Custom Birthday Bib {Tutorial}

Now that Abby’s birthday is over and the thank you cards have all (hopefully) been delivered, I feel like time can start moving again here at home. No more worrying about what needs to be done and taken care of… everything is just  back to life as usual… thank goodness!!

I haven’t been documenting every project in my quest to complete 52 projects in 52 weeks, but I have been trying to keep up with them (I also plan on taking pictures to show here on the blog soon). One of my projects was making Abby’s birthday bib.  I had a few questions about how I made it at her party, so I thought I would post a step by step tutorial right here.

What you’ll need:

* A bib
* Freezer paper (I bought mine at Walmart by the aluminum foil and plastic wrap- 150 yards for just under $6)
* Fabric paint
* sponge brush
* paper towels or something to put under the bib while painting

Here’s what you do:

** Buy or make a cotton knit bib. I found mine at Hobby Lobby for about $2.

 

 

** Make your freezer paper stencil. I used my Cricut and a 3rd party software that I LOVE (but no longer supports ProvoCraft machines… long story with a sad outcome for users), I cut my design in the freezer paper, making sure that the plastic side of the paper is down against the sticky cutting mat. If  you don’t have an electric cutter, that’s fine. Just cut the freezer paper to fit into your standard printer and using Word, design your stencil and print it onto the paper side of the freezer paper and then cut it out by hand… it’s a little more tedious, but it works too.

Since we’re making a stencil, you’ll want to weed or cut out the letters (if you don’t have an electronic cutter), making sure that you keep all of the tiny pieces for any of the letters that may need them. The font that I used is a free font called Tingle Institute.

** Cut the remaining stencil to fit  the bib and iron it on. My iron was set at medium-high heat with NO steam – that is very important!!.

** Using a sponge brush, dab the fabric paint onto the bib. Make sure that you don’t get the the freezer paper stencil too wet. It’s better to do 2 or 3 light coats than one heavy one!!

** Wait a few minutes and then remove the stencil. It’s easier to do this while the paint is still wet. Step back and admire your work while it dries. =)

** Once everything is dry (check the paint bottle for drying times), set the paint by ironing it. I put a cotton kitchen towel over the bib and paint and ironed it without steam on a medium-high setting.

** Find a birthday girl and let her show it off!!

I hope this tutorial helps you get your craft on! You can use this tutorial to paint not only bibs, but also shirts, cardi’s, bags… almost anything  fabric!! So what are you waiting for? Get out there, buy some freezer paper and get painting!