Monarchs, Crafts, & a Coin Toss

Just for some history…I am born and bred L.A. girl living quietly in Pacific Grove, CA (a.k.a PG). I had never even heard of PG until we moved here about 4 ½ years ago (7+ now)…so for those of you who are trying to place it…we are on the southern end of the Monterey Bay…you may not have heard of us but surely you have heard of Pebble Beach (golf galore) and Carmel (that famous guy Clint Eastwood was mayor once upon a time)...ring a bell? We are right there in that mix.

 

One of the big who-ha's in PG is the Butterfly Parade.
PG is home to the Monarch Grove Sanctuary, where, in October thousands (much of the Western population) of Monarch Butterflies arrive to hang out for the winter. To celebrate this occurrence, we have a dandy little parade and all the schoolchildren dress up in some sort of costume - this year we had sea horses, Native Americans, and jellyfish to name a few.

The crowning glory of the parade are the Kindergartner's dressed as Monarch butterflies. It is beyond adorable...(I am including a photo of my boy when he was a monarch so you really get the idea.) Really, just try to picture a hundred or so sweet little 5 year olds with antennae and wings and try not to smile. Even I Ms. Delightfully Cynical cannot contain myself.

For Jules, not yet part of the parade, I always make a butterfly shirt. For the first year, I decided to do this at 10:30 pm the night before the parade. I used applique and fabric paint - just whatever I had laying around the house (yes, I did put crystals on the shirt and my husband just about flipped his lid...Mr. Paranoid thought she was going to eat them and choke. Of course she could have, so I do not recommend that to other parents...I only play fast and loose with my own kids!) The results, not bad, considering...

This year I was very happy with the results. I went for a much more modern design. She couldn't wear it that day because, she, of course, was sick. I think it turned out super cute (I wish I would have made one for myself) and here is the scoop...

You Need:
*One T-shirt - 100% cotton is best...BUT since I was in a hurry (again) I grabbed the first blank white shirt I found and it had lycra, and it was not "the best" - the design cracked a bit when we put it on because of the stretch*...I am willing to admit my mistakes. I have spent way too much time and money doing crafts with lame results...I would like to spare others this same pain with any crafts I do. Be sure to wash the shirt first!

*T-Shirt Transfer paper (use stretchable transfer paper if your shirt has a lot of stretch). I tried a different to-remain-nameless brand this time and I am blowing it a big raspberry. I prefer Avery. be sure to get either transfers for light or dark t-shirts depending on the color of T you choose.

*Image of whatever you want to print. I got these butterflies for free by googling "free clip art, butterfly." I am totally into silhouettes right now...just wait until you see the next craft.

*Iron and a pillow case.

To Make:

1. Printed out design on transfer paper. I printed out a bunch of different size butterflies on one sheet of transfer paper. I ran the paper through twice, once regular and once "mirror image." I made a couple butterflies orange for a little touch of color.

2. Cut the butterflies out leaving 1/8" around perimeter

3. Lay out the pillowcase on a hard surface (no ironing board), and put the shirt on top and place the designs - keep in mind you have to flip them over for to iron them on.

4. Flip 'em over and iron on according to the manufacturers directions provided with the transfer paper.

5. Wait for the T and transfer paper to cool (I always try to pull it off because I am impatient...trust me...wait!) before peeling off the back, and voila! Cute little T!

Just for fun...PG in a Nutshell...

Now I am not really sure where this fits in, but I must share some PG history, facts, whatever you want to call them (at least my interpretation of them). PG is charming and quaint - it began as a Methodist camp in 1875; we have more Victorian houses per capita than anywhere else in America; we have the oldest continually operated lighthouse on the West Coast; and John Steinbeck as well as Robert Louis Stevenson have rich history here.


PG is also a bit odd (sorry folks, from an outsiders perspective it is!). We have tree police - I do not know if they are official, but they pretty much don't let you cut a tree until it falls on your house (little late!); if you want to add a bathroom or prep sink in the new kitchen...you must wait until water credits come available (possibly years), and maybe most importantly all the big fish in the little sea (the city council) could not deiced on a replacement mayor, so they flipped a coin..I will never run for mayor...I always lose coin tosses.