Danielle Daniels

Wanna know about.me?

noreply@blogger.com (Dani Daniels) — Sat, 02 Jul 2011 18:03:00 +0000

If you're like me you have an account on every social media platform available, I'm on Facebook, Twitter, Flickr, Posterous,.... the list goes on and on. There is a new service to keep all your contact info for all these sites in one location, it's called :

The purpose of about.me is to have one profile to give out so you can be found easily by friends, family, co-workers, etc so they can find you easily on all platforms.

Oh... hi there....

noreply@blogger.com (Dani Daniels) — Sat, 30 Apr 2011 16:19:00 +0000

So I kind of abandoned this lil' blog, sorry about that. I've got a really good excuse though, I've been super busy! My photography is picking up and I also go a part-time job. The job is only about 20 hours a week but it's amazing how much 20 hours really is in craft time. Anywho, here are a few recent photos of a trip I took with our son to the Columbus Zoo & Aquarium to bid some time until I have a new craft to share.

Delicious (and healthy) Granola

noreply@blogger.com (Dani Daniels) — Tue, 22 Feb 2011 17:33:00 +0000

I've been making my yogurt for some time now and quite honestly I'm getting bored with adding fruit and jams so I've been making granola to add to my yogurt. It's super easy and quite healthy, not to mention much cheaper to make than buy pre-made.

On a baking sheet evenly pour 2-3 cups of oats, I prefer old fashioned oats instead of quick oats. They seem to keep their texture better in the bowl of yogurt. Next, add 1 cup of nuts (almonds, pecans, walnuts, etc.) 1/2 cup of flax seed, 1 cup of dried fruit.

Now drizzle about a half cup of honey and 1 tablespoon of cinnamon over the mixture and combine as best you can. The honey will clump the oats and seeds together so just be patient as you mix. This can also be done with a mixer in a bowl on low speed to combine.

Place baking sheet in oven at 325 for 15 minutes, remove from oven and stir. By this time the honey has warmed and is much easier to mix. Place back in over for 15 more minutes.

Now sprinkle over your bowl of yogurt and enjoy!

Yummy Carrot Cake

noreply@blogger.com (Dani Daniels) — Wed, 16 Feb 2011 03:50:00 +0000

The Hubs' birthday was last week so I decided to make a carrot cake to help celebrate. The only problem I had was keeping the two year old out of it all day until he got home for dinner.

Carrot Cake

1 cup raisins

2 cups all-purpose flour, divided

2 cups packed brown sugar

3/4 cup canola oil

4 eggs

2 teaspoons baking powder

2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon salt

3 cups grated carrots

Toss raisins in 2 TBSP flour so they don't sink in your batter, set aside. Mix brown sugar, oil, eggs until smooth. Place remaining flour in seperate bowl and mix in baking powder, cinnamon, baking soda and salt. Add flour mixture to sugar mixture and beat until combined. Add carrots and raisins: stir until combined. Place in 2- 9" round baking pans and bake for 45-55 minutes at 325.

Cream Cheese Icing

8oz cream cheese - softened

1/4 C butter - softened

1/2 C heavy cream

1 TBSP vanilla extract

2# powdered sugar

Place cream cheese, butter, cream and vanilla in mixer. Mix until combined, approx 1-2 minutes but not on too high of a speed, the cream will turn into whipped cream. Slowly add powdered sugar 1 cup at a time. Recipe makes more than enough icing to cover 9" round cake including between layers.

An Early Start to St. Patty's

noreply@blogger.com (Dani Daniels) — Sun, 13 Feb 2011 15:50:00 +0000

I had this craft in my head last week and had full intentions of finding some Valentine's Day socks. Apparently I was too late, no Valentine's socks to be had in our little town but I *DID* find several pair of St. Patrick's Day socks. You will need a t-shirt and a pair of knee high socks, these were around $4.00 each so I'll have about $8.00 in the finished product because I had thread on hand.

Cut the socks off just above the heal, right along the seam if there is on.

Turn the sock and the shirt inside-out. Put your index and middle fingers inside the sock to stretch it out and around the sleeve. My shirt was larger than the sock so I had to make sure to keep the sock stretched while trying to baste them which was kind of difficult but can be done.

I wish I would have used a different color of thread to show you how I basted the two together but I had white handy :-/ woops! Anywho, here's a photo of that and you can sort of see where I tacked them. Also, do not tie off the end when finished basting, you need it to be free floating to accomodate the stretch of the sock.

