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“Girls Camp! The quest for T-shirt designs is always crazy. This year is done be we’d almost be willing to choose a theme based on a really good t-shirt design. We’re also looking for a good design for “be thou an example of believers” for youth conference.”

So, I had this idea of taking the words and putting them together in a snug rectangle shape (like they are in the scriptures), with letters that had a bit of playfulness to them, but were bold and strong. After I had the design of the letters in place, I then worked the surface to be a little worn, showing how when you are an example, you are tried and tested. I then took a big yellow paintbrush and swept the background (representing service), giving it a cheerful feel that worked for YW and YM (pink just wouldn’t work here!).

This is what I’ve come up with so far. I’d like to add the 1 Tim. scripture reference as well.

So here is how I’m going to offer it when it’s all done:

When the design is finished, I’m offering the small printed version of it to be downloaded for free (to put on announcements or flyers) as is.

And then I’ll offer the full digital conference package for $25 that includes 5 things:

Designing program templates for you to customize as you like.

A designed flyer template for you to advertise the conference.

And a large format high resolution image that you can use to print t-shirts separated into the 2 color screens you’ll need.

Adding the name of your stake and the dates of the conference to match the logo.

And of course changing the background to any color you like, if yellow isn’t your thing.

This should save you the designing fee when you have your shirt made at the printers which is usually around $25 anyway (at least the shops I’ve worked with). So, what do you think?

Note, that is flowery wallpaper in the background.

What you need:

1. a large piece of black foam core (the big black stiff boards you can get at any craft store)
2. pink ribbon to match the theme letters
3. spray adhesive (super 77 works the best, but be warned it is permanent and if not sprayed carefully the glue will float beyond where you intend it!) You can also use another kind of glue if you wish.

Step 1:

Cut the theme to the black edge. Center it on the black foam core and mark the corners with a pencil (and the edges too to help smooth the fabric on straight later).

Step 2:

Spray the back of the theme with glue. The best place to apply the glue is to get a large empty garbage can with lined with a new sack, and spray the back of the fabric inside of the can. This prevents any glue from getting onto surfaces you don’t want gummy. Do not spray the foam core.

Step 3:

Being mindful to not let the fabric fold over on itself, carefully position the top corners with the pencil marks and smooth out the fabric from top to bottom.

Step 4:

Take your ribbon and some glue and cover the edges of the fabric as shown, wrap around the back.

You’re done!

My mom went one step further and found an old black frame that she repainted, picture coming soon!

The normal Giveaway turns out like this:

1) Someone pays for something to be given away in the hopes that word will spread and people will use their product or service.

2) Everyone comments saying how great it is, how they can’t live without product/service and want it desperately. Lots of exclamations are used, hoping that the most enthusiastic comment will be picked as the winner. Kind of like The Price is Right.

3) Once the contest ends and the winner is picked, no one buys anything. It’s kinda depressing.

So, I’m doing a new kind of Giveaway, where everyone that leaves a comment wins and there is nothing to buy. Here’s how it works:

1) Leave a comment with an idea of what you would like me to design next, it can be anything not just YW.

2) Then, I will email you with a high resolution file of one of my favorite church quotes for women that I’ve designed. You can print, personalize and share with your girls, friends, family, etc. I’d post a picture of it on here, but then what would be the surprise in that?

It’s that simple! We both give and we both get. This Give-and-get ends on St. Patrick’s Day.

Supplies for large banner (supplies are a little smaller for the small banners):

• 2 wooden dowels (8mm or 1/4 inch), about 16-18 inches in length (3 wooden dowels if you are adding the mutual theme)
• fabric glue
• iron
• 2-3 feet of ribbon
• black paint (or a black permanent marker is what I used)

Step 1: Trim the fabric

Leave 1 cm of white around the edges of the design.

