Crafty project

Last week I picked up a cute little sundress for Maisie - pale pink with a twirly skirt. She liked it, but thought it was kind of plain. Yesterday, during Ella's nap, we decorated it with freezer paper stencils!

Freezer paper stencilry is a really easy and fun project, I think. The paper is waxed on one side. You use an Exacto to cut out your stencil, and then iron it on to your fabric, wax-side down. The wax adheres and keeps the paint from bleeding over the edges of your stencil. Wait for it to dry and then voila! Stencilry complete. Maisie wanted a butterfly and a flower on her dress, so here's the pattern I used.

While I cut out the stencils, she chose the colors: blue for the flower, with gold sparkles, and green stem/leaves. We did the flower first, on the skirt.

Maisie did a great job painting; she was really careful with it, making sure that the green and the blue didn't overlap.

Once the flower was painted, we waited for it to dry so we could take the paper off and place the stencil for the butterfly.

It didn't take too long to dry, and we were ready to go again! For the butterfly, Maisie chose to paint it monarch-style: black body, orange wings with black stripes, and iridescent sparkles.

Finished product! Close up of the flower:

The butterfly:

And the whole thing:

I left for work before Maisie got up this morning, so I don't have a picture of her wearing the dress. But I'm sure it'll be cute as can be. And even more importantly, Maisie was so proud of her creation! I'm glad that she enjoys crafty projects as much as I do. It can be so rewarding to do it yourself!