I chose to stitch from the outside so I could see where my finished seam would be and I *did* do this in black just for you to see. ;-) While sewing be careful to make sure you are only stitching one layer each of sock and shirt, trust me on this one. Also, since my sock was smaller than the sleeve it created a ruffle below my stitch. To remedy this I just stretched out the sock until it lay fairly flat.

Repeat on the other sleeve. TA-DA!! A long sleeved St. Partick's Day shirt!

I have other ideas to decorate the front so keep an eye out for the finished project.

Just one more project.....

noreply@blogger.com (Dani Daniels) — Mon, 07 Feb 2011 21:28:00 +0000

I've been thinking I really need to use up some of my fabric stash and I think this may be a great way to do just that. I plan to make some pillowcases to be deliverd to a couple of hospitals in the the area children and I'm asking you to do the same. If you can't or just don't sew there is also an option to donate to the cause as well.

I've set up shop!

noreply@blogger.com (Dani Daniels) — Tue, 01 Feb 2011 23:28:00 +0000

As you've noticed I sometimes struggle to get a good picture of our 2 year old without a scowl, as seen in the suspender tutorial. I had seen some others sew bright colored covers to for on a lens that attract attention of young, curious children. I decided I could make my own, and I did - I started with a couple of monster like creatures and they worked wonderfully. I made a few more and shared them on Facebook, my friends suggested I create an Etsy shop to share my newly named Camera Critters and I'm happy to share they are working great for others too!

As a THANK YOU to my readers here's a code for 20% off an order in my Etsy Shop, just type THANKS20 in during checkout. This code will be good for the month of February 2011 :-)

Homemade Yogurt, the easy way!

noreply@blogger.com (Dani Daniels) — Mon, 31 Jan 2011 18:07:00 +0000

I noticed a few months ago I was spending over $20 per week on Greek yogurt from the grocery. That was just NOT acceptable, especially when a gallon of organic whole milk is $5.00! I did some research and found that it's really really easy. I have this super neat slow cooker that make the process even more simple. It came with three different sizes of bowl so I can use the large bowl for a whole gallon or the medium bowl for a half gallon, LOVE IT!

Here's how I make our yogurt :

Place desired amount of milk in crockpot, cover and turn on low for three hours.
At the end of three hours turn crockpot off, leave lid on and let sit for two hours.
After two hours has passed take out 1Cup of warm milk and place in small bowl, wisk in 1/2 Cup of store bought or previously made PLAIN whole fat yogurt.
Add milk back to crockpot and mix thoroughly.
Place lid back on crockpot bowl, remove crockpot bowl from base and place in oven.
Turn on light inside oven and let set for 8-10 hours, until set. Congratulations you've just made yogurt!

You can refrigerate what you've just made and eat it as you wish but I prefer to use a cheesecloth lined colander to strain some of the whey out and make a thicker 'Greek Style' yogurt. Keep in mind you will also reduce the volume by straining some of the whey. If you strain it too long you will end up with yogurt cheese which is kind of like cream cheese, YUM!

Tomorrow I will discuss how I like to top my yogurt and some recipes that I add yogurt to.

She's baaaack!

noreply@blogger.com (Dani Daniels) — Fri, 28 Jan 2011 21:38:00 +0000

I'm not totally sure what happened to my computer this week but something happened and I had to take it to the shop on Wednesday. My local computer repair shop of choice is GT Professional Services, they really do rock! I delivered my laptop to them after lunch on Wednesday, they called before the end of the day with a diagnosis - fried harddrive. I talked it over with The Hubs and called them back Thursday morning with the okay to repair and it was finished by today (Friday) at noon. That's just under 48 hours!! I really can't say enough great things about them, they're all super nice, affordable and don't hassle like many retail stores. Anywho, that's how I spent my week. I'm glad to be back, I'll be posting this weeks' crafts/recipes later this weekend.

Bling for the boy

noreply@blogger.com (Dani Daniels) — Tue, 25 Jan 2011 13:07:00 +0000

A few weeks ago I used some diluted bleach to create a design on a t-shirt for the kiddo. I knew that I wasn't finished with it, just too boring. A friend suggested adding rhinestones and I just happened to have some spare 'hot fix' rhinestones laying around from a past project. How convenient!!

The ones I had were from Hobby Lobby and quite affordable. The only tip I have is to make sure you don't iron them too long, the adhesive melts away from the rhinestone and into the fabric.

Now I think we're ready to rock!! LET'S ROCK!!

