The problem is most people do not buy themselves any cute burp cloths. I like to think the cuteness helps cover the job they are actually doing; Cleaning up 'burps'! For this reason, I love to make burp cloths as gifts for new mothers. I have showed how I made some adding fabric and ribbons in this post. I have made dozens this way and every one tells me they get lots of use!
Today I have something a little different in mind. If you are new to my blog, we are in temporary housing while our house is slowly being built, and I don't have all of my things. I don't have my sewing machine or my huge stash of scrap fabric. So I had to be a little creative when deciding to make some burp cloths for two mother's with new little boys. My post about a month ago where I showed how to monogram napkins using fabric paint inspired me to try fabric paint on the burp cloths. I really did not think it would work. I buy the thick kind of cloth diapers to make my gifts, and I thought the paint may just soak in and not leave clear images. I am happy to report that I was wrong! I think they turned out darling and I can't wait to make more..... This is what I made.
Here is how I made them:
I printed out a picture of a crab, just because.... I also printed out a letter L and H, for the first initials of the two little boys. I then traced it onto my freezer paper, with shiny side down and tracing on the top. I kept the freezer paper over my cutting mat and using the grid lines for reference made marks so that I could use a hole puncher and have a straight line of holes.
Then using my cutting mat and my exacto knife, I cut out the inside of the crab and letters, and hole punched along my grid.
Next, I placed it on my washed and ironed diapers. I adjusted the crab and letter to where I liked and - with the shiny side down - I ironed it to my cloth, paying close attention to all the edges of the image and letter. I also ironed the strip with the holes, lining it up along the bottom edge of the cloth.
Once I was sure all the edges were ironed down tightly, I started painting. I used small bottles of fabric paint purchased from Michael's (yes with a coupon.....). I always paint from the outer edges IN, that way I avoid bleeding under the edges. Then I go around and fill in the inside. This took a little more paint because it did soak in to the thicker fabric in the center, however, it did not take as much as I thought it might.
Once everything is dry, then carefully peel the freezer paper back, being careful not to rip it if you are going to use it again (which I was).
This is a close up of the edge and the dots. You can see the edges are not completely perfect, but they look great considering it is a loose weave fabric. I also love the shimmer in the red paint, I was not expecting that and love it!
A couple more shots....
I hope the babies like them too!
Happy Painting!
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The Girl Creative, Stone Gable, From My Front Porch to Yours, Imparting Grace, Have a Daily Cup of Mrs. Olsen , Green Willow Pond, Thrifty Decor Chick
