Cheap & Awesome Furry Keychain ...AKA... Of all the places to find a gorgeous, fluffy, giant key-chain, this is from the Family Dollar for two bucks. There were a multitude of available colors, I chose an aurora borealis blend of magenta, green, deep blue and a hint of yellow. It comes with two types of connector: a large lobster clasp and a split key ring. The chain has double swivel loops as well, which I think is a surprisingly classy touch. The chain and clasps are an incredibly bright gold, and I'm still undecided about painting over it with a more muted shade (probably using nail polish). The fake fur is very soft and I would say it has a medium shine-- not super glossy or matte. This is going on my backpack, ASAP. Definitely not an ad. I just like key-chains.
Beading Kit, storage & Caddy This was in Michaels on the clearance shelves with a 70% discount because some beads had fallen out ($27.99 lowered to $7.49). It is supposedly a travel kit. On the sides are detachable containers of seed beads. The top has a selection of crimp beads and glass "fashion" beads. Lift the "fashion" bead tray to view the inside of the bucket which has a 3-in-1 pliers, a small spool each of beading wire and thread, six needles with a threader, a bead scoop and a little project booklet which teaches knots and a few basic jewelry designs. This was an overall poorly conceived design. Taking off the "removable" containers attached to the sides was terrifying-- they are so firmly in place that I was very sure the whole thing would fling out of my arms and explode in a shower of seed beads. Strangely, the lid over the "fashion" beads has no latch, so without tape your beads are going to be all over the floor. Speaking of the "fashion" beads (I am being sarcastic) they were obviously put through a tumbler with gravel because the ones that aren't broken have major gouges and scratches. They're pretty, and not every single one is damaged, but it's strange the proportion that are. Since there is absolutely no chance I will be re-attaching these bizarre side containers, and the top doesn't have a working lid, I now have a weird looking and useless plastic bucket. Even at the reduced price this was an impulse purchase; I mainly bought this for the seed beads which are a great selection of colors. The 3-in-1 pliers seem sturdy enough and I think they are sufficient for light crafting (a professional jeweler probably isn't buying bead kits in Michaels). For $7.50 I wouldn't have been able to buy so many seed beads, let alone the rest of the kit. I would not recommend this product because I think it is poorly put together, is terribly designed to function as it claims, and is expensive. If I hadn't found this as a discounted item I would simply have purchased bulk packs of beads in the specific colors I wanted, as I needed them, and I never would have bought the large "fashion" beads. However, now that I have all of these beads and supplies I am excited to use them and think of new projects I may not have taken on otherwise. At Michaels this was sold under the name Bead Landing Storage & Beading Kit. It is pretty clear that this gear is simply re-labelled by other stores, because it is also available as the Darice Beading Basics Kit In Caddy and from JoAnn's as the Jewelry Beading Basics Storage Caddy Kit. Jan. 9 -- Spied it in Walmart vaguely named as Glass Beading Kit for $19.97. It looks the same as mine but lists only 500g of seed beads, rather than 1000g, and 150g fashion beads, whereas mine lists 100g. Terrible.
Jolee's Boutique Easy Image Iron On Transfer Paper Despite many disappointing results many years ago, occasionally I buy a pack of iron-on transfer paper thinking to myself: maybe the quality has improved! I bet this will look amazing! So much cheaper than paying a professional! I purchased a multi-pack containing five pages each for light colored fabrics and dark fabrics, 8.5x11". The instructions include suggestions for print settings depending on your brand of inkjet printer (these do not work with laser printers). Each sheet has indicator lines on the wrong side of the page so you can orient them correctly in your printer. Light Colored Fabrics For light colored fabrics you must reverse the image before printing. Set your iron to the hottest setting, press firmly for about 1 1/2 minutes, then peel away the backing while the piece is still hot. (The instructions are adamant the ironing be done on a firm surface, not an ironing board, with the weight of your body behind each press.) Peeling the paper off was difficult to do and my very detailed image appeared faded because little specks of the print remained stuck to the paper. In my experience this is not unusual, though I had hoped the process would have improved. Even though the non-printed areas are transparent on the shirt, I wish I had trimmed my piece better because at certain angles I can see a wide, shiny outline. Dark Colored Fabrics The image transfer for dark fabric is where the paper gets interesting, not just because this was my first time. Very important to remember-- you do not reverse the image for printing. Cut out your design as precisely as possible as any white areas of paper visible will remain white on your garment. That is one reason many people say this is not good for printing text. You peel away the paper backing before ironing; the piece feels and looks like a very thin and soft sheet of plastic. Lay it face up and place over it a piece of parchment paper (it was included) and iron the same as for light fabric. I ironed for around two minutes, then allowed the piece to cool, flipped it over and ironed from the back. It has very little stretch, but the quality of the image is immensely better. I did a lot of extra ironing due to the reviewers who complained of their prints peeling right off or shredding apart. Then other reviewers chimed in to say it must have been user error, and their irons hadn't been hot enough or pressed for long enough over each portion. Wash Test The included instructions suggest turning the garment inside out, washing in cold water with a mild detergent, and remove the item from the washer quickly because the colors may bleed if left sitting. Lay flat to dry. What I did: From the start I knew I would be hand washing. A machine may be convenient, but it really is vigorous and I enjoy washing things by hand. In a large bucket I added around a gallon of cold water and a small splash of liquid detergent. I turned the white shirt inside out and lifted it in an out of the water and swirled it around for a few minutes. Then I put it in the sink, rinsed with cold water, and squeezed the excess water out-- no wringing or twisting! I don't have one of those screen gadgets for drying things flat, so I turned the shirt right side out and hung it on a laundry rack. The dark shirt was pretty much the same method. I did my best not to grasp the image area to tightly; I don't want to crease the print. Again I rinsed, turned right side out and hung up.
The Specifics White Shirt: Jockey brand cotton tee, but very vintage. Like, this shirt is from the 80's. Teal shirt: Hanes, cotton. It says "Live, love, color" on the label. It's worth noting I have had this shirt for about a year, so it has been washed many times and the green dye doesn't seep out nearly as much as it did when new. Printer: Canon Pixma 5120, Canon brand ink Iron: Rival brand iron, very inexpensive. At it's highest setting the temperature averages 450 degrees Fahrenheit on the pointed half, and 320 on the lower half. (I used a heat gun to measure this; the iron's packaging doesn't list a temperature range.) Conclusion Light Colored Fabric: The process for printing on light colored fabrics does not appear to have improved significantly; my picture ended up fuzzy and faded. This doesn't have to be a bad thing! I actually like how my picture came out in this instance because it complemented the old tee-- if we are going to "logic" this, a faded white tee with little holes should have faded art. If you keep that factor in mind there is a lot of potential to create custom distressed, grunge or shabby-chic looks. Dark Colored Fabric: The process for dark colored fabric was very interesting but if a single hand washing is enough to start peeling my design away, I don't know it will be good for something as daily as a tee. Instead I am eager to try this product in more artistic applications or on an item with less stretch. Make it!
Pentel Arts Fabric Fun Pastel Dye Sticks, 15 color set On a whim, I purchased a set on Amazon for $3.50. They look and feel like oil pastels. The process is pretty straightforward: draw as much as you want on the garment or fabric of your choice. When finished place a piece of paper over your art and heat set with a regular household iron.
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