Today we have Carrie on the blog sharing a really fun DIY! I am so excited about this, because as y’all know, I just had a baby and these are SO cute! I think I am going to see if Carrie wants to send me some…because she did such an awesome time on these! I LOVE them! Lets take a look….
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Hi, I’m Carrie and I blog about creating a lovely home for less at Lovely Etc.
While I adore being a wife and mom, I also have an insatiable need to create! I love figuring out how to make beautiful things – even if it means firing up a few power tools. And I am all about finding ways to create exactly what I want for as little money as possible. I usually have at least five or six DIY projects going on at any one time and they are pretty much guaranteed to involve an awesome yard sale find, my trusty jigsaw, or my vast collection of turquoise paints.
As soon as my college roommate Hannah told me she was pregnant, I knew I wanted to make her some DIY onesies. It is one of those projects that just looks like soo much fun and I never had the time to make any for my own precious baby.
If you’ve never tried it, freezer paper stenciling is pretty magical. You can buy freezer paper from your local grocery store in the aisle with the wax paper and aluminum foil. I have no idea what freezer paper’s actual purpose is, but it is completely amazing for stenciling on fabric.
First, choose a design. For my first onesie, I went with an arrow design. I chose to draw my arrows onto the freezer paper, but if you aren’t feeling confident about your drawing skills, you can also print some arrows and trace them onto the freezer paper.
Once your design is drawn, it’s time to carefully cut it out. You don’t need any fancy cutting machines to make freezer paper stencils (though if you have one, it will definitely make it faster!) I didn’t use a cutting machine at all – just a good old fashioned x-acto knife and cutting mat. This can be a bit tedious but is not difficult. When you are cutting, remember you are going to be using the area around the arrows as your stencil so be careful with that section.
One side of the freezer paper will feel like plastic and the other side like paper. Lay the stencil on the onesie with the plastic side down and iron it for a few seconds, making sure to completely seal the edges of the design. The heat seals the plastic to the fabric so that no paint sneaks underneath when you are painting your design.
Now you are ready to paint! You can either use fabric paint or you can use regular craft paint mixed with fabric medium.
Once your design is painted on, carefully peel off the freezer paper. If you want to make a few different pieces with the same design, you can usually use the same freezer paper stencil a few times before it loses its stickiness.
For the second onesie, we decided to do a cute little monogrammed tie. The tie was painted using another freezer paper stencil and then the initial was added with a large rubber stamp.
The third onesie was more of a gift for the daddy. He is a huge fan of University of Tennessee football, so a UT onesie had to be thrown in the mix. UT is all about orange and we didn’t have an orange onesie, so we dyed one. We used some one-step tie dye to dye the whole thing but any fabric dye would work. Once it was orange, we went with a cute little football seam design using freezer paper.
I’m a bit of a perfectionist so I love the clean, crisp lines you can get with freezer paper. I also love that the possibilities are pretty much endless! I’m thinking that even though I missed the onesie train with my son, I’m still going to have to make him some adorable little toddler t-shirts now.
Thank you so much Allyson for letting me share!
I’d love for you guys to hop over to Lovely Etc. and check out some of my favorite projects.
Giant Arrow Growth Chart and Oversized Subway Art
And if you are looking for more DIY inspiration, be sure to follow along with me on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, and Pinterest!
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This is SUCH a great DIY from Carrie! Thanks again!
Mari says
Great ideas!!!
Krista says
These are such great ideas! Thank you, thank you for the freezer paper tutorial! I’ve been trying to make a t-shirt design for ages and couldn’t figure out how to do it without spending a lot of money, so I appreciate your post!
sincerelysommer says
So cute and and fun. This would be a great baby shower craft idea! I just wish there were more in-process pictures. Great post and great ideas! Thanks!