As soon as I saw this bottom print on a dress at the thrift store I knew I had to have it to pair with Stephanie’s “I Grow Up” print….and who better to model it than Grace! An elephant ear dress with an empire waist….upcycled from thrift store finds: a dress, 2 polo shirts and some silk screened and tie dyed yardage. Eclectic, one-of-a-kind, bohemian…and totally green. Stunning photos by Monika McSweeney Photography. Enjoy!
Infinite thanks to Monika and Grace for such beautiful photos!
I couldn’t imagine if we lost Li’l Sally (our 10″ AppleTreeHouse Waldorf doll). Boo would be traumatized, I would be traumatized, and my wallet would not be happy about having to replace her! These dolls are so popular now (along with Bamboletta and DragonFlysHollow dolls) and almost impossible to get. There was a discussion on the LBB Facebook page the other day about the horror of losing one of these dolls and the idea of an I.D. tag necklace or bracelet came up. And so, a distressed identification tag was born for Li’l Sally:
Li’l Sally is wearing a Lil Blue Boo silk screened dress! Pattern to come soon!This tutorial is almost identical to my wooden pendant accessories tutorial. But here are the directions again…..
Step 1: Create your text in a word program or Adobe Photoshop and reverse the text so that it prints backwards. (if you are using a word program you’ll need to save the text as a picture first and then import it back in so that you can reverse it). Print it out using a laser printer (which uses dry ink, an inkjet will not work) or send your printout through a black and white copier.
Our tag reads: Li’l Sally, if found call: xxx-xxx-xxxxn (I blurred out my phone number).
Step 2: Apply an acrylic paint base coat to a small piece of craft wood. These can be found at any craft store for about 20 cents a piece.
Step 3: When your base coat is dry, apply thick coat…..
……of Golden or Liquitex soft gel mat medium (also found at most craft stores). This is what will transfer the black toner from the paper to the wood.
Step 4: Cut out your text and press the paper face down onto the gel….burnish/rub the paper to make sure it is adhered and there are no air bubbles.
Step 5: When the gel is completely dry, apply a few drops of tap water to the back of the paper and peel off as much of the wet paper as possible.
Step 6: Rub the rest of the wet paper off with your finger. The text will stay behind.
Step 7: Use sandpaper to distress the edges of the wood pendant.
Step 8: Dilute some brown acrylic paint with water and paint onto the distressed areas. Wipe off any excess. Once dry you can seal the pendant with acrylic gloss varnish.
Step 9: Drill a tiny hole in one end of the pendant.
Step 10: Add string or a leather cord through the hole and you are done!
Now if your doll gets lost at the mall or restaurant she’ll have some form of identification on her! Just tuck the pendant down into her clothing and he/she is ready to go!
This is for the boys (and pirate-loving girls too)! Last year, Christy from Beachbrights asked me to do a pirate matryoshka doll for her son Max, he is adopted from Russia. I’m a little embarrassed that I am finally getting around to it! You can use this tutorial to transfer my pirate matryoshka image to t-shirts, hoodies, sweatpants etc. I used a plain white dress in this tutorial since I don’t have a little boy…..and Boo loves pirates anyways….so this dress will be worn a gazillion times over.
The easiest way to transfer this image to fabric is to print it out onto transfer paper using your inkjet printer. I use Dharma Trading’s Super Soft Transfer Paper…it’s the best out there…your image will end up looking almost like a silk screen. Cheaper transfer paper from the store will look too plastic-like.
Cut out the image…with the Dharma Trading transfer paper you can leave a border…it won’t be noticeable on the fabric.
Place the cut out face down onto your fabric. I used Dharma Trading’s Double Lettuce Edge Spagetti Strap Dress (Boo wears a 4T….they do not run small).
Follow the instructions of the transfer paper…..but make sure you use a hard surface like table….not an ironing board. For the Super Soft Transfer Paper you will use the hottest setting and iron firmly back and forth for about 20 seconds.
While the paper is still hot peel off the backing…leaving a a perfect pirate matryoshka doll!
Shiver me timbers!
On Boo’s dress I used a Fabricmate pen to add a treasure map path….
…..all the way around the dress.
