Dragonfly Designs

Upcycled Pocket T-shirt from Sky @ Capital B

2013-05-23T07:00:00.000-07:00

Hello, hello, Twin Dragonfly Designs readers! I know I'm preachin' to the choir in mentioning how awesome Heather is here, but I'll say it anyway- this woman rocks! I am constantly amazed at the level of creativity she churns out! She is one of my favorite people and we've never even met ;) I'm thrilled to be in her company here today!

My name is Sky and my blog is called Capital B. It's a place that brings me happiness and when you come over to visit, I hope it'll do the same for you! I'm also a boy mama- with two teenage stepsons and two little guys of my own. They make life awesome! You'll often find me using the hashtag #boysrule because, well, they just do! ;)

Today for

One For The Boys ~ T-shirt Week

I decided to try my hand again at creating a shirt I've made once before for my little guys. A couple of years ago, when I was first even learning how my sewing machine worked, I sewed a small scrap of fabric on some cheap shirts to create a "pocket" for them to tuck treasures inside of. Those became their very favorite shirts and I thought this time around I'd let them add a bit of personality too :)

My oldest son is very near the age of Heather's little guys. He loves rocks and fossils, dinosaurs and Bigfoot. Yes, he is quite certain Bigfoot and yeti are both for real... Anyhow, he sat by my side and picked out a dinosaur fossil picture he liked from the computer screen. I used basic transfer paper to then print and iron on what he chose. This shirt would be fun and enjoyable without adding this step at all- it sure did add a ton of cute factor, though! Now they aren't just favorites, they are beloved :)

I loved the idea of adding his own writing to his shirt- could you die over how cute kid's sounded out spelling is?! I just love it! :) So I asked him to write the words "Fossil Hunting Gear" with a Sharpie on a piece of normal copy paper. Then I scanned and created an image I'd be able to flip for the purpose of ironing it on- I really love how this turned out! Anyone wanna go hunteeng when we're done here?? :)

My younger little dude thinks rocket ships are the best ever- he chose his own graphic beside me at the computer too. He's also the one who happily (usually, at least) tags along with me to the fabric store while brother is at school. He thought this bright flame fabric was sah-weet! I didn't know when I bought it that it would pair so well with the graphic for his shirt, but I think they really look perfect together! And he now thinks that Mom is more in touch than ever with what "cool" is ;)

The pockets are just the right size for tucking in small little guys or other toys, and especially great for money!

You get this look when you're trying to get your boys to cooperate for photos too, right?? :)

So, this t-shirt is really so simple that no doubt you can go and make one yourself without a tutorial... for real, if I can sew this, that means anyone can! I am pretty much in an eternal learning-to-work-my-machine stage! I did take a few photos here below of how to create the pocket portion to add to your shirt. I got my plain shirts at JoAnn's, so that part was ready to go. It is only the pocket that I added...

1) Cut two of the same piece of fabric for your pocket. One of my boys' is a plain rectangle/ square shape. The other I was trying to use scraps for and in order to get at big enough piece, I had to have a rounded bottom. But I really do like the way it turned out!

2) Hem the top of both pocket pieces. I hemmed one by just folding and ironing once, then the other by folding over itself again, ironing and stitching. You'll take care of the stitching for the first one when you add it to the shirt- not doing it beforehand makes it so you don't have to follow any seam exactly when you put it on :) I like that- novice sewer here, remember? ;) The difference in hems also makes it so the front portion is a bit shorter than the back side- easier for the boys to put stuff in and out!

3) Sew around the sides and bottom with right sides together.

4) Then turn! When you do, you'll notice the very top portion edges want to stick out- the result of having the front be a bit shorter for easier access. I did the super professional thing and just clipped them off. Ha! I wasn't too worried about the fraying- I kinda thought it would look cool with raw edges on the whole thing actually. If you want a better solution than my super lazy one, clip and iron those small top sections as part of step 2 :)

And to attach your cute pocket, pin it where you'd like to just one layer of your shirt, then slide it under your needle and start your top stitch all the way around with the top hem of the back piece!

I don't think my own little men could love their pocket shirts any more! It was like Christmas when they woke up to them the morning after I made them. And all day they kept saying at random, "Mom, thanks for my new shirt." Told ya... #boysrule! :) They kept adding different little treasures and checking what was in their pockets- I know they'll be lovin' on these all summer long!

