SuperCapes for SuperKids!

Pot o Gold Cake!

2014-03-15T13:09:00.001-07:00

Sneak Peek- St. Patty's Day Cake!

Cakes!

2013-07-31T14:13:00.002-07:00

I wanted to post a few of the cakes I made this year. I had intended on making tutorials, but now I can't find all the pics I took! Spy Cake. The only fondant is the strips across the top and the corners. THe rest is buttercream, using the paper towel trick to smppth it and sprayed with silver edible silver. The latches, handle, and magnifying glass are gum paste. The footprints are the Wiltons fondant sheets. The large body is cake, the rest is sculpted with rice krispie treats. Covered with buttercream and fondant. The spikes, dots, claws, and eyes are gum paste.

Rainbow Heart Cake

2012-04-29T10:08:00.001-07:00

For Porter's second birthday I was completely inspired by Pinterest. I made this hedgehog watermelon, these animal cracker celery sticks, and these cute banana bites (minus the meraschino cherries because... gross).

But the cakes. So many amazing cakes to choose from! I decided to keep the decorating simple. I loved the look of these sweet sprinkle cakes. Then I saw it. The ever popular Rainbow Cake. I could handle that. I did look at the one with natural dyes, which is beautiful, too... but didn't pack the punch that the dye-saturated one did. I figured it was one cake out of the year and decided to go for it. I also made a few plain vanilla cupcakes for any dye-sensitive guests that were coming. Easy. Simple. Nothing to stay up nights thinking about the logistics of how I would make it. Then I happened to see this. Oh. Hmmmm. Suddenly I was up at night thinking of the logistics. Did I really want to make two of each cake, or cute each layer in half? What about making the heart a solid color? Which color? How exactly did she do it? What frosting would I use? Porter wanted an octopus on top... gum paste or fondant?

So, based on this cake and this tutorial, here's what I made:

It totally feels like a leap of faith... I wasn't sure how the heart would turn out as I put it together. It wasn't until a few slices into it that I could see that it really did look like a heart! Here's another not so blurry picture, but with more muted color. I took these with an iphone app, so they aren't the best, but you get the idea!

If you're thinking about making a cake like this, I highly recommend using a strong buttercream for the layers and crumb coat. I found the most delicious buttercream on the face of the earth. A little lemon juice and kosher salt add jut the right touch. I liked the look of the thick frosting in between each layer, but it was incredibly sweet and rich. I figure, whats a birthday cake supposed to be, if not sweet? Plus I wanted the sturdiness to hold up all those layers. For the outside I used this Fluffy White Frosting. Its like a meringue or 7 minute frosting. It tastes like marshmallow and looks beautiful, with a nice sheen. Plus, it is sticky enough for the sprinkles to attach nicely.

The other tip is to stick the cakes in the freezer every step of the way. It will make carving and crumb coating easier. I use one of these to get the layers nice and even. A turning cake stand like this will make frosting it easier. To get the sprinkles on the side of the cake I just used the shaker they came in and shook like crazy, then swept up the mess.

The tutorial had me crumble up the pink cake for the heart and mix it with some frosting. I did this, but I'm not really sure why. It did hold together nicely, but it was a little harder to cut through, having somewhat of a light play-doh consistency. I might try it again next time with just the crumbled cake smooshed in there.

So there you have it! A super fun, simple-ish, birthday cake.

Etsy Favorites

2011-11-24T09:54:00.000-08:00

Here are a few of my favorite Etsy shops for holiday gifts.

Spiderbite- nightmare journals

Art by Mikie P

Gnome Doors

Hand stitched finger puppets

Ramonsterwear- Coloring/Activity Book

Tinymeat- Handmade Wallet, coin purses, etc.

Green Baboon Designs

WeeOnes Stitch Markers

Handmade toddler and kid backpacks

tiny handknit fingerpuppets

Ninjago Cake Walkthrough

2011-04-07T09:49:00.000-07:00

So here's how I made the Lego Master Wu Ninjago cake... follies and all. As I said before I was inspired by these two cakes I had seen online: Ninjago Cake with Spinner and the Lego Chocolate Mold. I couldn't find any place to buy the lego cake mold online- apparently it isn't available in the US anymore- but after a quick plea to my Facebook friends I found a friend who had one and was happy to loan it out.

