Dollar Tree Placemat Turned into a Snowman Flag with Tulip Shimmer
Brrrr! Anyone else experiencing the dipping temperatures? I really don’t like the cold unless it is going to snow. If it snows, I’ll put up with the sub-zero artic blast because I know we couldn’t have snow without the cold. But, if it isn’t going to snow, you can take your cold temperatures and get the heck out of here!
For this reason, I thought we needed to give Mother Nature a little hint, hint, nudge, nudge, and then a boldly displayed sign:
Cute garden flag, don’t you think?! Would you believe me if I told you that the flag is made from Dollar Tree placemats? Yup, I wouldn’t lie to you. I bought two because I wanted to decorate both sides and only one side of the placemat has a sheen to it. But, for $1 each, who can complain.
Stick around and I’ll show you how I made the flag. But, first, I have a confession to make…
…Do you secretly loathe glitter? Me, too!
When Pretty Handsome Guy sweeps up errant glitter from the kitchen floor, he’ll say, “The person who invented glitter never had children.” Then we both laugh. We were both in the camp of Glitter Haters Anonymous and detested any bedazzled art projects that came home from school. But, this week I snuck out of the camp under the radar and tried out a new product: Tulip® Fashion Glitter™ Shimmer Transfer Sheets and Tulip® Fashion Glitter™ Shimmer Fabric Paint. Pretty Handsome Guy doesn’t know yet, but I think I’m changing my tune about glitter thanks to Tulip Shimmer products.
Why you ask? It is elementary, my dear Watson. The glitter stays put on the transfer sheets and in the fabric paint! No more sweeping up underneath the glittered project. No more random speck of glitter on the tip of my nose like a Rudolf wanna be. The shimmer products hold their glitter!
Materials:
- 2 Dollar Tree Navy placemats
- Iron
- Tulip® Fashion Glitter™ Shimmer Transfer Sheets
- Tulip® Fashion Glitter™ Shimmer Fabric Paint
- Tulip soft fabric paints (black, white and light blue)
- Paint brushes (one flat wide and one small round)
- Snowflake hole punch
- Chalk
- Scissors
- Rag
- Water
Instructions:
Mark a line 2″ from the top of the “flag” placemat using the chalk (this will be your stitching line for the rod pocket. Then draw your design below the pocket line.
Punch out snowflakes from the Tulip Fashion Glitter Shimmer transfer sheet. Because the sheets are thick, it is easier if you peel up the top sheet and only punch through the transfer sheet.
Cut out the rest of your design (you can leave the top sheet on if you are cutting with scissors.) After the designs are cut out, remove the top sheets.
It can be confusing to determine which pieces you removed the top sheet from, so look at the pieces from an angle and look for any reflection or shine on the top sheet of plastic.
If you pull the top sheet off too quickly, it can pull the glitter with it (see below.) Go slow, and if it does happen — don’t stress it — just cut a new one.
Position all the snowflakes and any other transfer sheet pieces on top of the flag. Pay attention to make sure the glitter side is up and the glue transfer side is down.
Lay a clean rag on top of the pieces and iron the design onto the placemats according to the directions. (The placemats I used are polyester, so I used that setting on my iron. And it took about 30 – 40 seconds to get the transfer sheet glue to heat up enough to stick to the placemats.)
Remove the cloth and check to make sure that the design is adhered to the flag/placemat.
Before painting my snowman, I did a little test on the backside of my placemat to determine if the Tulip Fashion Glitter Shimmer fabric paint was transparent or opaque. It is transparent, so I chose the Tulip Soft fabric paint to fill in the snowman.
Paint your snowman, arms, hat, eyes and mouth using the Tulip Soft fabric paint. Using the smaller brush, paint the words too.
After the fabric paint has dried, dampen a clean cloth and gently wipe off the chalk.
Now is the time to add the Tulip Fashion Glitter Shimmer Fabric Paint magical glitter dust! I call it that because it really looks magical and the gel slowly disappears as it dries and leaves the glitter trail behind. Tinkerbell would be proud. Brush on curves and curly-q’s. You can brush on top of the words and the snowman because it will dry transparent.
Look at that beautiful magic glitter dust!
When the Tulip Fashion Glitter Shimmer Fabric Paint…ahem…I mean magical glitter dust has dried, pin your two placemats together rights sides facing out.
Stitch one line across the top. Stitch a second line across the marked pole pocket.
Leave the two sides of the pocket open and stitch down the sides and across the bottom (as shown.)
Thread the flag onto a standard sized decorative flag bracket.
And then challenge Mother Nature to “Bring it on!” (Be prepared, you might have to do a snow dance too. But that is a whole other tutorial!)
I have to tell you that the Tulip Fashion Glitter Shimmer products really surprised me. I truly loathe loose glitter, but these products really held the glitter in place. There might be a few pieces of glitter that are dislodged when you peel the transfer paper top sheet off, but honestly I didn’t notice and I never found any on me. I highly recommend these products. Especially if you have kids that love glitter!
You can find the Tulip product line at these retailers. Selections may vary per store.
- A.C. Moore
- Ceramic Arts Ltd.
- Crafties Hobby Craft Ltd, Nigeria
- Hancock Fabrics
- Hobby Lobby
- Jo-Ann Fabrics and Crafts
- Meijer
- Michaels
- Tall Mouse
- Wal-Mart
- Wal-Mart Canada
Disclosure: This post has been sponsored by Tulip Products, iLoveToCreate®, a Duncan Enterprises Company. I was sent some samples of the Tulip® Fashion Glitter™ Shimmer Transfer Sheets and Tulip® Fashion Glitter™ Shimmer Fabric Paint. I already owned the Tulip Soft Fabric paint. I was also paid a small fee in return for writing a post about my experience using the products. The ideas and opinions are strictly my own. I will never let any compensation (monetary or free product) keep me from giving you (the reader) a straight up and honest review.
This is so darn cute and it looks like it was purchased at a store! I must say that I love glitter…I just hate the cleaning it up.
That’s adorable!!! I love how that turned out! 🙂
You are so much smarter than me! I tried punching the Shimmer Sheets right out of the package. The plastic cover made it um…interesting.
I love how this turned out, and what a brilliant way to use both the paint and the sheets! So cute!
So cute! Never would have thought it came from a place mat!
What a clever idea! The colors look great against the navy blue!
I’ve always been in the “no glitter camp”, however I may now have to change my mind if it stays put like you say. I might just experiment myself.
Your flag is adorable!
What a great idea. So creative you are! Cheers.
Glitter and those tiny cutouts that fall out of a card and all over the floor when you open it. Who thinks this is desirable? Signed, the grinch.
Trudy, Ha! I’m with you on that loose glitter and confetti. Total Pain in the Rear! ;-D
What a cute idea. I was just in the Dollar Tree today trying to find something I could bring home and turn in to something else. Looks like I need to go back! Thank you for sharing this great idea!
SUPER CUTE! I just love snowmen and this one is absolutely adorable. How very creative you are!
Wow, who would have thought that a placemat would be the perfect size for a garden flag! (well, obviously, you did…) Do those paints hold up in yucky weather conditions?
Sheila,
Thanks. I’m not sure about it holding up. I figure it has a good chance since the products are made for clothing and laundering. But, I’ll have to see at the end of the season. Part of me thinks maybe I should have stuck with one placemat so it would be thinner and dry out faster.
Brittany
I am beyond impressed with you’re drawing skills! Love your DIY outdoor garden flag! It looks like something you would buy in the stores!
Very cute! What a fabulous idea!