Blast off! Thanks again, Heather, for having me here at Twin Dragonfly Designs.

I love your blog and all you do! I'll be making several of your other T-Shirt Week ideas no doubt!

***

Thanks so much Sky for sharing these fantastic t-shirts and your adorable boys with us! We would all love to go fosl hunteeng sometime I am sure. Too Cute! Please stop by Capital B to give Sky some love! And follow our Pinterest Board for more boy t-shirt ideas!

Superhero Flip T-shirt Tutorial

2013-05-22T07:00:00.000-07:00

Hi everyone!
This post was originally shared over at 733 last week.
Now it becomes a part of
One For The Boys ~ T-shirt Week
as I am posting it here just in case you missed it.

Have you seen those flip shirts that say "ask me about my zombie costume" or "ask me about my pet trex" then when flipped inside out they have a zombie or trex image on the inside? Google "flip shirt" and you will find them. I thought this was a super cute concept and took it a step further to create these Superhero Flip T-shirts for my superhero loving boys.

This is Cameron as his favorite hero, Ironman.

And here is Isaiah and his favorite hero, Spiderman.

The sky is the limit when it comes to which superhero your child would like to be.

Here's how to create your very own flip shirt...

1. Cut the words "ask me about my alter ego" out of freezer paper. I used my cricut cutting machine but you can totally do this by hand too, it would just take a bit longer.

2. Iron the freezer paper stencil to the front of the shirt. Be sure to press all of the edges down carefully.

3. Place a scrap piece of paper inside the shirt, underneath where you are painting so that the fabric paint doesn't seep through to the back of the shirt.

4. Using fabric paint, color in the stencilled letters. Allow this to dry completely.

5. Turn the t-shirt inside out. Iron on a superhero freezer paper stencil. Be sure to have the top of the head point towards the hem of the t-shirt so that when the shirt is flipped the superhero face is right side up. I traced Ironman and Spiderman faces onto freezer paper and used them as a stencil. You can find templates for these characters here. Because the t-shirts that I was working with were white, I painted my superhero stencil with white fabric paint first so that the actual colors of our superheros wouldn't show through to the front of the shirt.

6. Paint the character using fabric paints.

7. Add details using dimensional fabric paint if desired.

8. Peel off the freezer paper stencil and allow to dry completely. Iron the back of the painted area to heat set it.

Now introducing...

Isaiah as...

Spiderman!

Cameron as...

Ironman!

Fun right?!

Stay tuned for more boy t-shirt goodness!

Inspiring Creativity

2013-05-21T19:00:00.000-07:00

Welcome to Inspiring Creativity!!

Thank you for sharing your creativity with us each week.

Our most viewed project from last week was...

this Plastic Lid Stamp post from
the Crafty Journal.

I love the idea of reusing old lids to create a quick, kid craft! Thanks for sharing Noreen. Please grab a button!

New to Dragonfly Designs?

Please grab a button and share the love!

The Intersection T-shirt from Carolyn @ Moose Mouse Creations

2013-05-21T07:00:00.001-07:00

Hi! I'm Carolyn from Moose Mouse Creations and I'm thrilled to be here at Twin Dragonfly Designs today!

Over at my blog I post about sewing, crochet, baking and cake decorating, with a little bit of DIY and home decor thrown in. Of course I can't resist filling my posts with stories and photos from my always busy {often crazy} life with my all-male brood.

If you have a moment, come visit me at my etsy shop too, where I sell beautiful, boutique quality crochet hats that I've designed. I'll also be releasing my first line of crochet patterns later this spring...be sure to watch for them in my shop!

As a Mom of 4 boys,

One for the Boys ~ T-shirt Week

is right up my alley! My little guys spend 90% of their lives in T-shirts, so I love to find fun ways to embellish and customize them.

The tutorial I'm sharing today uses something a little unexpected to turn a plain white Tee into wearable textile art...Plastic Lanyard!

You can buy the lanyard at any craft store. It can be flat or shaped like a tube and is usually used for making bracelets or key chains. Today I'm going to show you how easy it is to use the lanyard to make:

You will need a T-shirt, approx. 1 1/2 yards of lanyard in your choice of colors, a washable/disappearing marking pen or chalk, sewing machine, thread and an adorable little boy to wear the finished shirt!

Wash and dry your T-shirt to preshrink it. (I know it's a drag, but take the time now so that the shirt doesn't shrink after you've sewn the lanyard on - that would REALLY be a drag!!!)

