Things I've Made Archives - Page 96 of 136 - Ashley Hackshaw / Lil Blue Boo

The Candy Dress – A Tutorial

January 31, 2010 by Ashley Hackshaw

I am addicted to sweets. I am constantly buying candy and I am always trying to find ways to use the colorful packaging in my projects. Here is Sienna’s new favorite dress I made using a colorful Nerds box and some tie dye:

She wore it for three days straight. I finally got her out of it tonight by promising she could wear her tinted goggles to dinner (see bottom of the post for that photo).

She pretty much looks like she got tangled up in the Willy Wonka conveyor belt.

Look how great all these packages are! The Nerds were my favorite for Sienna and I thought the Hot Tamales would be perfect for a boy. I scanned them into my computer…..

….and printed them out on transfer paper. This was the first time I’ve used Dharma Trading’s Super Soft Transfer Paper and I am now officially hooked…..this stuff just feels like part of the fabric after one washing (the other stuff I was using felt a little plastic-like….and is going in the trash).

For this particular dress I made a patch to sew on, but you could iron the transfer directly onto the dress as well. Make sure to follow the directions for the transfer paper you are using.

Peeling the backing off is the best part.

I adhered my patch to the dress using fusible web and then stitched it into place.

Once the transfer was finished, I soaked the dress pieces in water (with table salt) to prepare them for dying.

After soaking for a few minutes, I took the pieces out of the water, squeezed the excess water from them, twirled into little spirals and secured with rubber bands.

Next, I covered them with pink and purple dye, wrapped them up tight in plastic and left them overnight.

The next morning I rinsed out the dye and ran the pieces through the wash. Here are the finished pieces before I sewed the rest of the dress together. I love how the dye becomes part of the transfer.

Sienna’s replacement outfit for dinner tonight…..only because she got to wear the goggles.

This tutorial is part of a series for the Lil Blue Boo / Dharma Trading Challenge running until the middle of February. If you haven’t checked it out yet please do! All levels of design/sewing/printing encouraged to enter! Entries are due by February 15, 2010.

Screen Printed Drapes & Pillows – A Tutorial

January 27, 2010 by Ashley Hackshaw

My husband has been bugging me for years to add window treatments around the house….but they are always either too expensive or I haven’t found ones I like. So I made my own….and it was so much easier than I thought it would be!

So happy with the result.

I wanted drapes that were simple and elegant but also that fit our informal living style. I love how they “pool” on the floor…..adds a little drama to our everyday living space.

I especially love how the morning sunlight comes through the sheer fabric.

With my leftover fabric I made some simple covers for our existing couch pillows to coordinate the room.

I made the small rectangular pillows from scratch with linen-like fabric.

Tutorial:

Note: Before starting your screen printing you will need to create a screen. See my Screen Printing 101 tutorial on how to create a screen using photo emulsion. If you want to use a simpler design than shown below you can also try the contact paper screen printing method.

Here is the design I created using “damask” dingbats. You are welcome to use it (just click on the image and then save to your desktop). I couldn’t find my original file so this is a scan.

I started with 108″ plain white muslin (using my 40% off coupon it was about $3 a yard). For tops on measuring your window for the amount of fabric needed see my curtain tutorial (with download).

You will need a large area to spread your muslin out onto. I used my back patio, but you could use a driveway as well. Just spread a tarp or large drop cloths out to protect the muslin.

You can use the “fold” lines on the muslin as vertical guides and use a long piece of wood to mark your horizontal guide lines. I used a disappearing ink pen to mark out where my designs would be.

I used Versatex screen printing inks in the colors: Umber and Brown. I added Versatex Fixer which eliminates the “heat setting” step (i.e. no ironing to set the ink).

Mix your inks together (four 4oz tubs was plenty for pillows and drapes). I added a little black to get a darker brown.

Start your printing! Allow yourself to have errors (for character!)…..it will look like you meant to have imperfections. Place your screen flat onto the fabric. You will probably want to have a piece of cardboard underneath each section you are printing (I used flat boxes). Apply a small glob of ink at the top of side of the image……..and pull the ink down the screen with the squeegee. You might have missed some areas so I like to go over it a few times carefully. Do a test run first on a scrap!

