"In a hole in the ground..." by Dreamflower

[dreamflower]

B2MeM Challenge: One of my own prompts: "in a hole in the ground there lived a hobbit. Not a nasty, dirty, wet hole, filled with the ends of worms and an oozy smell, nor yet a dry, bare, sandy hole with nothing in it to sit down on or to eat: it was a hobbit-hole, and that means comfort."
Smials. Hobbit holes. Round doors and round windows, grass on top, roof-trees, gardens filled with flowers; cosy comfort inside, sitting rooms with warm hearths, kitchens full of good smells and pantries laden with food. Grand warrens like the Great Smials or Brandy Hall, modest manors like Bag End, or humble holes like Number Three Bagshot Row
Drawings; paintings; photo manips; blueprints; models; collages; quilts; whatever your hands can make, show your idea of the quintessential hobbit dwelling.
Format: Non-fiction, Art
Genre: craft, tutorial, wearable art
Rating: G
Warnings: n/a
Characters: n/a
Pairings: n/a
Creators' Notes (optional):I waited to claim this until I could figure out how to download and post my pics, since my LJ scrapbook is not working. I finally resurrected my old Photobucket account. The colors are not very accurate; the shirt was a lighter shade of red than in the photos, and the art was not quite so pinky in color.
Summary: A Bag End themed T-shirt.




In a hole in the ground...


Materials:
A good quality cotton T-shirt, in your choice of colors (but dark or vivid colors will work better)
An image. I created my own art, or you could download an image from the internet or other sources.
A scanner
Copy paper
Iron-on transfer paper for dark colors
A piece of heavy cardboard
An iron

Directions:
1. Wash and dry the T-shirt, but do not use fabric softener or a dryer sheet.
2. Create your art. It should be the size of your copy paper (8 ½" by 11").
3. Scan your art and print out a copy. If you need to adjust the colors, you can use a photo editor to adjust the colors. Check to see if you need to decrease the size. Somewhere between 75% and 85% is about what you can go.
4. When you get a copy that suits you, you can use the transfer paper. If you have lettering, there is no need to reverse it with this particular type of paper. (I used jolee's Easy Boutique Image for Dark FabricTM.
5. Put the cardboard inside the T-shirt for support and protecting the surface.
6. Follow the directions to iron the transfer to the shirt.

This was my original painting, done on heavy watercolor paper. I started with a pencil sketch, which I inked with Micron pens, .005 and .01. I used watercolor pencils, and gauche, and a tiny bit of acrylics in white and yellow for touch ups.



I was not happy with the sky. I had used a light blue to paint it in, but in all the scans it came up grey. So I used the paintbucket tool at LunaPics to change the sky color, and printed it out.



Here it is with the calligraphy added. I used a hand based on Nancy Lorenz' Bilbohand, which I used in an earlier entry this year. I also touched up the colors in the flowers before the final scan.



Here are three views of the finished shirt:







To care for your T-shirt: turn it inside out; wash it by itself or in a small load on the delicate cycle (or wash by hand); hang to dry--do not put in dryer.

Comments

[kayleelupin.livejournal.com]

I would love to have a shirt like that!! <3 So beautiful!

Kaylee

[dreamflower]

Thanks! I'm so glad you liked it!

[engarian.livejournal.com]

How kewl is that?!!!! I just love the whole idea of a shirt and you picked a great color (and long sleeves - a must for me). Perfect!

- Erulisse (one L)

[dreamflower]

I had actually bought the tee on sale before Christmas, with the idea of embellishing it for the holidays, but never got around to it.

I love making wearable art!

[binkaslibrary.livejournal.com]

This is fantastic!

[dreamflower]

Thanks! I really enjoyed making it!

[shirebound]

Wonderful!

[dreamflower]

Thank you, sweetie!

[ignoblebard.livejournal.com]

I'm enjoying these art prompts. This would be fun to own and wear. Nice clear tutorial too.

[dreamflower]

Thank you! I enjoy writing "how-to" articles, the only sort of my writing that I've actually had published.

It's important to make each step as clear as possible, of course. I always try to imagine what information I'd need to give a student if I was teaching a class of total beginners.

[lindahoyland.livejournal.com]

Just beautiful. You are so gifted!

[dreamflower]

Thank you, dear!

[shadowycat.livejournal.com]

This is so charming! And how marvelous to make a shirt out of it! :D

[dreamflower]

Thanks! I love making wearable art. It's one way to show who I am, making and wearing something that is uniquely me.

[mews1945.livejournal.com]

That's such a lovely,creative idea. I love the picture you did for your shirt.

[dreamflower]

Thank you! It took me several tries to get it just right!

[blslarner.livejournal.com]

Ooh--cool, Dreamflower! How wonderful! The one T-shirt I did for myself was a "Free the Three" shirt done in braille with puffy fabric paint!

[dreamflower]

That sounds awesome! The transfer method used for "dark shirts" is very easy to use--just print off the image, and since it doesn't have to be reversed it's so simple. Then position and iron on! There are several brands.

[hhimring]

A t-shirt? Really nice! How clever!

[dreamflower]

Thanks! I enjoy making wearable art!

[zdenka]

This is wonderful! A very creative project, and well-executed. And your drawing is beautiful.

[dreamflower]

*grin* Thank you!