Draw out your design on the Tee.

I used a ruler to make three straight, evenly spaced lines vertically and horizontally.

Be sure you use a marking device that will wash out or fade away especially if you're using any transparent lanyard.

Decide where you want each color and cut a piece of lanyard slightly longer than each line you've drawn.

Line up your drawn line and the lanyard under the presser foot of your sewing machine.

Stitch the lanyard in place using your hand to keep it lined up.

I used two different zig-zag stitches to sew the lanyard in place. For the first inch or so, I used a broken zig-zag so that the needle would actually go through the lanyard, anchoring it to the shirt. Then I switched over to a regular zig-zag stitch, sewing around the lanyard rather than through it for most of it's length. Then, I switched back to the broken zig-zag to anchor the other end.

If you are lucky enough to own one, you can use a specialized couching foot to attach the lanyard (these feet go by all sorts of names: couching, cording, piping, braiding, etc.)...but a standard presser foot and a bit of patience will give the same results (I used my "monogram" foot because I love that is clear in the center and lets me see where I'm sewing).

While you sew, be sure not to stretch the T-shirt or the lanyard, that would result in a roller coaster of hills and valleys instead of a smooth finish.

Continue to stitch each piece of lanyard down over the lines.

After all of the lanyard pieces are in place, trim the ends as close as you can to the stitches.

Viola! The Intersection Tee!

You can safely wash the tee in a cold temp wash and machine dry on medium (I tested it!).

I love the way the lanyard looks with the stitching around it,

but I especially love the texture...notice my little Zander feeling the stripes in the center photo!

I hope this inspires you to create a super cool T-shirt and to think a little outside of the box with your craft materials!

I can't wait for you to come visit me at Moose Mouse Creations or at my etsy shop to see all of the other fun projects I've been working on!

*****

Thank you so much for sharing this absolutely unique little boys t-shirt with us today Carolyn! What a cool technique!

You can follow us on our Pinterest Board for more boy t-shirt ideas and be sure to come back tomorrow for another fabulous t-shirt tutorial!!

Camping T-shirt ~ I'm Just a Little Cooler

2013-05-20T07:00:00.001-07:00

Hi friends!

Welcome to

One For The Boys ~ T-shirt Week

here on the blog. All week long we will be sharing epic t-shirt tutorials with you. All inspired by our little men. We would love for you to join us, follow along and check out our Pinterest Board for more great boy t-shirt ideas!

Our family loves to go camping. So every year I try to create a new camping t-shirt for the boys.

You can find last years S'more Smores T-shirt here and our I Love Camping T-shirt here.

This year I found a cartoon image of a cooler saying "don't hate me just cuz I'm a little cooler" and I thought that it would be totally cute for the boys. I dropped the "hate" because I am not a fan of encouraging the boys to say "hate". Weird? Anywho here's how it came together...

I started by cutting the words out of freezer paper. I used my cricut cutting machine but you could easily cut them out by hand, it would just take a bit longer.

I ironed the stencil onto the t-shirt.

And created a text bubble and cooler stencil as well. These stencils I just sketched onto the freezer paper with a pencil then cut out. I ironed these onto the shirt as well.

Then I painted inside of the stencils using acrylic fabric paint. Be sure to put a scrap piece of paper between the front and back of the shirt so that the paint doesn't seep to the back of the shirt.

Using puffy fabric paints and a brush I free handed the details on the cooler.

Now the boys have some pretty rad t-shirts to wear camping this summer.

Thanks for reading ~ be sure to stop by tomorrow for more boy t-shirt goodness!!

Fruit of the spirit ~ plate it forward

2013-05-18T07:00:00.000-07:00

I have been meaning to share this project for a long while and it keeps getting bumped down the list. But I just love this idea so much. It's too good to bypass any longer ;)

During our winter Pinspired Project class we experimented with the whole Sharpie Mug craze. I decided to create a plate. As I was sketching ideas one of my students asked if I had heard of "plate if forward". I hadn't. It's a very simple concept, she explained, where you give someone a plate of goodies. Think homemade cookies or brownies. When the plate is empty, the recipient then gives it {with goodies} to the next person and so on. I love this idea!

So my fruit of the spirit plate was born and is soon to be plated forward.

I hope that it has a long and fruitful journey.

