DIY baby blankets and mustache T-shirt design

Remember that week I mentioned earlier where pregnancy hit me hard? Yeah well that week I also decided to attempt another DIY project. Don't ask why, I blame pregnancy nesting needs.

Fortunately, this was a fairly easy project and after my first experience with DIY T-shirt making I felt more confident about my abilities.

Receiving Blankets
I saw some adorable receiving blankets on baby boutiques online. I just didn't want to pay upwards of $10 for one. Also, the problem I have with store bought packs of blankets is that they always have one or two adorable prints that suck you in, but the other three in the pack are boring monochromatic colors. 

So I went into Jo-Ann Fabric armed with digital coupons on my phone determined to find some cute prints. Thank you for not failing me! Just my luck, they were having a 50% sale on flannel infant print fabrics, so I couldn't use my coups on them but the price was too good to pass up. I was a happy camper. Pictured below are fabrics I found all originally priced at $6.99/yard. I brought with me a blanket I had at home (those free ones we all snag from the hospital) to use for measuring, but ended up just getting a yard of each because at $3.50 a pop it was a great deal. Most 4-5 packs of blankets are around $20 so I was still spending less money AND getting all 5 prints I loved.

The process is pretty straight forward and the result comes out looking professional! Like I mentioned in my last DIY post, I'm a big fan of no sew iron on bonding. If you have a sewing machine or are craftier with a needle and thread than me then I'm sure you could achieve the same look that way, but I personally love the ease of using an iron and not pricking myself silly trying to navigate a needle. I was happy to have a memento for my baby that I can say I had some hand in creating. I wish I knew how to crochet or do anything else fancy, but I don't so for now this was a nice little project.

Materials:
1 yard of flannel blanket fabric (this makes a BIG blanket like he could use it til he's 3-4 years old, if you want a smaller one you can have them cut it to match the size of a regular hospital blanket)
1 spool of ribbon (choose a color that compliments your fabric, I chose white as it went with all my fabrics)
1 pack of fusible bonding web
(both ribbon and bonding web can be found at Michael's or Jo-Ann and remember to use their 40% off reg price item coupon!)

Instructions:
Iron your blanket to get out any wrinkles and smooth out the edges.
Line up the bonding strip along the edge of your blanket then place the ribbon on top
On medium heat, iron slowly moving down to ensure the glue has sealed between the fabric and ribbon.
Tadaa, you're done!

Essentially, all this is doing is adding a border to your blanket so it has a clean finish instead of frayed ends. To make it look more spiffy you can personalize the blanket with iron on letters also available at all crafts stores. I didn't add one yet since we haven't finalized a name! 

Finished Look

Mustache T Shirt Design

I was perusing around Etsy when I saw this adorable shirt and decided to attempt it myself using the iron on method again. Since I'm still learning my results may not be as clean as the Etsy original design, but fortunately I have boys who could careless about perfection. And the best part is I didn't spend $14+shipping per shirt either. ;)

Materials

Black fabric for the mustache  (check the scrap fabric section of Jo-Ann/Walmart which usually has them discounted)

Chevron fabric for the sunglasses (got mine on sale at Walmart, you only need 1/4 of a yard maybe)

Plain White T shirt (I bought a 5 pack of undershirts, any plain cotton T shirt works)

White Chalk (I used crayola, from Target. I'm sure dollar stores have this too)

Scissors - make sure they're super sharp fabric cutting scissors. This prevents frayed ends on the fabric

Paper - to draw out your mustache and sunglasses template

Heat n Bond - Got mine at Jo-Ann but Walmart sells it too (always make sure to use coupons!)

Black Fabric paint - $1 Michaels/Walmart, to outline the edge of the mustache, gives it a clean finished look. 

what I used as inspiration

I freehand drew the mustache on template paper and using chalk outlined it onto my black fabric.
Then hold the fabric taut as you cut out the design. 

Repeat the same process with your sunglasses as you did with the mustache, except now using chevron print fabric.

Following the Heat and Bond directions carefully, iron the mustache and glasses onto your white tee and you're done! Do a test run on a scrap fabric piece first. Let it cool down then outline the mustache carefully with black fabric paint. Set to dry overnight. 

I also began another project for my little man, but haven't finished it all yet. Below is a look so far.

