Blog Diary and Freezer Paper Stencilling Part 1

Since I am now a bona fide blog aficionado, the time has come to get more organized with my little hobby.  Like many of you, I am constantly surprised and amazed at all the fantastic things people out there are making and doing.  And honestly, I know my life will only allow me to accomplish a small number of the things that have inspired me.  However, when life allows me the time, I like to be able to quickly find what I need to complete a project or activity.  So..........today I slapped together (literally) a little Blog Diary.  Be forewarned, it is NOT techy at all (well, I did print the labels on the computer so...........).  I basically just took an old notebook (unused) and labelled sections of it with white printer labels.  The categories I included are:  Children's Activities, Crafts, Montessori, Recipes, Resources and Sewing.  These are the types of things I routinely look at online.  I find that if I don't write down where I saw an idea (and I have rarely been writing it down) I usually have a hard time relocating it.  On a sidenote, I just figured out how to use Google Reader and have subscribed to many of my favorite blogs through it.  I am thinking that there might be a feature on there that would do something similar.  But for me right now, I like the idea of having a designated place where I can quickly jot down something for future reference.  This little diary will "live" in the top drawer of my computer desk where I can easily pull it out.  Below are two photos of this "marvelous" creation.  (I am saying that sarcastically in case you didn't catch it; I'm sure many people are already using something like this.)  Oh, and I just remembered, in the back I will write down all my usernames and passwords for various sites.  I kind of have those in another notebook but they are really unorganized.

In the close-up on the right you can see the labels.  I printed them on white labels in Microsoft word and just folded them in half to attach them to the edge of the page.

On a completely different note, last night I tried Freezer Paper Stencilling for the first time.  Several weeks ago, I wrote that I wanted to make 4th of July shirts for the boys.  I found a flag stencil and finally got around to doing it last night.  And I ran into a little dilemma.  See the photos below and be ready to offer me your wise advice.

OK......in the left photo you see the stencil ironed onto the shirt before painting.  I bought the shirts at Hobby Lobby for $3 each and they are kind of a royal blue color.  They look darker in the photos.  At right is one of the painted shirts.  And yes, I actually painted the stars and every other stripe white.  There is the problem.  I think I may need a different kind of paint.  I had bought (at Hobby Lobby) a set of fabric paints.  They are supposed to be 3D, but I figured they would work fine if I used a brush to paint them on.  Obviously, they are not showing up on the blue the way I would hope.  So, I haven't peeled the stencil off yet.  I am planning to shop tomorrow for a different kind of paint.  And here is where I need advice.  Is there a certain type of paint I should use?  Is there a kind that will show up better on a darker color like blue?  I am clueless here.  I'm definitely not giving up.  I think I will really like doing these once I figure out the paint problem.  In fact, I stayed up until 12:30 a.m. looking for more images to use as stencils for future projects.  So..........HELP............PLEASE.............if you've done this before, please send me a comment or email with advice.  I am heading to the "big city" tomorrow where I should be able to find what I need and still get the shirts done by Friday.  THANKS A BUNCH!!!

Comments

[Andrea]

Hi!

I do the same thing.

I started a notebook, but after two days of writing down long URL's I switched to a DIGITAL notebook....Microsoft Word. I have a word document for each category like a section in your notebook (so a file named "montessori," "crafts," etc.,). When I find an idea I like I just open my word document (the montessori one just gets left open at the bottom of my screen), write a little heading, and then copy and past the URL into the document.

I JUST did one that said:

Freezer paper stencils
http://mymontessorijourney.typepad.com/my_montessori_journey/2008/07/freezer-paper-1.html

Anyway, just trying to save your hand from cramping.

An added bonus is that the web address can be clicked on right from the word file to open the page you want to reread in your browser.

I too have just started using google reader, but I collect HUNDREDS of these little ideas and I just don't know how it would handle that.

[Thimbleina]

I used Dylon fabric paint in a little pot which you paint on. I used it on black and it was very opaque - it worked well and has washed lots of times and still looks good.

[Amber D.]

I had never heard of the freezer paper stencil thing until I spoke with you last night. I was excited to see when I got my new issue of Family Fun magazine today they had a little thing about how to do it. They just say use fabric paint and they are using white t shirts in their example, so that is not really much help!

[Shannon]

Hey Laura!

I use google reader too! When I find something I want to keep track of I just click on the share button on the bottom of each blog entry in the reader. It then "puts" it in my list and I can refer back to my sharred items whenever. It also puts them in a box, to the right side of my blog so you can check it out! Works great and It is great for me to fly through when I need a new idea or am trying to remember something!

[Tina]

Hmmm... I have no idea on the fabric paint thing. I think I probably have the same paint as you that I purchased to do this project but I have not as yet found the time. If I remember correctly, Amanda from Soulemama uses the fabric paint from Dharma, but that's not going to help you today!

Good idea about the blog diary. I just bookmark everything into my "crafting" folder of Firefox. Unfortunately, my "crafting" folder is obscenely large and I can never find anything. Since subscribing to the RSS feeds, I have been flagging the posts that interest me in Outlook, so maybe that will help some in the future. Because then I will just be able to do a keyword search in Outlook to find what I'm looking for. Your way is better organized though!