iLoveToCreate Blog

We are excited to be working with Dreamworks on the release of the new family film, Madagascar 3: Europe's Most Wanted (releases June 8th nationwide).

Synopsis: Alex, Marty, Gloria and Melman are still fighting to get home to their beloved Big Apple. Their journey takes them through Europe where they find the perfect cover: a traveling circus, which they reinvent - Madagascar style.

CONTEST - Two ways to win!

PRIZE PACK (five winners):
Leave a comment below (include your email) sharing a craft project idea inspired by the film and you'll be entered to win a Madagascar 3: Europe's Most Wanted Prize Pack from Dreamworks that includes:
•         Mini One Sheet (poster)
•         Rainbow Afro Circus Wig
•         Youth T-Shirt 
•         Tattoo Sheet
•         Yo-Yos – *National Yo-Yo day is June 6th!
•         Hacky Sack   
•         Slap Bracelet
•         Pencils

Wii* GRAND PRIZE (one winner):
Make your version of this Madagascar 3: Europe's Most Wanted-inspired mask (see below), post the link to your picture in the comment section below and you'll be entered to win the Prize Pack AND a Wii Game*: “Madagascar 3: The Video Game: Big Top Fun – Madagascar Style!”

*Madagascar 3 © 2012 DreamWorks Animation L.L.C. D3Publisher and its logo are trademarks or registered trademarks of D3Publisher of America, Inc. Nintendo trademarks and copyrights are properties of Nintendo. © 2011 Nintendo. All other trademarks and trade names are the property of their respective owners. All rights reserved.

and the movie soundtrack!


Winners will be chosen by a random drawing on June 4th and notified by email.

Kathy Cano-Murillo, the Crafty Chica, made this mask inspired by Madagascar 3: Europe's Most Wanted. Make your own version to be entered in the grand prize contest!

Tulip® 3D Fashion Paint , black

Aleene's® Tacky Dot Rolls™

Tulip® Glam-It-Up!™ Iron-On Crystals™

Tulip® Cordless Heat Setting Tool™

Tulip® Glam-It-Up!™ Fashion Art Tweezers™

1 eye mask
Large colorful feathers

Large gems

2 strands of ribbon, 12” each

            2.    Add several Tacky Dots to the left side of the mask and apply the tall feathers

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T-shirt yarn is so easy and addicting to make, well now you can take it a step further and tie dye your T-shirt yarn!

There are several way sto go about it - you can:

A. Use a shirt that is already tie-dyed OR
B. Cut up the shirt to make the yarn and then dye it. That is what I'm showing in my tutorial video.

SUPPLIES:
Tulip Tie Dye Kit
Shirt
Scissors

Watch the video and give it a try!


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It's springtime, which means one thing to me: T-shirt weather! It's an exciting time over in the Land of Generation T, because as many of you know, it only gets better: After spring comes summer, which means we all get a little more scantily clad -- T-shirts turn into tank tops and tube tops and ooh-la-la! So grab your scissors (to cut away some of that extra fabric, of course), dial up the color (bring on those fabric spray paints), and hop in your fabulous fashion time machine, because fringe is enjoying a bit of a renaissance this season. Last weekend, I dialed back the decades and dug into my craft stash to make some classic '80s-inspired geometric tees.

Materials:
-light-colored T-shirt (I used a light blue one)
-ruler
-masking tape
-fabric scissors
-fabric spray paint (variety of colors)
-scrap newsprint paper


Make it:
1. Lay the T-shirt flat. Use masking tape to mark a horizontal line about 8" up from the bottom of the shirt. Find the vertical center of the shirt and apply tape to the chest-region of the T-shirt to create a crisscrossing geometric pattern.


2. Insert the newsprint paper between the layers of the T-shirt to prevent the paint from bleeding through. Then apply fabric spray paint over the taped area. Apply another color or two, then let dry.


3. Peel back the tape, and then lay down more tape (I cut the tape strips in half, thirds, and quarters to make thinner lines) across your pattern to create a modified plaid pattern. Then spray paint more color!


4. Let dry completely before peeling off the tape to reveal your design.


5. Cut off the bottom hem of the T-shirt, just above the stitching. Then, using the tape marker you pressed down in step 1 as your guide, cut 1/3"- to 1/2"-wide fringe from the bottom edge of the shirt.


6. Cut off the sleeve hems, just above the stitching, and cut out the neckband, just below the neckband edge in the front and the back, and about 2" wider on the sides.


7. Gently tug on the fringe to stretch it out (the fabric edges will curl in). Try it on!


8. Grab up additional T-shirts and experiment with your paint patterns and fringe -- cut it on a diagonal, in a chevron-inspired V-shape, make it long or short!


Then pack a picnic, sling your boombox over your shoulder, and crank up any of the decade's Billboard hits!



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Altered Couture Magazine is one of my favorite publications because it shows how to turn ordinary clothing into NEW fashions.  Not only is it smart on the budget, but it's FUN to see what you can do with thrift store finds or something from last year that you no longer care to wear.