I had red polka dot fabric left over from my Disney shirts so I used it to create suspenders. Fold over the fabric and use fusible bonding web on the edges to create a clean lined ribbon. Make sure both suspenders are the same length/width before you heat bond them onto the onsie.

draw a bow template then outline onto black fabric and cut out. 

Glue or sew on 3 buttons below the ironed on bow to finish out the look. (I've changed my mind since and plan to use a glue gun to create a bow tie similar to my Disney shirts. It's a nice 3D effect rather than a flat fabric on fabric look. I'll post updated pictures once I'm done)

I did all 3 of these projects in ONE day. It didn't take more than a few hours, start during your child's nap time and then finish it once they're in bed. That's the best way to get some real concentration. Hope my directions aren't too complicated, they're all very basic concepts and with a little trial and error I know anyone can do it! Good luck and do comment to let me know if you attempt your own DIY shirts :)

DIY projects

We did a few projects around the apartment many many months ago. I'm just now getting a chance to blog about them, but I'm so happy with all the updates we were able to do! These are things I pinned on Pinterest ages ago, but being totally 'uncrafty' I never actually attempted them. Once I actually did, I found how easy and stylish the result was that I couldn't stop! Goes to show that we all can have creative abilities if we try to just think outside the box. Some projects may have even cost more than just buying something brand new, but the experience of creating something yourself is worth the extra dollar sometimes. 

Staining wood bookshelves

We had been looking for a nice bookshelf for awhile. At a garage sale, we came across these shelves which were stacked on top of each other. I knew the color didn't match any of our furniture, but at a bargained price of $5 I figured why not try our hand at staining them darker? My hubs is pretty awesome, because you can't even tell this is his first time staining wood! I love the end result! 

(Ps- I also got those beautiful planter vases from a garage sale. The tag under them tells me they were originally from Kirkland for $20 each, I definitely paid less lol)

We got our supplies from Home Depot: Sand paper, dark wood stain and a paintbrush. Since I can't smell paint fumes during pregnancy Hubs did this project while Ali and I were out of town. To get the stain to match our furniture he took one of the legs of the sofa to Home Depot and was able to get them to match it perfectly. Since I wasn't really around for the process, I can't tell you all the details, but I sent him the link to this blog about staining a wood staircase, a dining table and countertops. Also, I know he just went up to the employee at HD and asked what he'd need to stain a bookshelf and was given help with everything. 

This is a project which takes a few days as you have to first sand well, then apply and let the primer dry, then again apply the stain and let it dry before you add another coat. My advice: Start from the bottom or inside where no one can see/tell your mistakes as you learn and by the time you get to the most noticeable parts you will be a pro!

BEFORE

AFTER:

Sorry the After pictures aren't great, they're from my phone and the sunlight coming in was really not helping on this particular day. For now the shelves are still on the floor, but I'm trying to figure out some sort of pegs or something for a base that can elevate them above the ground just a bit so they reach the windowsill height. I will update on that soon! 

Gold Sharpie Paint Candle Design

The next project was a simple idea that came to me on an afternoon of boredom. Remember this gold sharpie lamp DIY I did awhile back? I just loved how easy it was and how it added a little oomph to the lamp. That's basically what I did with this candle below. Again, this was another garage sale find and my husband loved the intricate detail on it. I'm a big fan of sharpie paints and how easy they are to use!

Just to give you an idea of how the gold paint brought some life into the candle, here's a look of it half done.

Dining Chairs Update

One of the first projects we actually did  was updating the upholstery for our dining chairs. During the move from NJ to Fl these chairs and the off white cloth of the seats had taken a serious beating, left with quite a few stains. During one of my many million trips to Target I fell in love with this geometric design window curtain and decided to use as the fabric for my chairs. I think one panel cost $15, you can easily find cheaper fabric with coupons at JoAnn or maybe even cheaper curtains but I just really loved this particular design. 

My initial plan was to paint the wood of our chairs too. I even found a great tutorial on painting dining chairs here. We just never got around to doing it.

This project took us one evening. Maybe two episodes of Breaking Bad later, voila! Our dining table had a whole new look. All you need for this is a good pair of scissors, a staple gun (yet another garage sale find for $1, refill staples can be bought at Home Depot for about $3) and Scotch Guard spray to make your fabric stain resistant. It's easier to do as a two man project, as I would hold the fabric taut while hubby stapled, but it can be done by one person. So turn on your Netflix, find a show you've been meaning to catch up on and get to work!

