Fun Valentine's Day Shirts!

Last week sometime, I told my boys that I wanted to make some Valentine's Day shirts.  I figured it would be a fun craft to do with them and since t-shirts are cheap, I wouldn't care if they didn't actually want to wear them.  I worried that they'd protest, since obviously hearts would be involved and they are super macho boys.  But, surprisingly, all three kiddos were excited and ready to help!  

The first thing we did was think about our designs.  The Chief and Con-man actually came up with their own designs!  They sketched them out for me, told me exactly how to do it and then supervised as I drew everything out larger.  I decided on Monkey Man's shirt design because, well he's 3 so I still have some say!

We made these shirts using the freezer paper stenciling technique.  First you draw out your design, then cut it out with a utility or craft knife.  Monkey Man's design was a little tricky for me to figure out because I wanted the white heart and red ribbon.  I somehow managed to get it in one try, but I wasn't sure it was coming out right until I stuck the freezer paper to the shirt.  Here's what it looked like with the stencil:

I just used white craft paint and painted all over the design.  Make sure you have something between the layers of t-shirt first - the paint will go through!  It takes at least two coats before you get good coverage. Here is what it looked like right after I removed the stencil (allow to dry first):

You can see some of the lines aren't very crisp.  That's because a bit of the paint sticks to the stencil as you pull it up.  Just touch up any areas that really bother you with a small brush.

Here are all three finished products:

Awe, so I have a mama's boy, a rocker, and a boy that thinks girls and love are icky!  

I think I'll keep them!

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