Plant Print Paintings

2013-05-17T07:00:00.000-07:00

We wrapped another session of Pinspired Projects this week. I was sad to say goodbye to all of my talented students. It was a true pleasure to work with them.

We take some of our favorite pins and recreate them in class. One of our projects this spring were these Spray Painted Leave Silhouette paintings.

My examples turned out to be the perfect finishing touch for our Complete Deck Makeover.

Quite a few of the projects that we pin do not have complete tutorials so there were a few bumps along the way and a bit of a learning curve. I have created a quick tutorial with some of our tips. Check it out....

Start by painting the canvas with acrylic paint.

We found our canvases at Michaels and used acrylic paint from the dollar store. Be sure to allow the canvas to dry completely.

Next choose the plant that you would like to use as the silhouette. Tip: press the plant flat between a bunch of heavy books first. If your plant is not pressed flat the spray paint just goes right underneath the foliage. Check out twindragonflydesigns on Instagram for my epic test project fail.

Use removable spray adhesive to stick the plant to the canvas. Tip: really press the plant to the canvas to get good adhesion.

Apply an even coat of spray paint to the canvas. Be sure to cover the sides of the canvas as well. Tip: do not leave the foliage on the canvas too long or the paint will cause it to "stick" to the surface. Peel the leaves off as soon as the paint begins to dry. If any leaf bits remain on the painting simply pick them off with your fingers or gently rub them off with a baby wipe when the canvas is completely dry.

They turned out pretty great...

I am so looking forward to Pinspired Projects in the fall. I hope that you will follow along and join us on our journey as we try to "do more, pin less".

Tin Foil Packet Potatoes

2013-05-16T07:00:00.000-07:00

We have a lot of camping planned this summer so I have already started to bust out the camping recipes.

These Tin Foil Packet Potatoes are a favorite of ours. They are easy, flavourful and can accompany just about any meal.

The goods:

6 medium potatoes, cubed

2 Tbsp margarine

1/2 onion, diced

2 tsp garlic, minced

1-2 tsp seasoning salt

Combine all of the ingredients into a foil packet. Be sure to keep the shiny side of the foil in to reflect the heat. Fold over the edges of the tin foil then fold the sides and ends up into a packet.

Cook for about 20 minutes on medium heat.

Pair these tin foil packet potatoes with corn on the cob, steak and sauteed mushrooms for a meal that is sure to have your fellow campers asking you for an invitation to dinner.

Enjoy!

Two Minute Bracelet

2013-05-15T07:00:00.000-07:00

This bracelet is absolutely gorgeous. And truly took less than two minutes to create!

All you need is a needle, elastic thread and beads. You can find these gorgeous beads at Wholeport. I love, love, love the teal and turquoise colour! Wholeport has many great styles and colours of beads to choose from. Oh the possibilities!

Simply thread the beads through the elastic and you have your very own two minute bracelet.

I used two strands of elastic thread for this bracelet so that I could be sure that it would support the weight of the beads.

Gorgeous hey?!

Thanks for swinging by today!

Disclosure: I was given this product to review but was not compensated in any other way. All opinions are 100% my own.

Inspiring Creativity

2013-05-14T19:00:00.000-07:00

Welcome to Inspiring Creativity!!

Thank you for sharing your creativity with us each week.

Our most viewed project from last week was...

This creative upcycled solar light from Kathe with an E.
Congrats Kathe!

New to Dragonfly Designs?

Please grab a button and share the love!

Knox Block Jello Dinosaur

2013-05-14T07:00:00.001-07:00

"Holy Jello Dinosaur Batman!!!"

Is what your kids will proclaim after you make them this totally fun treat.

The boys had friends over for lunch and a play date last week and I thought that it would be cool to create this for the littles.

I purchased a dinosaur sand mold from Superstore. And told the boys that before they could use it at the beach we would make a jello dinosaur with it. I gave the mold a good wash and sprayed the inside of each piece with non stick cooking spray.

Then I filled each piece of the mold with Knox Block Jello. If you are not familiar with Knox Blocks, they are just a very firm version of Jello. Perfect for cutting and molding.

The goods:

3 {3 1/4 oz} pkg of jello

4 {1 oz} pkg of Knox gelatin

4 cups of boiling water

Combine the jello and gelatin in a bowl. Pour the boiling water over top and stir until the jello crystals are completely dissolved. Pour the mixture into desired tray or mold. Allow to set in the refrigerator for at least two hours.