How cool, to open it up and find that they used my design in the contents pages, thanks to Managing Editor, Beth Livesay.  And yes, I'm doing the Happpppy Dance!


As Lead Designer for iLoveToCreate, it's always fabulous to use new products, and I'm in love with our new Tulip Beads In A Bottle, because it worked beautifully with my design, and was so easy!

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A couple weeks ago, members of our team attended the Michigan International Women's Show!  We had so much fun doing tie dye and crafty workshops.  One of which we want to share with you today.  It's a Swirly Yarn Mosaic Lampshade by Kathy Cano-Murillo a.k.a. Crafty Chica.  Lion Brand was so generous and sent us a ton of beautiful and rich yarn skeins for attendees to make the project with!  The colors were so vibrant and some even had variegated tones. So pretty...here's a closeup of one of the lampshades!

Materials Needed:
– Aleene's® Fabric Fusion
– Lampshade
– 1 skein of Lion Brand® Yarn (thicker for larger lampshades, thinner for smaller)
– Craft stick
– Baby wipes

Instructions
For best results, please read all instructions before beginning project. Refer to photo for color and design placement.

1. Cut a few strands of yarn, about 12" long each.
2. Start with one section of the lampshade, about 4" square. Apply a medium amount of Fabric Fusion® and spread evenly with the craft stick.
3. Starting with the end of one of the pieces of yarn, press in place in the wet adhesive and wrap the yarn around in layers to create a circle design.
4. If you like, you can create a swirl effect by having one strand branch out into another circle. Continue adding adhesive and yarn until the lampshade is covered.
5. You’ll have some empty areas and that’s fine! Simply snip small pieces of yarn and press to fill in.
6. Add a line of adhesive along the top ridge of the shade and add yarn.
7. Repeat for the bottom of the shade. This will give it a polished, professional look.
8. Let dry.

TIPS: Instead of circles, apply yarn in square or rectangular designs. Clean hands with baby wipes to remove glue from your fingers.



Here's an in action pic of the project being done at the show! You can use any color of Lion Brand Yarn that tickles your fancy! Play with different colors to match your room.

So much fun! What colors of yarn would you use to make your customized lampshade?

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Everyone around the office has been talking about Marvel's The Avengers this week and we just knew that there had to be a fun craft in there for us to in honor of the movie! We put our thinking caps on and thought that a tie dye shirt in Captain America style was in order! This project was designed by in-house designer Lauri Eaton and she did an amazing job! We think Captain America fans out there would want to get this tie dye look for themselves! In fact, a lot of guys in the office wanted one after seeing what we made! Here's how you make one for yourself!

Captain America Tie Dye Avengers Shirt




  What you'll need:
 – Tulip One-Step Tie Dye in Red and Blue
– Tulip Fabric Spray Paint in Snow White
– Tulip Dye Zip Ties
– Tulip Surface Cover
– White cotton shirt (or use 50/50 blend for a more faded/vintage look)
– Freezer paper
– Scissors or X-acto
– Pencil or star printout 

How you do it:
   1. Pinch middle of shirt and pull up.


2. Apply zip ties as shown and secure tightly. Zip ties work best for this because they grab the material really tightly, oftentimes better than rubber bands! Lauri used pliers to tighten these, so make sure to pull them REALLY tight! Otherwise, the colors might bleed through.

3. Rinse shirt in water and wring out.  The water helps the tie dye set!


4. Apply tie dye in between each of the binded areas. You will want to saturate each section and not leave any white.


5. Once finished dyeing wrap in plastic surface cover. Freeze for 70 years!  Just joking.  Let it set for 6-8 hours.

6. Now run your shirt under the water in the sink until all the dye is out. The dye is out when the water runs clear!  Cut off zip ties and place by itself in the washer and set to large load. Put it on the hottest water suitable for fabric and use a little laundry detergent. Dry in dryer or line dry.

7. Next measure the middle bullseye area of the shirt. Print out or hand draw a star to this size on your freezer paper.  Cut out star and center it in the middle of the shirt. Use a hot iron to press the design onto the shirt.


8. Use fabric spray paint to spray inside stencil. The spray paint will give the star a more distressed look.  You can also use Tulip Soft Fabric Paint to stencil on the design as well! Use a hair dryer to speed up drying time.


9. Once dry, peel off stencil to reveal star!


And here's the finished product! Looks amazing, right??


Now go out there and unleash your inner superhero! Take on the world with a vengeance, Avengers style!

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• Blank Canvas
• Collage Pauge Glossy & Sparkles
• Crafty Chica Glitter
• Crafty Chica Paint
• Tissue Paper
• Brushes

You've seen all the amazing tie dye shirts using the swirl tie dye technique at the stores, now here's your chance to make your own version the simple, easy, and fun way with Tulip® One-Step Tie Dyes!  This technique is great for all ages and produces amazing results! And did we say it was EASY?

Be sure to share this project and pinnable graphic with your friends on Pinterest and Facebook!



And check out some more fun projects using Tulip® One-Step Tie Dye that some of our fave bloggers are making! So many creative and inspiring ideas!

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