I started WAY early so I wouldn't feel rushed. I made the cakes a few weeks ahead of time and stuck them in the freezer. I made the chocolate guy throughout the week before the party. The day before the party I focused on putting the cake together and that took a LONG time. More on that later.

To make Sensei Wu I got melting chocolate from the local Decorette Shop and painted in the yellow parts, then the white. I kept one half hollow and another one I filled in with white chocolate to make it solid. I figured two hollow ones would be too difficult to line up perfectly. As it was I broke one hollow one and had just enough chocolate to make a second hollow one. The head broke off on the second one, but I was able to repair it and use a rope of fondant to cover the cracks. Two solids would probably work better, but thats a lot of chocolate!

I used the stove to heat a knife and blend the edges so it looked fairly seamless. I wish I had been more careful handling him, since he had such a lovelt plastic-looking shine when he first came out of the mold. Oh well. I also used melted chocolate to fill in the eyes since I wanted to paint them on to look more like Sensei Wu. The picture below is mid-smoothing. I stood it up in a bowl and poured a little melted chocolate in the bottom to make a base.

They have cool food markers that you can use to write on chocolate or fondant or both (make sure you know which you are getting!) I got a black one for the eyes and belt. I painted on chocolate food coloring (different than regular food coloring) for the design on his shirt but I would recommend adding chocolate or using the markers for this bit since the straight food coloring directly on the chocolate didn't set and later when I went to pick it up it smeared. It was salvageable, but would have been better had I used a marker. I used white chocolate to paint on the eyebrows.

For the beard I used gum paste and laid the beard out on the opposite side of the mold to harden so it would match the shape of the chocolate face. I used royal icing to stick it to the face.

I made the hat out of gum paste with food coloring mixed in. Actually, I made 3 different hats. The first one was great- plain white gum paste with little sticks of rolled gum paste for the lines. When they dried they all fell off and the hat ended up cracking. The second I made by making indents instead of sticks and after it dried I tried painting a little water with food coloring on top of it- looked beautiful, but got sticky. When I went to remove it from the mold it stuck to the mold. So then I made the one below by mixing the food coloring in first, then rolling it and putting it on saran wrap over the mold. I also put some oil on the saran wrap so it would come off nicely. It took too long to dry (after the two foiled attempts this was the day before the party, I think) and was too thin in spots and broke. With no time to make another one, I went back to the second one that was stuck to the cardboard and tried to cut the cardboard off. I got about half of it off and was not happy with being able to see the cardboard under the hat. I'm sure nobody noticed (and I took the hat off at one point) but next time I would do it the third way and just allow time for it to dry, or find another way to paint the hardened gum paste that will not cause it to get sticky and soften.

OK, so then I started the cake. I was so happy with how Sensei Wu turned out, but I was nervous about the cake- and rightly so! I was trying to save time by using a box cake mix. It was light and fluffy and delicious, but because it was light and fluffy it didn't carve very well and the fondant was too heavy for it. In retrospect I should have either used a pound cake, or other more dense cake, or simply omitted the fondant and gone with buttercream alone. Oh! And I should have just bought a 16" or 18" round cake pan and saved myself the trouble of carving a circle out of rectangle cakes!

So, lessons learned. I cut the cake into different pieces around a foam piece that I bought at the decorette shop and cut in half. Then I piped buttercream around the edge to make a barrier for the strawberry filling, and added the top cake pieces. So far so good.

I used buttercream frosting and put down a crumb coat (very thin layer to adhere to the fondant) Oh! I made a few holes in the styrafoam so I could pour white chocolate inside and under Sensei Wu to make him stay standing up.

Rolled out the fondant- I have used Satin Ice both times I've worked with fondant and it actually tastes pretty good. I've heard marshmallow fondant is good too, if you want to make your own.

Placed it on the cake and squish! the nice clean edges sunk down and the cake kind of fell out the bottom. It looked pretty bad. I wasn't sure how to salvage it or cover it up until my husband suggested that putting a bunch of legos around the base of the cake would hide it. Voila! Still lumpy, and not the smooth spinner I had envisioned, but it worked.

