This is Week 1 of our 12-week Summer Fun with Kids series here at LWSL! Today we are welcoming Laura from Finding Home, who is sharing a fun and easy way to make fashionable DIY Sharpie T-shirts. For more summer fun, check out the overview page.
Hello sweet readers of Living Well, Spending Less, I am Laura from Finding Home, where I share about the journey we are all on to creating a home for our families. I was so excited when Ruth asked me to be part of this summer series. When my girls were little (like little wee ones!), I was in charge of the crafts for our church play group. Now, that they are getting older, I still love to take the time to sit down and craft with them.
We decided to make fun t-shirts that could not have been easier (and mess free!).
Over the years, they have brought home a lot of tie-dye t-shirts from camps. I just did not want to deal with the hassle and mess that creates. Since I seem to be addicted to Sharpie art projects, I decided, why not make a t-shirt?
And, best of all, it can be done by almost any age child with any art ability.
Here is what you need:
Step 1: Start by placing the cardboard inside the shirt to prevent the ink from transferring through to the back and then place the image you want to trace inside the shirt, on top of the cardboard. We found our image by simply searching on the web for “Elephant silhouette” and “whale silhouette”. A page from a coloring book would work really well also. If you child is younger and / or does not want to trace, you could also use stencils, or better yet – just have them draw what is in their imagination.
Step 2: Simply start tracing the image that is inside the t-shirt. The markers have a longer tip so they can also easily be used to add details like shading if you would like. However, the work pretty easily to just draw a line. The ink feathers a little but does not run.
Step 3: After the outline is complete, you can add more details. My older daughter chose to just add “Summer 2014”. My younger daughter decided to add more details. Because, really, all purple elephants should have pink toenails.
In the end, both shirts came out super cute. The funny part was I had really expected my younger daughter, who is 11 to be into it. While she was, my older daughter came home telling me how she had told her friends at school about her new whale shirt! According to the package directions, the shirts should be machine washed in cold water and hung to dry.
Of course, I didn’t want to be left out, so I made a whale shirt also – but mine has a case of the pink measles. Of course, the best part is that we all slowed down for a little bit and had something to do together. That is always a win in my book!
If you would like to see more projects from me and my love for Sharpies, you can start planning for Christmas and make these great Christmas ornaments with your kids. These would make great gifts with art created by your child at any age.
Thanks so much for having me here today and wishing you all a happy summer filled with fun activities that don’t cause any stress!
And now it is time for another fun giveaway! Today we are again giving away something EVERYONE can use–a $100 Amazon Gift Card–that you can use to purchase your own set of Stained by Sharpie markers (plus a whole lot more!) To enter, just follow the instructions in the box below.
Can’t see the box? Click here.
Laura Putnam of Finding Home is a Jersey Girl who married her maple syrup making husband from NH.
After living all about the country, they have settled in the Hudson Valley of NY where they are raising their two daughters. Nothing makes her happier then scouring through estate sales, junk shops and auctions to find vintage treasure to pair with her traditional style – with a little modern twist. Her blog tells the story of the journey we are all on…to making our homes a true reflection of ourselves and our families.
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What fun design would put on your Sharpie Stained t-shirt?
I think I would make a onesie for our baby girl granddaughter due in September. Perhaps a little tiara for my princess.
Hmm… so many possibilities! I might do a pattern/design of some sort with lots of colors…
My kiddos would love this!
Something easy, like a rainbow. 🙂
I think my boys would love to make monsters!
A great summer project with my granddaughter!
Just completed this fun craft at a baby shower this weekend using onesies! Super fun
My kids would love this idea! They are pretty crafty, but we haven’t made shirts before. Cool!
This would be fun on denim too!
I would love to make a frog shirt!
I would make disney shirts for my family trip to disneyland
I love the tip about tracing. I am never sure what to draw.
I am thinking something 4th of July or 1st day at school
Maybe a butterfly! What a fun and simple project.
I would add a beach landscape to the shirt ☀️ Loving summer
Announce my pregnancy in a cute way!
A Seahorse…my favorite! My girls would be all about unicorns!
I’d love to let my son draw his little people he likes to draw on a tshirt, and he could wear his art!
I think we would make skateboards, my boys are into that right now!
