Hello Kitty

Happy birthday to my sister! My little sister turns 23 today and next week we are going to be celebrating her birthday at a baseball game. If you are a frequent visitor to BooBear Designs then you know that my family and I are huge Oakland A's fans. For those of you who don't know, the Oakland A's are a MLB baseball team located in California, across the bay from the San Francisco Giants. Anyways, my sister is also a huge A's fan and she also loves Hello Kitty. For her birthday, besides the ticket to the baseball game, I decided to make her a Hello Kitty A's t-shirt to wear to the baseball game. The t-shirt also matches a coin purse I bought her a few months ago. 

A few weeks ago I posted my tutorial on designing and creating t-shirts using freezer paper. In the post, I mentioned that it was helpful to use markers to outline the template or to color in pieces that you wanted to keep, etc. This was a necessary part for creating the stencil for the Hello Kitty t-shirt. When I designed the template and traced the stencil on freezer paper I hadn't considered how I was going to cut out the pieces and make a usable template. Outlining and coloring in the pieces of the template provided me with a visual to use when creating my stencil. I ended up cutting out each piece and then reassembling the pieces on the t-shirt to recreate the design. I fit the pieces together and then removed one piece at a time to paint. I decided on the pieces to remove based on color, going from dark to light. In general, you want to paint from dark to light as dark colors are easier to fix if you make a mistake. It is a lot easier to cover up a white spot on black then a black spot on white. 

For the most part, this t-shirt design worked up quickly and I was really lucky that the paint dried fast. As soon as I finished with one piece the paint was dry and I was able to start another piece. The face and hat of Hello Kitty took the longest because they required multiple layers of paint. The outline of black is visible on the black t-shirt, but not overwhelming. The outline was crucial for identifying the features of Hello Kitty. I was not able to make a stencil for the bow and had to freehand the outline, but I think the bow turned out well. 

Is there a sport's team or character that you can't get enough of? Combining these can lead to a truly one-of-a-kind piece of memorabilia for you or a loved one. 

An American Tradition

Summer is about sunshine, water, and fun with friends, but for Americans, summer is also about FREEDOM. Summer starts with Memorial Day, a remembrance of the men and women we have lost in combat, and ends with Labor Day, a celebration of the rights of laborers. In between those holidays, in the very heart of summer, is the Fourth of July, a celebration of our independence. Americans choose to celebrate these holidays in many ways, but most people choose to celebrate with an American tradition. The American tradition that my family most often chooses is baseball. After all, baseball is America's favorite past time. For me, it was obvious that my next project needed to be baseball themed, but I really wanted to make my project about America too because there is meaning behind these holidays beyond a day off to watch a baseball game with family and friends. I used Google to find inspiration for my design and then compiled various elements I had liked into my own design for a patriotic, baseball-themed t-shirt. 

Once the design was finished, I printed the design out onto regular computer paper, and then began creating my stencil using freezer paper. Freezer paper is an excellent stencil for making t-shirts or other fabric projects. I traced my design onto the freezer paper and then used an Exacto knife to cut out the pieces of the design that I would need to paint first. I then ironed the design onto the t-shirt, as well as the pieces that were free floating in the background. I will freely admit that I didn't make sure my design was straight on the t-shirt before deciding to iron it on, which means that after I finished painting my t-shirt that the design was crooked. This is a rookie mistake, but it happens and I figure it gives my t-shirt a uniqueness. That said, if I were to make this t-shirt design again I would definitely make sure the design was straight. 

Besides the crookedness of the design I think the t-shirt came out really well. I was able to make this project for under $5 because I had all of the necessary supplies except for the t-shirt. I used Microsoft Word to create the design and standard fabric paint to paint it on the t-shirt. I really do enjoy t-shirt design, this is the 3rd t-shirt I have finished, and I will definitely be making more designs in the future. In fact, I already have a few t-shirt designs in mind for the next few months. 

The other t-shirt designs are pictured below:

Stephen Vogt T-shirt Design; this t-shirt was given to him in the 2014 season. 

Sonny Gray T-shirt Design; He even signed it at Fan Fest in 2014.

