Pottery Barn Skull Print Knockoff

**My canvas prints are now for sale HERE**

I saw this skull canvas in the new Pottery Barn catalog and knew I had to have one! But $79?!?! Really? So instead of handing over all of that money, I came up with this:

I'm so happy with how it turned out! I made the print using the Coffee Fabric Dye and Printing on Fabric tutorials that I recently showed you, glued the top of the fabric to a dowel rod (which I also added a touch of the coffee dye to), and hung it with a piece of twine.

I had everyting on hand (including the skull image 'cause I'm weird like that) so it was free! You can find a similar skull along with other fun spooky prints here at The Graphics Fairy.

How To: Print On Fabric

EDIT:  An updated tutorial with different printing and washing techniques can be found here: http://www.polishthestars.com/2011/09/techniques-for-printing-on-fabric.html

I first saw the tutorial for printing on fabric here. It is so easy! You start with some spray adhesive:

Spray it onto a piece of cardstock and place your fabric on top, being sure to get out as many bubbles as possible. (I recommend spraying the adhesive outside.)

Then cut down the fabric so that it is the exact same size as your cardstock.

Place it in your printer with the fabric facing whichever side gets the ink.

You now have printed fabric!

Just peel it off of the cardstock.

And you are ready to use your new printed fabric!

Coffee Fabric Dye

I found this coffee fabric dye tutorial by One Cheap B*tch and decided to try it out!

First, bring 4 cups of water to a boil. Then add 1 cup of instant coffee and 3 Tbsp Vanilla. Allow to cool completely.

Place your fabric in the coffee mixture and make sure all of it is soaked. Wring out the excess liquid.

Place on a cookie sheet and bake at 250 degrees for about 5 minutes, turning it over at least once.

For the first one, I didn't get rid of any of the wrinkles from wringing it out. I also didn't flip it at all. The top is a little lighter:

And the bottom has these awesome dark lines along the wrinkles:

On the second one, I flipped in half way through and the wrinkles are slightly defined.

For this last one, I pulled on the fabric before baking it to get most of the wrinkles out and flipped it about every 1 minute while it was baking.

I'm really happy with how all of them turned out and I can't wait to get crafting!

Dry Erase To-Do List

I have been seeing picture frame dry erase boards all over blogland lately and I decided to expand on that idea and create a dry erase checklist! I started out with this document sized frame from dollar tree:

Then I just spray painted the frame red, printed out my son's to-do list (including pictures of each task since he can't read yet), and added a 1" border from scrapbook paper. Now he can see what he needs to do each day (without me having to remind him!), check things off as they are completed, and then just wipe it away and start over the next day!

As requested, I know have one you can print out for yourself! I will look into making it available as a document download but for now, you should be able to right click the photo below, save it and then print it.

Of course, this can be used for adults too. Just print out your daily, weekly, and/or monthly cleaning tasks, menu planning, etc. The best part is that as tasks change, all you have to do is print out a new page!

Cherry Tomato Sauce with Pasta

This recipe is a great way to use some of the fresh cherry tomatoes that are in season. The balsamic vinegar was a little too much for my son though. I told him he had to at least try it and he hated it so much he started crying because he was afraid I was going to make him eat more of it! Maybe your kid's have a more sophisticated palette than my son but if not, I would suggest having something else on hand for them. :)

Cherry Tomato Sauce with Fresh Pasta

adapted from Jamie's Food Revolution

Ingredients:

1 1/2 pints Ripe Grape or Cherry Tomatoes

4 cloves of Garlic

a small bunch of Fresh Basil

1 pound Dried Penne

Sea Salt and Freshly Ground Black Pepper

Olive Oil

2 pats of Butter

1/4 cup Balsamic Vinegar

4 ounces Parmesan Cheese

Directions:

1. Cut the tomatoes into halves. Peel and slice the garlic. Pick the basil leaves off the stalks and put them to one side. Finely chop the stalks. Grate the Parmesan.

2. Bring a large pan of salted water to a boil. Cook pasta according to package directions. Drain in a colander and reserve some of the cooking water.

3. When pasta is about five minutes from being done, put a large frying pan over medium heat. Add a couple of teaspoons of olive oil and the garlic. Add the butter and let it melt. When the garlic starts to brown, add the tomatoes. Stir, then add the basil stalks and half the leaves. Add the vinegar and season with salt and pepper. Add the pasta to the frying pan with a splash of the cooking water. Stir well. Taste and add a little more salt and pepper to taste.

4. Divide the pasta between your plates or bowls. Sprinkle over the rest of the Parmesan and the basil leaves, tearing any larger ones up.

Serves 6.