Stencil Painted Onesie

I guess I was getting bored of the plain dyed onesies.

So 10 minutes before heading to the park yesterday, I did this:

I know what you’re probably thinking….can this girl do anything besides dyed onesies and freezer paper stenciling?  I promise I can.  But truly, my babies live in comfortable clothing and simple styles for the first year of life.  So a 10 minute project is how we roll……..

And always “Press” with an iron afterward to heat-set the paint.

Of course the secret to making it a 10 min project is the blow dryer.  I’m such an antsy pants these days, waiting for paint to dry.  So a blow dryer is the only way I do stenciling now.   I just can’t wait to peel back the paper and see the new design!

I heart hearts.

and big stuffed Rollie Pollies.

and chunky leg rolls.

(and matching our furniture. It was totally random that I happened to be wearing orange and white).
For more heart inspiration, check out Delia’s new blanket.  Isn’t her Natalie just the cutest little thing?!

  1. 1) Lauren

    Dana I love how your outfit matches your roly poly… and you look FABULOUS! Wow. Also that little girl is the cutest… I also love the leg rolls! My 18 month old has never been very chubby so I cherish every little roll 🙂

  2. I second the leg rolls! Love them also. Lucky lady…you are surrounded by cute!
    I have some freezer paper begging to be used for summer apparel. I will be using the hairdryer trick this time around. I need all the extra time I can get!

  3. 3) Alexandra

    that’s so cute! have you done any tie-dye onsies?

  4. The purple and the orange look so good together!!

    Seriously though, embellishing onesies is so easy! I put some big satin ribbon bows on, lace cameos, lots and lots of freezer paper stencilling! Especially when you head to the opshops and pick up secondhand onesies and tees for 50c!

    I have to stop with the tiny stuff though, I have made too much cute newborn stuff and she’s going to be born in our winter, which is freezing up here on the range, sooo she might not get much use of the ridiculous little lace and ruffled skirts and dresses!

  5. 5) ira lee

    1. thats cute and i also love rolly polly baby legs!!!
    2. and yes, natalie is really a beautiful baby! but….big suprize there huh, those boys of hers are georgous too!!!

  6. 6) Emily

    did you know Luci’s doily shirt was in Family Fun Magazine this month?

  7. 7) Caroline

    Super cute. I have been doing a lot of freezer paper stenciling myself but haven’t bought white paint because I wasn’t sure about how much the color of the fabric would show through. Your heart looks good though, so I might try it.

    • 8) Dana

      yea. I love using white but like you said, sometimes you need more than one coat to make it look really good. This time around though….I only did one coat and tried my best to spread the paint real evenly. You can still see very small bits of purple showing, but I like how it looks compared to a thick layer of paint.

  8. Oh man she’s so adorable! what a cutie! Harper’s legs still look like that. Love it!

  9. Super cute onesie but even cuter baby!!! And I love that you match your furniture. 🙂

  10. Beautiful Dana, but oh those thighs are definitely your best work. Your photos are always so lovely as well. Great work my friend.

  11. I heart hearts too! Thanks for the link and the loving words Dana. 🙂 Clara seriously gets cuter every in post.

    You look great too!

  12. 14) Elise

    She is SO DARLING!!!!! Love the chub rolls. Love it!

  13. 15) darci

    i too love knits on babies, and secretly cringe when i see wovens on infants. My kids almost wore knits exclusively for their first 2 years! way more important to be comfortable, and getting a woven to fit properly is difficult on chubby roundness.

  14. 16) abbey

    she is so cute and i love her chubby legs!

  15. I went to WalMart on Monday to pick up a bunch of white onesies and some pink RIT, and every single white onesie in my daughter’s size was gone, in all the brands! I wondered if someone else had the same idea 🙂 That, or my WalMart was living up to its frustrating potential of having nothing that I need…
    And freezer paper stenciling never gets old 🙂

  16. Oh, that Clara is so darling. Hearts are awesome.

  17. 19) Annie

    Oh my, what a cutie patootie! Love those leg rolls! (and the onesie-I’ll have to keep it mind for shower gifts)

  18. Clara gets cuter by the day!

    And believe me, we know you can do more than dyed onesies and freezer paper stenciling. I for one, love these simple projects!