Granny's Black Magic Cake

noreply@blogger.com (Dani Daniels) — Sat, 22 Jan 2011 00:02:00 +0000

This recipe has been a favorite of mine for years, it is one of the many that I love in the cookbook my grandma gave me, I'm pretty sure Bo likes it too.

Black Magic Cake

2 cups sugar
1-3/4 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cup HERSHEY'S Cocoa
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
2 eggs
1 cup buttermilk or sour milk*
1 cup strong black coffee OR 2 teaspoons powdered instant coffee plus 1 cup boiling water
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Pre-heat oven to 350. Mix ingredients together in the order listed. Pour into two 9" round cake pans. Bake at 350 for 35 minutes.

Carmel Icing

1/3 cup butter
1/2 cup milk
1 cup brown sugar
2 cups powdered sugar
1 Tbsp vanilla

Mix butter, milk and brown sugar in saucepan over medium heat. Stir until mixture boils, continue stirring at a boil for two minutes, remove from heat and add vanilla. Add 1 cup of powdered sugar and mix until combined. Add remaining powdered sugar and mix until smooth. Icing should be stiff and form peaks.

My Favorite Cookbook

noreply@blogger.com (Dani Daniels) — Wed, 19 Jan 2011 15:22:00 +0000

This cookbook was a gift.

It was published when I was two years old, in 1983.

It contains recipes from Jim Tressel's relation. You know, Mr. Ohio State Football with the sweater vest... yeah, his family.

It also has several contributions from some local celebrity chefs. Miss Thelma is the county fair pie contest winner from waaaay back.

But I believe my most favorite recipes in here are the hand written ones, the ones my grandmother wrote especially for me before she gave it to me.

Thanks Grams!!

Rockstar Toddler Suspenders

noreply@blogger.com (Dani Daniels) — Mon, 17 Jan 2011 20:09:00 +0000

Last week I made the lil' man a reversible vest, which thankfully he LOVES :-) I thought he needed some matching suspenders, there's something about dressing little boys like old men that makes my heart smile. Even if they are grumpy lil' old men.

You'll need fabric about 2"x40" and two packages of vest adjusters - the have suspender clips on each end and elastic in between. The length of your fabric may vary, depending on the height of your little old man.

Stitch down the sides of youfabric to create a tube.

Turn tube right-side out by attaching a safety-pin and pulling through.

Iron tube right-side out and flat with seam centered, now cut in half. I also used starch to add some body since I didn't want to mess with lining or fusable web.

Disect your suspender clips, take a seam ripper to ONE end of the elastic. Open it up and remove the clip, leave the opposite end attached.

Press one end of each piece of fabric inward and insert elastic from where you just removed the clip. Do this to both pieces of fabric and elastic.

Pin and stitch elastic to fabric.

Press opposite end of fabric to a point.

Add clip you removed from the elastic. For some reason I had trouble making sure the clip was on correctly, make sure the back of the clip is facing the seem on the back of the fabric. Pin and double stitch.

Now lay one piece of fabric across the other, pin and stitch in place. The fabric should cross right above or at the seam where the elastic meets the fabric.

Now you're all done! Put them on your lil' guy and enjoy your work.

Better Than Baked Potatoes

noreply@blogger.com (Dani Daniels) — Mon, 17 Jan 2011 19:07:00 +0000

The in-laws came over for dinner last night, this is usually an excuse to try something fancier than our usual boring vegetables. I chose to spruce up some lame little potatoes by making them into crispy, crunch baked potatoes - and it was SUPER easy!
Use a sharp knife to slice your potatoes about every half inch but not all the way through, stop about a quarter inch from the bottom. Then cut a stick of butter into eighth of tablespoon lumps, shove those into the slices to hold your tater open. Now drizzle with olive oil and some Adobo Seasoning (or whatever you prefer), like this :

Place on a baking sheet in a pre-heated 400' oven for 45-60 minutes. My spuds were pretty small so 45 minutes was perfect. When they are finished the seasoning on the top will be crunchy and the oiled skin will be nice and crispy as well.

Give it a try and let me know what you think, I'll definately be making these again!

Snow Ice Cream

noreply@blogger.com (Dani Daniels) — Sun, 16 Jan 2011 19:59:00 +0000

We have gotten plenty of snow this week so I thought it would be fun to make some snow ice cream with our 2 year old son, so we did!

Our recide was :

8+ cups CLEAN snow

1Tbsp vanilla

1 can sweetened and condenced milk

1 cup whole milk.

Mix ingredients together in bowl and ENJOY!!

