Showing posts with label frog. Show all posts
Showing posts with label frog. Show all posts

15 May, 2014

Glorious Spring

And if you're looking for my SewMamaSew giveaways this week (open until May 16 - friday):
SewMamaSew Giveaway #1 is here.

SewMamaSew Giveaway #2 is here






Iris


Strawberry


Peony


Nootka Wild Rose




Iris


Nora Barlow Columbine





Hostas


Iris


Viburnum



All these columbines were well behaved under the fir trees but when we removed the leaning trees and these beauties saw the light (all the plants, really), they became spectacular.

 And they gave birth to probably a gazillion babies - which is why they get a bad rap in orderly gardens.

Can't you imagine a fairy wearing one as a cap in the Frog & Toad books?



Weigela - variegated leaf


My favorite variegated leaf Iris. Soft blue blooms


This white Bearded Iris came from Aunt Ruby's garden


This rugosa rose came from an estate sale for a buck.
 Man-eating thorns but the smell is divine.
This is a white Rugosa but the buds have peppermint striping.






Simplicity rose started from a cutting from Creative Friend's fenceline.


To be honest, I'm not sure how I acquired a ruffly bearded Iris in the deepest purple. It's my second favorite Iris (at this time of year)



Sun Rose - Helianthemum


Patio pots started.




I spent a good portion of Sunday getting my patio pots and hanging baskets 'together'. Hosing down the patio, cleaning the table, moving pots to & fro. Trimming and tucking the montana clematis on the pergola as its starts growing and twining after blooming.

We just had a couple of near 90' days (May!) and it was delightful to sit out and be dive-bombed by the stinkin' guerrilla hummingbirds who chirped very clearly, "more syrup, or else".

Back to the usual 70' springy weather tomorrow.


My sister gave me the snail and the frog  and miraculously, they have not crashed and burned.


10 February, 2012

Freezer Paper Stencils

Airplane stencils
For the Fugli giveaway - go here. I think I am closing this Sunday because now that I know I am infested with Fugli's, I feel the need for them to ship out-of-state - even out-of-the-country sooner.



My little great-niece turns one tomorrow.
I have two of these great-nieces and I consider them my practice grandchildren. So much fun.  However, these two little munchkins have 8 sets of G's and they live in a tiny house.
Hand-made gifts work really well here.
You might recall my sister and I outfitted the older niece with a fantastic doll bed for Christmas.

It seems like everybody in blog land has heard of freezer paper stencils. It's incredibly easy to do because for a onesie - you are looking at a 4" stencil at best. The hardest part is cutting out the stencil.
I printed the airplane onto the freezer paper. The frog was traced at the window.

My choices were an Airplane (from the airplane auntie), a dragonfly, and a froggie.
Hint: Pick images that are easy to cut out - i.e. line drawings.


After work today, I stopped off at Walmart to see what they had in solid color onesies. Almost everything for babies is short sleeve. Although we are heading for Spring, I really wanted something in the way of longer sleeves.

This is what I ended up with. The purple stripe, the pink small print, and one long-sleeved bodysuit. All from Faded Glory. These were $2.27 a piece, making this an affordable gift.

First, iron a piece of freezer paper inside the onesie. This will keep the paint from bleeding thru.
Second: Iron the stencil onto the front.  The stripes were very nice to line up the airplane straight.



That's about when I discovered the box of craft paints no longer resides here (mumble, grumble, text).
Ironing the stencil on, generally, means the paint won't bleed under. Pretty cool, really.

I had a jar of Luminous paint in my favorite blue-green, a spring green craft paint, and dimensional paint in black and white.
No - I DID NOT cut out the dragonfly. I have a mylar stencil.

Using what I have on hand, at least the three onesies will be coordinated.
I used the dimensional paint to make froggie eyes.
Photo taken at night-time. It's still a green frog on a pink shirt but it's a varigated green - really froggie green.

 I also tried my hand at shadowing the airplane with the black dimensional paint.This purple shirt probably needed a second coat - a little more difficult in getting an even coat. My shadowing isn't bad. Remember I told you the paints don't reside here anymore? Well - the brushes aren't here either. I had one brush that if I flattened it to a line against my finger, I could get an almost straight line. The prop lines were freehand.


And here's my fave - the dragonfly on white.


Fun project. I didn't post any links because there are about a thousand out there. YouTube videos as well.

The last thing I need to do is heat-set these. Generally, this involves your hot (dry) iron and a pressing cloth. Tomorrow (24 hours), I will cover the design with my pressing cloth and press for a few seconds. This should make the ink/paint permanent thru multiple washings.