybarnkids.com

Then she said the magic words “I just wish I could do it myself but I can’t figure out how.” Even though painting murals is a passion of mine, I love when people want to try it themselves, especially when it is a “doable” project like a simple border (which she had already received a bid of around $600 from someone else). I drew up a quick waves sketch and uploaded it to my favorite photo altering website to rasterize it into a “printable” template.

So here are the steps for making a border:

First I drew the waves using the Pottery Barn Kids photo as a guide. I draw in Powerpoint, which would make most people cringe (I got this weird habit from my days writing bond offering memorandums). You can just draw by hand and scan to your computer just as easily.

Making your own mural border template waves via lilblueboo.com

Then I placed two of the sketches side by side to make sure it looked okay as a continuous border.

Then I uploaded it to the Homokaasu website and selected what size I wanted it to print out.

Note: Make sure to select “letter size” paper if you are printing at your home computer. It will print it out on 8.5″ x 11″ paper and you can piece it together like a puzzle.

Just in case anyone needs a wave stencil, you are in luck……below are the two I did for the woman that called for the mural. The small one prints out on 7 pages of paper, the larger one on 18 pages of paper.

Small Waves Template

Large Waves Template

This “rasterizing” process is the same I used for the butterfly chalkboard template in the fairy forest mural I painted a few months back!

Making your own mural border template butterfly via lilblueboo.com

I only had to do half the butterfly and then I flipped it over to trace the other side.

Making your own mural border template butterfly trace via lilblueboo.com

I went ahead and uploaded that one for you too. This one prints out on 20 pages of paper. Again you would piece it together like a puzzle and use packing tape for all the seams. I use a sharpie to draw around the border and then cut my template out. Email me if you have any questions!

Large Butterfly Template

Beanbag Tutorial – Learning to Spell

July 28, 2009 by Ashley Hackshaw

These beanbags were Sienna’s and my project yesterday afternoon. Who doesn’t love beanbags? We made one for each letter of her name.

How to make personalized beanbags 2 via liblueboo.com

Sienna doesn’t know how to spell yet but she loves counting them and we also play “bean bag horseshoes” with them….trying to toss them as close as we can to a target.

First, I made a square template 6 1/4″ x 6 1/4″ and used it to cut 2 squares from each piece of scrap fabric I had.

I cut 8.5″ x 11″ pieces of freezer paper to run through my printer (there is a file at the bottom of this post with the full alphabet that you can print). I printed out S-I-E-N-N-A in both capital letters and lowercase letters. Then I cut out around the letters and also cut pieces of blank freezer paper to place behind the fabric. I used a razor blade to cut out the letters to make a stencil.

Note: Freezer paper has a waxy side that adheres to the fabric when you iron it on. The non-waxy paper side should be on the side you are going to iron. Make sure to adhere all the edges and your paint won’t go on any area that you’ve ironed the paper onto! Just be careful not to use too much paint on each layer….or the freezer paper will start to unstick if it gets too wet. Do 2-3 light coats of fabric paint!

I ironed each freezer paper stencil onto the front of a piece of fabric (and ironed a blank piece to each back to keep paint from bleeding through).

How to make personalized beanbags iron via liblueboo.com

Then I used Jacquard Fabric Paint to fill in each stencil.

Note: Be careful not to use too much paint on each layer….or the freezer paper will start to unstick if it gets too wet. Do 2-3 light coats of fabric paint!

Once dry, I peeled off the freezer paper stencil and voila!

I placed each piece of fabric right sides together and pinned.

Then I started in the middle of one side of a square (do not start on a corner) and I sewed all the way around with a 1/2″ inseam. I stopped 1″ from where I started sewing to leave an opening.

I turned the square right side out and ironed flat (this also heat sets your paint).

Next I top-stitched around the edges of my square making sure to leave an opening where the previous one was (so that there is hole to put the beans through).

I had a great assistant helping to fill the beanbag with dried pinto beans…..

…..until she got a little out of hand and started “bathing” in them.