The first one is the hardest! Then it gets easy!

You can do several rows at at time. Just keep your tape measure and disappearing ink pen nearby so you can mark guides as you go.

After the first layer has dried, turn your design around and screen the mirror image.

A finished complete image.

A finished drape! I screened in the hot sun and it only took minutes to dry.

Once all my drapes were dry I brought them inside for sewing. For the top of the drapes, I folded the edges over 1.5″ and then over again 1.5″ and sewed all the way across. I didn’t even hem the sides or bottom, I just serged them with white thread. If you want a more finished, formal look see my tutorial on curtains here.

A curtain rod for a 16 foot slider was not really in my budget so I modified a store-bought rod to fit across the 17 foot span. You can buy 6 foot finished wood rod pieces at your hardware store, just make sure to buy the connecting screws too. I bought three rods and cut about 6″ off the ends. I had to re-drill holes for the finials at the end. I purchased 4 brackets for the rods to sit on.

I cut 2 squares from my leftover fabric for each coordinating pillow.

I screen printed the design diagonally onto the pillow squares.

Once the pillow fronts had dried I pinned them together and sewed the outside edges leaving a small opening for stuffing.

I had my best helper stuff the pillows.

And I sewed the pillows shut with a blind stitch.

This technique is so versatile that you could use it in any room of the house. How about printing a similar duvet and large square euro pillows for a master bedroom!

My little one is the most excited about our new drapes because she gets another hiding place!

Resolution Subway Art – Tutorial

January 17, 2010 by Ashley Hackshaw

This was my submission from the SYTYC “New Year’s” Challenge….I finally won a challenge! That puts Dana and I into the final two this coming week!

I haven’t made resolutions for the past few new years because I usually forget about them after a few weeks. This year as a family we came up with a short list of things we wanted to focus on everyday and I made the list into a large piece of art. I love that this large 3 foot high wood piece is reminiscent of an early 20th century subway sign.

It is durable enough to hang in an outside eating area:

It is simple enough to rest on a side table:

And it is bold enough to display on a mantle as the focus of a room:

Here is how I made it:

Step 1: I bought a ready cut 2′ x 4′ piece of wood from my hardware store and had them shorten it to 2′ x 3.’

Step 2: I also bought long wood molding strips that were 1/2″ wide and 1 1/2″ deep. I started on one edge of my large flat piece of wood and marked where I would need to cut.

Step 3: I used a large mite saw to cut the corners at a 45 degree angle. If you don’t have a mitre saw you can use a simple plastic mitre box and hand saw. There are only a few cuts so it won’t take that long.

Step 4: I squeezed wood glue onto one of the long edges of the underside of my large board…..

…..and turned it over onto one of the long wood trim pieces and used hammer and nails to secure it.

I repeated this step, fitting each piece carefully into place until my piece looked like this:

Step 5: I used these little “nail-in” brackets from the hardware store as well to secure the corner pieces.

Step 6: I sprayed the entire wood piece with primer.

Step 7: I sanded it down to remove any significant wood grain. Then I sprayed the entire piece with white spray paint.

Step 8: I created this little template using Powerpoint to that I could space the letters for each line. Feel free to use this one or at least parts of it. Click image below to download:

Step 9: I printed out my resolutions on regular sized paper. Then I took it to Fed Ex/Kinkos and used the large copier to enlarge it to the exact width I needed (cost about $4).

Step 10: I cut strips of vinyl contact paper the same width as the wording (the vinyl contact paper came in a 12″ height so I could only fit 3 lines at a time on each strip).

Step 11: I used spray adhesive to attach the photo copy to the top of the contact paper. (Note: Do NOT apply to the paper side of the contact paper, you will be peeling this off later.)

Step 12: Then I trimmed around each line of words.

Step 13: I evenly spaced each set of words out along the board marking a “guide” line with pencil below each. Then I cut out each letter, peeled off the paper back and adhered to the board.

Step 14: I used a brayer to make sure each letter was adhered smoothly to the board.

Step 15: I sprayed the top and sides of the board with black spray paint. I did one coat at a time letting each dry well before applying the next coat.