So You Think You're Crafty? Week 4

I made it through to the 4th week! Yikes....it is getting more competitive now! There are a lot of skirts this week! This week's challenge is "turkey." 7 crafters and 7 challenges remaining! Please go over and vote on your favorite "turkey" craft....can you guess which submission is mine?



Last week I made the Ribbon Scrap Wallet. Did you guess right? Congratulations to Dana for winning last week!

Reversing the Seam

Sorting through Sienna's baby clothes this morning I noticed a trend....they ALL have reversed serged seams and no finished hems!


I DOUBLE HEART my serger. For a child with sensitive skin, the reversed serged seams make an outfit ultra comfortable.


The most basic knit dress style becomes just a little bit more funky.....


Anyone else out there just LOVE the reversed seam? Is there anyone that just can't stand it?

"Dress Me" Roboto

Here is my new little robot design that I am using on some dresses and skirts for my shop....she is a girl version of the boy robot I made the other day. I made this little knit dress today with an applique version and added interchangeable bows for the robot's hair. They snap on and off so that the wearer can pick which one she wants "lil miss roboto" to wear! Sienna has so many clothes already I've listed it in my etsy shop. Stay tuned over the next week for some different versions and sizes!

Lil Blue Eyes

One portrait down...two more to go. I just finished this one a few days ago.


This little girl has the most crazy beautiful blue eyes and I really wanted them to be the focus of the painting.


Every portrait I do takes a few weeks. I paint a different layer every day (sometimes twice a day depending on the time I have) and then sand each layer down slightly. I scratch away paint, I do some glazing, I layer on some ephemera....and then I sand it all down and restart the process. The result is a very textured, weathered, interesting portrait. I never know what they will look like until I am finished....i.e. I don't have a plan when I start.


This girl's family has recently moved to Philly for 2 years while her dad goes to business school so I included a Liberty Bell to signify that time in her life.


A closeup of some of the texture and distressing:


Some old transportation tickets wrapped around the side (this painting was on a 2.5" gallery canvas):


Scratching away of the paint and some layers peeking through:


Some stamps and old papers:


My little portrait business is always the busiest around the holidays. I have a few more to finish and ship before Christmas. If anyone needs me I'll be up late at night in the painting studio for the next month! You can see more of my work on my painting website if interested.

Dharma Trading

When I recently flew back east for my sister's wedding I took 2 things to read on the plane:

1. Vanity Fair
2. The Dharma Trading catalog

.....the two publications that I will read from cover to cover. I'm serious: Dharma Trading's catalogue is like an encyclopedia/candy store: products, techniques, recommendations....I drool all over it.

I'm so excited to have Dharma Trading as Lil Blue Boo's Featured Sponsor. I am working with them on new projects JUST for all of YOU. I swear by all their dyes, fabric paints, screen-printing supplies and I can't wait to use them in some new tutorials.

A few things you MUST check out today:

Group Kits - How much would you LOVE to be invited to one of these parties? So throw one!
Techniques - Ever wonder "how did they do that?" Now you can make it yourself.
Social Entrepreneurship - Helping others help themselves....does your chain craft supply store do this? Probably not.


And....make sure to go and sign up for Dharma's monthly newsletter! It will inspire you and help "jump start" your creativity twelve times a year......


Just a few projects made with Dharma's products:

Green Robot Stencil (with Download)

Vintage Harvest Crate Stamp/Label Patches

Stenciling a Coffee Sack Dress

Flaming Pants (with download)

Lettered Beanbags (with download)

Mixing Techniques: Tinkerbell Shirt and Matching Skirt

Teeny Tiny Shrinky Dink "Leaves" Necklace

This was my submission to the SYTYC contest for the theme "leaves." Here is the tutorial in case you are interested! Thanks all of you who voted!

Everything is cuter when it is miniature. This “leaves” necklace is made from a bracelet “end clasp” and teeny tiny shrinky dink shapes. Each tiny leaf has been carefully cut out, hand painted, and then shrunken to its small size. Here they are on my little child manny:


I hand-carved the little leaf veins, added jump rings and attached them all to a “charm ring” made from one end of a bracelet clasp that you can find at any craft store. Each leaf charm is less than 1/2” long.



Step 1: Draw your leaf shapes onto the "rough" side of the Shrinky Dink paper using a light colored pencil.


Step 2: Score the shapes with an craft knife first.....


....and then carefully cut them out using detail scissors.


Step 3: Paint the top of the leaf shapes with a sheer coat of metallic acrylic paint and then trace the exterior edges and leaf veins with a slightly thicker coat of paint.



Here are the colors I used....I prefer Golden's Fluid Acrylics because they are thin, translucent and great for glazing.