Homemade Laundry Detergent

noreply@blogger.com (Dani Daniels) — Sun, 16 Jan 2011 00:04:00 +0000

I didn't realize until I looked back at a post by my friend Sarah that I have been using homemade laundry detergent for over six months. At first I thought it would be inconvenient but I suppose it has just become part of my routine to make a batch every couple of weeks. I'm borrowing a photo and recipe from Sarah's blog, be sure to check out some of her super cute crafts too.

1 Bar of Dr. Bronner’s Organic Bar Soap
1 Cup Borax
1 Cup Washing Soda
1 Cup Baking Soda
Grate the bar of soap using the finest side of the grater. (You can also chop up the bar and drop it into a food processer.) You’ll want very fine soap flakes especially if you use cold water for laundry, so it’s worth the time it will take. Then simply add the other ingredients and mix until well combined. Use one Tablespoon per load, two for a very large or heavily soiled load. This recipe makes enough laundry soap to fill two pint sized canning jars.

I've been featured :-)

noreply@blogger.com (Dani Daniels) — Fri, 14 Jan 2011 13:57:00 +0000

I usually start my day by reading the new blog posts on the RSS feed, today I got a HUGE surprise. The vest I made yesterday is FEATURED by Allison on A Glimpse Inside!!!! I'm pretty excited that a seasoned blogger thinks my project is cool enough to show all her friends. Make sure you stop over and check out all her cool projects, maybe even surf around and take a look at her sponsors too. Hope everyone has a GREAT weekend, I hope to be crafting my weekend away.

And because we have a foot of snow on the ground and I'm dreaming of tulips in the spring, here's Bo smelling the tulips last spring.

Rockstar Toddler Vest

noreply@blogger.com (Dani Daniels) — Thu, 13 Jan 2011 19:54:00 +0000

I have to admit that I often get frustrated at the oodles of cutsey stuff there is for girls compared to what is available for boys. Many times when I DO find something for our son that is super cute it is also super expensive, that's just not my style! I rely on this here Interweb for my crafty inspiration and yet again a blogger has come through for me.

Today's inspiration came from Make It and Love It , Ashley made an adorable reversable vest for her son and it was so cute I needed to make my own. Go on and click that link, I'll wait here. Welcome back, here's a finished photo of my version :

Cute, huh?!?

I used much of Ashely's instructions but I also called my Momma, The Master Seamstress. She used to make me Barbie colthes, have YOU ever tried to stitch something so small? It's hard, people!

I began with a vest I found on the clearence rack at Children's Place, it fits but it's really not all that big on the kiddo. I used two cotton fat quarters for the backs, a suit material for one front and some light courdoroy for the other front.

For the back I used a washable pen/marker to trace around my vest and create a back piece, I did this on a fold. Then I used the one cut out to cut the second back.

Next I used some brown packaging paper I had laying around to make a template for my front. I felt this was nessecary here because the original is darted and lays kind of funky.

I cut out my brown paper template, pinned it to two layers of my cordouroy fabric that had matching sides together. This created a left and a right for one front pair. I did the same for the suiting fabric to create a pair for the reverse side. Now pin your sides (right and left fronts) to a back.

Sew down side seams ONLY. Do this to both sets of sides and backs, you will now have two vests.

Lay your vests with right sides together and pin. This is where my pattern differs from Ashley's. Sew all along seams EXCEPT the shoulder seams and a bottom 1/3 of one armpit. This armpit seam is where you will turn your vest rightside out.

Once you have your two vests sewn turn inside out through the open armpit. No

w nip your curves and corners, this allows your fabric to lay flat when you turn it rightside out.

Now use a seam ripper or wooden skewer to help push the seams open from the inside while you press them. This was difficult to show but trust me, it really helps get everything straight.

Now, to work on that armpit seam. I'm really not a good handstitcher so when my Momma suggested doing it this way I was all over it!

Use your iron to press your raw edges inward, one at a time and pin them that way afterward. TADA!!

Leave this alone until until after this next step, I'll get to it I promise.

Now you need to put your shoulder seams together. Simply press one the seam of your back inward and stuff your other seam inside it, pin and sew. Like this :

Okay, now comes that pesky armpit seam. I found some bright blue thread that Momma had given me in my stash. I know it's from her because it has a pricetag on it from TG&Y, that's where she worked when she made me all those awesome 80's Barbie clothes! Seriously!?! $1.08 for a spool of thread!!

