Craft Night

I was blog hopping yesterday morning and came across a fun and easy idea of stenciling designs onto onesies, shirts, aprons, etc. I made a quick trip to Wal-Mart and Michaels for a few supplies...$15 & 2 hours later I had these adorable clothes to show for it. See below for step by step instructions.1) You will need the following supplies:

* Freezer paper - I found it at Wal-Mart next to the wax paper and aluminum foil
* Clothes to stencil - I used a pack of 5 onesies for $5 at Wal-Mart plus a blue short sleeve shirt for $2

* Fabric Paint - I bought Tulip paint at Michaels (be sure to use their 40% off one item coupon that is usually in every Sunday paper)

* Exacto knife and something to cut on - thick cardboard should work fine

* Iron

* Paint brushes or sponges

* Stencils - I found mine on clip art and through google image searches

2) Select a stencil design: You can either draw the stencil design directly onto the freezer paper or print the stencil onto the freezer paper. I chose the latter - here's how: I copied and pasted the image into Word and then used the Format Picture tools to change the size of the image to a size appropriate for the onesie. Next I cut a piece of freezer paper to 8.5" x 11" and loaded it into the printer. Be sure you print on the paper side of the freezer paper - not the wax side.

3) Cut out your stencil design: Carefully cut out your stencil design using an exacto knife. Be sure to have a piece of thick cardboard or other cutting mat beneath your blade so you don't scratch your furniture. This can be a tedious process - remember the more intricate the design the more tedious the cutting. This train was nice and easy...the frog you see later, not as easy. :)

4) Iron your stencil to the onesie: With your iron on a dry setting, iron the stencil design onto your piece of clothing, wax side down. This should only take a few seconds. Once you are done ironing check your stencil to make sure it adhered to your clothing well. If not, repeat the ironing process.

5) Paint your onesie: Before you begin painting, you need to protect the backside of the onesie from having excess paint bleed through. You can do this by either inserting a piece of cardboard into the onesie or by ironing another piece of freezer paper to the inside of the onesie. Select your color and use a sponge or sponge paint brush to add paint to your onesie. Start light and then add as needed. Do not over saturate your brush or the paint might bleed under the lines of the stencil.

6) Let dry: I let the paint dry overnight.

7) Peel away stencils: Once the paint is dry, carefully peel away the freezer paper. The paint I used recommended waiting 72 hours before washing.

What do you think? If you decide to try this yourself and have any questions - just let me know.
(Oh - and the butterfly is not for Carter - it's a gift for a baby girl.)