Quick Fix ~ Heat Transfer

I have to admit, I have always been a bit timid to use no-sew permanent adhesive. Many years ago when I used it for other projects, the edges always seemed to lift and curl.

For baby showers, one of the items I love to give are hand made blankets. This cute one was meant for a friend when I noticed a little hole that would eventually fray and then be a perfect hole for a little girl to stick her finger in and tear it even bigger.

Here is my chance to get over my timidness about the heat bond.

 What you'll need:

No-sew Permanent Adhesive {I used Heat-n-Bond}

Extra Material

Pencil

Iron & Ironing Board

Scissors

Prep material as directed on package.

Cut a piece of patch material and adhesive.

*Tip: cut the adhesive piece just a bit smaller than the patch material so that as it is heated it will not stick to the ironing board.

Iron as directed on package.

Draw your desired shape and cute out the patch {mine was a heart}.

Proceed with adhering the patch as directed on package.

Pretty much, it was so super easy. I couldn't tell you what my hold up has been all this time. Simply didn't work years ago when I tried and so I have stayed away ever sense. Well, not any more!! This heat transfer material has opened up a whole world of possibilities for me. Yea!!

Keep Creating

~Mindy

Love Notes Picture Frame ~ Take Two

I love when I finish a project and get to share it with all of you. These frames turned out great and were so simple to put together.

Two more family wedding presents. I was holding out for the right frames and wouldn't you know that I found the perfect ones at Wal-mart for $3!

 

What you need:

Frame

Photo

Pattern Paper {card stock works great}

Spray Mount

X-acto knife and/or Scissors

Metal Ruler

Cutting Mat

Masking Tape

Dry Erase Marker

The frame advertises that it has spots for two 4"x6" photos, that's a lie, it is 3.5"x 5.5". I already had my 4x6 photo picked out and ready to go so I had to cut the opening a bit but no biggie.

Spray mount the front of the cardboard mat and place face down on the back side of your patterned paper.
{American Crafts - Take Note - Pink Pearl}

{American Crafts - Classic Calico - Frequency}

*Tip: I held the cardboard mat and patterned paper up to the window {kind of like a light box affect} and marked roughly where I wanted it to line up.

Cut off the excess around the cardboard mat and cut out the opening where you want the photo to go.

*Tip: On the wrong side I marked the four corners for the photo opening by making little cuts with the x-acto knife. Then on the right side I used the metal ruler as a guide to make a nice straight cut for the photo opening.

It looks a little low tech but I used masking tape to place the photos. This would hold it nice and tight and I wouldn't worry about a liquid glue warping the material as it soaked in. This will also allow the couples receiving these frames to change out the photos without worrying about ruining the cardboard mat.

They are done and wonderful! A good sign that they are perfect is when I want to keep them for myself instead of giving them away.

I used an image transfer technique that you can find here.







Go Create!!
Mindy

Fit Friday ~ Keeping up with it All

This week I have been working on doing all those things I have set out to do over the past few months: drinking more water, getting out for walks more often, more sleep etc.

I have been getting headaches lately and been super tired {usually taking a nap the whenever Lady A took one} so I went in for a physical. Secretly, I was thinking if there were something in my blood work it would be the kick I need to do some more intense workouts. Well, it was all normal. I was in the middle all across the board. So I guess I will continue going to bed earlier since that is the only thing that has helped to keep the headaches from coming on.

I still think that the best thing I have done so far is drinking more water. It is simply amazing how much this can affect your body, weight, skin, health and so much more. I highly recommend that if you are looking to feel better, this is a good place to start.

~Mindy

Fit Friday ~ the odd couple

When we first moved into these apartments, we knew it was only going to be for about a year and half. With such little time I could keep to myself and not worry about making friends with my neighbors. Instead I decided that I was going to force myself to say 'Hi' and get to know as many neighbors as possible. The biggest hurdle for this resolution is that probably only half of all those living here speak English.

A couple doors down is a grandpa who is always out with his grandson. I don't know how much English he understands but I have only ever heard him say 'hi' and 'bye' and he LOVES it when Lady A waves at him. There are also quite a number of fun toys out in front of their place and Lady A has to stop by at least once or twice a day to make sure they are all working.

Now when we step outside the first thing she does is look over to see if the little neighbor boy is out, but if the Grandpa is out she'll gasp with excitement, wave and shout 'eye' {that's 'Hi' in toddler}. Before you know it, Lady A has gotten the little boy {he's only a month younger than she is} into his stroller and either me or the grandpa will be holding her so she can push the stroller. I have to laugh to myself a little bit as I think of what it must look like to see us walking around the complex with the little kids, knowing that we can't talk with each other.