I made chocolate covered oreos for the dots. You could probably just put oreos under the fondant but I was afraid it would tear and I thought it looked just fine placing the oreos on top. I used Royal Icing to stick them on.

Colored white chocolate and edible markers to draw on the birthday cakes. I poured white chocolate in the holes on the foam so they were overflowing, then set Sensei Wu on top and poured more white chocolate over. Once it hardened he was pretty sturdy.

So there you have it! I'm sticking with animal cupcakes for his sisters birthday this month, but I'm already wondering what next years cake will be.

Ninjago Cake

2011-04-05T13:24:00.000-07:00

My son turned 5 a few weeks ago and he really wanted a Ninjago (new Lego theme and game) cake with Sensei Wu on it. Here's what I came up with.

It was a challenge! I was inspired by several other ninjago cakes I found on the internet. I wanted to combine this spinner idea with this chocolate lego guy. I made a TON of mistakes, but considering I'm just a mom and not a baker or decorator I think it turned out pretty well. I took pictures along the way and will post a tutorial asap!

Hello!

2011-04-05T13:22:00.000-07:00

I'm trying to revive this blog. While I am no longer selling my capes (although friends can always ask... if the timing is right I'm usually up for it) I still have crafty projects that I'd like to share. Stay tuned!

Messy Mama

2008-12-17T09:14:00.000-08:00

I see pictures of immaculate sewing rooms. Beautiful, color organized fabric walls... inspirational rooms that would motivate anyone to create. There's even a flickr group to share photos. Drool-worthy. Then there is my sewing room. Until about a month ago we called this the office. Then the desk got taken over by my projects and now it's officially the sewing room- and it's a disaster. Granted, it's the week before Christmas and Hanukkah, so I not only have loads of cape orders but also my own projects for family and friends... but to be honest, if you stopped by in the middle of June it just might look like this. My plan is for a few more shelves above the sewing table. And bins. And I would like to organize my fabric by color. And I should do something with those two bins of scraps that I don't know what do to with but just can't throw away. But for now, here it is. My sewing space. Soule Mama I aint.

More capes coming soon!

2008-11-26T23:01:00.000-08:00

I will be listing about 15 in-stock capes in the next couple of days. Head over to my Etsy shop to check them out! More will follow. I will have limited custom capes available over the holidays as I focus on spending more time with my family and finishing my own projects! Of course, gift certificates are always available and would make a great gift for kids who want to design their own cape.

Creative Handmade Holidays

2008-11-25T19:21:00.000-08:00

We are taking the Handmade Pledge again this year. This means that we are making many of our gifts by hand, and are shopping for handmade, preferably local, gifts for the rest of our gifts. You might be thinking, "Lame. There are only so many knit scarves and macrame plant holders a person can take." but I encourage you all to think outside the box! Etsy is an amazing place to shop for creative, unique gifts. Here's what shopping for the holidays looks like for me.

"Hmmm, what are we going to get for Dave? He's really into bicycling. Let me do a search on Etsy and see what I find." I do a general search throughout all of Etsy and it yields 2332 items. I add the word "mens" and it narrows it down to 305 items. I can handle that. I also try it with "bicycle unique" and "bicycle man" to see what that gives me. Then I sort by price. Here are some of the cool things I find that I could get for Dave that are handmade:

These pins are $1.50 by lolabot. They also have a lot of other bicycle related items.

Shirt by Vital, $24

Recycled Bicycle Gear Bottle Opener by Foundry Wear $25

Matted and Framed 8x10 print, "The Bike Mechanic" $75 by Mary Williams Photography

Custom Bicycle Headbadge for $120.

Two Bicycle Pint Glasses by Bread and Badger, $28. They have loads of other cool etched glass pieces, and they are located here in Portland.

So you see- cool stuff! You just have to look for it. In the next few days I'll be posting a few of my favorite unique items from Etsy. Check back in for ideas for kids, teenagers, baseball lovers, and crafters!

Play Kitchens, Play Food!

