Letter Shirts

I have recently started to make my own letter shirts. I love the look, but they are so expensive to buy over the internet and you may not always find a fabric or shirt you like. So after a few trials and errors, I have come up with a quick and easy way to make your own.

You will need:

Two templates for your Greek letters. A larger one for the background fabric and a smaller one for the foreground fabric

The back ground templates should be 3'' for three letter names and 4'' for two letter names and about a half inch smaller for the foreground templates

Heat and Bond Lite Sewable Iron-on Adhesive 

Fabric of your choice

Apparel of your choice that has been washed and pre-shrunk

Starting with the Heat and Bond, trace your templates and cut out your respective Greek letters. Be sure not to remove the protective paper. Also, I made my templates out of a thin, clear plastic so that I could reuse them with out damaging them over time. 

Next, lay out your fabric and iron it to remove all wrinkles. Lay the Heat and Bond letters down on the fabrics your wish to use for your letters and, following the instructions on the packaging for your fabric type, iron down the Heat and Bond. Following the edge of the Heat and Bond, carefully cut out the letters (they should be fabric on one side and Heat and Bond on the other)

Then, lay out the clothing you wish to attach the letters to as flat as possible and iron to remove any wrinkles. 

Now lay out your background fabric however you would like it to be on your apparel  I used a ruler to keep mine straight across the front of my tanks, but feel free to stager them, put them vertical, on the back, etc. Follow the instructions on the Heat and Bond packaging and iron down the background letters.

Next, arrange the foreground letters on top of the background fabric and, again, iron the letters down.

Now, this is the tricky part. You need to sew the letters down. I recommend using thread that compliments the fabric either used on the letters or the top. 

Luckily, I just have to make straight lines to sew down the deltas, but some letters will be more difficult. If you are unable to sew the letters down, you can use Head and Bond Ultra, which is meant to not be sewn and has an extra strong hold, but you will not have the pretty finishing stitches around your letters

Below are some examples of the tanks I have made

First two tanks that I made before the letters were sewn down

42 little triangles later....

Here are three tanks that one of my sorority sisters asked me to make for her. I was very pleased with how they turned out!

Matching tanks with our names embroidered on for my two triplets and me!

If making your own letter shirts is still a bit out of your crafting zone, check out my favorite store to order them from-- Jenna Benna & Co.

Happy Crafting!

Sorority Picture Frames and Badge Boxes

With our chapter's Big/Little reveal coming up soon, I thought it would be fun to make my future little a few picture frames that she can put pictures of her favorite TriDelta moments in (and of course pictures with her Big!). All of the frames are unfinished wooden frames purchased from Michael's. Here are a few that I have made with a few tips and ticks on how I made them.

I'm in love with the Lilly Pulitzer for TriDelta pattern, so for this frame I began by painting the whole frame white. I then projected a print out of the pattern using a small craft projector, which you can get here from Hobby Lobby, on a blank wall, aligned the pattern how I wanted it on the frame, and taped the frame to the wall with basic painters tape. I then just filled in the colors starting with the accent colors much like you would with a paint-by-numbers kit. I painted the edges hot pink for added effect and then sealed the frame with a basic clear spray paint.

These next two frames are actually my favorites and the easiest to make. I painted both frames white and then sealed them with clear spray paint. I did the same with the wooden dolphin accents, which we also purchased at Michael's. I then used wired burlap ribbion, currently available at most craft stores, and created bows. Once I was happy with the bow shape, I hot glued it down to the frame. I then hot glued the dolphin on top. I decided to keep one for myself and give the other to my future little. On the one for my little I also used glittered letter stickers to write out "Delta Delta Delta."

For the last frame, I painted the frame white and then painted small wooden letters from Hobby Lobby to write out 'Big' and 'Lil' in the same blue as the dolphins above. For the tittle over the 'i's, I mixed Elmer's Glue and gold glitter together to make my own glitter glue and then painted it on the letters with a paint brush. I then hot glued the letters to the frame and sealed it with clear spray paint. 

I am very excited to  present my future little with the badge box below. It is a small, unfinished wooden gift box from Michael's, which I painted and then glued flowers around the edge of (the pearls were pre-glued to the flowers). The wooden "sisters" sign on the lid also came from Michael's and is part of their current spring collection. I then used tweezers to place each individual pearl sticker on the edge of the lid. As an extra bonus, I plan to paint my future little's initials on the underside of the lib as soon as I find out who she is.

Happy Crafting!

Vinyle Cut Outs Without An Electronic Cutting Machine

I've always loved vinyle cut out lettering and especially monograms. It's incredibly versatile and since craft vinyle comes in an endless amount of colors, it can really take any project to the next level.

I have pined for a Cricut or Silhouette craft cutter for sometime now and have always wanted to be able to cut my own letters or shapes out for various project. However, on a whim I bought some of the vinyle used in the machine and thought, "who needs a machine when I have two hands and a pair of scissors?"

