Cricut Vinyl Big Sister/Little Sister T Shirts

Allow me to begin this blog by stating that I LOVE MY CRICUT MACHINE!!! While I have the most basic version that Cricut offers, I am astounded by how many options this wonderful contraption gives me. I recently purchased adhesive vinyl to be used with my Cricut. While I can't even imagine how many new craft options this will now give me, I decided that my first project with the vinyl would be to make temporarily decorated t shirts to celebrate our upcoming arrival. Since our first "baby" has always been our dog (and I assure you, we don't actually treat our dog like she's a human, but we do love her to death and can't imagine life without her), we constantly joke that her "little sister" is on her way. As someone always looking for a new craft project, as well as a photo op, I went ahead and purchased a large, pink t shirt at my local dollar store and got out a matching pink onesie that we had already gotten for baby. Using the "Alphalicious" Cricut cartridge, I cut the phrases "Big Sister" and "Little Sister" out and adhered them accordingly to the t-shirt (yes, for the dog to wear) and onesie. Since we are just using them for a photo, we can simply remove the vinyl letters when we are done and reuse the shirts. Stay tuned for pics of the "sisters"!!!

Steelers Dog Bandana

Pittsburgh's furriest fan



Our dog, Reese, a nine-month-old golden retriever, often becomes a “model” for some of the crafts I make. While she is never fond of modeling, she will always put on a good show for peanut butter or string cheese (cheap date!).  As a Pittsburgh resident, I OBVIOUSLY love me some Pittsburgh Steelers! As a result, my poor puppy became the brunt of my Steelers-themed craft idea when the team went to the conference championships. I used yellow, black, and white ribbon scraps, along with my awesome mini Bowdabra® to make little hair bows that I put onto ribbon-lined alligator clips. Next, I got ¼ yards of Steelers fabric and cut out a large triangular shape, folding the straight edge of the triangle about 1” and sewing along the edge in order to slip Reese’s collar through the “bandana.”  Peanut butter and a fast camera enabled me to snip a quick picture of our girl in both of her accessories before the game began. Mission accomplished!!!

Our little "Reeseter" Bunny

Around Easter time, I used pinking shears on white and pink felt to make “Reeseter Bunny” ears. I hot glued white pipe cleaners to the backs of the ears to make them sturdy and flexible then folded them under and glued them to an elastic headband, which fit around her head long enough to sit for her cheese and allow me to quickly snap a picture to send to all of my friends. Good girl, Reese! Good girl!