In a pinch

We are attending a first birthday party this afternoon, and with all of the current concerns over toy recalls (even our carseat was recalled yesterday, sigh), I knew that I really wanted to make the birthday boy something instead of buying something. Since I am in a pinch timewise, I resorted to my default present, appliqued tee shirts.

These are crazy easy to make, and if you haven't done so yet, you should! For the puppy dog I just googled puppy clip art, traced whatever clip art suited my fancy and used that as a pattern.
The whale came from the Martha Stewart nursery decoupage templates , which I love and adore and use for everything under the sun. I like Steam a Seam II to hold them down while I do a very simple running stitch around the edge with embroidery floss.

There is also a mini tutorial at Shim & Sons , which is where I got started when I made my first one. Now go applique something! :-)