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The Easiest Alphabet {DIY}

March 2, 2014 By Erica Deuel Leave a Comment

Wall_alphabet_artDo you go with the trends or fads? Colors and styles change, but there are basic elements in design that are just considered classic. The alphabet is one of those classic design staples. As long as people are reading and writing, there will be art, shirts, games, cards, etc. with the letters of our alphabet.

After doing my cheap wall art post, I knew I wanted to try an idea using the whole alphabet. This project was so cheap and easy! I believe you can save so much money and get the same look as expensive alphabet paintings and wall art.

The first thing I did was buy a package of the cardboard chip letters in the Target dollar section.

Alphabet_artI laid them out in alphabet order with spacing them in a way that got all the letters to fit on a piece of cardstock paper in a 8 x 10 frame.

Alphabet_wall_artOnce I liked how they looked, I picked up one at a time and used a glue stick to glue that letter in place.

Glueing_alphabet_art

AlphabetOnce my letters were in place, there was glue oozing out under the letters. If that happens to you too, don’t worry about it. The glue dries clear! Once my letters were all dry, I placed my new art in a frame I bought for a quarter at a thrift store, spray painted, and sanded to look rustic.

That’s it! My new wall art piece was complete. For about $1.25 I made a fun art piece!

Alphabet_lettersI love how easy this piece was to create.

If you love alphabet projects, you probably would like my graffiti t-shirt.

I made this piece as part of a little collection of creations for my sweet friend and her sweet foster daughter.

DIY_alphabet_artThank you to all of you who have written, texted, commented, or emailed encouraging messages after reading my post processing life and how I cared for our last foster placements. It has meant so much.

I have peace and feel so blessed that I get to continue to love these sweet kids and celebrate life with them! They are a gift!

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When A Project Bombs

August 11, 2013 By Erica Deuel 8 Comments

when_a_project_bombs

When a project bombs, you want to…

admit you never tried it…

crumple it up and stomp on it…

keep going till you perfect it…

do anything but admit it didn’t work…

at least that was me tonight.

I stared at that alphabet and silently threatened it. “I will beat you,” I kept thinking to myself.

It’s my own fault. I waited till the night before we start our school year to try to make a new alphabet poster. So, maybe that is part of my frustration. Since most of our school supplies are going to be stored in our foster care bedroom, I want the decor to be some what educational but still really cool and fun.

I saw this alphabet poster at Ikea earlier this summer, and I just loved it.

ikea_alphabet_posterI loved the simplicity and that the vowels were in red. The only thing was it’s a Danish alphabet and it doesn’t have the lower case letters, which are important to a new writer. So, I used it as my inspiration tonight to try to create my own.

writing_the_alphabet

painting_the_alphabet

alphabet_cards

Attempts 1, 2, and 3 did not work. The stencil was too fat, the free hand was too ugly, and the cards were too “school room” type. I angrily stomped to the computer where I decided I would just google and buy a simple looking poster. I. Could. Not. Find. One.

There were no cute, simple alphabet posters with the capital and lower case letters (with out cartoon images and letters being thrown all over the page in a twisted out-of-order way).

I was stuck trying to figure this out. So, I browsed dafont.com and downloaded a whole bunch of new fonts. I am sure you will be seeing them in coming posts, but here are a few of my new favs, in case you want to download them too!

Font_favs

I decided I would go with a font that I already had, and created this poster.

8x11Why did I have to make that when it’s such a simple idea!? I do not know, but now it’s out there. I am gonna blow this sucker up. Stick it in a frame. AND try to pretend this project did not hurt my crafter’s ego.

Hopefully, this school prep project is not a foretelling sign of our school year!

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The Graffiti T-shirt

May 29, 2013 By Erica Deuel 5 Comments

little girls alphabet tshirt

Sometimes the basics are just the best. A soft comfy t-shirt + the alphabet = a wonderful item for any little ones wardrobe!

My little girl sings the ABC’s all the time. That song and “Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star” are her two favorites. I made this graffiti type design shirt for her, and she and I both love the results. I love the faintness of the design. It’s subtle by striking. You only need a few items to make a screen print type shirt like this one and here they are:

Materials:

  • T-shirt
  • FabricMate Chisel Tip Fabric Marker, Black
  • Alphabet Stencils
  • Piece of cardboard (to insert shirt while designing)
  • Iron (to heat set design)

materials to screen print

I found my t-shirt on clearance for about $4.00. It was soft and I knew it would be a great basic piece for my daughter’s wardrobe or I could spice it up a bit. I decide to add a little subtle but fun life to it with the alphabet. This DIY shirt is so easy and really can be done quickly and modified for so many other designs.

The first step I did was bend an old cereal box to go inside my shirt. This way my design did not bleed through to the back of the t-shirt.

Next, I laid out my alphabet stencil onto the t-shirt. I needed to see if my stencil would fit or if my letters were going to be too big. They fit! Depending on the size shirt you have will depend what kind of size stencil looks best.  The important part is to just configure the placement of the letters that will fit per line across the chest of your t-shirt.

stencil a tshirtOnce you have your stenciled layed out like you like it, carefully move it to the side of your t-shirt. That way you will remember how you liked it lined up, but you can adjust as you go with one letter at a time being painted on.

alphabet tshirt

Carefully hold your stencil down and your t-shirt stretched and take your paint pen and start filling in the letter stencil. It is important to say here, to follow the instructions of your paint pen. My paint marker said to pre-wash my t-shirt, allow my design to dry for 24 hours, and to heat set the ink to preserve the design. If you use a different kind of paint pen/marker be sure to follow the instructions to get the best results. I love the paint marker I used. It transferred the color ink nicely and didn’t leave a hard, stiff result that would make the t-shirt uncomfortable to wear.

stenciling a tshirtOnce you fill in that first letter, place the next stencil and start filling it in as well. I didn’t want my design to be straight across and perfect, so I placed my stencils slightly higher or lower and tilted different angles ever so slightly all the way down the alphabet. I think it creates a more graffiti look and is more forgiving in not having to be “perfect.”

the letter aKeep adding stencils and filling in the letters. I didn’t worry about filling my stencil in to be a solid black filled letter. I liked the look of it being a little more worn.

stencil the alphabetOnce I finished my alphabet, my t-shirt was almost done! I waited 24 hours for it to dry, gave it a quick iron to help set the design, and it was done! I love how quick and easy this craft was. I made my daughter a fun t-shirt for less than $7 ($4.00 shirt + $2.70 marker). I now want to make a bunch of shirts with fun quotes and maybe even a Minnie Mouse silhouette like the sign I created for her bedroom. There are so many possibilities!

DIY screen print tshirt

make your own screen print type shirtI adore my little model! She was so excited about her shirt. Here’s a few pics that capture her fun personality…

DIY shirt for little girl

She’s a blast! Have you ever painted a t-shirt and actually worn it? The only shirts I had ever painted till this one had been done as a kid with acrylic paint and always left a hard stiff feature to the design that made the shirt uncomfortable to wear. There are so many fun fabric type markers and paints now that prevent that effect. The possibilities to becoming a clothing designer are at your finger tips! 🙂

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