November 4, 2012

DIY Thanksgiving Shirts for the Family

Last year I was in desperate search to come up with some cute outfits for Thanksgiving since we would all be together.  It's hard to find something that appeals to all 4 kids including a teenage girl, tween age boy, and a 6 year old!
Oh ... and it had to cost next to nothing ;-)

CHALLENGE ACCEPTED!!
On the front of dollar store shirts, I freezer paper stenciled the fronts of the shirts with all different ways of saying we're thankful ... 
and on the back we each took sharpies and decorated them with all the many things we were thankful for!
Supplies I used:
6 white t-shirts (already had, found at the dollar store) - $6
6 colors of fabric paint (already had these, but they run about $1.25 ea at craft stores) - $7.50
Multi pack of sharpies (found on sale at Kmart) $3.50
sponge brushes (already had, dollar store)  $1
freezer paper (already had, found at Walmart) $3
cricut
Project Total for 6 Thanksgiving Shirts for the Family =  $21
Memories of making your shirts as a family = PRICELESS :)

1. Have everyone decide what color they want on their shirts and what you want them to say.  Using your cricut, cut the phrases out on your freezer paper (shiny side down).
2. Iron down the freezer paper onto your shirt, shiny side down.  Put a piece of cardboard inside the shirt so the paint doesn't seep though and paint over the stencilled letters using FABRIC paint.  Allow for the shirts to dry overnight.  We used this as a fun family Thanksgiving morning activity, so I made the shirts the day before.
 3.  On a piece of scratch paper, have the kids write down or sketch out what they are planning to do on their shirts.  If you're anything like me, you'll want to know what they're going to write ahead of time ;-)

4. Using the multi color pack of sharpies, let every one draw or write everything they are thankful for on their shirts!  We had so much fun with this!  It was also a great way to keep the kids busy on Thanksgiving morning and really get into the spirit of the day :)
 My sweet babies
 
And their awesome shirts!
 My oldest (14) is in French at school so she chose "I'm Thankful For" in French ;-)
I love how she set up her shirt :) and that she is not only thankful for butter, but also for bacon ;-) A girl after her mama's heart!
 My 12 year old stepson :)
 I thought it was cute how he used the letters in FAMILY and FRIENDS for other words and he used pictures too. And also that he is thankful for "Nerds" LOL
 My 9 year old baby girl :) 
 So cool how she set hers up like a crossword puzzle! And that she is thankful for herself LOL! Oh and also bacon ;-)
 And my youngest (6) :)
 I thought it was so sweet how she was thankful for her teacher first and foremost! And her house and room and hearts ;-)
 And then there's me :)
I tried to do mine in a Subway Art Style.  Mixing different colors, fonts and directions.  I really love how it came out :)
And my amazing husband who is a VERY good sport and totally got into the spirit of things!


He's such a sweetheart :) He had fun making up his shirt!  

My favorite part of the whole thing was how much fun we all had designing them :) I adore my big old crazy family!

MONDAYS ~ mop it up mondays Sumo's Sweet Stuff BWS tips button DIY projects and crafts Keeping It Simple
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9 comments:

Anonymous said...

What a cool idea... and I'm impressed by your freezer paper stencil work! Seems like this stuff is always made on bloggers' Sillhoette machines. Glad to see it can be done very nicely without one by those of us who don't have one!

Sarah Leonard said...

What a wonderful project - and lovely to get the whole family involved too :)

Sarah @ A Cat-Like Curiosity

Shannon Barefoot said...

What a cute idea for a family project! Thanks for linking up to The Weekly Creative.

Have a great week!
Shannon @ Sewing Barefoot

Crystelle Boutique said...

this is so marvelous! Does your family even know how lucky they are to have you....????

hugs ~ Crystelle
http://www.crystelleboutique.com

Unknown said...

These are so adorable!! I would love for you to come link up to my Get Social Sunday party. You can come show off your awesome ideas! http://alivedinhome.blogspot.com/2012/11/get-social-sunday.html

Jill said...

What a great project - and looks like you had some fabulous family fun doing them!

Thanks for linking to a Round Tuit!
Hope you have a fabulous week!
Jill @ Creating my way to Success
http://www.jembellish.blogspot.com/

Unknown said...

What a great D.I.Y. project! Would love it if you linked up on my blog hop www.w-t-fab.com/search/label/bloghop. Also let me know if you'd like to follow each other!

Kelli W said...

These are adorable! And such a great idea!

Anonymous said...

Great idea!!! Thanks for sharing at Submarine Sunday!!!

T'onna @ Navy Wifey Peters Aboard the USS Crafty