"Watercolor"

Hey y'all! I am in such an great mood right now. This warm weather is amazing! Today is such a nice day. The sun is out, it's nice and warm and spring is in the air. Really, the best word to describe it is just "awwwwwwwww...."

However, one word to describe earlier today would be "STRESSFUL." Yes, in all caps. A Biology test and math test to start off the day wasn't the greatest, especially because they were harder than usual. I'm glad it's over with, though. Whew! I do have a Geography test tomorrow too, but that should be a piece of cake. Let's hope.

The good news about having tests is no homework! This means that I had time to do a fun craft for this blog! As soon as I got home, I went right out to my deck and just sat there. It felt SO good! That was when I decided to do this craft outside. It needs very little supplies and a flat workspace, so why not?

I found this craft on Brit+Co, just like everything these days, it seems like. This is because I found so many things when I was browsing the blog one day. While I was browsing, this project looked easy and very fun, so I thought I would try it! I decided to make a pillow case because it was similar to what they did, but I'm sure you could try whatever you want. It's supposed to look like you decorated with watercolors, but it's really just Sharpies and rubbing alcohol. Neat huh?


Here is how to make it:

"Watercolor" Pillow Case

You will need:

something to decorate (i.e. pillowcase, throw pillow, shirt, etc.)

Sharpies

rubbing alcohol

cotton swabs

The first step is to prewash your item of choice. My pillowcase was just an extra that we rarely use, so I didn't have to wash it because it already had been before. You probably don't need to wash a pillow if you are drawing directly on that, but if you are using something like a shirt or a NEW pillowcase, wash it so the dye will sink it better. 

Next, plan out your design and draw it on the pillowcase with the Sharpies in the color(s) of your choice. I went with rainbow dots on the edge of the pillowcase. I like to keep things simple because if I really want to, I can always go back and add more, but can't take anything away. 

Once you are completely done drawing, take a cotton swab soaked in rubbing alcohol and dab, then rub, it on the Sharpie designs. This will blend the colors together and give it sort of a glow or aura. It doesn't completely blend everything, so keep that in mind when drawing. By the way, the bigger your design is, the more rubbing alcohol you will need to use and that will probably smell bad. Too much rubbing alcohol can make me feel sick. Bleh!

After you have blended everything, pop your creation in the dryer for a little while. This will let the dye sink in more, and of course, dry it! Mine took the awful smell out too, but that could have just been because I didn't use a lot of alcohol. 

And you're done! Easy right?

I really like how it turned out!

When I was looking at Brit+Co's tutorial, I clicked on the link to another blog, which showed how to make an ombre pillow using this technique. I really wanted to try this, until I read what happened. All she did was scribble a color in different intensities on a piece of fabric and put it in a bathtub with rubbing alcohol. First, that had to give her a headache. Second, she said it dyed her entire bathtub purple! I don't know why she needed to use a bathtub, though. I bet you could just dip it in a bucket and it would work. If you decide to try this, let me know how it goes!

Now go be creative!

A "Pocket" Full of Sunshine

Lately, on Pinterest, there have been a lot of tutorials and pictures of these DIY pocket sweatshirts and t-shirts that are super cute. Honestly, that website is full of cute EVERYTHING! I found a pin of these shirts that I loved sometime last week and it inspired me to make some!

So, the other day, I went to Walmart to get sweatshirts, t-shirts and pocket fabric. Evie and I made tie-dye sweatshirts out of the ones from Walmart one time and they turned out awesome and were very comfy, so I thought they would be perfect for these too! It was fun mixing and matching fabric squares with the sweatshirts to find a combination that looked good. The fabric squares I found were only ninety-seven cents! Plus, you get more than enough fabric than you need for the pocket, so you can make more later!

Now, let's get started! Here is how to make your very own pocket sweatshirt or t-shirt.

STEP 1 - Gather all of your materials. You will need:

• a t-shirt or sweatshirt (prewashed, if possible)
• fabric (cotton)
• iron-on adhesive
• fabric scissors
• pencil, pen, or marker
• iron
• cardboard or paper
• embroidery thread (or just regular thread)
• needle
• ruler

STEP 2 - Make a pattern for your pocket. First, start out with a square. The one I made was four inches on all sides. Next, measure half way across the bottom and make a mark. Then, measure 1/2-3/4 of an inch up from the bottom and make two more marks. Draw lines from your marks on the sides to the mark at the bottom in the middle and cut the extra triangles off. You should have a pattern like the one below.

STEP 3 - Prepare your fabric for tracing by laying it flat on a hard surface. Trace your pocket pattern on the wrong (not pretty) side of the fabric. I ended up tracing through two layers to make sure you couldn't see through the pocket. If you want the pocket to be the same size as your pattern, leave roughly a centimeter on each edge when tracing. If you use a ruler, you'lll be sure to have a nice, clean line. Cut out the shape you traced.

STEP 4 - Heat that iron up! Fold all of the edges in about a centimeter and iron them down to make a crease. Do you see why you left room when tracing? In the last picture with the blue pocket, I did not add any extra around the edges, that's why it is the same size as the pattern. This pocket ended up being smaller than the pattern.

STEP 5 - Grab your iron-on adhesive. I used the Heat n' Bond Ultrahold Strips, which worked well. Cut your strips to your desired width and length. Paper side up and adhesive side down,  iron the strips onto each edge of the ironed-down fabric EXCEPT for the top. If you iron the top on, your pocket won't be functional, and who would want that? However, because I did two layers, I used a thinner strip to hold the folded edge down, so it would look clean. After your strips have cooled, peel the paper off. 

