summercraft: marichelle's diy decals

This week’s crafty guest is Marichelle of Lifeflix. Many of you probably know her former blog, Heart Handmade. Thankfully, she archived all that goodness, and is up to even more of it at Lifeflix. I mean, check out that nursery – it’s enough to make anyone’s ovaries start twitching. And that library kit? Come on. Marichelle is an endless font of beautiful ideas and can-do, so I’m thrilled to have her share a sweet idea here.

Hi everyone, Marichelle here from Lifeflix! Summer has always been my favorite season - flip flops, picnics, beach trips... any excuse to be outdoors enjoying the heat and sun! While I still enjoy these things in theory, being eight months pregnant now, laying out in the hot sun or walking around in 90 degree weather sounds more like a nightmare than paradise! Instead I've been decorating the nursery and keeping myself busy with DIY projects, anything to stay cool and indoors. Today I'm sharing an easy to do craft project on making your own decals out of contact paper, permanent markers and fabric scraps. These decals can be used on walls, mirrors etc.

You'll need:
Transparent Contact paper
Lightweight fabric scraps
Pencil
Scissors
Glue (*I use Arlene's Tacky glue)
Permanent Markers

First you want to come up with your design. I'm currently obsessed with clouds and raindrops so I made a fabric cloud decal and three marker painted rain drop decals in three different sizes.

Marker-Painted Decals
1. Cut out a piece of contact paper (size will depend on how big you want the decal to be). "Paint" the transparent side ("right side") and make sure it's dry before moving on.
2. Turn over to the "wrong side" and draw your rain drops or your own design/shapes with a pencil.
3. Cut out your design/shape.

 

Fabric Decals
1. Cut out another piece of contact paper (size will depend on how big you want the decal to be) and draw your design on the "wrong side".
2. Turn over to the "right side".
3. Cut out a piece of fabric, the same size as your contact paper. I find that lightweight fabrics work a lot better than heavier ones.
4. Apply a thin layer of glue to the "right side" (transparent) of the contact paper, going slightly over the edges of your drawn design (you should be able to see your pencil markings from the other side). Make sure you get a nice even amount on.
5. Carefully lay down your cut fabric piece and glue it down to the contact paper.
6. Once dry, cut out your shape by following your drawn outline on the "wrong" side.

... peel off paper backings and there you have it!

Thanks so much, Marichelle. And super-duper big, happy wishes for you and your new baby. What a lucky little girl.

Comments

[Melissa de la Fuente]

Adore my friend & her crafty goodness! This is such a great series and I adore Marichelle's contribution! Thanks for sharing this ladies!
xo
Melissa

[Marichelle]

Thanks so much for inviting me over Kelly!!

[SallyL]

Oooh - love these and know just where I want to put them. Thanks!

[Renee]

Holy holy, I just saw her nursery -- it's too sweet!

[Rachel]

That is such a great idea and they're so pretty! Thanks so much to both of you for posting this, I'll be linking.

[Sandra]

I love this idea. So innovative.

[galileo]

Bonjour!

I am french and I love making my own stickers. thank you soooo much for your tutorial.....it is so brilliant and clever!