I refrigerated the jello overnight. I had to prop some of my molds up with butter knives so that they would stay level on the cookie sheet.

It took some work getting each piece of the dinosaur out of the mold.

Patience and non stick spray on the molds is a must.

But oh so worth it! How cool is this?!?

Most of the pieces came out pretty clean ~ the claws were the hardest part.

The kids were thrilled and got to choose which dinosaur "part" that they would like to eat first. I think that I accidentally made the dinosaurs neck part of its tail. What do you think? The kids didn't notice anyway and the boys are happy to take the dinosaur mold to the beach now ;)

This would be pretty fun for a dinosaur themed birthday party. Or what about trying to create a knox block castle with a sand bucket? Or a knox block flag for Canada Day? So many possibilities...

Complete Deck Makeover

2013-05-13T07:00:00.001-07:00

Hi friends! Today I am sharing our Complete Deck Makeover and transformation. If you have been following twindragonflydesigns on Instagram then you know that it's been a lengthy process. Full of snow in May, mysterious paint splotches and vintage finds. Here's how it went down...

We replaced the surface of our deck {the boards on top} about three years ago. At that time I stained the wood and painted the railings. But the stained wood quickly became weathered and worn looking and we knew that we would have to find a solution this year. I wanted the deck to be a lovely, usable outdoor space this summer ~ one that wasn't dictated by the dog food or boy toys. As we go through the process I will try to tell you where everything is from.

We love our patio furniture. I was set on getting something that had swivel chairs and no cushions. I didn't want the hassle of constantly storing cushions that would just fade in the sun anyway. These fabric chairs are super comfy and have withstood the test of time. We found this set at Zellers {soon to be Target in Kelowna ~ whoop whoop!} a few years ago.

The first step in our deck makeover was to deal with the wooden decking. I wasn't sure if we should stain it again or try painting it. So I went to Home Depot and talked to the very helpful associate in the paint department. While we were chatting I notice a display for Behr Premium DECK OVER paint. You know how they show a before and after of a sample project? Well the before looked just like our deck and the after looked fabulous!

The associate loaded us up with everything we would need; Behr All-In-One Wood Cleaner, Behr Premium DECK OVER paint, a 1/4" nap roller and deck scrub brush.

I found this great video that describes the steps in how to paint your deck.

I had to completely clean the deck to be sure that it was free of any dirt or debris. We started this project at the beginning of May. It was unseasonably cool so it took longer for the water to dry than normal. I was constantly watching the weather too because once the deck was painted it would need 72 hours to cure with 24 hours of no rain directly after painting.

I absolutely love Behr Premium Deck Over Paint. It acts like a sealer for any cracks, splinters or holes in the deck. It provides a matte, non slip, durable surface which is just what we would need with our menagerie of pets and kids. We did two coats of paint and used two cans {3.67 litres each} of paint for our deck which is approximately 16 x 20 feet.

It snowed 20 hours after I applied the second coat of paint. That's right, snow! As you may know, cold weather and wet conditions are not the ideal for outdoor painting projects. Immediately after getting wet the deck was covered in mysterious white splotches that wouldn't come off with any amount of scrubbing. Luckily after the paint had time to cure the splotches disappeared and the deck surface looked uniform and gorgeous again.

After painting the deck I went all out with the decorating. I truly wanted this to be our new outdoor space. not just some place where we quickly grill a few steaks on the barbecue before coming back inside.

This is the view from our sliding glass door. I haven't had a chance to fill my pots with annuals yet but soon the deck will be adorned with ceramic pots filled with colourful flowers too.

Our colour scheme came together by accident. Obviously I love turquoise but orange wasn't my first choice when it came to a second colour. But when shopping at Superstore I found these great plates, napkins and cups that were perfect for an outdoor barbecue on our deck.

We picked up a new BBQ and Darcy is in love. This one is from Walmart and is the same brand as our old one that lasted ten years and is still going strong ~ CharBroil. It boasts four burners, a side element, a special searing spot, rotisserie, magnetic doors, swivel casters and more. A prefect addition for our new space.

This chair has been much coveted already. This is what set the colour scheme for the deck. When we went to pick it up at Home Hardware our colour choices were olive green or burnt orange. Originally I had intended to have a neutral pallet so we took the olive green up to the check out counter. Last minute {with many rolled eyes and talk about women from Darcy and the sales associate} I changed my mind and asked for the orange one. It's a girls perogative to be picky isn't it?! And boy am I glad that I was.