Step 4: Punch a small 1/8" hole into the top of each leaf.



Step 5 : For each leaf, glue a metal brad or nail to a thin piece of cardboard as shown below....


...and place one leaf on each brad/nail. The nail will keep your hole punch from closing and will allow the shrinky dink to stay flat.


Step 6: Heat your oven to 350 degrees and place the cardboard on to a baking sheet and into the oven. The pieces will curl up and shrink around each brad/nail....and when they flatten back out you know that they are finished! Remove from the oven and allow to cool.


Step 7: Remove the nails from the leaves. The leaves will have tightened around each one so you might have to twist the nails in order to remove. The paint will thicken and you will need to lightly sand some of it off.


Step 8: Use a craft knife to texture the edges and leaf veins. You might want to apply another sheer layer of metallic paint so that it can seep into the carvings. Spray or paint your leaves with a clear gloss acrylic sealer.


Attach a small jump ring to each leaf and attach to a bracelet “end clasp” (the kind shaped like a ring). String onto your necklace! Now you can make earrings or a charm bracelet to match!

Green Robot

I THINK this is what a robot looks like....I had to make it up but I think it turned out okay:


I used my new little robot to make a set of pajamas for my nephew who turns 3 this weekend. The robot is a freezer paper stencil onto a white t-shirt and I made the pajama pants from some green robot print fabric.


I printed the robot directly onto freezer paper, cut out the image and used fabric paint (Jacquard is of course my favorite) to fill in the image. (Read this tutorial for more info on freezer paper stenciling, and fabric paint.) The greens don't match exactly....but I didn't have the right blue paint to mix with the yellow!

I'm definitely going to use him again soon! Here is my template if you want to make your own:

Robot Template



Copyright © 2009 by Ashley Hackshaw. All rights reserved. This robot template is for personal and home use only. Please email me at ashley (at) lilblueboo.com for more information. Thank you for respecting my copyright!

Pink Damask (Updated)

Hot off the easel....a finished this nursery painting for my little niece who is due at the end of January. Her name is Sawyer Rose.....love the name! Her bedding is made from Michael Miller's pink and brown damask mixed with pink dot chenille and the furniture is dark mahogany.


Silver stitching, painted metal pieces, lots of rhinestones.....


Updated: I've had a few questions about the stitching....DO NOT put hardboard under your sewing machine! 1/8" hardboard is just that: hard. For the stitching in my paintings I take a teeny tiny itsy bitsy drill bit that just barely fits into the drill and I drill each and every tiny little hole and then it is stitched by hand!

Eminent Domain for Puppies?!

I had to share because I just think this photo is hilarious. Last year I bought this great little Advent calendar and I was so excited this weekend to start filling it up with little notes and goodies.....BUT Sienna confiscated it this weekend......as her new "Puppy Hotel":


We put up our Christmas decorations this weekend. I have to confess though: I'm NOT a "holiday" person. I can't stand putting things out that will have to be put away a few weeks later. I'm getting better now that I have a daughter.....I never even used to put up a Christmas tree until "Boo" was born (I know....Bah Humbug).


So why did I decorate so early? I want to maximize the "days per year" that the decorations can be used....because I also can't stand for decorations to be up longer than a day or two AFTER a holiday. Don't worry, I'm not a complete "scrooge".....I'm just not "used" to the big holidays. I rarely got Christmas presents growing up....my family always took a ski trip instead. We spent every day skiing, every night playing board games and cooking dinner together and would find a local church to celebrate Jesus's birthday. As soon as Sienna is old enough to keep up with all of us on the ski slope we'll continue the tradition!


The holiday thing is growing on me....the decorations DO make the house look warm and festive!

So You Think You're Crafty? Week 3

I made it through to the 3rd week! Voting was all over the place last week! This week's challenge is "green." 8 crafters and 8 challenges remaining! Please go over and vote on your favorite "green" craft....can you guess which submission is mine?

Last week I made the Teeny Tiny Shrinky Dink Leaves Necklace....I will be posting a tutorial for them at the end of this week! Did you guess right? Congratulations to Vanessa for winning last week!

Saturday LBB Gallery Share - Twins!

When it is time to release a new pattern I am usually to the point where I can't even bear to sew one more outfit from it! This is why I LOVE when people share what they have made with my patterns because it always reinspires me to revisit them. You all are so creative and I love that you take the patterns "out of the box" I've put them in!

Sofia posted these photos on her blog and I had to share them...they are matching outfits she made her twins. I am head over heels for the fabric combinations she used and that they work for both a girl and boy! These outfits look like they could be a Peter Max painting....which would totally be fitting because Sofia is an artist! I'm pretty sure she used the Hoodie pattern for each one and lengthened it into a dress. Go visit her and see more photos of these outfits and her artwork (check out the Village Frock she made too....love her fabric choice and the matching tie for her son!)






