Free Transfer Printable - Make Your Own Bag or T-Shirt!

After missing last weeks Friday freebie I thought I should make it up to you today with a great one (in fact, keep reading to the end for links to other great free finds).

I recently got my hands on a few meters of lightweight canvas when my incredibly generous mother in law found some going cheap and bought it for me. I was unsure what to do with it at first and knew that, if I put it in my stash, it could sit there for years before it saw the light of day again!

Coincidentally, my daughter started making teenage grumbling noises about needing a bag to take her cooking ingredients to school - carrier bags are 'so not right' according to her. So bags it was!

I went for a simple tote style with a long handle. To be honest, although I can sew, I really have to be in the mood for it and have lots of time and space around me to turn out anything worth talking about. If you are pressed for time or just can't be bothered you can pick up cheap (£1) canvas totes in Hobbycraft.



Hobbycraft Tote for £1

Once I had a few made up I kicked myself for not using applique to decorate them, like I said I'm really up to my eyeballs with a few different projects right now! So I had to come up with something simple, quick and fun to decorate them.

Then it hit me... I had some old t-shirt transfer paper left from an afternoons fun with the kids a few years ago. I've checked and it's still readily available in lots of places but one of the best, and cheapest, I found is at Wilkinsons.



Wilko's transfer paper

I then made some mini donuts and a cup of tea and cranked up the laptop to Photoshop some magic!

I was quite pleased with the results, although I really need to get some better photographs!

Game of Thrones Bag

Geek Chic

I'm sure that all you crafty people are more than capable of designing something perfect for you, but if you fancy one of the above designs then you can get the full size jpegs by clicking on the images below.

 

Of course you might not want to buy a whole pack of paper, or it might be hard to get your hands on a bag so you can always pop along to my Etsy shop and buy them or other designs!

 

And now the observant of you are all hanging on for the other freebie I promised you :) I found this amazingly beautiful word art from artsy-fartsy mama. I think it will look amazing in a fancy little frame and plan on printing one out to hang in my hallway!

 

 

I really recommend you pop over to check out the rest of her blog - it's stunning!

Shabby Chic Stool Restoration

I know I missed last Friday's Freebie but things have just been manic! To make up for it there will be 2 freebies this Friday so remember to check back and see what they are.

To be honest I almost missed todays blog post too but this shabby chic stool was such fun to do I really wanted to tell you about it!

 

In fact I was so excited to get started on the project that I almost forgot to take a 'before' shot, but this one will do as you can barely see where I've started to remove the paint . I found it at an auction covered in a sticky residue and about 20 layers of white gloss paint. It was in a sorry state but fundamentally still a sound piece of furniture.

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After I had washes the worst of the dirt off I set about removing the paint from the seat using a heat gun and scraper. If you are restoring an older piece of furniture make sure that you do this, or any sanding, in a well ventilated area and wear a mask as it is likely that some of the old pain layers contain lead.

 

 

Once you have scraped off the majority of the paint it's time to break out the sander. You've probably realised that my weapon of choice is usually the angle grinder with a sanding disc but please do practise this on scrap wood before you take on a lovely old piece like this stool.

 

 

It was only after some serious sanding that I realised that this stool was actually made from oak and not pine, as I'd first thought! I didn't want it to look too new so I stopped sanding while there were still some marks and dents to show its age.

 

 

Scuff up the legs a little to break up that old gloss look. Then give the seat a few coats of a soft wax. I like Annie Sloan's Soft Wax as it smells slightly nicer then Briwax but it is a bit more expensive. (I will be reviewing both in a future post so watch out for it)



 

 

I love the finished stool and think I might use it in my new 'corner office' when I eventually set it up.

 

We'd love to see your restoration projects and tutorials so why not drop us a line?

Wooden Rustic Signs Tutorial

I'm one of those people who picks up beautiful things when I'm out and says "I bet I could make that".

Earlier on this year I wanted to make some vintage signs for around the place and I happened to take photos as I went, which means I can bring you todays tutorial without having to actually make something from scratch (which is great as I've got 50 wedding invitations to make... read about that in my other blog!)

As so many of my projects do, it started with dismantling a pallet.

Working with pallet wood is not only frugal (usually free), but it gives me the opportunity to break out my favourite tool, DUM DUM DUM (< dramatic intro) my angle grinder!!!


Start by cutting your desired shape from the pallet plank. I went for the traditional 'arrow' shape as it meant I could get 2 signs from one piece of wood.

Once they are cut out you can sand them down - traditional sandpaper, a sander or an angle grinder with a sanding disc! This is not for the feint hearted and you should be confident in handling power tools to attempt it!

Once sanded your sign will look less like firewood and more like something you'd want to own!

 

 

I like to leave some marks and damage showing as it all adds to the rustic look of the signs. 

 

 

Now it's time to break out the paint. As I do a lot of this sort of thing I have Annie Sloan Chalk Paint about the place. For things like this the paint isn't very important but, in general, Annie Sloan is great for covering in one coat.

 

 

 



Once your paint has dried give it a bit of a sand back to show the wood around the edges. I'm also lucky enough to own some plastic stencils that I bought from eBay but you could print letters off and cut them out. Or you might be one of those lucky people with really lovely handwriting.

Space your letters and start stencilling (or writing) your message.

If you don't have a stencil brush, don't worry, just wrap an elastic band around the bristles of a 1" brush to make it stiff enough to use.

Once you're finished with your lettering, drill a couple of holes, string it and put it on display for the world to admire! Oh, if it's to hang outside then you might want to give it a coat or two of varnish.

These are for two separate locations lol!