A friend of mine has a Lily Pulitzer tumbler that she was gifted with her monogram on it. My first project was replicating the monogram on my Lilly for TriDelta tumbler. 

I printed out my monogram using Printable Monogram and then traced it on a sheet of tracing paper. I then retraced the monogram onto the paper backing of the vinyle and then went about cutting it out. While cutting the monogram out proved to be painstakingly tedious, the final product came out pretty nicely. I then cleaned my tumbler's surface and pressed on the monogram, now basically a large sticker,  in sections. I used a credit card to rub out any bubbles. I have used the tumbler for about a month now and have not had a single problem with the vinyle peeling or coming off when wet.

Since my tumbler came out so great, I also printed out a silhouette of the TriDelta hand-sign and, again using tracing paper, cut it out in the vinyle. I think it looks pretty cute framing the apple on my laptop and I have received a number of compliments on it.   

Happy Crafting!

Sorority Canvases

Our chapter's Big/Little Reveal is coming up soon and I have been crafting non-stop for my future little, whoever she maybe! Below are a few canvases if have made over the past few weeks. I'm not sure which ones I will pass along to her yet, but I hope she will love them!

All of the canvases are from the multipack sets at Michael's and are painted with Folkart acrylic. I also sealed them all with a basic clear spray paint. For the two glittered paintings, I used multipul coats of the clear spray paint to really lock in the glitter. 

      

Happy Crafting!

Learning To Cross Stitch And Needle Point

This summer I decided to take up a few new crafts, one of those being cross stitch. I have really come to enjoy cross stitching, even if counting all the tiny squares can be a bit stressful at times. For Christmas, I asked Santa for a TriDelta Crest pattern kit and he sure did deliver! 

Each kit comes with Adia cloth, crest pattern, Greek letter pattern, and floss. The crest should be around 9"X 12" when I finish. While I liked the colors that the kit came with, I did end up buying a few of my own just for personal preference.

 I've only had enough time to work on it for about four sittings, but it is really coming along!

The kit is from Greek Gear and they have a great selection of almost every sorority and fraternity you could think of. Buy one HERE

I have also become increasingly interested in needle point after a friend of mine showed me the beautiful belts that his mother makes for him. Just on a whim I decided to visit a local needle point shop, and while I left because the prices were so high, I fell in love. So, I drove to Hobby Lobby, bought myself a pack of size 14 canvas, and created this Lilly Pulitzer for TriDelta inspired key fob. I have yet to do the finishings on it, but I will post as soon as I do.  

Happy Crafting!

DIY Sorority Rugs

Last Christmas, I made these rugs for my two friends, one in ADPi and one in DG. I got the inspiration from a Pinterest post about making rugs out of old T-shirts. These rugs are 3'x2' and each one took around a three days to complete. I spent around $15 on each, this includes the rug pad and the fabric. These can be made with any design or just with school or sorority colors placed at random.

What you will need:

Gridded non-slip rug pad in your preferred size (I bought mine by the yard at Joann's)

A minimum of 5 yards of fabric (for 3'x2', more if larger)

Starting with your rug pad, draw on whatever pattern you would like (if you want a pattern). Next, cut the fabric into 1 inch wide and 2-2 1/2 inch long pieces. Finally, loop each fabric piece through the rug pad one by one. The method to make these is very simple, but can be time consuming.

Tips: I started outline of the pattern, filled it in, and then did the back ground. Also, try to place the fabric evenly through out the rug so no one area is more filled in than another. I tried to make sure I had enough fabric for every space, but this is not necessary.
 

Above: front and back photos of the ADPi Lion. The back almost looked better than the front.

Below: Delta Gamma anchor. The fabric that I used was so soft! I love the final texture.

These rugs make great personal gifts and are very unique. Have fun and play around with colors and then relax on your new rug :)

Glass Painting

I have recently become interested in glass painting and decided to try my hand with painting a plate inspired by the Lilly Pulitzer Sorority TriDelta sorority print. I bought the plate and paint, Folk Art Enamel, at Wal*Mart for just a few dollars. The hardest part was working backwards in the colors since I painted it on the bottom of the plate, so starting with the embellishments first and doing the background last. It took a few days, but I am so pleased with how it turned out. 

Any sort of glass objects can be painted, from cups to ornaments to piggy banks, so have fun with it. Since they can be easily customized, painted glass pieces make great gifts.

DIY Sorority Letter Keepsake Trays

Last year, I created these keepsake trays for my two best friends who are in Alpha Delta Pi and Delta Gamma. This year, I made a Tridelta one for myself, which is pictured below. These are super easy to make and very cheap. I think I paid about $5 in supplies for each and they took around an hour. You can add embellishments, like the anchor I did for DG, or even do fraternity letters. 

