Today’s post was prompted by my habit of carrying a ridiculous amount of fodder while on my epic walks. What type of fodder, you ask? A cell phone so I can call my mom (we chat quite frequently), my iPod for when the call is over and I’m ready for the walk to be the same, the dog leash because Hutson comes with, and of course a water bottle large enough to satiate both me and my pup. The problem is that I only have two hands and rarely large enough pockets to accommodate my supplies. I’ve seen water bottle holders at the store that strap on, but I just couldn’t bring myself to pay almost $30 for something that seemed so superfluous.
Enter in my recent discovery of something called Freezer Paper stencils. The whole concept is that Freezer Paper is a cheap alternative to something like screen painting as well as incredibly easy to use. I was itching to give it a whirl and had the perfect material to test my stencils on: Aaron’s old pile of white t-shirts. At first I just thought I’d practice, but then practicality introduced itself to my creative side and an idea was born: use a stencil to decorate a homemade water bottle holder!
First, I gathered my supplies; simply freezer paper, a cutting board (you could use cardboard instead), my handy dandy exacto knife, fabric paint, and a pencil.
Next step was to draw my design (you could always print one off the internet you like and trace it onto the freezer paper).
Then I cut out my design, which I soon realized was annoying due to all the intricate water bubbles, etc. Once the design is cut out, it’s time to iron it on to your material SHINY MATERIAL DOWN. If not, the material will stick to your iron and make a mess of it.
With your design ironed on, place another sheet of freezer paper on the inside of your material so your fabric paint doesn’t bleed
through. When applying your fabric paint, you don’t need a lot; just lightly dab on until covered.
Pull off the freezer paper and, wah-lah!, you are done.
I took my design and cut it up to make my bag, sewing it up and adding an elastic band on top and a braided handle.
Here’s me about to take my new water bottle bag on its inaugural walk. Goofy, I know, but Aaron insisted and I wanted to give a sense of perspective on its size.
So now that you’ve learned how easy it is to make your own Freezer Paper stencils, I hope you’ll give a try! If you do, feel free to send me a photo of the result so I can post it, too.
