Free Teen Craft Project Pretty in Pink T-shirt Margot Potter for I Love to Create

Pretty in Pink Altered T-Shirt
Click on image to view close up!

This swanky top began life as a Fruit of the Loom boy’s value pack t-shirt. My daughter was mortified when I stood in the middle of the boy’s aisle at the store store and suggested OUT LOUD that we buy them and decorate them for her to wear. Can you imagine?

What is the fun of being a parent if you can’t humiliate your kid in public?

All joking aside...I wanted something with a more generous cut so I had more fabric with which to work. I always have a plan, even if it appears evil to my tortured teen.

Mwahahahahaha...

That was my evil parent laugh.

Okay then...here’s the project!
Pretty in Pink Altered T-shirt
Teen Craft Project
Margot Potter for I Love to Create

Materials
Fruit of the Loom bulk pack white boy’s t-shirt
Black grosgrain ribbon ½” thick
3 safety pins
Tulip Fabric Spray Paint Hot Pink, Soft Pink, Violet Pink
Tulip Metallics Dimensional Fabric Paint Black
Crafty Chica Glitter Be Bop Black
Aleene’s Stop Fraying
Complements Border Stencil Graceful
ToolsStencil brush
Bubble wrap
Fabric scissors
T-shirt form or cardboard insert to slide between tshirt layers while decorating
Heat tool

1. Pre-wash t-shirt. Slide your t over an insert or a form. This prevents the paints from seeping on to the back of your shirt.

2. Use your fingers to scrinkle the shirt on the left side. Spray a thin wash of each color, don’t overspray! Work paint from left to right, making coverage less dense on the right side.


3. Rescrinkle (it’s suggested that you wear gloves for this step.) Paint another thin wash of your colors. Allow to dry.

4. Pour black fabric paint on bubble wrap...spread with brush.
5. Dab on t, filling in the center of the spray painted areas. Allow to dry.

6. Place stencil on an angle across painted part of t.

7. Use stencil brush to apply black paint through stencil, dabbing the brush as you work to prevent paint from slipping under stencil.

8. While paint is still wet and stencil is still on your shirt. Pinch glitter on wet paint and gently rub in with your finger. Use a heat tool to adhere glitter, don't overheat or you'll melt your stencil! Remove stencil after paint has dried.

9. Cut neckline from shirt, leaving a 1” border on each shoulder. Cut along the top seam on the right border.

10. Use safety pins to secure this closed.

11. Cut along the top of each sleeve working up to the seam.

12. Cut a small slit on each side of the opening on the bottom of each sleeve.

13. Thread with a ribbon, tie ribbon and cut ends on the diagonal.

14. Cut a small slit on each side of the seam at the shoulder on the left side. Thread and tie another ribbon..

15. Use Aleene’s Stop Fraying on ribbon ends and allow to dry. Remove ribbons and safety pins when washing shirt.

I Love to Create: Altered Chinese Paper Lanterns

I’m delighted to join the ranks of crafty bloggers for I Love to Create. Here’s my first installment in my bi-weekly Kid/Teen Craft blogs. All of these projects are “Mom Crafted, Kid Approved.”

We’ve been redecorating my daughter’s room and she wanted to get some Chinese style lanterns to hang from her ceiling. We found these for 3 for $5.00 at Five Below. They have a built in battery operated light! We wanted to give them a little pizzazz, so we punched out circles of patterned tissue paper and adhered them with Aleene’s Fast Grab Tacky Glue. Then we added some Tulip glitter and ric-rac trim accents. We love how these turned out and they were so easy and fun to make! Avalon did a more streamlined version that looks fabulous!

You can find the larger lanterns online and do a series of these in different sizes and shapes...I’m seriously thinking about putting some in my studio. Try using different sizes and shapes of punches and adding some Tulip flat back crystals to give them even more sparkle!

Altered Chinese Paper Lanterns
I Love to Create
Margot Potter

Paper Chinese style lantern
Patterned tissue paper
Ric-rac trim
Aleene’s Fast Grab Tacky Glue
Tulip GlitterDimensional Fabric Paint in Crystal Sparkles
Scissors
Fiskars 1” and 1.5” paper punches
Card stock sheets
Bubble wrap

1. Stuff your lantern carefully with bubble wrap to give it structure.

2. I chose tissue paper for the polka dot accents because it’s thin enough to easily adhere to the surface of the textured lantern, thicker paper doesn’t work as well because it’s too stiff to be molded to the base.

3. Fold the tissue paper over heavy card stock and insert into punch. Smooth any wrinkles with your fingers. Punch shape. (Designer tip: The card stock gives you some structure so the tissue paper will cut more easily, without that base the tissue will tear.) Cut 5 large and 5 small circles.

4. Spread a thin layer of Aleene’s Fast Grab Tacky Glue on the back of your tissue paper circles using your finger tip. (I chose this glue because it’s not too runny, adheres quickly and it didn’t saturate the tissue paper, this is a better choice for this specific project than decoupage medium.)

5. Apply the tissue paper circle to the desired spot on your lantern, carefully working from top to bottom gently smoothing the tissue on to the lantern. Take your time and be patient!

6. Continue adhering circles working around your lantern. Allow them to dry.
7. Spread a layer of Tulip glitter on some ric-rac trim.


8. Adhere small segments of pre-cut trim to the front of the larger tissue paper circles. Allow to dry.


9. Use your finger to spread a thin layer of Tulip glitter on the surface of each of the small circles. Allow to dry.

Avalon and her Altered Chinese Paper Lantern!