What a great idea! Found you via pinterest. I would totally do a flamingo for my almost 2 year old, she loves them! Calls them, mingos!
Always looking for a Family Reunion activity. Thanks!
I would make a onesie for my daughter with an anchor pattern!
What a fun summer project!
Can’t wait to try with my 4 girls 🙂
Yes! Finally someone writes about Depression Symtoms.
What a super easy and cute craft! I have never heard of stained sharpies. I think I would draw palm trees on my shirt.
A sunshine design – perfect for summer!
Great idea! Thanks.
It would have to be a flower since that’s all I can draw 🙂
My son would choose to do something Lego or Transformer. As my daughter would choose an animal. What a great idea. Thanks for sharing.
I’d draw a bunny and a jelly doughnut since those are the nicknames we use for our daughter.
I am sure my girls would draw mermaids on their shirts. We are in a mermaid phase right now at our house.
How neat! Something fun and colorful for sure!
I think I’d make a stick figure picture of our family – my drawing abilities are zilch!
I would try to trace a drawing of a family pic of us!
we make t-shirts every year when we go to the beach
Owls! Owls everywhere! I’m an owl freak lol
My and my kids would totally go abstract and do something crazy, and maybe a little bit ocean-themed! Such a cool project!
I would love to win this! My daughter’s birthday is next week 🙂
I am totally going to try this with my kids this summer
I’d draw a turtle
I have a boy.. I think we’d make silly monsters!
My daughter would absolutely love…. may try before summer is out. May let her and her brother
make their own homeschool tshirts.
My daughter is super creative, but my son is not. But I think I could get him to do this if I get a picture of Sonic the Hedgehog or maybe Captain America’s shield. I’m pretty excited about this! I think it could be a gateway to creativity!
My 18 month old is in love with lions, so I’m sure we’d be decorating our tshirts with lions 🙂 she also love coloring right now so this craft could be right up her alley.
I could see us doing a lego head for my oldest or choosing ocean animals for summer shirts for the family!
Since I have boys and girls, we would make anything from minecraft to flowers.
Cousins tshirts 🙂
Oooh, what a fun idea!! I’d love to make some beach themed shirts for summer with crabs & fish & such for my little boys! Thanks for sharing!
My daughter says….a unicorn, a unicorn! 🙂
Something related to tennis would be awesome.
I would have my almost 5yr old twins make my shirt! I think this is going to be a rainy summer day activity for sure.
I would let my 5 year old daughter design whatever she wanted. She would have a blast and it would be unique.
My daughter would love this!! She’d probably make a rainbow or hearts.
Super cute idea! I love crafts that are pretty much fool-proof. My girls are a little young for this (2 years and 4 months), but maybe I’ll make a set of matching family t-shirts for the 4th of July. Fun!!!
I love this– great idea and the pattern ideas are now swarming in my head–thanks!
I think a doodle shirt with dandelions would be nice
I would love to do this project with my kids. I’m sure my daughter would try to draw Elsa from Frozen!
I would make butterfly t-shirt.
Looks like a fun and easy and little mess type project. 🙂 thanks for the idea
Wow! That is such a neat project! I cant wait to try it!
I would draw an owl. My daughters are partial to cupcakes or some other sweet treat 🙂
I would draw stick-figures of my family like I see on the backs of cars.
These look like a great project for my daughter and her cousins to do at our Labor Day party! I imagine they’ll want to do animals. I like the idea of stick figures of our family — maybe for me!
this is such a creative idea! TFS!!
we would probably design a shirt with a cute kitty!
A Tardis or a Dalek from Dr. Who.
I love that someone mentioned onsies. I am not artistic and the idea of having a few patterns at baby shower onsie parties would be ever so helpful. But I pinned this onto my Adventure Girls board, we are starting a little adventure club with my daughters friends and this would be perfect for making club T-shirts!
I would probably do one of my favorite animals: a giraffe, a turtle, or an elephant 🙂
Hmmm, something botanical–leaves or flowers. Or maybe hearts. Or something Catholic.
What an awesome project! Can’t wait to try it wit my kids.
We made fun designs, and then dripped rubbing alcohol over it with an eyedropper…VIOLA! Faux tie dye!! The color expands and will mix with the colors next to it. I made myself a Fourth of July fireworks t-shirt that people wanted to buy from me. 🙂
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