Step 2: Pull out your iron and glue edges

Fold over the left and right sides about 1/4″ and iron it from the back. This crease is what will hold the fabric in place to “hem” the edges with glue. Then using fabric glue, glue the ironed edge and press with your fingers. Make sure you have something like a clean sheet of paper underneath, as excess glue may seep through. This prevents any raveling of the fabric and gives you a nice clean edge without a stitch! (And  yes, that is me ironing in my kitchen, we have a tiny flat!)

Step 3: Prepare and glue the dowels to the fabric.

1. Center the fabric over the dowels and mark fabric edges onto the dowel with a pencil.
2. Paint (or draw with a marker) the edges of the dowels black, just over the pencil mark and wait to dry.
3. Put a line of glue on the fabric and roll the dowel around in it.
4. Wrap fabric around dowel and let glue set.

Step 3: Add ribbon and hang.

1. Measure ribbon and decide how big you would like your bow, then cut in half, making sure you have enough to still tie the bow.
2. Glue the ribbon to the edges of the dowel.
3. Tie both pieces of ribbon together at the top and hang, putting a stitch or glue in the center of the bow to keep it from untying when hung.

For the Mutual Theme

I ironed a fold around the bottom, left and right edge and glued the crease to make a neat straight edge. Then I added a dowel to the top of it (I painted mine with a magic marker as an experiment and it turned out great) and glued the fabric to the dowel. I also added 2 overlapped sheets of paper on the back to give the fabric a little support, I just tucked it under the dowel when I glued it.

After that I took a few inches of leftover ribbon and made them into a loop and glued it (or I used double-sided tape). I then used these ribbon loops on each side of the dowel to hang it from the bottom dowel of the YW theme. The girls love it, and it makes it so easy to pull off the wall when we share opening exercises with Relief Society once a month!

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Last night after having to postpone the original night, we had New Beginnings. I thought I’d share the print I made for my YW that focuses on the YW General Presidency challenge to everyday Pray, Read and Smile.

And now you can share it with your YW too! Just click on the image and then do a “save image as” by right-clicking or dragging it to your desktop for the high resolution version. It’s about 5×6 inches.

And yes, it matches the individual YW banners in my shop too!

I ask 2 things if you use these:

1. Leave a comment and say where you’re from! It’s fun to see who is using these.
2. Respect the copyright terms, as you usually do.

So right away I went to work on the Virtue banner and have ordered a proof yard of fabric to ensure that everything is as it should be before I put the large order through and send it off to you.

In short, the 8 young womens value banners are just a couple weeks away!

I also received some feedback that a larger margin would be ideal for the banners, so I have added an inch extra to the borders of the banners, which is a slight difference from the original image, but one that should be a help when it comes to finishing the banners (especially if you are planning to hang them individually). How are you planning to display them?

As requested here are some Spanish Value Bookmarks. For all you spanish speakers out there, please let me know if there are any errors. I will soon offer these for sale on my Etsy shop in the larger fabric printed version!

Just click on the image below to enlarge and then right click (save image as…). Fits on American and European sized paper. Enjoy!

I ask 2 things if you use these:

1. Leave a comment and say where you’re from! It’s fun to see who is using these.
2. Respect the copyright terms, as you usually do.

Want these large and on fabric for your YW room? Check out the sicily.etsy.com store, coming soon!

This is one from Teresa:

“Here’s what our MiaMaid advisor did to finish our banners!  I think they’re so cute!”

1. zig-zag the edges first, this helps prevent the fraying and makes it so you only need a small edge to turn under
2. Iron the edge when you fold it over using about 1/4 inch. This makes it easier to do a straight line hem with just a little bit of fabric and still lives a nice black border on the front.
3. Hem the folded edge and you’re done!

And as is mentioned in the no-sew tutorial before this, a 1/4 or 8mm dowel works best.

And here is the finished product:

If you’ve got a photo you want to share, feel free to add a link in the comments. Here is one that I found that turned out adorable by “Under my Umbrella” way to go UMU!