STEP 6 - Find out where you want your pocket to be by trying it on, having someone else try it on, or just eyeballing it. If you have someone try it on, make sure you mark it somehow because you can't really hold it there while they take the shirt off. 

STEP 7 - Place the pocket where you want it on the shirt and iron it for around ten seconds. Then, turn the shirt inside-out and iron the pocket from the back. For the most part, this held the pocket into place. 

STEP 8 - Notice how I said "for the most part?" On the shirts I made, the corners started to stick up a little bit. If you put your strips really close to the edge, this might not happen, but I can't make any promises. Because I didn't want the pocket to come off at all, I turned this "no-sew" project into a "little-bit-o'-sew" project. On all of the corners, I just sewed a little loop to hold it in place. To do this, I used embroidery thread, which should match considering it will show, that I split in half. Embroidery thread is the string you use for friendship bracelets, if you didn't know, and is really like six pieces of regular thread together. I split it in half so I could fit it through the needle hole. I only had to loop it around three times before tying it off. I guess that's a plus of using thicker thread!

STEP 9 - Trim any excess thread on the inside and outside to make everything look neat.

STEP 10 (t-shirt only) - If you're like me and went to Walmart for a t-shirt, you most likely got a men's one. Sewing a pocket on doesn't make it look less like a men's shirt, but there is something you can add that will make it look a little bit more feminine. Roll the edges of the sleeves up twice and add some more of your iron-on adhesive underneath the last roll on the front and back to hold it in place. This adds to the shirt more than you would think.

And you're all done! Go rock that new sweatshirt or t-shirt you just made!

Two Old Shirts = Two New Headbands

I'm sure a lot of you have a BUNCH of old t-shirts sitting in the depths of your closet. I know I have a ton from soccer tournaments, summer camps (these are really old), volunteering, and all of that good stuff. Recently, I made a basket of clothes from my closet that have been sitting there for a while and there were a few of these t-shirts in there. I was trying to think of a DIY idea for this post because I haven't had very many ideas lately and had to find something that I could make from things at home. Speaking of which, sorry to those of you who wanted to see the Sharpie mug process. I was did some research and found that sometimes these do not work. I also found some tips that would help them turn out right, but again, I wanted to make this without going to get things and the tips required me to do so.

If you want to try making a Sharpie mug on your own, a blog called Brit + Co. has a very easy tutorial. They have the simple version without the special tips, but it might work. Maybe I will actually end up trying it sometime. If I do, I will be sure to write about it.

Anyways, I remembered seeing ways to make headbands out of old t-shirts on Pinterest and it was the perfect time to make them- I was stuck at home, it was cold and snowy outside (It still is!), and I already had t-shirts to use!

I found an easy no sew headband tutorial online and decided to try it out, along with another one of my own. You need the same things for both- a t-shirt, a hot glue gun, and sharp scissors. Sounds easy, huh? Right! There are a lot of pictures, by the way. Personally, I think they make a tutorial easier to follow.



HEADBAND #1: The Celtic Knot

Take your shirt and cut the hem at the bottom off. Now, cut a loop off from the bottom of the shirt. Mine were about an inch and a half wide, if I remember right.

Pull the loop to stretch it out. This makes it thinner (KEEP THIS IN MIND WHEN CUTTING THE LOOP!) and much longer.

If your shirt has a hem along the side, cut that off of each end. You should have two clean strips when you are done.

Take your first string and make a loop.

Take your second string and make a "U" over the looped one. Right now, the "U" should be over both strings of the loop, if that makes sense.

Now take the right strand of the looped string and put it over top of the right side of the "U" string.

Take the left end of your "U" strand and put it behind the loop.

Now, take the right end of your "U" string and put it over the first part of the loop, under the other end of your "U" and over the other side fo the loop.

Tighten the knot you made and turn the good side of each of the strands so they all face the same way. It will look much better when finished.

Put the headband around your head and mark where it fits comfortably with a marker. Cut the strands in half up to your marks.

Tie each of the corresponding strands into knots.

Now, take a square that you cut from the shirt and glue it over the knot to give the headband a clean, finished look. I don't have a picture of this step for this headband, but there is one on the next one if you are stumped.

 And you're all done!

HEADBAND #2: The Four-Strand Braid

Cut two loops from the bottom of your t-shirt this time. I used a new t-shirt to make sure that it would fit around my head, but I ended up cutting a little extra off anyways, so you will probably be fine if your use the same t-shirt as the first headband (if you made it already). Stretch them out, just like the other headband.

Cut the loops into four strands. Glue the ends together with your glue gun.

Now it's time to braid! Separate all four of your strands. If you've never done a four-strand braid before, don't fret! It's super easy once you get the hang of it. Let's say we numbered them 1-4 from left to right.

Take string 1 and 3 and cross them over strings 2 and 4. You should have two separate crosses.

Now, take string 3 and cross it over string 2 (these are the two middle ones).

Repeat the above steps to finish your braid. Make sure you tighten it, or it will look pretty bad. Also, it's much easier to keep the good side facing up while braiding, instead of after. Once you finish the braid, glue the ends together. I put a dot on each strand and did one more step of the braid to finish it off. Also, the very beginning of the braid was super loose, so I cut it off and did the same thing.

Just like on the last headband, measure around your head and mark if you need to. Mine was actually a little bit too short, so I didn't mark it. Now take a square from the t-shirt and glue it on the ends of the braid to finish the headband.

You're done! Now you have two snazzy headbands that are super comfy and cute!

I hope the pictures helped you in the process, even if they are kind of funky because of my phone's camera. I wasn't lying when I said there would be a lot! Sorry about the length of this post. I figured you wouldn't bother to read it all unless you wanted to make the headbands, in which case, you need the instructions. Have fun gettin' crafty!