Calvin and Hobbes T-Shirts!

I have turned one of my dreams into reality.  I am the proud owner of some Calvin and Hobbes t-shirts.  Unofficial, mind you, but still Calvin and Hobbes t-shirts nonetheless.  Oh, iron-on transfer paper, where have you been all my life?!  I figured if I could make a Calvin and Hobbes t-shirt for Ari, why not make one for myself?  Plus, after seeing how the iron-on transfers holds up through the wear and tear of a four-year-old, they should hold up for me.

Once I decided to make myself some shirts, the hard part was deciding which images to use.  My Calvin and Hobbes Complete Collection books have a nice array of images besides those seen in the comics.  So, I flipped through the books, and as I found an image I thought I might want to use, I scanned it into the computer.  I decided to start off with two shirts, so I narrowed down my choices and got to printing and ironing.

I couldn't be more happy with the way they tuned out.  I especially like the Stupendous Man t-shirt since the comics with Stupendous Man have always been some of my favorites.  Already, and not surprising, Ari has already placed an order for a Stupendous Man shirt of his own.  I'm glad I bought the larger package of transfer paper.  What fun!

Super Mario Onesies!

Check it out! Super Mario Bros. onesies! I think these are just about the coolest baby clothes I have ever seen. I wish I had discovered the magic of the iron on transfer sheets when my kids were still babies.

My Aunt Joyce was visiting the other day and asked if I had made Thomas any clothes. I did make him a quilt, but I have never made clothes before. The closest I have been to making clothes has been with iron on transfers when I made Emilie a Fresh Beat Band shirt and Ari a couple Calvin and Hobbes shirts. Then it hit me, I needed to make Thomas some Super Mario onesies!

It was a piece of cake. I got Thomas some onesies, picked out the images I wanted to use, printed them, cut them, then ironed them on. We got the 3-6 month size, so they should fit him during the summer. I can't wait to see him wear one!

Super Mario curtains

My mom is awesome. She not only helped me paint Ari's room, she gave me the idea to use iron-ons for the curtains I was making for him. I knew I wanted to do the brown blocks, but I didn't know what other Super Mario elements to incorporate into the curtains. I was explaining to her what I wanted to do, and she came up with the brilliant idea to print characters on the iron-on sheets and put them on a solid colored fabric. Needless to say, I loved the idea, and got to work on the last element of Ari's room.

I decided to use a total of five squares of fabric for each curtain and alternate between the brown blocks and the characters. For the blocks, I cut out the individual brown 'bricks' and then sewed them together with the black 'mortar' in between. The blocks turned out really well, and came out looking pretty authentic compared to their video game counterparts.

As for the character squares, I had four squares to use for characters; so the challenge was to decide which characters to use. I didn't want to use Mario, Luigi, Goombas, 0r Koopa Troopas, because they were already represented on his wall clings. I thought about using power up items like mushrooms or fire flowers, but that didn't seem too exciting to me. After some serious debate, and looking for high quality images on the internet, I decided to go with some 'bad guys'.

I ended up using pictures of a Hammer Brother, Lakitu, Bowser Jr., and a Bullet Bill for the character spaces on the curtains. After I ironed the images onto the fabric, I sewed all the squares together and added some tabs to the top for the curtain rod. I couldn't be happier with the way the curtains turned out. The character iron-ons really give them that authentic Super Mario look. I doubt any other kid has curtains like this, with item block curtain rods, too! They were the perfect finishing touch to Ari's room. Thanks again for the idea, Mom!

Merchandise materialized

I've previously mentioned my affinity for Calvin and Hobbes. Truly one of the greatest comic strips to ever grace the newspaper funny pages. Bill Watterson, creator of Calvin and Hobbes, held tight in his stance not to merchandise his creation. That meant, no Calvin and Hobbes action figures, stuffed animals, TV shows, or clothing. No Calvin and Hobbes puzzles, cutlery, mugs, board games, stickers, nothing but the comic strip itself, and the book collections. By the way, those urinating Calvin stickers on vehicles are a complete rip off.

As a ten-year-old kid loving Calvin and Hobbes, it was especially hard to understand why I couldn't buy a Calvin and Hobbes toy. I remember scouring the toy aisles looking for anything to do with Calvin and Hobbes, only to leave empty handed. I could just imagine how much fun I would have with my own stuffed Hobbes. The thought of having a little Calvin figurine was so exciting to me.

Alas, the Calvin and Hobbes toys never materialized, and I later learned such toys never existed and probably would never exist. I moved on, still loving Calvin and Hobbes and rediscovering the brilliance of the comics by reading them to Ari before bed. He received a stuffed tiger for Christmas one year that we call Hobbes, due to the fleeting resemblance to character. But, that's the closest we have come to bringing the world of Calvin and Hobbes off of the pages and into our home. Until...

I recently came across some iron-on sheets at Jo-Ann Fabrics. I wanted to get Emilie a Fresh Beat Band shirt for Christmas, but could only find a "craft" to make my own with the iron-on sheets. Skeptical, I bought a package and went home to make the shirt for her. It turned out really well, even after making a minor misstep. I began thinking of what other shirts I could make for the kids, and immediately Calvin and Hobbes came to mind.

So, I made Ari his own Calvin and Hobbes shirt; in fact, I made a couple. He has received a lot of compliments on it and the iron on is holding up quite well to the abuse that little four-year-old can dish out. I think he may be the only kid with a Calvin and Hobbes shirt, and I don't know if that makes me happy or sad. I do know one thing for certain, he sure is happy about it.