You will need:

A Tray- I bought clear ones from Target, $3, that already had three slots, but really any divided tray would work.

Paper- I used regular scrapbook paper in the respective sorority colors.

Tracing paper (tissue paper works, too) or stencil

Mod-Podge

Paintbrush

Pencil 

Starting with your the paper that you will use for the letters, trace off or stencil your respective greek letters and cut them out. The slots in this tray are about 3''x 3'', so I cut my letters a bit smaller. 

Next, trace and cut out the background squares. You will want to cut them just a bit smaller than the slots so that the paper fits in the bottom. 

Finally, use the paintbrush to apply Mod-Podge to the bottom of the tray. Place the background paper in the bottom, add a layer of Mod-Podge, then place your letter and embellishments in the order you want. Finish with two or three top coats of Mod-Podge.

Here are the first two that I made. The anchor took a bit of work, but it came out perfect.

Chevron Made Easy

Shut The Font Door!

Move over Martha Stewart, who ever thought of this is a crafting genius. This has to be the  easiest way to tape off a chevron pattern for craft projects. Cut a piece of card board the length of your canvas and then cut the number of peaks and valleys you would like. Using a ruler, I would mark off even spaces between your stripes before you tape it off so that you don't have to worry about moving the tape later if they aren't spaced evenly.

Reblogged from Here via Pinterest

DIY Embellished High Waisted Shorts

High waisted shorts are very 'in' this summer so I decided to make my own. They are quick to make and have a edgy look to them. To make them more my style, I embellished them with cheetah print and iron-on gems. Sorry about the photo quality. I made these on the floor in my dorm room and took the picture with a basic point-and-shoot camera.

What I used:

• One pair of high waisted jeans. I got these black Levi's at a thrift store for about $5.
• Ruler
• Scissors 
• For embellishments, I used gold fabric paint, a cheetah print stencil, masking tape, and iron-on gems, but you can use whatever you would like.

1. Lay the pants out on a flat surface. I made these in my dorm room so I used an ironing board on the floor as my surface. Cut the jeans to a workable length leaving about a 6 inch inseam. Next, use the ruler to measure how long you want the final inseam. I decided on about an inch at this point. Use the ruler or a marker to mark where to cut. Cut at somewhat of an angle going down towards the inseam to keep the shorts straight across when you wear them. You can exaggerate the angle for a high cut on the thighs, which is also 'in'. Don't get too carried away though, you want to keep your buns in the shorts! Also, make sure your keeping your cuts even on both legs.
2. Try the shorts on an make sure they are the length and cut you want. When I tried mine on, they were still took long so I cut them down to a half inch inseam. This is also a good time to again make sure you cuts are even on both legs and that they are straight. You can either stop here and skip to step 4 or embellish them.
3. Embellishments! For stenciling, tape any edges so you don't accidentally get paint where you don't want it. Then tape the stencil down to the shorts. I had to move mine around a bit to get the look I wanted. Squeeze out the fabric paint on to a pallet or throw away plate and use a foam brush to pounce it on the shorts. This is the same technique you would use if you were stenciling a wall. I only painted one layer to create a distressed look in the paint, but you can do more for a more solid look. Next, just move the stencil over and keep filling in your desired area. For iron ons, I pulled each gem off the sticky paper, placed them where I wanted on the shorts, and placed the sticky back over the gems to keep them in place. Then, just follow the ironing instructions on the packing.
4. Finally, use your fingers to pull some threads at the leg openings to create the worn fringe look. You can also use the scissors to create some frays in the shorts themselves. Just open the scissors and run them like a knife in the desired area. Sandpaper works well for this step, too.

Now it's time to rock them! I paired mine with a red J. Crew belt, black tank and red leather jacket from Forever 21, and my Lady Gaga shoes also from Forever 21. Enjoy!

-Sky ♥  

Here are some fun Mario themed earrings that I made a few months ago. I absolutely love wearing them with jeans and a solid top! I found the inspiration for the piranha plant earrings on Esty and kept creating from there. I made all of the earrings with Fimo clay + bead findings. You should have seen the look on my dorm mate's faces when I baked them in the dorm kitchen!

Fimo clay (and clays like it) is a great crafting item to always on hand. A variety of things can be made with it, such as my favorite- jewelry! The finished product can look anywhere from playful and fun to high-end and expensive. I like to buy the multi packs in basic colors and various clay working tools. The clay is great to play with on days when I'm having trouble being creative. I just work it until something forms ooooor until I mush it up and put it back in the packing. Fimo is also great for introducing children to clay working since it washes off hands easily and is non-toxic. Once they are finished, you can bake their creation and have a great keepsake for years to come.

-Sky ♥  

First post and I am so excited! I have been wanting to create a crafting blog for sometime now and finally have the time to do it since I am on summer holiday. Fun DIYs, art, photos, and links to come!

-Sky ♥