Home Organization and Design: Seasonal Decor

Opening Day for the Oakland Athletics is right around the corner, March 31st, and I am so excited to write this month's home organization post on my new A's room decor. If you haven't notices I am a huge sport's fan and each season I try to incorporate my favorite teams into my home decor. One day I will have my own Sports Cave and won't have to incorporate my sports memorabilia into my living space.

The first project is a Stomper pillow pet. For those who don't know Stomper is the A's mascot and an elephant, which makes him easily the best mascot in the MLB. I originally made the elephant pillow pet pattern for my niece, but then altered the pattern to fit my needs, Stomper pillow pet. I love how the pillow pet turned out and know my family will be asking me to make many more Stomper pillow pets in the future. 

The second project is "jersey" pillows, well pillow covers that look like jerseys. While I have many A's jerseys I don't have any that I'm willing to cut up to make into pillow covers. Of course there is always eBay and thrift stores, but I haven't had the time to search for jerseys. Besides I like the idea of make my own "jerseys" to use because then I can personalize each cover using my favorite players or using my own last name with my favorite number. I found fabric that most closely resembled jersey material and then ironed on letter and number appliques. I considered painting on the "jersey", but I thought the appliques looked more like a jersey. I might make a painted pillow in the future to compare the two techniques.

Baseball Field Cork Board

The final project I made was a baseball field cork board for organizing. The green felt pieces I used to make the field are adhered to the cork board using a temporary adhesive so I can redecorate the cork board at a different time. As you can see the design is simple, but the outcome is really cute. This cork board design is a really great gift for the sports lovers in your life, especially for keeping little ones organized. Be sure to comment below if you want me to post a tutorial for this cork board design.

I am really happy with how these projects turned out and am excited to share more baseball DIYs in the future. If there are any projects you want to see, baseball or otherwise, be sure to leave a comment below. I love hearing from my readers and am always up for trying new projects.

Happy President's Day!

Busy...Busy...Busy. This is my life Monday through Sunday, which is why I love 4 day weekends. Even on 4 day weekends I am busy, but I have much more time to get things done. This weekend, besides the usual errand running, I finished projects and made significant progress on organizing my craft space. I spent most of last week finishing up projects, including an A's baseball cap, an A's beanie, and a Liverpool soccer diaper cover. I also spent the week working on an A's cowl that just needs to be lined, a pink blanket, a blue scarf, and another diaper cover. Below are the pictures of my latest finished projects. 

A's Baseball Cap

Liverpool Diaper Cover

A's Baseball Beanie

Then this weekend I spent most of my time organizing my craft supplies and projects. I used a technique I learned from a post on Craftgawker to rewind my scrapped balls of yarn with an end coming out of the middle. I will post a review of the post and a tutorial of my own on this method in a future post. The rest of the time I emptied out boxes left over from Christmas and organized my craft supplies using the 27 compartment boxes I purchased at Home Depot. I also spent some time organizing all of my Christmas decorations, baked good containers, and other assorted Christmas items into a single red plastic bin. While the bin isn't that attractive it is highly functional and will serve my needs perfectly this year as I work on a post each month for Christmas. 

My favorite part of organizing, besides being able to find my things, is discovering the supplies I had forgot about or thought I had used. Saturday I found photos I had planned on using as business cards, but had put away and truthfully forgotten about. Since ordering these photos I have made different business cards, but now I have more cards to choose from. After organizing all of my current projects I realize I have a lot of projects in various stages of completion, more than I realized, and a lot of yarn. I spent half of the day creating an inventory for my projects and the other half spinning the yarn into neat balls. I had hoped to get through more this weekend, but apparently organizing old projects is slower than I had anticipated. 

I am going to continue organizing my craft space and hopefully I will be finished by the end of this month. I am already starting to take pictures of my craft organization and am excited to show my readers the transformation. 

Comment below with your favorite activities for long weekends and how many projects you currently have in progress. I would love to know I am not the only one with a box of unfinished projects. :)

Is it baseball season yet?

