threadbare memories

Happy Thursday, friends!  Today I want to share a post with you from 2012--it's been my most popular post by far and it's one of my favorites too. 

 You know I love helping with room designs and this is an easy way to make meaningful wall art for your space. 

As a mother of three boys I have come across two dilemmas.  Yes, only two.  What to put on their bedroom walls that both they and I will like?  and What to do with all of those threadbare t-shirts?  You know the ones--the this is my favorite shirt so I'll just put it on the end of my bed instead of in the laundry so I can wear it again tomorrow shirts.  They're worn so much that they become a sort of uniform for an age.  Those shirts used to annoy me but now just the sight of them brings back so many memories. Kind of like seeing my old 10th grade KFC uniform and the memories that it brings back.  Ok, not like that at all. The truth is, I miss some of those little pieces of knit.   

Enter the t-shirt canvases...

I began making these when my boys were little. It takes about 5 minutes and can be an easy collage to add to as shirts are outgrown. I don't use all of their t-shirts, just the ones that spark a memory. 

Begin with a canvas and a well-loved shirt.

  

The canvas I used today is 6x6 but you can use any size.  I had to go small because this shirt is so small.

 Put the canvas inside the shirt and wrap the shirt around it. 

You have to finagle it a bit to get the graphic on the canvas evenly. 

Grab your trusty staple gun and begin stapling around the edges. 

It works best if you staple opposite sides first. 

Once you've stapled the shirt enough so that it isn't pulling, cut off the excess.

 

All done.

   

You have now become an official t-shirt canvas artist.

Click here to jump to my writing blog!

the never ending t-shirt

Last week I told you how I often use shirts and sheets, or any fabric I can get my hands on, to make pillows.

I didn't start this because of clever creativity but more out of necessity and limitations.

I wrote a few years ago about one way I repurpose outgrown t-shirts.

Of course there are a lot of t-shirts that come and go with little emotional affect, but then there are those that bring a flood of memories.

You see that Detroit Dogs shirt above?  This was the shirt my middle son wore when he was five.  For what seemed like the whole year. With orange basketball shorts that were too big (anyone else have sons who liked shorts so big they looked like a skirt? or kolots?).  The grey shirt with the red football on it was a toddler shirt.  All three of my boys wore it--I get teary eyed thinking about my little chubby boys in that shirt and a diaper. Anyway, so you get my point.

Today I want to show you how easy it is to make pillows from a t-shirt.

This shirt is not as much of a memory  for me, but it is for my youngest.  He is 9 and into all things sports.  And yes our team is called the Wampus Cats--a six legged cat--4 to run the speed of light and 2 to fight with all its might.  

He was so sad when we declared this shirt outgrown so I quickly pulled out the machine and got to work.  I may have a throw pillow accumulation problem which my kids do not share, but they'll agree to having extra ("they aren't extra, they are necessary!") pillows if they're cool.

Keep in mind that the definition of cool changes often and suddenly--rule number 523 of parenting.

The tricky part of t-shirt pillows is getting the logo centered if the shirt isn't very large.  I didn't do a great job with this one but no worries.

As I've said in other posts, I always draw straight lines to help.

I wait and cut the excess after it's sewn in case I make a mistake.

And don't forget to use a pillow form that's a little bigger than your pillow so it will be nice and full.

The pillow sham on his bed (which looks empty in this pic) is one I made years ago out of my husband's old dress shirts and pajama pants (!), which is fitting because it's for the son who would permanently attach himself to his dad if he could...

out on a limb

 

Maybe it's the excessive amounts of tree limbs that are down in our part of the country because of the ice and snow, or maybe it's just a desire to find ways to decorate without spending money...

but I must warn you,

I'm on a tree limb kick.

This one came from a tree my parents cut down last year.  They thought I was crazy when I loaded it up in my minivan and brought it home.

 It used to reside in the boys' room to hang hats on (you've seen it before in the t-shirt canvas post)  but I decided they didn't love it as much as I did so I moved it downstairs.

We've been needing something for coats at the front door so we'll try this for a while. 

I'll keep you posted. 

 

 Here are a few more ideas...



Don't you adore this idea?  I love the look but I'm afraid those sweet birds wouldn't last long in our house...maybe some plastic snakes or something.



design sponge

This has happened at our house a few times but not on purpose.  There's something about the simplicity and randomness with this one that I love...pure art.



design sponge

How cool would this be in a kid's room!? 



source unknown

You could use tree limbs like these last two photos for almost every season...red hearts for Valentine's Day, Snowflakes for winter, bats for Halloween, leaves cut out of newspaper for fall...I could go on...

 

source unknown
 

Tree limbs are even going to be the main decoration for our school's Winter Festival this month.

 

 

tree limbs + silver spray paint + son who loves to spray paint almost as much as his mom=cheap winter trees

 

They may turn up missing after the festival:)

 

quotes for little ones

Today, I want to give you a sneak peak at a piece from my new collection--

 

Quotes for Little Ones.

 

It includes quotes from Children's Literature painted in many different colors and sizes.  None of them are up for sale on Etsy yet, but I wanted to give my blog readers the first look.  

 

 

Don't you love children's books?

 There's something about those books that we read and read and read when we're little and now with our own kids that seems to stick with us.

 

and an ocean tumbled by with a private boat for Max and he sailed off

through night and day and in and out of weeks and almost

over a year to where the wild things are

 

 

Where The Wild Things Are is definitely one of our favorites--every little member of our family could quote the entire book by age 4!

 

 

 

 I'll probably sell this one by itself but just for fun, I painted this little orange one too...

Do you have a favorite Children's Literature quote? 

 Share it in the comments, and if I use it you'll receive one of them at half price!

good weekend reads

I hope everyone is having a great weekend.  We're spending the weekend at my parents' house. 

If you combine porch swings, hay fields, lazy afternoons, homemade soup, white bread, and unlimited movie watching you'll have a pretty good idea of why my boys never want to leave.

Here are a few good weekend reads...

Edie at Life in Grace tells us everything we need to know about a well appointed guest room; The Nester gives a great perspective on hoarding and organizing and such; and Melissa at The Inspired Room has some great photos of decorating with orange and red.

Do you have favorite blogs? Feel free to share in the comments!

And don't forget that the drawing for this piece will be on Monday.  If you want to win it, just sign up to follow by rss or email.  good luck!

my boys

 If you are wondering what I spend my time on when I'm not painting, then wonder no more.

  Today, I want to introduce you to my family. 

 

This is my sweet husband and biggest fan, Michael.

 

 

And here are my other guys.

 

They are rowdy, funny, sweet, sometimes grumpy, a little smelly,

outside dwellers, pantry raiders, couch movie watchers, dirty clothes manufacturers,

wrestlers, campers, hikers, ball players, swimmers, tree climbers, writers, Jesus lovers, artists, talkers, snugglers, early risers...

 

and the loves of my life. 
Even if they do eat all of the pretzels.