101 Tees: Irish You Were Beer

Irish Eyes are Smiling!

 St. Patrick's Day is just around the corner!  You still have time paint up tee and show off your Irish Pride!   For this design I made stencils using freezer paper, you could also use self-stick shelf liner.

Custom cut stencils are a snap to make!  For ease of cutting, always use a sharp craft knife and a self-healing mat.

My latest book,

101 Tees (Lark Books)hits the shelves August 2011!

Pre-Order available at Barnes and Noble or Amazon.

Materials:
Paper Printed with an Irish saying
Green T-Shirt
Marker
Freezer Paper or self-stick shelf liner
Craft Knife
Self Healing Mat
Ruler
Iron
Stencil Brush
FolkArt White Fabric Paint

Steps:
1.  Begin by printing an Irish saying onto a piece of paper.  Chunky letters work best.  Re-size the letters as needed.

2. Make a stencil of the saying by laying freezer paper (wax side down) or shelf liner over the words.  Tape both pieces to the self-healing mat. Use the sharp craft knife to cut out the design leaving a border around the design.

3. Position the freezer paper stencil in the center of the tee. Use a warm iron to attach the wax side of the paper to the tee. For shelf liner, stick the cutout design to the tee. Stick the insides of the letters to the tee.  (this is for letters like o, a b)

4. Dab a stencil brush in white fabric paint. You want to work with a semi-dry brush, so tap off enough excess paint. Working up and down, tap the brush over the stencil.  Allow the paint to dry. Peel off the stencil and follow the manufacturer’s instructions to heat set the paint.

Make it: Altered Domino Pendant for St. Pats!

If you wanna create a quick and fun necklace to show off your Irish pride on St. Patrick's day all you need to do alter a domino with a little Mod Podge, Dimensional Magic and an Irish image. To add a little glitz attach a few rhinestones or add a little glitter glue.


Materials:
2051 - Royal Coat Dimensional Magic - Clear
CS11239 - Mod Podge Paper - Gloss, 16 oz.
Domino
Irish image (shrunk to fit)
Scrap paper
Scissors
Foam paintbrush
Gem glue
Rhinestones
Bail
E6000 glue
Ball chain

Steps:
1. Trace the domino onto the Irish image, cut out circle. Apply Mod Podge to the backside of the paper. Position onto the domino. Topcoat with a layer of Mod Podge. Allow to dry. Cut small strips of scrap paper and attach them around the domino in the same fashion as the top.

2. Attach rhinestones to the top and bottom of the domino using gem glue. Once dry, apply a think coat of dimensional magic to create a high gloss finish.

3. Using heavy-duty glue, attach a bail to the back side. Once dry, attach to a ball chain.

Make It: Irish Luck Sign

Whip up a quick front door sign to show off your Irish pride.

Materials:
Mod Podge Gloss
Folkart paint – 644 Grass Green
FolkArt Extreme Glitter – peridot
Wood plaque – long and skinny
Paintbrushes
Scrapbook paper – green stripe
2 silk flowers – green
Buttons – 4
Chipboard letters - green
Hot Glue

Steps:

1. Paint the wood plaque grass green.

2. Trace around the plaque onto the scrapbook paper. Cutout the shape. Apply Mod Podge to the tag and the back of the paper. Place the paper on the plaque. Apply more mod podge to the top, press with your finger until smooth. Apply more Mod Podge is necessary. Smooth your brush strokes.

3. Using extreme glitter, dry brush glitter over the edges of the plaque and over the scrapbook paper.

4. Hot glue the silk flowers to the edges. Attach layered buttons in the center of the flowers. Hot glue the words “Irish Luck” or the words of your choice across the plaque.

Spring Green Hair Clips

Spring Green Hair Clips - Just in time for St. Patrick's Day!!

Hair Clips are a hot fashion accessory for this coming spring and summer seasons. Design elements such as layered materials, papers and found objects are being used to create hair accessories that have a homespun look with a big price tag. In boutiques and department stores the prices of “homespun” hair clips can skyrocket through the roof with prices ranging from $8.00 to $24.00 depending on the size and brand name.

You can easily make them yourself for pennies on the dollar. The featured designs each cost under $3.00 to make and can be customized in any color palette. Finding materials to craft hair clips from is as easy as a trip to the craft store or your craft stash. At retail craft shops you can find barrette blanks, scrapbook papers and other decorative embellishments. If you have a scrap bin of ribbons, small rhinestones or loose buttons that is a good place to begin your hunt for items you can transform into hair clips. No scrap is too small as you will only need a small amount of goods to create a boutique style hair clip.

Spring is just around the corner, so it is time to get creative and create some fresh new accessories for yourself, your girlfriends or your kids.

Enjoy~ Cathie

Hair Clip Materials:
Green decorative paper
Wood poker chip
Scissors
Mod Podge gloss
Large green button
Green rhinestone
Gem glue
E6000 glue
Green ribbon
Barrette clip

Bobby Pin Materials:
Small wood disk
Foam paintbrush
Folkart paint – 644 Grass Green
FolkArt Extreme Glitter – peridot
Small flower embellishment
Green rhinestone
Gem glue
E6000 glue
Bobby Pin


To make the hair clip:

1. Trace the poker chip onto the paper, cut out circle. Apply Mod Podge to the backside of the paper. Position onto the chip. Topcoat with a layer of Mod Podge. Allow to dry.

2. Glue a button in the center of the papered poker chip. Use glue to attach a rhinestone in the center of the button.

3. Glue a strip of ribbon down the center or the barrette. Glue the poker chip in the center of the clip.

To make the bobby pin:

1. Paint the wood disk with 1 coat of green grass. Once dry, apply two coats of extreme glitter. Once dry, attach a small flower embellishment and a rhinestone in the center

2. Glue a strip of ribbon across the base of the bobby pin using heavy-duty glue. Glue the wood disk in the center.