If you haven't joined the Lil Blue Boo Flickr Gallery yet....please do! There is some serious new cuteness showing up on there. And selfishly I just like to be inspired by what other people do with their own projects! Make sure if you upload photos to the gallery to leave your blog address in the notes so I can find you!

Vintage Harvest Crate Stamp/Label Patches - Tutorial

This was my first submission to the SYTYC contest for the theme "harvest." Here is the tutorial in case you are interested! Thanks all of you who voted!

I love John Steinbeck....I own every book he wrote, including Grapes of Wrath. I love the wooden crates used for harvesting fruit way back before plastic was available. My friend George and his family have owned a grape farm since the 1940’s and I asked him for some of his old wooden crates with the ranch’s stamped logo. I used the wooden crates and some vintage fruit crate labels to create knit patches for girl and boy t-shirts. My two favorites: the “Brother’s Pride” crate label because of the wood grain, and the “American Beauty” fruit label because of the distressing technique I used.

Below is a photo I took at George's farm. I think it is amazing how much agriculture is grown out here in the desert.....it is all irrigated by canals! You'll be driving along surrounded by only sand and tumbleweeds and then all the sudden:

Step 1: I took these wooden crate slats and scanned them directly into my computer. I also had a few paper labels I scanned in. You can actually buy an entire CD of copyright free images here if you have trouble tracking down physical labels.

Step 2: Reverse the images on your computer, resize them and the print them onto t-shirt transfer paper.


Optional: If you wish to apply a distressed look (similar to the "American Beauty" label shown at the bottom of the page), lightly scratch off portions of the printout before transferring.

Step 3: Cut out the transfer and place face down onto the t-shirt knit. The trick is NOT to use an ironing board.....you should a hard surface like a table or the floor and place protective brown paper or an old t-shirt on your surface to protect it. Follow the directions of the specific transfer paper you are using.

Step 4: Peel off the transfer backing.....

......and cut out your transfer leaving about 1/8" of plaint white knit around the edge.

Step 5: Cut out a piece of Wonder Under or other fusible web product slightly smaller than your patch. Note: Do NOT use the fusible web that needs to be steamed in a second step (usually has backing on it)....the steam will affect the ink in your transfer.

Step 6: Position your knit patch onto your t-shirt with the Wonder Under sandwiched in between.


Step 7: Place a cloth over the transfer, press and apply enough heat from the iron around the edges to fuse the patch enough to keep it in place. The transfer will block much of the heat so you will have to continue fusing with the next step.

Step 8: Turn the shirt inside out and place over the narrow edge of the ironing board and press the patch area with the iron to finish fusing the patch to the shirt.

Step 9: Zigzag stitch or use an embroidery stitch around your patch to secure it permanently.

Finished!

There are so many designs out there you are destined to find the perfect ones for your little girl or little boy! You can also use the patches for jeans, coin purses....so many possibilities!

Giveaway now closed (originally posted on 11/13/2009)

If you've read this far: this is a giveaway too! I'm giving away the "Northwest Apples" shirt shown above. It is a boys size small..... but you could cut the patch off to repurpose it if you don't have a little boy!

The winner of the shirt is Steph! Congratulations Steph! Please send me your address so I can get it in the mail to you!

Fused Plastic Patchwork Belt - Tutorial

I did two projects for this week's S.Y.T.Y.C. contest entry and had my friends vote on which I should submit.....this was the winner, but I chose the other project instead.....hope I'm not sorry in a week! I'm completely in "gift" mode right now.....and I think this belt would make a great gift for a little girl or boy depending on which kind of plastic you used. It is a very sturdy, functional belt. It would even make a cute dog collar!


I seriously had to eat 4,000 Starbursts and drink 5 2-liter bottles of Diet Orange Crush for this project...but happy to do it!


Step 1: Collect different types of plastic....candy packages, soda labels, etc. You will also need several plain white plastic grocery bags (or partially white).


Step 2: Cut the plastic grocery bags into 4" strips. These are going to form a plastic base for your belt.



Step 3: Create a "sleeve" using parchment paper. (You can also use freezer paper but see directions here) Lay the grocery bag strips on one side of the parchment paper, several strips thick, overlapping them slightly.


Step 4: Close the sleeve carefully. Iron (no steam, medium setting) along the freezer paper sleeve to melt the bags together. You'll have to do this for about a minute.... keeping the iron moving slowly at all times. Let your sleeve cool. This is important because plastic tends to curl when it cools. The white plastic grocery bags tend to shrink considerably so check for "voids" or holes..this means your heat setting is too high.


Step 5: Cut your decorative plastic (i.e. the candy packages or soda labels etc) into 1" x 4" strips.