2008-11-13T18:41:00.001-08:00

Max loves pretending. Just today alone he was a spy, a circus clown, a robot, a pirate, and a dentist. We've been eying play kitchens for awhile, and I've recently been tempted by the retro one at Costco which is on sale for less than $100. Then I thought, why not look on Etsy? Turns out there are some great ones on Etsy! I should've known. Really, what CAN'T you buy on Etsy?!? These are heirlooms that would be nice passed down to grandchildren.

Palumba has a great assortment of handmade toys including this simple play kitchen hearth for $349.99 (that includes shipping). The craftsmanship is gorgous, it even has a cutting board that slides out!

This one is by Willowtoys for $225 (shipping included!)

This one by Imagine that Woodshop is only $143.50 plus shipping.

And now on to play food! There are many types that you can buy, I'm partial to felt or knit playfood myself. And it's so easy to make! Using felt you can hand stitch or use a machine. Here is a site with lots of patterns for inspiration and some patterns, too. I just knit up a little strawberry the other day and it's so cute! Here's a website that links to knitting patterns for everything from a banana to a cinnamon roll. Apparently you can even buy scented batting to stuff your playfood so the piece of cake really smells like cake. Yum.

Here are a few of my favorite items by Etsy sellers for inspiration:

These cupcakes by CrazyDaisy60are adorable! 3 for $24.95, or you can buy the pattern for $5.50

Clementines by Eternal Sunshine, $9

Pancakes by Harvest Moon... yum! $30

Bug Bites Play Food has so many cute items, it's hard to choose one! This Farmers Market produce Basket is $35.
For the discerning appetite- Felted Sushi by Mango Avocado. This is a custom order and not for sale, but she does take custom orders!

Camping set pattern by BuggaBugs $6

Go forth and play!

Crafting Explosion

2008-09-24T09:37:00.000-07:00

I like to listen to Podcasts while I sew or drive to work. Crafty ones help motivate me and often introduce me to people and shops that I am unfamiliar with. I love Crafty Pod and Craft Sanity, both of which are an interview format with one hour long show being an interview with (usually) one person involved in arts and crafts. Great interviews, great podcasts. I've recently discovered Craft Mentality - a new podcast of two women chatting about various creative projects they are working on. Everything from knitting and sewing to cooking and Project Runway. They have links on their blog to all the projects that they discuss and MAN, has it got me crafting!

I've started making this bird mobile (click link for pattern). I have no idea who it's for or what I'll do with it, but how could I pass it up?!? It's really easy to make with scraps of fabric. I also went to a local quilting shop where they had small pieces of fabric for $0.50 a piece. I mixed and matched. I've used a sewing machine, but it's simple and easy enough that you can totally hand sew it. And if you just absolutely love it but don't have a crafty bone in your body you can just buy one in Oh My Eye's Etsy shop.

I picked up the knitting needles again after about 9 months of not knitting a thing. I am currently working on a really cute pumpkin hat, some fingerless gloves, and a pair of baby booties. I'm lucky that I have the opportunity to knit at work during my down time!

I also joined Ravelry- an online community for knitters and crocheters. It's a really amazing way to organize your projects. not only that, but you can search for patterns and see other Ravelry members finished versions of them. Nice!

I'm also participating in a craft swap with some local Portland mamas. Just in time for the holidays! Last year we took the Handmade Pledge and had a great shopping for items that were handmade for our friends and family. Of course it was also nice to support other Etsy sellers. Stay tuned for a post of all my favorite handmade holiday ideas!

Ditch the Disposables Challenge

2008-09-02T09:10:00.000-07:00

One blog that I really like, Crunchy Domestic Goddess, has issued a challenge for September and October- Ditch the Disposables!!! From her blog:

" We live in a society of convenience, where throw-away products are the norm rather than the exception. But all of the disposable products take resources and energy to produce and then, of course, get thrown away, filling up our landfills. All of this is bad news for the environment."

There are many easy ways you can make a change. Below is a list of suggestions, many of which we already do in our home. I've made little notes next to some of them sharing my thoughts.

