DIY: Freezer Paper Stencil Custom Shirt

Well.  Hey there.

Just popping in to show this cute and easy shirt I made for Gavin last weekend.  (Wish I could stay and chat longer, but my report cards are due.  It's that time of year!)

We had a Sing-a-Long birthday party for the twins on Sunday.  They're going to be five on Thursday.  FIVE!  In my head, I still picture this all of the time, and count my innumerable blessings:

Thankfully, they fattened up pretty fast those first weeks in the NICU, and there's no end in sight.  (For those new to this blog, you can read old posts dating back to the early days to get a glimpse of what life was like with preemie twins.)

Back to the shirt.  Since it was a sing-a-long theme, and since a talented friend of mine was singing her original children's songs to entertain the kids, I wanted Gavin to have a cool shirt to go with the theme of the day.

I started with a cheap navy t-shirt from Old Navy and this free stencil from the Acire Adventures blog.

I photocopied the stencil to scale it down a little and traced it onto the flat (not shiny) side of good ol' freezer paper.  Then I used an exacto knife to cut it out, placed it shiny-side down on the t-shirt, and ironed for about 30 seconds until the paper stuck to the shirt.  Please excuse the iPhone photo.  I was charging my Nikon battery!

Originally, I was just going to use light blue fabric paint to stencil the design, but I went with a bleach pen instead.

I waited about 10 minutes, and then peeled the paper off like a big sticker.  To get the smaller, peskier parts of the stencil off, I had to use the tip of the exacto knife.

I immediately rinsed the bleach off of the shirt, and then washed it in cold water by itself.  I always worry about "stray" bleach getting on other clothes.

I think my birthday boy looked adorable.  And tall.

As always, thanks for reading!

More Stenciled Onesies!

Don't forget to enter my leather cuff bracelet giveaway!

I recently made two freezer-paper stenciled onesies for a colleague's baby shower.  I thought this cat-eye glasses one was hilarious, but I was a little afraid that I was going to be the only one at my work who had that sense of humor.  Luckily, it was really well-received.  Thanks to Ashley Ann for the idea!

I love giving homemade gifts for showers and birthdays.  It's usually easier on the wallet, but there is also something sweet and special about homemade gifts. I know that the gifts I cherish the most are the ones that someone made just for me.  :)

Visit this post for my step-by-step tutorial for freezer paper stenciled onesies!

Linking Up To:

Freezer Paper Stencil Shirt

Last weekend, my sweet godson Kevin was christened.  I wanted to make him something special, so I decided to stencil some custom t-shirts for him.  I wanted one shirt to simply have a "k," and the other shirt to say "no. 7" since Kevin is the 7th grandchild in my family.

I found the fonts I liked, and printed out the "k" and the "no. 7" to the scale I wanted.  Then I got out the freezer paper.

Freezer paper is great for stenciling, because it irons neatly on to the shirt, and peels off easily.  More on that in a minute.

To do this, first make sure the shiny side of your freezer paper is face-down.  Slide your design under the freezer paper, and trace with a pencil.

Then, using an X-acto knife, cut out your stencil.

Remember, the back of the freezer paper is shiny.  That's the part you're going to iron to your shirt.  Warm up the iron, and put your stencil where you want it on the shirt.

Iron it down for a few seconds.  As it heats up, it becomes like a big sticker and sticks to the shirt.  Use your finger to press the edges down...that will ensure that paint doesn't get under there.  Then, put a thin towel or heavy piece of paper inside the shirt, so the paint doesn't seep through.

Next is the fun part.  Get your fabric paint, and get to work!

I only had to do one coat with this green paint...it saturated really nicely.  I did white paint on a red shirt for the "no. 7" shirt, and I needed 7 coats of the white!

When I was finished painting, I let it dry for a few minutes (not completely), and peeled the freezer paper off.

I didn't get a shot of the finished "no. 7", but here was the halfway point:

Didn't they turn out cute?  I hope Kevin loves them.  Because I love Kevin!  :)