T-Shirt Making & Brunch at the Alley

Hello and happy middle of the week at the end of April in the first few months of the year! Yeah, I know…odd way to start but I was stressed for an entry opener. That’s quite literally what fell out of my head.

I finally got around to making a t-shirt as the winning entry from my New This Weekend contest. I am sad to say that it didn’t go exactly as I had planned and because of that, I felt it necessary to include another new thing I did this weekend. It’s a double post. Woo!

Anyhow, on Sunday morning I set up my supplies outside. I had my t-shirt, wax paper, exact-o knife, markers, iron (inside), and lastly, paint. I even had a big piece of tile to lie the wax paper flat on so that when I started cutting, it wouldn’t scratch the new patio table Kevin just bought us. I put the design down, taped it to the tile, and then put the wax paper on top of the design for easy tracing.


Tracing Not Optional.

Like the design? I got that off the web though I don’t remember where. I just wanted to put that out there so no one thinks I did it myself and am trying to pass it off as my own. It’s probably a company logo or something. I just thought it was funny. Chicken with iPod. Hyst-TER-ical. (wee!)

So anyhow, I started tracing with a pencil and realized immediately that I was screwed. Essentially, I didn’t read the instructions well enough and got wax paper instead of FREEZER paper. I didn’t know that there was a difference. To those out there who didn’t know there was a difference either, let me enlighten you. What am I here for but to make the mistakes so you don’t have to?

• Wax Paper: Wax paper is tissue paper that’s been coated with paraffin on both sides, making it resistant (but not impervious) to grease and moisture. Wax paper is easily compromised by liquid, it is prone to tearing, and it is not heatproof (the wax begins to melt at relatively low temperatures).
  
• Freezer (Parchment) Paper: Parchment is effectively teflon coated (on one side). It can withstand high temperature heat. According to the Orb (Internet), it is usually best to use parchment paper over wax paper in most situations.

In layman terms, I couldn’t trace anything because pencil lead and marker will not write on wax. I am grateful that they don’t write on wax because if I had forged ahead I would have ended up having to buy a new iron as the wax would have ruined it. Whew! If there’s anything this blog is teaching me, it’s not to forge ahead and use my brain for a moment or two.

Free hand sucks.

Without the stencil I was forced to free hand it. Thankfully the fabric markers turned out to be relatively easy to use and I was quite pleased with the results.

…until I decided that it looked a little boring and that I should frame the design with the 3-D fabric paint I got.

Maybe I got overconfident. Maybe I my hand slipped a bit. Regardless, I ended up with a t-shirt that at first looked like I might have bought it to a t-shirt a 4-year old could make.

Sigh.

After the framing mishap, I was done. I put the t-shirt on the dishwasher to dry and got myself ready for brunch; which is the 2nd new thing I did this weekend.

The Alley, Newport Beach

Well, not brunch….I’ve certainly done brunch before. And the Alley where we went for brunch? Yep, I’ve been there before too. But I’ve never had brunch AT the Alley. And really, it was kind of crap.

Jeff had to point out that my meal looked like boobs.

I shouldn’t say that brunch at the Alley was crap. It just wasn’t as good as other places I’ve been to for brunch. For example, the never ending Mimosas were $8.50 per person. The Village Inn (not the chain, but the little hole in the wall on Balboa Island) only charges $3.00 per person and Woody’s Wharf doesn’t charge at all (they make it up on their food prices). The brunch choices in the breakfast area were minimal, and not very good. Both Kevin and Jeff were disappointed in their lunch choices as well. We did enjoy hanging out on the patio of the Alley to make our $8.50 worth it. The waitresses were excellent at refilling our drinks which is leagues above having to almost beg the busboy to refill your drink at Woody’s.

Mimosas make every brunch that much better.

Wow. I just went in full restaurant review mode there. Sorry about that. Have a great week!