the t-shirt project.

i'm always on the lookout for interesting, crafty, original ideas that allow my kids - on some occasions - to stand out from the crowd. i had come across this post on inchmark a while ago where she talks about making number shirts for her kids for their birthdays and i thought yes! i have to make some of those. and since aydan's birthday was the next in line she was the lucky winner.

first i had to gather supplies and that proved a little more difficult as i thought as i could not find freezer paper in this fine province of ours. when we escaped a few months back to new york i made a big arrow on my list pointing at freezer paper and made a point of remembering this all but important supply. i did end up finding it (and in quite a big quantity i might add) so i was excited to tackle this. and now i have plenty more to make more shirts over the summer!!! a friend asked me to make something inspirational - like sew a t-shirt - unfortunately i can't do that but i thought this was the next best thing!

first things first find a t-shirt you want to use. then make sure you wash and dry it (if new) so it gets to it's forever state. then take the freezer paper and cut out a rectangle/square the size of the area you wish to cover. now you have two options. you can select a clip art from your computer/internet and run your paper through your printer (paper side gets the design on it not the plastic shiny side!) then using an exacto knife carve out your design. or you can draw it free hand on your paper (like me - yes you can use an eraser on the paper. works great), carve it out and your done! remember to keep your middle bits, they go on too. i also placed two pieces of paper towel flat inside the shirt to protect the back from the front.

next iron your design on to the shirt plastic side down/paper up. keep doing this until your paper is stuck on to your shirt. do the outer stencil first and, if you do have middle bits, put them on second and iron those down as well. when you are satisfied that everything is stuck start your painting. a tip i found helpful was brushing from the outer edge to the center for crisp lines.

let dry completely (i waited 24 hours) then you have to fix your paint. this is a form of setting it so that when you wash it it all doesn't just run off. i read alot about this on the internet and came across tips of putting it in the dryer or ironing it. i decided to iron it inside out and with paper towel inside it again in case some of the paint got fresh and got on the backside - it didn't happen but it would have really bugged me if it had!!! i ironed directly on the paint from the inside for 5 minutes to set the paint.

and voila! we had a shirt hat any six year old would be proud to wear on their special day.

i have to admit this was so easy! you just have to carve out about 30 minutes for yourself with no distractions so you can start and finish. and i think it turned out beautifully! i'm excited to get going on some other designs for my kids so they have some one-of-a-kind shirts to parade about in.