This has been my exercise this week, rain or shine {and it has been mostly raining}, helping Lady A push the neighbors toddler in his stroller. So I have gotten out of my bubble and made friends with some neighbors and it has been a really great experience. My little girl has even gotten comfortable enough with the Grandpa that she will walk right up to him and hold her arms out so he'll pick her up, or help her at the top of the playground to go down the tube slide. She's busting out of her shell and I love it.

With all the rain this week we have also gotten a lot of puddle jumping in.

What have you done this week to get your exercise in?

Fit Friday ~ Rainy Days

This past week we have had a LOT of rain.

It comes and goes but it is usually raining when Lady A is up so we can't go on our walks. She does however, love the rain. We have spent a lot of time outside this week puddle jumping and changing into dry cloths.

This week we have been doing more inside for our workouts. {I say 'we' because Paul is done with classes for the summer so he is working out with me right now.} Paul was looking on-line and has put together some exercises for us to work on in the evening.

Some of them are......
Squats, push-ups, sit-ups, crunches, lunges plus a couple other core strengthening exercises. Get out there and make up your own exercise routine.

Image Transfer Onto Fabric Using a Gel Medium

 How great did these images turn out?!?

I love them!

These were super easy but will take time because they need to set overnight.

Image transfer tutorial: Using a gel medium to transfer an image onto fabric.

Materials Needed:

Image printed on a laser printer {or a magazine clipping}

Fabric {Plexiglas, stretched canvas boards, pieces of wood}

Gel Medium {I used non-water based acrylic paint and modeling paste}

Sponge brush 

Scissors

Wax Paper

Tape

Water Spray Bottle

Towel

Acrylic Coating Spray {oops, not in the photo}

Cut out the images. Cut fabric pieces to size. Mine are approx 6" x 9".

*To prepare the image I added some text "I love you because..." then flipped it to print. I use Photo Shop but this can also be done in Picasa and most photo editing programs available. If your image doesn't have a right/wrong way, skip this step and just print your image.

To prep the area, tape a piece of wax paper down then tape the fabric on top of the wax paper. The Acrylic Paint spreads easily but the Modeling Paste stays pretty thick. To help know exactly where to apply the gel so to be able to work fast enough before it started to dry, place tick marks to help know exactly how big of an area to apply to the fabric.

*The wax paper is used to keep any of the gel medium from getting onto the table as it might soak through the fabric.

Apply the gel medium to the fabric then immediately place the image face down and press with fingers to make sure that the entire image presses into the gel medium. 

Be sure to press the edges down, excess gel medium will press out from underneath the image.

Before moving onto the next step, be sure that the gel medium has time to dry completely. I recommend letting it set over night.

Now grab your water bottle {or bowl with water and sponge to apply water to image}, towel and photo.

1 ~ Get the paper wet. {I let it sit for about 30 seconds or so, this will help the paper soften up}
2-3 ~ Start rubbing the paper with your finger tips. It will ball up and rub off. {You will have to keep the paper wet as you go}
4 ~ Every once in a while I would dab the image with the towel to get the paper residue off and see how well the image is coming along. {Using an image with so much white takes a little bit more care since it will blend with the white background of the gel medium, so...be careful not to rub too much}

Repeat until all the paper has been rubbed off the image.

*The image looks great while it is still a bit damp but as it dries, any paper residue left behind will become very noticeable.

Use a coating over the image. This will put a nice finish on the image and get rid of the paper residue look. I used an Acrylic Coating gloss finish in a spray can but something like Mod Podge would work as well.

I love how these images turned out! Eeek!

For the B/W image I used the Acrylic Paint. This gave the image a soft aged look. Photo by Michelle Andersen Photography. Photo courtesy of Adiel.


For the coloured image I used the Modeling Paste. It dries a bit faster and in those spots the image lifts up when taking the paper off. The over all image, however, stays more crisp so it is ideal for images with a lot of detail. Photo courtesy of Manda Jane Photography

Go Create!
~Mindy

Fit Friday ~ the Sun is Out

I missed last week...sorry about that. It has been super busy around here, getting ready for the summer, planning trips, Paul finishing up another year of Grad School.

The past two weeks we have enjoyed going out for walks. Lady A and I would walk {she was in the stroller, we would not have made it to the bottom of the street if she was walking} to the University and meet up with Paul. It felt great to get out and stretch our legs after the long winter and cold spring. 

Lady A really enjoyed it too. She would point and 'oh' and 'ah' over everything as we walked by.

My recommendation this week is a good pair of walking shoes to go use. My Dr. told me that New Balance are a great walking shoe but also good for your feet. They aren't too thin and will squish your foot and the cushion in them has been just right for me.

Get out and Get walking

Happy Trails