So what am I swearing to give up? Disposable coffee cups from Starbucks. Seriously, I work right upstairs from one, and often grab a drink on my lunch break. I have a reuseable mug in the office, but I never think to bring it down with me. Same goes with weekends when we stop by Dutch Brothers for an afternoon treat. We all have travel mugs (even Max) but I never bring them with me when I go to a coffee shop. Until now! I mean really- Ron has one of these and they stay hot for something like 5 hours!

Here are some ideas from Domestic Goddess to get you started. You can make the switch from:

Paper napkins to cloth napkins (There are lots available on Etsy, or at thrift stores. I'm sewing some right now...)

Paper towels to cloth towels (we could be better at this)

Tissues to handkerchiefs (sometimes I grab one of the cloth wipes for Max if he's got a cold, but never think of it for myself. I should make some)

Paper, plastic or Styrofoam plates to your kitchen plates

Inexpensive plastic “Take & Toss” sippy cups to Sigg or Camelbak bottles or the Kleen Kanteen ***We LOVE our Sigg and Kleen Kanteen cups! Max has one of each. I prefer the Kleen Lanteen for him because the spout is easier to use and doesn't leak if it's on it's side. Great way to avoid the BPB's in plastic, anyhow! Especially if I've left water in it for a day or two- no plastic taste with the KK or Sigg bottles. ***
Disposable water bottles to (again) reusable bottles like Sigg or Camelbak **Again, we love these. For adults I like the Sigg better- perect size opening to drink from.

Swiffers (or similar products) to a broom and dustpan or mop (or use reusable cloths like cloth diapers/terry inserts in your Swiffer

Disposable dust rags to cloth rags

Disposable diapers to cloth diapers **I could go on about this forever- we love our cloth diapers! I do admit to having disposables around for travel and for when I get behind on laundry, but the cloth ones are much nicer. We love Fuzzi Bunz, but there are many options out there to choose from.

Disposable wipes to cloth wipes (inexpensive plain washcloths work really well). This is the best part of using cloth diapers, using cloth wipes! It's nice to have an extra thick barrier when you're cleaning poop. I make mine with one layer of soft flannel and one layer of terrycloth, then surge them together.

Disposable feminine products (tampons, pads) to reusables like DivaCup, MoonCup, Glad Rags, Luna Pads, Pretty Pads, or New Moon Pads, among others **I made this change about 6 months ago and wish I'd done it sooner. I love love love the DivaCup. So easy and convenient. And for those of you who have tried those messy "Instead" things- it's nothing like those. And think of the money you'll save- $25 for a Diva Cup that lasts years.

Grocery store bags to reusable bags I'm terrible at this. Oh, I have plenty of reuseable bags, I just forget to bring them with me. Working on it! I think I might get one that scrunches up really small like this and carry it in my bag.

Paper lunch bags for Cloth Lunch Bags, Insulated lunch bags, Bento Boxes, or metal stacking tins. We have the metal stacking tins and LOVE them. And Max loves to take them apart and put them back together again. If you really want to go all out, I've heard these Mr. Bento Box's are awesome. Supposedly they keep your food piping hot (or cold) for hours.

Plastic sandwich bags to Wrap-n-Mat. Again- we seriously love our Wrap-n-mats. I have a few, and the cool thing is that when you open them you have a built in placemat.

Plastic disposable utensils for bamboo or metal ones. These bamboo sets are great. If you eat out a lot, or get takeout on the run,. why not carry a set of these in your bag? Has a napkin and everything.

So there it is. Challenge yourself to make a change for 2 months, then see if you even want to go back! Or simply pick another item from the list in 2 months and take another challenge. Head over to Crunchy Domestic Goddess and tell her what you are ditching- she'll add you to the list of people and blogs who are taking on the challenge.

Muffin Tin Monday- Pretzels!

2008-08-11T12:18:00.000-07:00

Today we had a play group at our house. We made homemade pretzels (yum!) and had Muffin Tin Monday as well. We had one tin filled with fruit and veggies and other "dip-able" items, and the other tin filled with dips for the pretzels or fruit. There was marinara sauce, cheese sauce, salt, and cinnamon/sugar. I forgot that I also had ranch dip. Oh well! It was a hit! Pretzel recipe is below with photos of our creations.