  19. Darling!!! I love quick projects like this. And I agree – babies should live in comfort when they are that little. They look cute no matter what!

  20. love this! so smart and simple. i’ve been hand-stitching shapes onto my son’s t-shirts and onesies but this is much quicker and so darn cute. i’m going to try it. and love that this purple onesie matches your logo 🙂

  21. 23) Alice

    This is too cute. I can just see my twin granddaughters in some made like this. Thanks for sharing!

  22. 24) Sara

    Love it all!!

  23. I love the pic of baby C swallowed up by the giant bean bag! She looks so happy and healthy – great job, mama!

  24. I completely agree with comfortable clothes for babies! My kid is three and I still don’t put him in stiff jeans or shoes, for the most part!

  25. As always wonderful work…but that little baby…so happy and healthy can’t believe she’s ready to stand already!!!! The legs look soooooooooooooooo yummy…. hope I don’t get the baby bug :>* lol

  26. I love your dyed onesies. I wish that beet juice would dye the same color as the beets. I would like to have that really deep color.

  27. 29) sharon

    Hi, What kind of paint do you use? I am new at this. ty

  28. She’s cuter with each picture you post! I love how happy little Clara is. She likes her new design too 🙂

  29. What a great gift idea!
    And oh my goodness could your baby get any cuter???
    The answer would be No. LOL
    You and Delia have me seriously getting the baby pangs!
    With a 12 year old and a 6 year old, I am hoping to just admire yours:)
    ~Michelle

  30. 34) Alana

    Oh my gosh! This really put a smile on my face this morning! Your little Clara is such a little dolly! I love this idea,and it really looks simple too. Have a great weekend!

  31. Did you only have to do one layer of white?

    I’m closing on a house in Round Rock on May 9th, so we will only be sharing the same church building for about one more week. 🙂 You, Dayna, and I (and whoever, if you already have a playgroup or something) should go to a park sometime!

  32. Adorable! All the rolls, colors, hearts–the two of you. I love it all!

  33. Your baby looks really cute ! Thanks for all your great ideas !!!

  34. 38) celine

    very cute! and what an adorable model! 🙂

  35. 39) Kelly

    I did some stencilling yesterday and with 3 coats (white paint over a brown T) and the trusty hairdryer it came out awesome!!!

    Had some trouble finding the same freezer paper that you used as in Australia the paper in the grocery store is more like plastic film, but i found out our craft stores sell the freezer paper… weird huh?

    Clara is gorgeous!!!

  36. Shut the front door! Do you mean to tell me that freezer paper can be ironed on to fabric and then peeled away? Why have I never known this before!! I’m so excited to work on some new projects for our foster baby! Thanks for that handy piece of info!

    Regina

  37. Oh Dana! You always make me wish I knew how to sew {but that sewing machine that my mom got me for Christmas three years ago is just going to have to wait to be used until my babies get a little older…and then I’ll wish for little babies to make cute things for}. But, this? This I can do!!

    I just logged on to Amazon to find sleeveless onesies because we are going to spend our first summer in the Arizona heat and I think some cute dyed/stenciled sleeveless onesies will be perfect for my little one.

    Keep those pictures of your precious kiddos coming. Love them all! {And, congrats on the second book! Maybe I’ll be sewing by the time it comes out!}

  38. 43) Sheri

    I CANNOT wait to make something for my new granddaughter, who’s due 12/3/13! I better get busy 🙂

  39. This is an adorable onesie and it looks fairly simple to make! Your little girl is precious.

  40. 45) Amanda

    Hi Dana! I tried this last night and it turned out perfect! The only question / advice I’m seeking is…. do you notice that as the onesie stretches the paint doesn’t seem to fill out the space and it needs to be filled in? When the shirt lays flat the stencil looks great but as you stretch it (or your little ones stomach gets fatter and expands in the onesie) the image looks crackly with the paint. Should I be stretching the onesie a bit as I’m painting on the stencil? Any advice would greatly help. Thanks so much!!

    • 46) Dana

      Hey Amanda.
      Yea. that’s a great question. I guess it depends on the kind of onesie. Some onesies are more “ribbed” than others, and yes I can see how that might crack a bit. But try doing two coats of paint. Let one coat dry and then go over it again. I haven’t had too much cracking with the ones that I’ve done.

Leave a Comment