Hand Decorated Hearts and Stars T-Shirt Craft

Using permanent fabric inks, create fun clothing from a single package of white or light color cotton t-shirts. Create hearts and flowers for your daughter or a star motif for your son, ready to wear in a few hours. You can even make matching family shirts using these same patterns.

T-Shirt Supplies

1 poster board for stencils

1 pkg. of 2 - 6 white, or light-colored cotton t-shirts (depending on the number of children you're making shirts for)

2 permanent fabric ink stamp pads, your choice of colors (include red for Valentine's Day, plus blue for 4^th of July, etc.)

3 permanent fabric ink marker pens (again your choice of colors)

4 rubber stamps (use your child's favorites on their shirts)

Creating Easy Stencils

On the poster board draw freehand a large heart for the front of your daughter's shirt, or a large star for the front of your son's shirt. Cut out your stencil, lay it over the front of your child's smoothed t-shirt (on a flat surface) and carefully outline your stencil right onto the shirt.

Fabric Stamping

Using the fabric ink stamp pads, ink up the rubber stamp, and do a test stamp on scrap paper, to see how much pressure will be needed to imprint the stamp design onto the shirt. Re-ink the rubber stamp, and then stamp it inside the large heart or star pattern.

Repeat the inking and stamping process until you are happy with the designs within the larger stenciled pattern. Then use the fabric ink marker pens to carefully color in the rubber stamped designs, to make them more noticeable.

Finishing Touches

If you would like to create a background pattern, try dotting or striping around the rubber stamped images, careful not to go outside the edges of your large stenciled heart or star pattern. When you're finished designing the shirt/s, toss them into the dryer for about 20 minutes to heat-set your art work and they will be ready to wear.

You could also write a message stripe running in the background such as Happy Valentine's Day, Happy 4^th of July, To the Birthday Girl, or You're the All Star Slugger in our family! Your large heart or star stencil will fit almost any occasion and will be as fun for your kids to wear, as they are for you to make.