Pretzels (slightly modified from the Mall Pretzel recipe on AllRecipes.com)

1 (.25 ounce) package active dry yeast
2 tablespoons brown sugar
1 1/8 teaspoons salt
1 1/2 cups warm water (110 degrees F/45 degrees C)
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup whole wheat flour
5 cups warm water
5 tablespoons baking soda
2 tablespoons butter, melted
2 tablespoons coarse kosher salt

In a large mixing bowl, dissolve the yeast, brown sugar and salt in 1 1/2 cups warm water. Stir in flour, and knead dough on a floured surface until smooth and elastic, (or knead in Kitchen Aid with the kneading hook) for about 8 minutes. Place in a bowl greased with butter, and turn to coat the surface. Cover, and let rise for one hour (note- we got sidetracked and let it rise for about 2 hours. They were fine!)

After dough has risen, cut into 12 pieces. Roll each piece into a 3 foot rope about pencil thin. Twist into a pretzel shape and place on parchment covered cookie sheets to rise 15 to 20 minutes.

Combine 5 cups warm water and the baking soda in a saucepan and bring to a boil. Place the pretzels in the boiling water for about 30 seconds, then remove and place back on the parchment (I used a handled strainer like you use to deep fry. A slotted spoon or tongs would work well, too).

Bake at 450 degrees F (230 degrees C) for 8 to 10 minutes, or until golden brown. Brush with melted butter, and sprinkle with coarse salt, garlic salt or cinnamon sugar.

Win a Custom Panjo Cape!

2008-08-10T13:02:00.000-07:00

Amanda over at A Stay-at-home Moms Point of View did a review on my capes. She's also hosting a giveaway to win one of my custom capes. Head on over and check it out! Contest closes on August 22.

Crafty Crow!

2008-08-08T06:42:00.001-07:00

Check this out! My Freezer Paper Stencil Tutorial was featured on Crafty Crow.

Very cool! Crafty Crow is a craft collective for kids. They collect really great crafty ideas from various blogs and compile them in one place. Like a one stop shop for all you kid-crafting needs.

And, their ideas are fun and unique, and often things your kids can do with you. Like make Gak:
Adorable Felt Clips:

And a cool cardboard kitchen:

So much inspiration, so little time!

Muffin Tin Monday

2008-07-28T14:52:00.001-07:00

I have been so excited to start Muffin Tin Monday. It's a brilliant idea by one of my cyber-friends, Katy. I met Katy when we did a swap on Etsy- she got a cape for her son, and I got a couple of awesome shirts that she made. Since then she has closed her Etsy shop, but she now has time to make this wonderful blog- Sycamore Stirrings. She has some very inspiring ideas, one of which is Muffin Tin Monday. What a great way to remind myself to think out of the box (and into the tin...) and also to sneak in some new things for Max to try in a fun way. I even went out and bought a super cool heart shaped muffin tin. Then when I got it all put together then I couldn't find my camera! I had to use my cell phone and the color is terrible- it looks pretty unappetizing. But really it's good, promise! And Max loved it.

carrots, grapes, peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, hot dogs, and a blueberry banana muffin

I'm going to try to do this every week. Posting it on my blog(s) will hopefully keep me thinking of more creative things to put in the tins each week.

Freezer Paper Stencils

2008-06-20T07:35:00.001-07:00

Yup, I've jumped on the bandwagon and am officially hooked on Freezer Paper Stenciling. I first saw it over on The Artful Parent, she is so hooked that she opened an Etsy shop to sell all her cute designs. I started looking around at other artsy blogs and saw how easy it looked so I finally picked up some freezer paper, an exacto knife, some of Max's plain t-shirts, and fabric paint. Here are the results:

Not bad for our first time! It's super easy, try it with your superkid, you'll both be hooked! Here's how:

Buy freezer paper. You should be able to find it at your grocery store near the tin foil and cling wrap. You cannot substitute wax paper!

