Inspired by the frozen boulders the city snowplow piled up along our street, I made a scarf.
To make this, you'll need: fabric, freezer paper, scissors, iron, pencil, craft knife, cutting mat, fabric paint, and a foam brush. I used a length of jersey from the fabric store—you know, T-shirt material. Soft and comfy, and doesn't fray around the edges.
I sketched an abstract design onto the uncoated side of the freezer paper. These were just messy hexagons and pentagons that got gradually smaller. A pattern of all straight lines is much quicker to cut than curves. Since I wanted the graphic at both ends of the scarf, I traced the original design onto a second piece of freezer paper.
With an X-acto knife, I cut out the shapes. Each piece took about 20 minutes—though I was watching HGTV at the same time, so you might be more productive and less likely to cut off a limb if you pay closer attention to what you're doing.
I ironed the stencil shiny-side down onto the fabric. The freezer paper sticks like magic.
Using a foam brush, I painted in the shapes. Be sure to place a garbage bag or something protective under the fabric just in case a little paint soaks through. I used Pebeo Setacolor fabric paint, but I wasn't thrilled with the coverage. That stuff is washable after you set it with an iron, which is great. But I wanted a more opaque white, so I brushed on a second coat of white acrylic paint. Will it wash off? Probably not. Do I care, because I ever wash scarves? Probably not. (Next time I might get some Tulip brand Soft Fabric Paint and try that.)
I let the paint dry and tore off the paper stencil. Then I trimmed along the scarf edges with a rotary cutter so the design would extend off the sides.
All done.
After washing all the dishes late last night and cleaning up the mess, all that's left of our Oscars shindig is a cupcake stand and plastic martini glasses to take apart and pack away.
That and a bunch of Black Swan dinner leftovers, including cupcakes, black olive tapenade and goat cheese, tortilla chips, black bean and white cheddar soup, chocolate mousse, and a pitcher of white chocolate martinis. Alex left on a business trip today, so what's a girl to do but drink the whole thing herself? I wonder what time is too early to start. 
