I got this email from The Lean Remodeler about a contest she’s having with Wilsonart International. You can go here to enter for yourself. HURRY, though, because it ends TODAY.

My basement family/theater room is a disaster. I probably should have picked up before taking these pics, but I figured the worse it looked, the better my chances. No one call Niecy Nash on me, please.

You see…I never go down there. I don’t really like movies. And, it’s cold. Plus, the mess. OH THE MESS!

Exhibit A:

In theory the DVD storage case was a good idea. Same with the IKEA tins up top. In reality? Not so much. And why must BC “store” his exercise ball there?

Exhibit B:

That popcorn machine? Never been used. I’m afraid I’ll start a fire. And the stack of crap on top? Art that I bought and never hung. There are 3 frames in the garage, too. The massage chair (although comfy) is a nightmare. And there’s the exercise ball again. See the stack of blankets and pillows behind the chair? Told you it’s cold down there.

Exhibit C:

See that Rock Band paraphernalia? I want to chuck all of it. And apparently no one that lives here actually knows how to shut a recliner. I don’t enjoy the wall speakers just out weird like that either.

Exhibit D:

Aside from the stray toy, our speakers and electronics are a mess…cords everywhere. And that base unit has been pulled out at an angle like that for at least 6 months. Lovely, ey?

Exhibit E:

The wires! OH THE WIRES!

Please, Lean Remodeler and the nice people at Wilsonart International…HELP!

I just want a spot where we can spend time together and not trip over things and maybe have some snacks! Is that too much to ask?

Told you I have no shame.

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Did you know Crap I’ve Made has a Flickr group? You can find the link at any time up on my menu bar under Crap You’ve Made. Go add your stuff! Please?

Projects from the Flickr group will be featured on Fridays

And, there’s now a Flickr stream widget over in my left sidebar. Click on over from your reader and check that out.

Today’s features are all freezer paper related.

Meet Steph. She blogs here. She recreated the Jolly Roger bleach shirt.

Template here.

And then she made this one:

She used a template from Spray Paint Stencils. How did I not know that site exists?!?!?

If you live in my house, you’d better hide your t-shirts because I know what I’m doing this weekend…..

I’m also loving this Spiderman shirt, submitted by webdance.

Webdance used the Spray Paint Stencils site, too.

Thanks for your submissions! And remember, if you’re featured and you want your blog mentioned, be sure to link it in your description!

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Long time no see, ey?

This post has absolutely nothing do to with crafting or sewing, but hey…it’s my blog and I can post what I want, right?  Plus, it’s what’s consuming my thoughts these days…

See that kid?

I adore him.  He makes me laugh ‘til I cry most days.  But he’s hard.  Like really, really hard.  He’s made me question every ounce of my mothering ability.

I KNEW something wasn’t right, pretty much from birth, even though I got laughed at and brushed off whenever I brought it up.  He was meeting all his developmental milestones.  He was obviously fine, right?

Wrong.

It  looks like he has SPD (Sensory Processing Disorder) or SID (Sensory Integration Disorder).  I don’t even know what the difference between the two is yet.  Maybe there’s not one?  I suppose I’ll learn in time.

Basically, as I understand it, his brain can’t differentiate between the things it needs to pay attention to and the things it doesn’t.  Everything comes through full blast and he gets overloaded.

And then he loses it.  And he can’t really help it.  And the staring starts.

(I’m talking to YOU, mean lady at the fabric store who came over and asked me if I was finding everything all right no less than FIVE times whilst I was trying to get him calmed down.  Believe me, I wanted to be in your store even less than you wanted me there.  And your interrupting was NOT helping.  Try living with it all day every day for 4 years.  I went in my car and cried.  I’ll go somewhere else next time.)

It’s not because I’m a bad parent and I need to be more strict or on a better schedule or have more of a routine.

It’s just how he is.

And we’re working on it.

Unfortunately, there’s a several month wait for therapy (and this is therapy that we’ll be paying for, not free, which is another rant on its own)….longer for a different type that we’re considering.

So, on the off chance that any of you have dealt with this and you managed to make it through all my rambling…

Any book recommendations?
Any websites?
Any experience with TLP?

Thanks.

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I think he likes it.

And it looks like his brothers do, too.

(Last birthday post!  I’ll be back to making crap soon…I swear!)

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Did you know Crap I’ve Made has a Flickr group? You can find the link at any time up on my menu bar under Crap You’ve Made. Go add your stuff! Please?