This weekend was the Oakland Athletic's Fan Fest and I had an amazing time. The event was completely sold out with 20,000 in attendance. It was packed and raining, but one of the best experiences of my life. Going into Fan Fest I had four things I wanted to accomplish: 1)Autographs, 2)Player photos, 3)Photos with the World Series trophies, and 4)Clubhouse tour. Unfortunately because it was packed I was only able to accomplish two of these things. I was only able to attend one autograph session and one player photo session, but that is where it gets amazing. 

On Sunday I finally posted my Take Me Out To The Ball Game post with my idea for the Sonny Gray t-shirt, although it has been written since mid-January. I made the shirt since I wrote the post and was wearing it at Fan Fest on Saturday. The only autograph session I was able to attend just so happened to be with Sonny Gray and Stephen Vogt. The shirt was a success and without gushing too much it was a wonderful experience and opportunity as both a designer and a fan. I don't believe I have ever felt my work appreciated as much as it was on Saturday. The pictures of my shirt are shown here. Don't forget to notice the autograph on the front of the shirt.

 I love my shirt and my autograph, but it made me think what are some ways to protect an autograph on a t-shirt without just putting it on display? I usually just take my autographed clothing and put it in frames or some other display, but I would really like to keep wearing this shirt. Someone suggested Woolite and cold water, but does anyone know if that works?

Still on the buzz of the excitement of this weekend I am dreaming about more projects for baseball games and baseball players. I already have a few more player t-shirts in mind and am resisting the urge to go out and purchase more materials. After all I still have plenty of projects to finish before I start any more. That said I am anxious to get started so my fingers will be in overdrive to finish my projects this week and of course I will post lots of pictures, either on here or on my Facebook page BooBear Designs.

Remember to use promo code FOOTBALL50 on my Etsy shop, BooBear Designs, for 50% off football team hats until February 28th. 

Take Me Out To The Ball Game...

Last Sunday was Super Bowl Sunday, which means football is over.
The end to football means the start of baseball season. My New England Patriots lost in the AFL Championship Game and since then I have looked forward to opening day for the Oakland Athletics. As part of my excitement my crafting focus has transitioned from football team hats to baseball hats and team shirts. I am currently working on 4 projects for the Oakland A's season and they are all in various stages of completion. Some will be gifts and others will be sold on Etsy, either in pattern or product form. I don't know which product I am most excited to see completed, but I do know I am ready for all of the projects to be completed. As I write this I am already thinking of more project ideas, which I will probably be sketching soon.

The first project I am working on I thought of during a playoff game in October 2013. After Game 2 of the series, which I was fortunate to watch in person, I was compelled to have a Sonny Gray t-shirt, but when I looked for a shirt online I was unable to find one. Joking with my cousin I came up with the idea for my own Sonny Gray t-shirt. The design is based on a song from the 1970's. I was able to paint my design on a gray t-shirt using fabric paint and freezer paper as a stencil.

The next project was born shortly after this game, after a season's worth of lugging my things around in various bags, without ever being able to store everything. I had a rough idea of what I wanted the bag to look like, but I still needed specifics to make the tote bag truly functional. I started with an inventory list of everything I wanted or needed and then began to sketch out my ideas. I am really pleased with the layout of the bag. I began cutting and sewing the pieces last November, but never finished due to a plumbing emergency. Due to another's human error my toilet ended up broke and my room flooded, which postponed everything and put my craft corner in disarray.

The last two projects are inspired by this month's Fan Fest and the birth of my adorable little cousin. The crochet baseball cap is nearly finished and the yarn is embroidered felt logo is so adorable. I have a rough idea of the baseball hat, but haven't sketched anything or started on this project, beyond actually purchasing the yarn. As always, this and all of my finished projects will be posted on my Facebook design page.

When my craft corner is finally put back together I will definitely be creating more and of course posting more project ideas as well as tutorials. Until then I will post when I can and only projects I can create in my limited space. Be sure to comment below with your own ideas for baseball themed craft projects or projects you want to see in future posts.


Use coupon code FOOTBALL50 at my Etsy Store BooBear Designs for 50% off of my Football Team Hats. This coupon expires February 28th.