This chair is perfect finishing touch. The paintings that are hung on the lattice are from my latest Pinspired Project class. I will have a tutorial and link to the inspiration for you soon.

Did I mention that this chair is uber comfy?! The cute peacock pillow is from Homesense and usually graces our bedroom.

This upcycled apple box became a lovely little side table in no time. I just did a light wash of turquoise paint and called it done. The unique little glass vase was part of a gift from Darcy for my birthday ~ he found it at Art Knapps Plantland.

I found this vintage apple box and many other fab finds through Old Farm Windows and Doors, a local Facebook group. You can check out my other finds here.

I think that I have covered everything in our complete deck makeover. Now to enjoy the deck from every angle...

Thanks for checking out our outdoor space transformation.

We hope to have you join us for a barbecue soon!

Keeping It Real ~ Mother's Day Blessings

2013-05-12T08:01:00.002-07:00

Happy Mother's Day to all of the moms, foster moms, grandmas raising grandchildren,

adoptive moms and women who give their hearts to raise little ones every day.

"To the world

you are one person,

but to one person

you are the world."

Each and every day I am grateful to be the mom that God intended for our twins

{read a bit of our fertility story here} and the mother figure that our invisible children need

{read a bit about them here}.

And I am blessed and eternally thankful for my mom who is my loudest cheerleader and biggest supporter.
Thank you Mom!

Upcycled Jersey Anywhere Shorts

2013-05-11T07:00:00.000-07:00

So I made a few more shorts....

well maybe more than a few.

They are just too simple and inexpensive not to!

I happened to be in the thrift store during a bag sale last week. I picked up eleven XL t-shirts for $3. Three Dollars!!! It was awesome. {sigh - those are great days}

The boys now have eight more pairs of shorts for the summer.

Each pair cost about thirty cents!

I told the boys that they could where them anywhere; camping, swimming, preschool, geocaching.... so they call them their "Anywhere Shorts". It's pretty cute.

I hope that you are having a fantastic weekend!
Thanks for stopping by.

Tin Foil Packet Butter Chicken

2013-05-10T07:00:00.000-07:00

We are so excited for camping this season. SO EXCITED! It's hard to express our level of excitement in words. Really. We just bought a new camping oven, an oven... to take camping!!! And I cannot wait to test out a few recipes in that puppy. Let me tell ya!

Anyway I will be sharing a few camping recipes in the next weeks and months so be sure to stay tuned. This Butter Chicken is a fantastic way to start!

Foil Packet meals are truly the way to go when camping. They allow you to throw all of your ingredients together in one packet to cook. Then you just toss the tin foil and have very little mess and clean up ~ which is really the goal when you are camping!

For this meal you will need:

4 chicken breasts {cut into strips and marinated in butter chicken sauce}

10 sliced button mushrooms

1/2 diced onion

1 diced green pepper

Rice {optional}

Always place your ingredients on the shiny side of the tin foil. The shine helps to reflect the heat and creates a little oven in your packet. We layered our chicken with the vegetables on top. Then we roll the foil into a packet. I find that it helps to fold the edges of the foil over once before creating a package ~ the foil in more sturdy that way.

Place the packet over your hot fire or barbecue for 20-30 minutes.

Serve with rice and enjoy!

DIY Mother’s Day Mug

2013-05-09T07:00:00.000-07:00

Hi friends!

Are you ready for Mother's Day?

I am such a last minute gift giver. I usually whip something up in the eleventh hour and grab a handmade card from my stash.

But this time I wanted to be a bit more prepared and I had just the right idea for mom this year.

A DIY Mother's Day Mug!

I used this lovely quote/poem and simply wrote it on my mug in cursive {old school yo!}

After quite a few failed attempts at DIY sharpie projects I decided to bite the bullet and buy a few glass paint markers from DecoArt.

You shake the marker then use it just like a felt pen.

After you have drawn your image onto the mug, you bake it for 40 minutes at 375 degrees.

I am planning on filling the mug with cookies and wrapping in cellophane {last minute of course}.

What are you up to for Mother's Day?

Inspiring Creativity

2013-05-07T19:00:00.000-07:00

Welcome to Inspiring Creativity!!

Thank you for sharing your creativity with us each week.

New to Dragonfly Designs?

Please grab a button and share the love!