Projects from the Flickr group will be featured on Fridays

And, there’s now a Flickr stream widget over in my left sidebar.  Click on over from your reader and check that out.

Meet Clara from The Home in Paradise.  (Don’t click on that link unless you have like an hour to look around and you also have the funds for a tropical vacation right about now.  Did I mention it’s barely 40 and raining here?  Blah.)

I’m kind of obsessed with fabric in embroidery hoops.  It fulfills both my love of fabric and my love of polka dots.  BC, however, is not on board.

And check out these shoes!

You want them, right?

Go say hi to Clara and try not to be too jealous.

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I’m woefully behind on responding to emails.  I’m working on it.  Probably  not today, though.

Remember this post?

I got a ton of emails asking where I found my magazine racks.  The bad news was that it was a local store and that they sold out and had no plans to get any more.  The good news?  Look what I found at Hobby Lobby on Saturday!

  
doubles

 
and singles

So, if you’re still in the market, check out Hobby Lobby.

We have a new addition to the crap making family.  Nope.  Not a baby.  Not a puppy.  (I’d be more likely to get another kid than a pet.)

Macy got a sewing machine for Christmas, but it didn’t work well.  We sent it back and hadn’t bothered to replace it yet.  What?  It’s only been 4 months.  Ha!  And then I got to thinking that if I was going to spend money on a machine, it needed to be nice enough for me to use whilst mine’s getting serviced.  So, after months of deliberation, a surprise tax return, and a killer deal…

And, last call for submissions to the Flickr group for this week’s Flickr Feature Friday.  I haven’t picked a feature yet.  Don’t forget to leave your blog address if you want a shout out!

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And may the potato bug that was smashed during the taking of these shots rest in peace.

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My Bennett is 2.

At this moment he’s sleeping.  At least I think so.  I *hope* so.

Yesterday instead of taking a nap he removed the heat register in his room and shoved it way down into the ducting.  Seriously…I was in up to my elbow digging that thing out.

And then he stood by the door and yelled “GUYS!  I’M IN HERE!”

Like we could forget?

I made him a shirt.

Hopefully I’ll get some shots of it in action later today.  You know, if a certain someone decides to cooperate instead of sitting on the step pulling mean faces at me like this:

Or doing his cheese ball impression like this:

Doubtful.

For now?  Here’s a link to my applique pattern for all of you!

Happy Birthday, Ben!

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There are lots of tutorials and how-to’s out there for freezer paper, but based on the quantity of questions I’ve gotten (email and real life), I decided to talk about it briefly.

Here’s what I’m talking about. It’s located by the plastic wrap and aluminum foil. Not everywhere carries it. I would say it’s difficult-ish to find. I even had to break down and go to WalMart to get some. A roll this size runs $6-7, but it will last you FOREVER.

Freezer paper is shiny and plastic-y on one side and plain paper on the other. The plastic coating will stick to fabric when it’s ironed, but can easily be peeled off.

You can use a number of different techniques to get your design onto your fabric. I’ve tried bleach, spray paint, fabric paint, and acrylic paint mixed with a textile medium. I like them all.

If your design has free floating details like the skull or letters, you’ll need to hang on to those pieces and reposition them within your design. The nice part about using pumpkin carving templates is that there aren’t any floating pieces.

And here’s a brief how-to!

You’ll need freezer paper, a design to trace, a pencil, an Exacto knife, and some sort of paint or bleach.

Trace the design onto your freezer paper. You can see through it pretty well:

(I had to put the knife there to get my camera to focus)

How much excess freezer paper you leave around the edges is kind of personal preference. I leave more when I use spray paint to protect the rest of the shirt.

Sit down with your Exacto knife and start cutting.

(There’s a navy cutting board underneath my cut out)

Position the freezer paper on your fabric and iron.

You’ll want to press and then lift and press some more as opposed to sliding the iron back and forth. Sliding it will catch on the details and rip them.

If you’re using paint that will bleed (pretty much anything but spray paint), you’ll want to stick a piece of cardboard inside the shirt now.

Then I went out to my garage…

and spray painted.

Let it dry for about 10 minutes and then peel the freezer paper off.

Finished product?

You can also cut freezer paper in your Cricut…think of the possibilities with THAT!

***Edit to add pics of the shirt after it’s been machine washed and dried (inside out). They should be click-able.***

***Edit part deux: I tried another shirt using Valspar spray paint and it was a disaster. Probably don’t use that kind.***

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I’m addicted to freezer paper.

Look what I made with some pumpkin carving stencils and some spray paint!

Admitting it is the first step, right?

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