Draw your own design on the paper side of the freezer paper, or cut the freezer paper into 8 1/2 x 11 pieces and print some simple designs off your computer right on to the freezer paper. I just searched through a bunch of clip art and found some cute designs. **Edited to add: This works well on a home inkjet printer. Someone I know MAY have tried it on big printer at work only to have it get to hot and cause the freezer paper to stick to the rollers inside the printer causing a jam- not to mention the panic of trying to get it out before you have to tell the boss that you were trying to print a freezer paper stencil from the work printer. So, run freezer paper through the printer at your own risk. ** If you don't want to run it through your printer, simply print the stencil on a regular piece of paper and tape it on top of the freezer paper then cut it out.

Next use an exacto knife and carefully cut out all the pieces. You can use both the inner and outer pieces to make a regular and a reverse image, so cut carefully! I got this small cutting mat to bring to work. During my down time I cut out several stencils so they were ready to go the next morning.
Make sure you have a bowl nearby to put all the teeny tiny "island" bits in. You don't want to loose them! When I cut all my stencils out I put all the bits in one glass and they got all mixed up. Next time when I'm done cutting one stencil i will put all those pieces together in an envelope. One that isn't white, so I will be able to see the pieces easily. It's also a good idea to label the small pieces if you think you might get them mixed up.
Then simply place the stencil waxy side down on your shirt, and iron on medium heat for a few seconds until it sticks. I ironed on the big piece first, then placed all the inside "island" pieces and ironed them down next.
Using fabric paint (although i've heard Acrylic paint works great, too...) paint on your stencil! I couldn't find a paint brush and just couldn't wait so I used an old cosmetic brush. :-) I learned to be a little more careful around the edges, this saw came out a little rough around the edges. I think either I ironed it on too much and it didn't stick well, or I didn't iron enough, or I just gooped the paint on too much. I got a much more crisp line with the later ones where I brushed inward from the paper onto the fabric, instead of on the fabric towards the paper... if that makes sense.
Then peel off your paper and voila!
I read that you don't have to wait until it dries, although I think that for getting off some of the small pieces it would be easier to wait until it dries. I couldn't wait long enough on the guitar and the tree with the bird, and they turned out great!

I love the crisp edges. I have several more stencils to try, plus the reverse images... now to hit garage sales this weekend and pick up more shirts! Or aprons... or hats... the possibilities are endless!

And, if you are wondering what to do with the big 'ol roll of freezer paper (other than more stenciling, of course!) you can also use it to run fabric through your printer. Check out one of my favorite blogs, Sycamore Stirrings- she prints her kids art onto fabric, then makes pot holders!

Yee Haw!

2008-05-25T08:45:00.000-07:00

I was so excited to see that there were new listings at Ramonster's new Etsy shop- I quickly nabbed a hobby horse (or Stick Pony, as she calls them) for Max. He's been galloping around the house lately, so I thought this would be the perfect time. It arrived in a big box, which was just as interesting for a 2 year old as the contents were. It is even better in person- the photos just don't do them justice. As a disclaimer, Ramonsters fabulous designer is Kathie Sever- my cousin. She even embroidered Max's name on the horses bandana. So cute! At first he wasn't sure what to do with it. It spent a few days just hanging out, looking cool in out living room. Then starting a couple days ago, he looks for it- saddles up, and "Yee Haw!" Off he goes!

So, Kathie does not just make stick ponies. Kathie is pretty amazing- an artist extraordinaire. She does incredibly detailed embroidery for custom shirts and dresses. She also is working on a collaborative childrens book, - you can watch the progress on their blog- The Back and Forth Project. She's embroidering the illustrations- really cool. And this blog isn't just about the book, but every Friday they have "Friend Friday" and share other people's back and forth projects. Back and forth quilt- even a back and forth diorama! Really inspirational.

Her most fascinating current project for me is the Future Craft Collective. From their blog:
The future craft collective is about inspiring children to get crafty, to create beauty, while simultaneously teaching them ways of minimizing our impact on this earth. It's about understanding ways of recycling, reducing, reusing, and at the same time, making some really cool stuff.

The classes that she teaches to children and adults- boys and girls- look like so much fun. It makes me wish I lived in Austin to take one myself. Or really, wish she lived in Portland. Yeah, she should move to Portland.

