{Tutorial:} Iron-On Art

Okay, so let me just start off by saying that this particular tshirt is totally not my idea...  I must admit that I saw it originally at j.crew.  It was clever and ever-boyish, so of course I thought to myself, "I must have this!"  Not for me, of course...but for our little guy! Afterall, what little boy isn't his own stunt man in some way?!  But alas, at $29.50 a pop, I figured it looked easy enough to make a replica myself.  And so began my search....

Turns out it's pretty easy to make a shirt like this!  All you need is:

*tshirt
*iron-on art {flock transfers}
*iron
*ruler
*fabric dye {optional}

So once I had my supplies {you can find them all at a craft store like Joann's or Hobby Lobby}, I began to work on it.  I found a heathered gray tshirt for $2.99.  I decided to go ahead and purchase some tan dye {Rit brand - $3.99} to make it a bit more like the original j.crew shirt {totally unnecessary, but hey, you have options!}.  You can follow the instructions on the bottle to dye the shirt, but basically I put some hot water in a bucket, poured in maybe a few tablespoons of the dye, and put my shirt in.  I let it sit there a couple hours.  Then I rinsed it until the water ran clear, washed it {I decided to wash it by itself in case some more dye came out of it} & dried it.

The shirt came out a nice heathered tan color {of course!}.  I thought about putting it in a bucket again with some more water and a little bleach to lighten it up a bit, but decided it was good enough as is! Again, you have options here!

Then it's just a matter of peeling {carefully! They tear easily I discovered!} off your letters and lining them up where you want them on the shirt.  I just eyeballed the spacing and center of the shirt {though you could use a ruler}, and then used my ruler to make sure they were straight.

Then just set your iron to the cotton setting with NO WATER in it, and press for about 20 seconds.  Repeat this on all parts  Then turn shirt inside out and repeat pressing, and, Presto! Insta-j.crew look-alike shirt for less than half the cost {plus I now have extra letters and dye for future projects!}!

Here's A-Train showing off his "stunt skills" with his new shirt! {love}.

I also purchased a tshirt and some white letters in a more feminine font and made a shirt for Baby K!  I had a hard time coming up with a saying to put on it.  I knew I didn't want to do any "princess" type print...but other than that, I was open to something witty and fun.  At first I was thinking of just putting "wild woman" on it, because that is what I call her from time to time, as she is, indeed, a wild woman...well, maybe "wild child" would be more appropriate, but "wild woman" is funnier!  Anyway.  I ended up putting "lactose tolerant" on it, thanks to the ingenius idea of my husband!  Love it!

So, how about you?  Have you done one of these before?  Thinking about doing one now?  If so, what slogans and cute things have you used, or do you plan to use?

Have a product you'd like reviewed?

Contact me at adamsblankie@gmail.com

www.adamsblankie.com

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