DIY Disney T-Shirt

We decided to take advantage of our Florida residency and bought season passes to Disney World this year. We got a 4 day pass for $160/person, meaning $40 per day, which is a 60% discount off the regular gate price. Here are my thoughts/advice on Disney, before I jump into my DIY shirts:

-Definitely get the Florida resident pass at least once every few years, especially if you have kids!

-Technically, you have to show proof of residency, which I suppose they saw when we paid through our credit card online and entered our zip code, but when we went to the ticket window to pick up our pass they never asked for any further ID (documents said they would). SO if you're one to try cheating the system and are up for risking it then have someone from FL buy passes on their credit card and save yourself 60% off full ticket price. Again, I wouldn't recommend it, but from what I've heard people do this and it works. It's still a risk.

-The absolute BEST time to visit Disney World, specifically Magic Kingdom is early February; Sundays being optimal! We encountered the shortest wait times I've ever experienced (been to MK in 1994, 2004, 2007 and 2008) with the longest being maybe 30 minutes! We did all the rides/parades/shows we wanted to do by 8pm and we could have stuck around til the fireworks at 11pm to do even more rides but with a tired 3 year old we were more than satisfied with our day and headed out.

- The new FastPass system is awesome! Its included free in your ticket and lets you choose up to 3 rides/shows you want to skip the line in by selecting a time to come back for them. We did fastpass at Magic Kingdom for Space Mountain, Buzz Light-Year and Pirates of the Caribbean. At Hollywood studios we did it for the Toy Story ride, Disney Junior Live show (don't bother, there's plenty of showtimes and lots of room, I would recommend doing it for the Rock n Roll roller coaster instead) and Tower of Terror. You can easily ask the attendant which rides tend to get the busiest and they're very helpful with assisting you.

-Download the DisneyWorld app on your phone (it's free). It gives updated wait times so you can strategically plan out which rides you should get on as soon as you enter the park. I spent the night before our trip picking out the rides we wanted to do and roughly planning out in which order to do them then the day of the app helped with figuring out which had the shortest lines. This really helped make the most of our day!

-Parking at the parks is $15 per day and going 4 days means spending $60 on just parking your car. Not saying we did this, but I have heard of an easy money saving trick. Park at one of the Disney resorts for free, Art of Animation for example, and taking their free shuttle to the parks. You are required to have a parking pass resorts too, but mostly that's for overnight parking. To be safe you can just tell them at the lobby that you're interested in spending the night and came to check out the resort, and they'll give you a temporary parking pass.

-If your kids want to meet Disney characters, I would say double check to see which parks you can meet which characters at (use the Disney App). The best park for the most Meet n Greets is Hollywood Studios (formerly MGM Studios). We waited the longest for Mickey Mouse at Magic Kingdom, around 30 minutes and found out later that Mickey is also at HS, which is far less crowded so it has shorter wait times. But I think if you want to meet the princesses they're only at MK. We got lucky with having a son and the line to meet Daffy/Goofy was way shorter than Daisy/Minnie and he obviously wasn't interested in story time with Belle (which has a VERY long wait).

-Definitely try to attend the MK parade, it's interactive where kids can dance along with characters and probably more fun than the show on stage later on. For a great show, make sure to attend Mickey's Fantasmic show at Hollywood Studios, the first show gets full very fast so either aim to attend the second one or get in line early.

-With a toddler/3 year old you can plan to take a break for nap time and that's when you/husband can take turns to go on the adult rides or you can completely let your kid exhaust himself and he'll probably crash by 6/7pm. either way have some sort of plan in mind for what works better with your child and that will make your day less tiring. Try to get all the kiddie stuff out of the way first so that when the nap monster starts roaring you can head out if need be, otherwise all the parks have a kid's room where nursing moms or sleepy babies can rest.

-For FREE Disney fun DEFINITELY check out Downtown Disney, they have some live performances and an awesome Lego store where kids can have fun building. We also took our son to check out Art of Animation resort since they have a whole section themed like the Cars movie. They also have a Nemo, Little Mermaid and Lion King wing. It's really fun and you get some great pictures!