Anywho, I topstitched around the armholes. This added some embelishment AND took care of that armpit for me. THANKS MOM! I thought it looked cool so I went all the way around the whole vest.

Then I added some buttons and bright blue button holes, a couple felt buttons on the lapel and a white star on the reverse. ALL DONE!

Now, if he ever wakes up I'll try to get some pics of the vest ON the kid! Wish me luck!

Sewing PSA

noreply@blogger.com (Dani Daniels) — Wed, 12 Jan 2011 19:03:00 +0000

I see all kinds of posts about super cute projects to sew but it is rare that anyone mentions sewing maching maintenance. Call me Debbie Downer but this is important, people! While making my Valentine's Table Runner I noticed that my bobbin was squeeky so I decided to dig into the situation a little deeper. First remove your bobbin, then find a flathead screwdriver or my machine came with a handy little 'screwdriver' thingy, it looks like this:

I have two screws, one on each side of my presserfoot, unscrew those to remove the entire plate from under the presserfoot. LOOK AT ALL THAT FUZZ!!

My machine also came with a mini-seamripper with a brush on the end. You can also use a small paintbrush to pull the lint out of the machine but be careful not to push the lint further into the machine. This is how much lint that was in mine. That's as big as a bobbin, people! YUCK!

See, doesn't that look much better?

By doing this you can also cut down on maintenance of your machine and who enjoys taking their machine to the shop? NOT this girl!

This concludes my Public Service Announcement, please return to your regularly schedule crafting :-)

Cheese Stuffed Turkey Burgers

noreply@blogger.com (Dani Daniels) — Tue, 11 Jan 2011 23:13:00 +0000

In an effort to eat healthier there has been a lot of experimenting going on in my kitchen. Tonight I tried Cheese Stuffed Turkey Burgers. My thoughts are we cut calories by using turkey and by placing the cheese inside which was about half of what would normally be put on top. I had you'll need some Jeannie-O Ground Turkey, Cabot Extra Sharp Cheddar, sliced tomatoes, sliced onion a couple tablestoons of butter and toast.

+

I found it helpful to cut the ground turkey into 1/4ths before I started so my burgers would all be about the same size. I took each of the quarters and divided them in half to create eight thin patties. I placed the cheese on four of the patties, topped those with the remaining four patties and gently sealed the two together. You can sprinkle with salt and pepper or whatever seasoning you like.

Place 2-3 tablespoons of butter in a skillet on medium heat, wait until butter has browned to place the patties in the skillet. This adds flavor to your burgers and also helps them get crispy.

When the purgers are beginning to brown up the sides they are ready to flip. Remember not to smoosh them as the puff while cooking, you'll smoosh out the cheese.

See all that browned crispy goodness!

Now assemble your sandwich as you wish, ours looked kinda like this and served them with Tater Tots.

Valentine's Table Runner

noreply@blogger.com (Dani Daniels) — Tue, 11 Jan 2011 19:03:00 +0000

Today's craft was also inspired by a product at Pottery Barn Kids but looks very little like what they have to offer. Here's what they have :

And this is what I made (the red runner, not the doily on top) :

Here's how I made my version - I started with a piece of red cotton fabric that measured 12"x54" long and hemmed all four edges 3/8" on all four sides by ironing them. I don't care for pinning but you could do that too.

I chose to trim the excess fabric from the first fold of the hem to reduce the bulk on the corners. Once again this is just a preference but I think it good habit in case the projects end up showing and this helps your corners lay flatter.

I chose a decorative stitch to use on my hems, I forget to use these cute lil' settings on my machine so I thought this would be a nice time to use one.

Next I cut out some hearts from pink and white felt by freehand.

I did have to pin the hearts onto the edge of my runner before sewing and I'm glad that I did because my machine didn't exactly love the felt. It kept bunching up under the presserfoot, not sure what that was about.

Anywho, I used a medium sized zig-zag stitch to attach the hearts but you could stitch them by hand too.

You could also use a vinyl stensil like I did on my Valentine Tee if you wanted some more embelishments, I may try that later.

New Year's Resolution

noreply@blogger.com (Dani Daniels) — Mon, 10 Jan 2011 23:38:00 +0000

I realize I'm nearly two weeks late but I would like to ask for some help, from anyone reading this. See, I created this blog to help me be more accountable for my resolitions to craft more, finish more of the ~~crap~~ crafts I start and to take more photos. I promise to post if you could be ever so kind to leave a comment, send your friends to take a peek or even link to me (that would really ROCK) I would appreciate it SO much. Anywho, here's a photo of my lil' weatherman and thanks for droppin' in.