I filled the beanbag 3/4″ full and then sewed the opening shut!

One cute little beanbag finished!

We plan to do the entire alphabet, but 7 beanbags was all we had time for today!

Tutorial: Mixing Techniques (Tinkerbell Embellished Shirt and Skirt)

July 26, 2009 by Ashley Hackshaw

Techniques (Tinkerbell Embellished Shirt and Skirt) via lilblueboo.com

This might look a little overwhelming at first….but I promise it is not! You just have to follow the steps and it is easy! You could use these same techniques to make any theme shirt for a boy or girl. I made this Tinkerbell shirt using a combination of a freezer paper stencil, applique and permanent fabric pen. I’ve always found that mixing mediums adds interest.

Techniques (Tinkerbell Embellished Shirt and Skirt) 2 via lilblueboo.com

Here is the skirt. It is just a simple elastic waist skirt. I love this fabric (side says “Floral Silhouette Tink”) ….not your typical Disney fabric.

Techniques (Tinkerbell Embellished Shirt and Skirt) 3 via lilblueboo.com

The entire outfit.

Techniques (Tinkerbell Embellished Shirt and Skirt) 4 via lilblueboo.com

So here is how you can make the shirt (using a tank top or t-shirt):

A trick I’ve come up with to make stenciling easier is to cut out 8.5″ x 11″ sheets from the freezer paper and just send it through your printer!

Techniques (Tinkerbell Embellished Shirt and Skirt) 5 via lilblueboo.com

I scanned some of the fabric from the skirt and enlarged one of the Tinkerbell silhouettes. Then I printed it in grayscale directly onto the non-waxy side of the freezer paper and used a razorblade to cut out her body. (my poor printer is all wonky and ate this up….but it will still work) I would scan and post this template but I’m afraid Disney would come after me 😉

Techniques (Tinkerbell Embellished Shirt and Skirt) 6 via lilblueboo.com

The next step is to iron the freezer paper onto the front of the shirt. I also put a large piece of freezer paper on the underside of the stencil to keep any paint from bleeding through to the other side.

Techniques (Tinkerbell Embellished Shirt and Skirt) 7 via lilblueboo.com

I mixed blue and white paint until I got a turquoise shade similar to the Tink fabric. I use Jacquard fabric paint and it seems to wash really well.

Techniques (Tinkerbell Embellished Shirt and Skirt) 8 via lilblueboo.com

Apply a thin layer of paint onto the stencil. Let dry and repeat with another layer if necessary. Once the paint is dry you can pull the freezer paper off and you will have the cutout image left behind (my favorite step).

Techniques (Tinkerbell Embellished Shirt and Skirt) 9 via lilblueboo.com

Next I printed off another Tink silhouette on regular paper and cut out the wings to make a template. Then I used my disappearing ink pen to sketch out wings onto some leftover fabric from the skirt. Before cutting the wings out, I ironed Pellon Wonder Under to the underside of the fabric and then added them to the shirt as an applique.

Techniques (Tinkerbell Embellished Shirt and Skirt) 10 via lilblueboo.com

I used a wall stencil that had similar designs to the ones on the Tink fabric and used a fine black permanent pen (I use a Y&C Fabric Mate) to draw several shapes onto the shirt.

Techniques (Tinkerbell Embellished Shirt and Skirt) 11 via lilblueboo.com

Still using the pen I replicated the “pixie dust” effect seen on the Tink fabric.

Techniques (Tinkerbell Embellished Shirt and Skirt) 12 via lilblueboo.com

Pixie dust is easy. Just draw a bunch of the below sketch (draw tiny and in different sizes) and add specks randomly all over (less is more).

Techniques (Tinkerbell Embellished Shirt and Skirt) 13 via lilblueboo.com

I made two other small applique pieces, the “Tink” and flower, to anchor the bottom of the design. I used the sewing machine to stitch around the appliques to stabilize them. The final step was to press the entire design to “set” the paint and ink.

Techniques (Tinkerbell Embellished Shirt and Skirt) 14 via lilblueboo.com