Ok I've run out of tips/tricks for now, so check out below my first DIY t-shirt making project. I literally decided to do this on Thursday morning and we were leaving for Disney on Friday morning! It took me some rushing to crafts stores then my amazing friend's house to use her printer before I got to actual work on the shirts, which took maybe 3-4  hours (I did some finishing touches in our hotel room) and the result was great!

Items you need:
Plain White Tshirt (you can find them at any craft store like Michael's or in the back of your own closet)
White Chalk (I used crayola, from Target. I'm sure dollar stores have this too)
Scissors
Glue Gun (got mine at a garage sale for $1, Michael's has one for $5 with their 40% off coupon)
Cup and a Bowl - to draw Mickey's ears and face
Black fabric (check the scrap fabric section of Jo Ann which usually has them majorly discounted)
Red Polka Dot fabric - For Minnie's bow
Red Stars fabric - for Mickey's bowtie (you need very little of this since it's just a bow, depends on how many you're making. I asked the girl at the fabric counter at Jo Ann's to help me and it worked fine, didn't cost more than $3)
Heat n Bond - Got mine at Jo Ann fabric (always make sure to use their coupons, google it!)
Quick Fuse Iron On Sheets - again I checked the sale section of Jo Ann and got mine for about $7
Black Fabric paint - $1 Michaels, to outline Mickey's silhouette, gives it a clean finished look. Optional, not necessary though.


So it all started when I saw this picture on Pinterest, then I found out how much they cost to have custom made on Etsy.

I didn't have time for ordering custom shirts, nor did I want to spend $18+ on something we would wear just a few times. So I dug in our closets for my husband's old Hanes under shirts and my son's old 18 month onesie (which still fits my scrawny kid!) I did some googling and found images for what I wanted our shirts to look like.

When I came across this picture below I just loved the idea of using Mickey hands! Especially because I wanted to incorporate our newest little addition in the plan too!  Yep, this is what let the cat out of the bag.

So I got to work using my son's plastic tupperware to make a stencil of Mickey

A trip to Jo Ann's found me this iron on paper. I was able to print the Mickey Hand's image on my friend's home printer without any trouble at all. Just follow the instructions on the Quick Fuse back label. FYI: if you don't have a printer don't bother trying Staples Kinkos or Office Depot they all have laser printers and you need an ink jet for this. Try to find a buddy with a home printer or possibly a local library.

Searched through JoAnn's discounted scrap fabric section got me some black fabric for about $2

Had some crayola chalk lying around the house so I used that to trace my stencil onto the fabric and then cut it out.

So there's this glue bond thing you can find for under $5, its SO easy. This was literally my first experience of shopping at Michael's or working with iron glue bonding and I had zero problems. If I can do it, so can you! Lay your fabric on the glue sheets then lightly press the iron so glue sticks to the back of your fabric. Then cut the fabric peel off the backing and now iron onto your shirt. Directions are on the packaging, I followed them and it was fairly simple. Do a test run on a scrap fabric piece to be safe. 

We took a  break to celebrate hubby's birthday at Benihana's. How cute does my little guy look!

We found out he's got a love for sushi already!

At the hotel now, we made the bowties. I am NOT a sewer. But I did have a glue gun at home. So again, I found fabric on sale and put my gun to use.

Glue the edges so you have a clean ribbon to work with.

The entire bow was made with a glue gun, no sewing at all. We used one big ribbon and then glued a smaller ribbon to it in order to make that center part.

In hindsight I realize I should have made Mickey smaller on my son's shirt since it was so big that the bow sort of got hidden at the bottom, but still it came out cute. Not bad for my first try! I used black fabric paint I had at home to add a zigzag design to the inside of Mickey. This helps cover up any places where the glue might show and adds a little flare. It's totally optional and not necessary. 

View from our hotel room at the resort we stayed at. That water slide was AWESOME!

Our day trip to Art of Animation, showing off my final product!

If you have some free time at 2AM then give yourself a little Minnie Mouse manicure!

Here's a close up shot of my shirt, a little shout out to my tiny Mickey hiding inside! I figured if we were going the cheesy route, why not go all the way :)

Disney Junior Live Show at Hollywood Studios. Our little guy LOVED it! You get to see Jake and the Pirates, Sofia the First, Doc McStuffin and the whole Mickey Mouse Clubhouse gang.