Knock-Off Owl

noreply@blogger.com (Dani Daniels) — Mon, 10 Jan 2011 20:10:00 +0000

I'm completely addicted to expensive crafts and decor but there's a growing online community that is devoted to knock-offs and I'M IN LOVE! One of my faves is Knock-Off Decor and it is update with the best inspiration yet.

Today I found these adorable owl book-ends on Pottery Barn Kids and couldn't resist giving them a try.

Seriously?!?! Aren't they adorable?! Plus I doubt my two year old boy wants an owl with pink wings, can you blame him?

So I began with an piece of fabric twice as wide and twice as long and the size I wanted my owl to be, a coordinating 'Fat Quarter' of fabric and a sheet of black felt.

( I cut double the pieces needed so please follow the WRITTEN instructions and not all of the photos, sorry for any confusion but I'm still new in these here parts.)

Cut two of the body, one right side and one wrong side so they are prefect mirror images. Two outter eyes, two inner eyes and FOUR wings. Place the back of the body aside until you have ALL your embelishments done on the front.

Sew the wings right sides together and turn right-side out. I'm sure there's a proper way to attach the wings but I chose to turn the unfinished edges down, iron them and use a zig-zag stitch to attach to my front body piece. Also, you may need to pin your wings inward so you don't stitch them between your front and back - unless that's the look you're going for.

Line up your right sides together and stitch along the edges, I chose to leave the top open but that's totally up to you. I also chose to fill my lil' owl with rice because it's cheap, what I had on hand and it gives it more body than just polyfill. I then used some black embroidery floss to whip-stitch the top closed.

Here's my finished owl, I also added a beak last minute.

Also, here's a copy of the pattern I made. Feel free to click on it so it will appear full size, print and create a whole heard of owl!

A t-shirt for my Valentine.

noreply@blogger.com (Dani Daniels) — Sun, 09 Jan 2011 21:34:00 +0000

Simply Screen Silk Screen Paint 2 Oz: Blue LagoonAfter making the bleach t-shirt the other day I thought it would be fun to try the same technique with screen print ink, so I did!

I created a Valentine's t-shirt for my lil' boy by cutting out some designs with my Cricut Expression and some left over vinyl.

I cut the words apart because it was easier to position them on his little shirt.

I positioned the words around the shirt overlapping the edges and so on. I used a product called Simply Screen (sorry for the crappy picture of that) that I found at HobLob. I believe they were $2.99 per tube and 50% off the day I picked them up.

I took the Simply Screen and drizzled it around my design and then used a piece of an old greeting card to smear it around and even it out. An old library card would have worked better but I was using what I had on hand, remember?

I let this sit for 24 hours (with the stencil left on) to dry.

Peeled off the stencil, set the ink with a DRY iron and washed.

I think it turned out pretty cute for less than $5.00 on a re-purposed shirt.

Adventures in vinyl transfers

noreply@blogger.com (Dani Daniels) — Sat, 08 Jan 2011 19:12:00 +0000

I have had a first generation Wishblade cutter for a couple years and though it's unfortunate the machine just wasn't designed for the long haul. It was great for what I needed but has just gotten more time consuming to try and use. Anywho, the Hubs bought me a new Cricut Imagine for Christmas - YEAAAAH!! The first thing I did was clutter up our walls with vinyl but everyone shows vinyl wall designs so here's something a little different.

I cut out my design on a sheet of vinyl - color doesn't matter because we're using it as a stencil

Then I cut a piece of transfer paper (or clear contact paper) to help transfer my image.

Cut just one image on the transfer paper to use and placed it on a t-shirt. I used my thumb nail to 'etch' the vinyl onto my shirt.

Then I peeled off the transfer paper to release the vinyl onto my shirt. You may need or want to use a toothpick or your thumbnail to help release the vinyl from your transfer paper.

I mixed about 2 Tablespoons of bleach with 1/4 cup of water in a spray bottle (over the bathtub because I'm THAT clumsey) and misted the front of the t-shirt with enough of my bleach mixture to dampen it but NOT soak it. Keep an eye on your shirt and you can watch the color of your shirt change due to the bleach.

Once you are satisfied with the amount of fade peel off the vinyl and run your shirt under COLD water. Rinse your shirt thoroughly and then wash as normal.

Here's my finished result.

I haven't decided if I'm done or if I would like to add to this design, I like the bleachy effect but am thinking about maybe adding something else with a freezer paper stencil.