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The Graffiti T-shirt

May 29, 2013 By Erica Deuel 5 Comments

little girls alphabet tshirt

Sometimes the basics are just the best. A soft comfy t-shirt + the alphabet = a wonderful item for any little ones wardrobe!

My little girl sings the ABC’s all the time. That song and “Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star” are her two favorites. I made this graffiti type design shirt for her, and she and I both love the results. I love the faintness of the design. It’s subtle by striking. You only need a few items to make a screen print type shirt like this one and here they are:

Materials:

  • T-shirt
  • FabricMate Chisel Tip Fabric Marker, Black
  • Alphabet Stencils
  • Piece of cardboard (to insert shirt while designing)
  • Iron (to heat set design)

materials to screen print

I found my t-shirt on clearance for about $4.00. It was soft and I knew it would be a great basic piece for my daughter’s wardrobe or I could spice it up a bit. I decide to add a little subtle but fun life to it with the alphabet. This DIY shirt is so easy and really can be done quickly and modified for so many other designs.

The first step I did was bend an old cereal box to go inside my shirt. This way my design did not bleed through to the back of the t-shirt.

Next, I laid out my alphabet stencil onto the t-shirt. I needed to see if my stencil would fit or if my letters were going to be too big. They fit! Depending on the size shirt you have will depend what kind of size stencil looks best.  The important part is to just configure the placement of the letters that will fit per line across the chest of your t-shirt.

stencil a tshirtOnce you have your stenciled layed out like you like it, carefully move it to the side of your t-shirt. That way you will remember how you liked it lined up, but you can adjust as you go with one letter at a time being painted on.

alphabet tshirt

Carefully hold your stencil down and your t-shirt stretched and take your paint pen and start filling in the letter stencil. It is important to say here, to follow the instructions of your paint pen. My paint marker said to pre-wash my t-shirt, allow my design to dry for 24 hours, and to heat set the ink to preserve the design. If you use a different kind of paint pen/marker be sure to follow the instructions to get the best results. I love the paint marker I used. It transferred the color ink nicely and didn’t leave a hard, stiff result that would make the t-shirt uncomfortable to wear.

stenciling a tshirtOnce you fill in that first letter, place the next stencil and start filling it in as well. I didn’t want my design to be straight across and perfect, so I placed my stencils slightly higher or lower and tilted different angles ever so slightly all the way down the alphabet. I think it creates a more graffiti look and is more forgiving in not having to be “perfect.”

the letter aKeep adding stencils and filling in the letters. I didn’t worry about filling my stencil in to be a solid black filled letter. I liked the look of it being a little more worn.

stencil the alphabetOnce I finished my alphabet, my t-shirt was almost done! I waited 24 hours for it to dry, gave it a quick iron to help set the design, and it was done! I love how quick and easy this craft was. I made my daughter a fun t-shirt for less than $7 ($4.00 shirt + $2.70 marker). I now want to make a bunch of shirts with fun quotes and maybe even a Minnie Mouse silhouette like the sign I created for her bedroom. There are so many possibilities!

DIY screen print tshirt

make your own screen print type shirtI adore my little model! She was so excited about her shirt. Here’s a few pics that capture her fun personality…

DIY shirt for little girl

She’s a blast! Have you ever painted a t-shirt and actually worn it? The only shirts I had ever painted till this one had been done as a kid with acrylic paint and always left a hard stiff feature to the design that made the shirt uncomfortable to wear. There are so many fun fabric type markers and paints now that prevent that effect. The possibilities to becoming a clothing designer are at your finger tips! 🙂

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Old Navy Shopping Spree

February 12, 2013 By Erica Deuel 9 Comments

I am obsessed with Old Navy clothes.  No joke.  In all honesty, it is my favorite clothing store.  You can’t beat the prices and quality.  I was beyond excited when I was chosen to write this campaign.

old navy store

Old Navy’s Kids and Baby Sale is an annual event I tuck in my head.  There are so many “basic” pieces we need every season like gym shorts and solid colored shirts that you can not beat paying only $5 each.  During this sale, even the cute collared shirts, character shirts and jeans are priced almost half of their normal cost.  The deals are unreal.  Cute sundresses at $5 and $8 each?  Yes, please.  I will take one in each color.

This annual Kids and Baby Sale is going on right now.

old navy little girl dresses

old navy girls dresses

We might frequent Old Navy so often, that I am breeding three little smart shoppers of my own.  My Caleb is almost six and has opinions of everything he puts on.  He’s at that age (already!?) that I hardly buy him clothes without asking if he like them first.  There is no use buying something that he wont ever wear.  I decided to take him with me on my shopping spree for a fun little mommy date.  Here is a short segment from our date.  (Stay tuned after the video clip for pictures from our modeling shoot.)

He is hilarious, and we had the best time shopping together.  It’s a good thing everything Old Navy sells is really cute, because he was picking up colors of shirts he liked that I wouldn’t have chosen for him.

picking out shirts at old navy

old navy t shirts

Smiley faces, beautiful clothes… and that all hits you right in the doorway!

old navy welcome team

Since we both have our favorite local Old Navy layout’s memorized, we went straight to Caleb’s size area.

boys section at old navy

After we ooohed and awwwed over everything in the boys section, he tried on a few things to make sure they were perfect.  They were, and I got a series of Superhero poses right there with the items in the dressing room.  He was so excited, and I know he felt so cool.  It warmed my mama’s heart.

We took our cart of his items and some things for J and headed to the girl section.

old navy dressing room

old navy cart full of clothes

modeling old navy hat

My sweet boy was so excited to pick out items for his siblings too.  I loved watching him pick out things that he knew they would like.  He struggled back and forth over the character shirts for Reagan.  They had so many good ones!  The final debate was between a Minnie Mouse and an Elmo and Abby shirt.  Elmo and Abbie won, and Reagan is thrilled!

old navy character shirts

elmo and abby

I think I could of bought a pair of each of these shoes for miss Reagan.  They are sooooo cute!

old navy girl shoes

Old Navy has such cute accessories to complete outfits for awesome prices.  I love their hair and jewelry items.  The pink hair bow Reagan models later is one of my favorites!

Caleb ended up getting two pairs of shorts, three shirts, a hat, and a pair of flip-flops.  J got two shirts, a pair of shorts, a hat, and a pair of flip-flops.  Reagan got two dresses and a shirt.  Can you believe ALL of that was about $75!?  The deals are unreal right now.  You need to go check it out!

comfy boy clothes

shirt and flip flops

sun dress

young old navy shopper

We had a great time on our shopping trip, so of course we had to come home and have a photo shoot in our new clothes.  No matter that it was raining!

sweet siblings

siblings walking in the rain

sibling hug

brotherly love

kid old navy models

These kids have my heart and are so stinking cute.  Put them in nice, clean clothes without any stains or food and it’s like over the top.  Since we were already outside, we enjoyed a nice rainy walk.

follow the leader in the rain

Kids playing in the rain

Thank you Old Navy for amazing prices year round, and this Kid and Baby Sale is just incredible!

happy kids1

If you don’t believe me on the deals, check out your local Old Navy store or look online.  You will be thankful you did!

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I was selected for this opportunity as a member of Clever Girls Collective, and the content and opinions expressed here are all my own.

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