Thursday 6 May 2010

Rock Star part 2

Even if you have only just turned one, all good Rock Stars know that image is of paramount importance.*

With left over paint from Miss P and the overwhelming urge to make my own stencils (I blame Lena Corwin), I embarked on a mission to find the mysterious 'freezer paper' that our friends across the Atlantic use when making beautiful, one off images on bags, t-shirts and tee-towels. Having tried 3 supermarkets it finally dawned on me that we just don't have it.

As I pottered about in one of those 'has everything but not that' shops, I stumbled across self-laminating business card holders - aka sticky backed plastic. 'That'll do' I trilled out loud.

The useful part of the self-laminating kit is that the sticky plastic has a paper backing, which meant that I could hand draw my design directly onto the paper and then cut it out with the scalpel knife. It also has a non-sticky plastic back which is great for preserving the 'stick' after the stencils have been used.
A cheap car sponge was chopped up, and the stencil stuck in place. A paper plate was found for paint dabbing and a couple of layers of paper put inside the t-shirt to stop over-eager stenciling seeping through.
In a matter of moments the job was done - which was a little sad because I could have quite happily stenciled all afternoon. Note to oneself for next time - conveyor belt stenciling!

Once the images were dry, the stencils were removed and the fabric paint set with a hot iron and a handy tea towel. To soften the set fabric paint, I popped it in the washing machine on a normal cycle.
Voila. Ready for the battle of the bands! Coming to a nursery near you...

*So maybe the literal route isn't that rock star, but it made me giggle. One of the first guesses was 'cloud star', swiftly followed by 'storm star'. Sigh. Never mind...

3 comments:

  1. This is fabulous! I love your image as well very cute with the rock :)
    I love the guitar and will most def have to use it for some inspiration x

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  2. You can get freezer paper on line - try Lakeland. It's really useful for any sort of applique or for making templates - and a box lasts forever (well not forever but you know what I mean!)

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  3. So cool! And such a professional finish.

    My mum (in America) has a big roll of freezer paper in her crafts cupboard, but I actually think your technique with the sticky-backed plastic sounds better! Brilliant idea.

    K x

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