Blackberry Cream Cheese Upside Down Cake

2013-05-07T07:00:00.000-07:00

To be honest this cake could have been quite a disaster. I had intended to create a cake filled with fresh blackberries and yummy bits of cream cheese. But when cooking in my bundt pan all of the berries sank right to the bottom. And when I flipped the cooked cake over the bottom fell apart. So I just went with it and called this delicious combination my Blackberry Cream Cheese Upside Down Cake.

The goods:

1 box of cake mix {with ingredients to prepare it}

1 cup fresh or frozen blackberries {defrosted}

1/2 cup room temperature cream cheese

Combine the cake mix ingredients and add the blackberries.

Layer the cake mix with little chunks of cream cheese. I would recommend using a round or square cake pan rather than a bundt pan. My cake stuck terribly to the bottom of the bundt pan. Be sure to grease your pan well and bake as directed on the cake mix box.

Drizzle with icing and you are ready to serve!

Enjoy!

Mother’s Day ~ Tea Cup Bird Feeder

2013-05-06T07:00:00.001-07:00

Hi friends!

How was your weekend?

We seemed to have skipped spring all together and gone straight to summer here. It's hot, hot, hot!

I have a really great Mother's Day gift idea for you today.

A tea cup bird feeder!

This was one of the projects that we created during our Pinspired Projects class this spring. We have two more classes left and the participants chose some awesome crafts for our last two weeks ~ I can't wait to share them with you! Check out our Pinterest Board to see what we've been up to. Would anyone be interested in video tutorials of our projects? Speak now or forever hold your peace...

The boys and I created a couple of test bird feeders before class.

Isaiah really enjoyed it in particular. He is our nature boy for sure!

We hung the bird feeder with some scrap yarn and tied a few stray pieces to the hanger for the birds to build nests with.

The trick is to find a really good adhesive that is weather proof to stick the cup to the saucer. We used Crazy glue which seemed to work at first but after a rainstorm the plate fell off! So next time I would use something like E6000 adhesive.

Love this quick, simple Mother's Day project.

We hope grandma will too!

Upcycled Jersey Shorts

2013-05-03T07:00:00.000-07:00

We are so grateful that spring is finally on it's way.

Yes, it may have just snowed a few days ago...

and yes, the furnace is still pumping out warm air...

but here in Canada it is high time to break out the flip flops and shorts!

Irregardless of the weather.

Take that mother nature!

Ummm what were we talking about? Oh yeah!

These awesome Upcycled Jersey Shorts!

They are just the perfect thing for active, busy boys.

My guys tend to burn through a couple of pairs of shorts a day.

Trampoline water fights turn into backyard mud baths around here.

And lets not talk about camping! Seriously, diiiirty!

So I decided that I needed to whip up a few pairs of shorts for the boys. I started with extra large jersey t-shirts from the thrift store and used this Anywhere Shorts Tutorial as a starting point. Three pairs of shorts took about 45 minutes to make! Whoop Whoop! And seriously friends, you can do this! Simple, straight line sewing!

I modified my Anywhere Shorts Tutorial to utilize the various parts of my t-shirts...

I used this short template that I had created last year. The boys have only really grown in height so the width and length was still good. When cutting each leg I used the hem of the t-shirt as the hem for the shorts and the fold at the side of the shirt for the fold in my short pattern.

Here I have cut two legs from one extra large t-shirt. If you are using a striped t-shirt make sure to have the stripes line up or it may drive you crazy that your kid is running around in mismatched stripes. Just me?

Sew the leg together, right sides facing.

Then sew the front and back together ~ check out my Anywhere Shorts Tutorial for better directions.

Fold over the top of the shorts and sew a pocket. Insert an elastic into the pocket and sew to the desired width. Sew the pocket closed and you're done like dinner!

Awesome right?!

I need to find more extra large t-shirts for cheap!

And I see many more of these in my future.

Especially for camping! We tend to run out of clothes for the boys when camping because they get so freaking messy/dirty/muddy/grubby. With a ton of lightweight jersey shorts we could last weeks in the great outdoors!

Thanks for swinging by!

Have a fabulous weekend.

And if you make any of these shorts, I want to see them!

French Toast PB&J Roll Ups

2013-05-02T07:00:00.000-07:00

Dude!

Do you mind if I call you dude?

These are so good!