Step 6: Lay your first strip at an angle, close the sleeve and iron to fuse it to your bottom white layer......


......after removing the iron I placed a heavy coffee table book on top of the sleeve to make sure the plastic cooled flat.


Step 7: Repeat this process for each 1" plastic strip, alternating designs as you go and overlapping each piece over the previous by 1/8" to account for shrinking. REpeat until the entire length of plastic is covered.


Step 8: Cut a piece of cotton canvas webbing the length of your belt. Trim your fused plastic piece to be the same width as the webbing.


Step 9: Sew the fused plastic piece to the webbing 1/8" from the edge all the way around.


Optional Step: Since my belt used "D" rings, the webbing would show when the belt was fastened. I took two of the trim scraps and fused them together to create a piece large enough.......


......to sew to the back of the belt on the end that threads through the "D" rings.


Step 10: Zigzag all of the belt edges.Place your D rings on one end of the belt and fold your belt end back. Sew the fold closed. You may have to use a zipper foot here if your D rings get in the way (I had enough room and was able to use the regular foot).


Finished belt! So cute and funky!

Fabric Heaven

While at my sister's wedding, I set aside one morning to visit Mary Jo's in Gastonia, NC. I have loved exploring this place ever since I was a little girl. Mary Jo's is celebrating 58 years this year!


Mary Jo is still there everyday....you can see her in the below photo (black sweater):


















Anybody else been there? If you live nearby it is worth the drive.....the prices are incredible! No tax if you let them ship it to you over state lines!

Wedding Part V: Preview

We are back from my sister and Justin's wedding in Charlotte, NC. Every detail was perfect: the bagpipes, my dad rolling a golf ball as he walked my sister across the putting green, my dad and sister singing Rocky Top as a duet, Sienna dancing for 4 hours straight! I am not going to even post photos from the ceremony or reception until Ash Little's are ready....mine won't even do it justice. But I thought I'd post some photos from the days before right up to zipping the dress!

Here are all the gift bags and welcome baskets my sister and Justin made:


A stack of flip-flops for the bridesmaids so we wouldn't have to wear our heels at the reception:


Justin's sister Jenny made all of the jewelry for the bridesmaids....


.....and this Swarovski Crystal and pearl bracelet for Perry on her wedding day. Isn't it amazing?


Thousands of golf tees for everyone.....


Perry's shoes and part of her veil:



Sienna playing "pool" with her soon-to-be Uncle Justin:



Perry with the guys bowling at Strike City. We had the VIP room with 4 lanes and our own bar which made it SO much fun! My dad and Justin's dad are on the bottom right.


I finally got a chance to meet my 4-month-old nephew Cameron (my brother's son):


The rehearsal was COLD. Here are the ring bearers Ethan and Brady (Justin's nephews) and Sienna practicing:


Sienna and my matching dresses worked out great! Here we are with Brett and Perry at the rehearsal dinner at Duke Mansion. My sister made the most amazing video for us all to watch with video clips and photos from the years.


Perry and my brother Swen. Sienna kept trying to sneak up the stairs.


Judy, Justin's mother, used flowers from her friend's farm for the rehearsal dinner arrangements.


My mom and dad at the rehearsal. Justin was telling how he had to track my dad down at a golf tournament to ask for Perry's hand in marriage.....and finally found him in China.....but my dad corrected him that it was actually Australia. Whatever....it was STILL far!!!


Sienna getting her hair curled on the day of the wedding:


I took a photo of the photographers Ash and Harrison. I'm sure they'll cringe at the quality of the photo. Aren't they handsome?! They did the most amazing job.....everywhere I turned the whole day they were right there.


A gift from my Aunt Sharon to the couple. The photo is of our great-grandmother Mabel (Marjorie's mother) and the carving set is over a 100 years old and belonged to an woman named Marie Ammon that lived on Hermitage Court for years who had no children. My grandfather's aunt used to own a large white mansion on Hermitage Court long ago....it is now a nursing home.


Sienna gave Aunt Perry a little gift before she walked down the aisle. A necklace from Hip Mom Jewelry with Perry's new initials on it. The tag had a little diamond inset. Thanks Ann! She loved it! I added the ring charm that I had bought for my wedding years ago.


Helping Perry zip up the dress (she'll love that I posted a photo of her in mid-sentence):


Sienna being SO patient with her cousin Cameron before the ceremony:


Right before walking down the aisle....Perry loves Diet Coke as much as I do!


More to come soon! I've only been gone a week but it feels like forever! I already miss my family in NC though....and the following fast food:

Chic-Fil-A: Ate there TWO times
Bojangles: Ate there THREE times
Jersey Mikes: Ate there TWO times