BBCers' Pink Ribbon Walk

As a breast cancer survivor, you can imagine that I love any and all projects involving pink ribbons. So when my friend Judie who runs a Baby Boot Camp in Texas came to me wanting fifteen (yes, that's 15) shirts for her BBC team to wear in a breast cancer walk, I said Absolutely!

The text is as close as I could get to the BBC logo, in green (over white, to ensure that the text popped on the grey shirts) moderately sparkly paint. The hand-drawn pink ribbons feature hearts at the top loop and were edged in pale pink.

Life is a Beach

My friend Heather is throwing her sons a combination birthday/christening party in a few weeks (she has a toddler and an infant), and the theme is a beachy one. So we stencilled colorful beachballs onto the front of a tee and a onesie for the Honorees to wear to their gala.

This stencil was simple in idea but a touch challenging to execute. Coloring (or painting) inside the lines is tough even for non-preschoolers!

Firetruck on a ringer tee

I've been doing the firetruck stencil since, oh, I think perhaps the beginning of time? But I saw some gorgeous, vibrant colored ringer tees and thought the firetruck might look particularly smashing on them.

I think I was right!

Let's Go, Red Sox!

A Boston-area friend (and fellow Sox fan) is pregnant with her first baby. So exciting! We stencilled this shirt as a way to make the announcement that baby's coming in 2008. This was a single layer red stencil with white outlining, using a Red Sox-esque font.

(L-R) front of shirt, back of shirt

Berry Fun

Still thinking I need more girly stencils. So I did this two-layer (well, three with the white accents) strawberry stencil. mmmm!

Little Diva

In looking at my stencil collection, I noticed that I tend to do more boy-themed stencils than girl-centric ones (given that I have two boys, I think that's kind of understandable, but anyhow). So I thought I'd do a fun little text one for the girls.

The font is called Love Letters. I used a dark hot pink fabric paint.

What are miniblisscakes?

Let me explain.

Some of the first stencils I made for friends were cupcakes (your choice of white, chocolate, or pink frosting -- but my favorite is chocolate!), as my friend Michelle's little girl Joanna is particularly fond of those petite treats.

Later on in the year, I drew my friend Midori's name in a Secret Santa exchange. I spent a crazy amount of time pondering what to do for Midori's gift (I had been particularly proud of my previous years' gifts in this particular Secret Santa, so I really wanted to come up with The Perfect Item), when finally, inspiration struck. Ever since I've known her, Midori has also been A Fan of The Cupcake, and she has a little pet name for them: miniblisscakes. Because, of course, they are mini and they are a little bit of bliss in a cake.

So, miniblisscakes.

Many many thanks go to both Midori and little Joanna for the inspiration!

The Obligatory Opening Post

I started stencilling clothing for my twin boys and husband (sometimes wonder if he would be better classified as another child) in the summer of 2006.

I can't say that I was all that good at it when I began, but I've stuck with it and have improved a great deal since that very first stencil (see Chuck Norris over there), if I do say so myself.

Friends and family began requesting I do stencils for them and before I knew it, my kitchen was covered with bottles of fabric paint, sponge paint brushes, and Xacto knives. I barely have time to stencil for myself anymore, but I don't mind; I love new stencil challenges.

This blog is intended as a record of sorts for my stencils (nearly a year after beginning on my stencilhappy journey). If you'd like a miniblisscakes stencilled shirt of your very own, please see the links to my online stores: eBay, etsy, and the flagship store: miniblisscakes.com.