Love Cape

2008-02-10T16:29:00.000-08:00

Just in time for Valentines Day! I have one "Queen of Hearts" toddler size cape IN-STOCK. Ready to have an initial on the back and ready to ship out in time for Valentines Day. It is soooo cute! The picture really doesn't do it justice. There is gold sparkle around the hearts on the inner fabric, and the soft minkee on the outside is a wonderful luxurious swirl.

Not shopping for a 2 year old? Check out this gorgous jewelrey by my pal Chelsea at Eighty8Words. Happy Valentines Day!

Happy New Year!

2008-01-18T08:37:00.000-08:00

New Years Resolution? To get this cape business a bit more organized. That means keeping up with my blog, even if it's just a photo! I've also been setting up my sewing room with new shelves, and trying to find the best way to get things in order. I want to get better photos of the capes, and fine tune the website. If I write it here in my blog then I HAVE to do it... right?

Cool Mom Picks, one of my favorite review websites, wrote a nice review of my capes- you can read it HERE.

When Mama Speaks did their review we did a giveaway for a free custom cape. The winner, Brittany, wrote about it in her blog. I have had a few customers blog about their Panjo supercapes, and many send me photos. It is so much fun to see pictures and hear stories about everyones SuperKids! One of my goals is to get a photo gallery up on the website soon.

Last week I also made the front page of Etsy... twice!!! The fabulous Katy, of Sycamore Baby got a screen shot for me. Oh! And she also is using a photo of my son Max on her site to show off her El Corazon shirt. Fun!

You might notice a few changes to my Etsy shop. I now have an "In-Stock" section where I have capes already made and ready to ship out within 2 days! Coming soon- capes big and small...really! Custom ADULT supercapes, and custom doll supercapes. There is a rockin' new gift certificate designed by the Banner Fairy, that can be emailed to you or to the gift recipient (or sent snail mail) right away. Great for last minute shopping or if you can't decide which fabric to get. I have several new fabrics, here are a few of my favorites. Oh, and I'm now offering Minkee on the solid color side for an additional cost. This is super soft, swirly, and girls just LOVE it.

Oh, and I don't have a picture, but yesterday I got some really yummy red minkee. I'm hoping to make a couple of really fun "Love Capes" for Valentines Day. Look for them in the "In Stock" section of my shop.

That's it for now!

Win a cape!

2007-12-11T14:25:00.000-08:00

What a great week it's been! I have been reviewed by two fabulous blogs- MamaSpeaks and Pinks and Blues and both are giving away a free cape!

Visit their websites for details. Hurry quickly- MamaSpeaks closes tonight, and Pinks and Blues closes tomorrow!

SuperShirts

2007-10-03T06:54:00.000-07:00

I love mail! Especially when you know you are getting something. Soon. But you don't know whitch item will come first, or when. Monday we recieved 2 shirts from Sycamore Baby, they are so cute! Very well made, fun, and unique. And really well priced. The hardest part about ordering was chosing which one to get!

Cutest Cape EVER!

2007-10-01T13:04:00.000-07:00

Found this fabric and only bought one yard to test it out. It made quite possibly the cutest cape EVER. It's even better in person... I can only imagine it on a little girl. Or boy. Whatever! It's my newest item for sale in my Etsy shop.

Editors Pick!

2007-09-14T17:51:00.000-07:00

Sorry it's been so long since posting- we had serious computer problems and I rarely had access long enough to check my email let alone post. But we're all back to normal around here and I've been able to get online and promote my shop a bit more, which means that cape orders are picking up, which is pretty cool.

I was approached last month by Jessica from NW Kids magazine about being in this months issue as an "Editors Pick" and sure enough, there I am! Here's a link to the entry about Panjo in her blog: http://www.nwkids.com/capes Pretty exciting for me! I have recieved a few orders from it already.

I did a trade with Nate's Wife last week- Nate is an artist, and his wife steals his art and sells it on Etsy. She puts it on shirts. And magnets. I made her son a darn cool cape (see below), and in exchange got a rad shirt for Max and some fridge magnets. He loves his new Breakfast Dragon shirt.