MegaBlooms

Happy Birthdays and Happy Father's Day!!!

2011-06-19T17:30:00.000-07:00

This weekend I celebrated two birthdays and also enjoyed some family time for Father's Day!! It was my future sister-in-law's birthday today! I was unable to go to the in-laws to celebrate with them because I was at my parents for Father's Day. :^(
She is at our place tonight! Happy Birthday to her!

On Saturday I attended an early first birthday party for a friend's boy. Before my friend had her boy they moved back to her home in another province. They came to PEI for a visit. He is not quite 11 months but since they won't be here for his birthday they had a party here for family and friends. The weather forecast was iffy but we only got a little sprinkle of rain.

The Birthday boy!!

The birthday boy and his parents!

He is a fast crawler. He kept crawling towards me and I had to keep crawling away to get a nice photo!

I also got some cute photos of this girl!

Very cute!

He had had a nap before his party.
With all the excitement he needed another nap!

Today I went out to my parents for dinner. On the way to my parents (it's about a 45 min. drive) my sister and I drove into a thunder storm. We had to pull over a few times because it was raining so heavy. We met my parents and grandfather at the restaurant then went back to my parents and played Dominoes!

This is my Dad and Grampie!!

Dominoes!!

I didn't get too many good hands but still had fun!

You wouldn't know it but my Grampie is 92 years old!
He still acts like a child!

But so do I!! hehe

Choo choo!

My Sister, Mom and Grampie all busy thinking.

My parents dog wanted to play!

Mom's mini Coca-Cola bottle that she used as a marker!

Even without amazing weather I still had fun all weekend!

Lots of love,

Meg

Freezer Paper Stencil Tutorial

2011-05-30T13:13:00.000-07:00

Today I got a wisdom tooth pulled, so I was home from work today! What could I do with my time? Hmmm... Do a craft, take photos along the way and make a tutorial for my blog! I was asked WAY too long ago to make a t-shirt and onesie set for two brothers. I did the onesie a while ago, I just had to do the t-shirt. I bought the t-shirt this past weekend. Today was the day to finish this!

So the first thing you need to do is gather all the supplies that you'll need.

-Freezer Paper, I found mine at the grocery store with tin foil, plastic wrap etc.

(Wax paper does not work, I tried before!!)

-Item to stencil onto. T-shirt, onesie, canvas bag etc. I got the t-shirt in a pack of 3 at Walmart. If it is an item that is washable, wash it in hot water and dry in the dryer, do not use fabric softener.

-An image that you want to stencil. If it's your first time try sometime simple first before trying something with lots of detail. Here is the link to where I found the dinosaur image. Another great link is here.

-Fabric paint. I used Tulip brand

-An Iron

-Scissors, exacto knife (good for getting the small details), cutting mat (I got this one at the dollar store)

-A Pencil

-A Paint brush

Once you have all of your supplies you can get started. Cut two pieces of freezer paper for your item, one will be the stencil the other is for protect the inside of your item. Cut the pieces so they are bigger then the stencil. For small items I like to cover almost completely in case there is any splatter while you are painting.

Place one piece of freezer paper onto your image. Make sure the shiny side is down. If you are doing lettering flip the image on your computer first before you print it. You can tape the freezer paper to the image so it won't move.

Trace image.

Cut image out. I start from the middle and cut out the long 'easy' lines with big scissors.

I then use my small embroidery scissors to cut small stuff. And then I finish with...

.... an exacto knife for all the small details. Be oh so careful while using an exacto knife they are SHARP!!!

Iron your item and then flip it inside out. Or just flip it inside out and then iron it.

Iron your second piece of freezer paper to the inside of the item you are stenciling. Do not use steam and iron at the highest setting that your fabric will allow. Make sure you put it on the side that you are stenciling. Flip shirt right side out.

I forgot to take a picture for this step. Iron stencil to item make sure you have it where you want it, you will not be able to move it once it's on. NO STEAM!! When you first start ironing it put the iron straight down and then up and move to another area. Do this so you don't move the paper from where you positioned it and also to not move the smaller details. Check to make sure the freezer paper has adhered to the item. I run my finger nail over the edge (do not scratch) if any edges are not stuck re-iron it.

Now comes the time to paint!

When I paint around the edges I paint from the outside inwards, starting on the stencil then going onto the fabric. I find that this prevents 'bleeding' of the paint , if there were any areas that you did not catch that weren't stuck. Once you do the edges paint the rest of it in. Do not paint too thick, you'll be doing a second coat. If you paint too thick the paint can crack over time.

Let the first coat dry for about 10 minutes or so. I peeled potatoes while I waited. After some time has passed look at the stencil at different angles. You might notice some areas that the fabric shows through. Paint over the stencil again, making sure you get those areas that are a little sheer.

Let your item dry overnight or at least for a few hours. Tulip paint does not required for the paint to be heat set. Check your paints instructions if you need to heat set your item. This is the onesie to go with the set. It is fully dried.

Now for the unveiling!! Peel back the freezer paper to see your finished product.

All done. Now admire your work and figure out what you will stencil next!!

Lots of Love,
Meg

My First Post!

2011-04-16T11:09:00.000-07:00

Hello my name is Megan and I am 26 years old. I am engaged to be married to a wonderful guy who makes me laugh every day. We are high school sweet hearts and have been together for over 8 years. We have a dog, Tito, he is a Pomeranian-Chihuahua mix.
I love to craft and like to try almost any craft once. Both of my parents have done many crafts over the years. They have been into ceramics(they owned a ceramics in the 80's), tole painting, knitting(my father and grandmother taught me how to knit), my mother has crocheted, my dad has woven many baskets, loom weaving and many other crafts. They have influenced me to do many crafts. I have been crafting since I was a young child. I tried most of the crafts that my parents have done. My first sewing project, a biscuit quilt pillow, was made in elementary school. I really started to LOVE sewing in high school. My soon to be mother-in-law was actually my teacher for my clothing class and also for my foods class. (This was before I started dating her son!)
I do not have any children of my own but I love to make things for my friends children. Right now I am making lots and lots of hairclips and headbands.
With this blog I hope to show you different things that I have made. I'll hopefully be able to make original tutorials on things that I've made. Also I hope to share tips on making other crafts.

Lots of love,
Meg