Hope you all had a relaxing July 4th weekend. We spent time with family and pulled our church’s parade float with #trucknamedHarold in our city’s little parade on the square (which is the highlight of the Nickerbeans’ summer). I say that but this is a little throw back to 2 years ago when my sweet cherub was still in her threenager phase….that lasted like 2 years:
If looks could kill…..This picture cracks me up, especially since she’s a delightful, almost kindergartner now.
Ok, so onto the DIY portion of this post. You may not have even noticed this update from our bathroom makeover but I painted triangles on the canvas baskets that hold the girl’s towels and washcloths.
I have painted plain shirts and dishtowels with this same process. I made a stencil out of freezer paper. This was actually a lesson I taught when was a middle school art teacher. My students would make graphic T’s this way. So easy and makes for a cute design with crisp outlines.
For this project you need:
Freezer paper
Pencil
Scissors
Fabric paint (any acrylic paint will work but fabric paint is softer for wearable stuff)
An Iron
Freezer paper can be found in the foil/ saran wrap (my arch nemesis) section of Walmart. It might be in other stores but a long time ago, when I bought it, it took some time to hunt down. Here’s what it looks like and you can buy in here too:
 |
||
| (via) |
Freezer paper is plastic coated on one side and paper on the other side. Cut a piece large enough for your design and draw your pattern on the paper side.
I made a line down the center of my page and made a triangle out of card stock to trace down the center line.
Then I did the same thing for the second row.
The thing to remember with this process is that the negative space is what you care about and keep. The parts that will be painted are removed and trashed. I put an x through the scraps just to remind myself what is getting thrown away.
After the triangles were cut out, I laid it plastic side down on the canvas tote and ironed it down. The plastic temporarily sticks to the fabric and seals the edges for painting.
For this project I just used yellow acrylic craft paint. If I’m painting a shirt or something that comes into contact with skin, I use Tulip Soft Fabric Paint. It’s less stiff. You can buy it at craft stores or even Walmart, I think. There’s a link to it on Amazon if you’re all about online easiness.
 |
| (via) |
The edges are sealed but always paint in toward the center and not outward because then you could shove paint under the stencil.
Also, make sure you put something underneath the fabric you’re painting. Now we have yellow triangles at the end of our ironing board…
When it’s done, you can carefully remove the stencil and wait for it to dry.
I grabbed some images off of my Instagram account of other projects I’ve done using freezer paper and paint.
These are all projects from a couple years ago. I’ve done stuff since, just can’t find pictures..
Made these for my girlsies. (For something like this, I had to cut out the glasses shape and iron down the “lens” part separately get the crisp edge on the inside too.)
In about 10 minutes at nap time on Halloween day, I made this Olaf shirt that I promised my big girl, “Elsa”. Look at my little Nickerbean 2, back in the day. Those tufts, those baby bangs… my heart. PS her infatuation with candy and food in general is still strong.
I added some monogram goodness to a couple of tired looking kitchen towels to make them monogrammed, tired looking kitchen towels. : )
So there you go! Another nap time or girls night craft to try. If I left anything out, just ask! Happy painting.
There are affiliate links in this post.
Pin to save for later or share:
Thanks for reading, friends!
Sharing at:
The Creative Collection
That DIY Party
Creative Gallery
Inspire Me Monday Link Party
