You can probably, by now, sense a trend among the gifts I give to kids. I have a deep fondness for fun, stylish clothes that are still inexpensive enough to run, jump, eat watermelon, and make mud pies in. My dear friend Liza’s little girl, Holland, just turned five and had a very cool princess skating party. I made her a couple of fun shirts, using the same process as the doily tote bags I gave as Christmas gifts.
The finished product, right before I wrapped them up this morning!
The lace is sweet and girly, but the colors are fun and bright enough that I think Holland will still feel like a rock star/princess, or whatever it is kids want to be these days! To make these sweet shirts, you’ll need: a plain shirt, acrylic paint in a coordinating color, spray adhesive, a doily, and textile medium.
Here’s the process:
- First, pick out where you want the doily pattern to show up on the shirt. I’m partial to bottom left corner and around the collar. Using the spray adhesive, stick the doily to the shirt, making sure that no air pockets are left between the fabric and the paper.
- Next, mix the acrylic paint and textile medium according to the instructions on the textile medium package. Mine required two parts medium to one part paint.
- Using the doily like a stencil, paint over all the spaces where the shirt is showing through. Be careful not to go outside the doily, and not to apply too much paint (so that it doesn’t bleed). If you’re using a color you’re afraid won’t show up, you can let it dry and apply another coat rather than slathering a ton of paint on all at once.
- Once you’ve given them ample time to dry (a few Weeds episodes did the trick for me!), peel the doily off and wash, dry, and iron the shirts before giving them away.