Camping season is fast approaching and I have been on the hunt for some fun, new recipes to try this summer. One of our first trips will be at the beginning of June. And rather than cooking every meal for our own families, we have each been assigned to cook a meal for the entire group. I love this idea! I only have to cook once??!? All weekend??!! Whoop Whoop! So I need to find something for Saturday morning breakfast for a group of about 25 {mostly children}. When I saw these French Toast Roll Ups from Cinnamon, Spice and Everything Nice I thought that they might be just the ticket!

The gist of it is this....

You roll some bread flat with a rolling pin, fill with your favorite topping {we used PB&J}, roll up the bread, dunk it in an egg and milk mixture then roll it in cinnamon and sugar.

The moral of the story is that they were delicious and a hit with the kids but way too much work for camping. Unless I did the flattening and filling at home?

Nope.

Still a bit too much prep work for camping.

So I will keep searching for the perfect camping breakfast.

Do you have any favorite camping recipes? Please share!

And don't forget to pin this one ~ YUMMO!

Be sure to hang around for much more camping fun to come...

Inspiring Creativity

2013-04-30T19:00:00.000-07:00

Welcome to Inspiring Creativity!!

Thank you for sharing your creativity with us each week.

Our most viewed link last week...

This absolutely adorable Super Hero Party from Kenda's Crafts.

I love the obstacle course! Be sure to check it out.

New to Dragonfly Designs?

Please grab a button and share the love!

3-2-1 Mug Cake

2013-04-30T07:00:00.002-07:00

Hey everyone!

I have a really fun cake to share with you today ~ perfect for cooking with kids.

But first, have you noticed that I switched my comments to a Google+ platform?

Google+ is supposed to be on it's way to the becoming a leading social media network so I am trying to stay on top of it {{{trying}}} lol. So have you noticed the difference? Is it more or less difficult to post a comment I wonder? I have noticed that a comment count no longer shows up in my little comment bubble above my posts. Hmmm.....

Anyway back to our cake!

I have some really talented ladies in my Pinspired Projects class this session. One of them is the Home Economics teacher at a local middle school. She shared this recipe with us recently and I just had to try it with the kids.

First you create a dry cake mix which is equal parts Angel Food cake mix and any other cake mix flavor you want. So for example 1 cup of Angel Food cake mix and 1 cup of chocolate cake mix ~ well combined. We used equal parts Apple Caramel cake mix and Angel Food cake mix for our 3-2-1 Mug Cake.

Now you combine 3 Tbsp of the combined cake mix and 2 Tbsp of water...

in a microwave safe mug.

Microwave on high for 1 minute and voila!

You have a fun, easy 3-2-1 Mug Cake!

Kid approved.

And topped with local peaches!
YUM!

These would make fun party favours. Make the cake in a mug {or little mason jar} top with icing, wrap in cellophane, ribbon and you have the perfect little gift! Oh! I am so doing that next time I need to create a little party favor! lol

Thanks for reading.
I hope that you are having an awesome week!

DIY Clothing Labels

2013-04-29T07:00:00.000-07:00

Creating my own clothing labels is something that I have been meaning to do for a long time.

Most importantly so that the boys know which way to put on the things that I make for them - these Anywhere Shorts for example.

All you need to create your own labels is: twill tape {found in the notions section of your fabric store}, permanent ink {like this StazOn found at Michaels} and stamps.

I used this dragonfly stamp that I have had for years and a few number stamps to create sizes for the Ruffle Dresses that mom and I have been making.

Simply apply the StazOn ink to your image and stamp it directly onto the twill tape. No heat setting or ironing needed. The image becomes permanent right away. The neat thing is that the sky is the limit ~ you can pretty much create any kind of label you want with whatever stamps you have.

While sewing labels on to our dresses I was a little giddy. Its a very cool feeling to put your "stamp" on the clothing that you make.

Thanks for swinging by ~ be sure to check in for more ruffle dresses this week!

Pineapple Ruffle Dress

2013-04-26T07:00:00.000-07:00

This Pineapple Ruffle Dress was a custom order that was totally fun to create.

I carved the pineapple stamp into craft foam and used fabric paint to create the print on the fabric.

I may be having just a leeettle too much fun with fabric stamps. Check out my Peacock Ruffle Dress or Moustache Dresses to see what I mean.

The pineapple detail turned out even better than I could hope for.

The added pop of lime green ruffle and straps tied it all together.

I used a fabric medium that I simply added to acrylic paint.

Have you tried any fabric stamping?

Fun right?!