Mommy and Me Activity: Ballerina Tee!

I was inspired to try this by a shirt I saw in a store window last year - thank you Gap or whichever store it was.  The material they used for the ballet skirt on the shirt reminded me of some shabby rose ribbon I had.  And thus, the idea was born.
However, it is so much more cute, not to mention special, if you have your own little ballerina help design it herself.  Here's how we made ours:

Materials:


- One blank shirt (find one at craft stores for $2-$5 dollars)

- Small piece of shabby rose ribbon (also can be found at some craft stores like Hobby Lobby in their ribbon section).

- One squeeze bottle of black fabric paint

- One Mark-B-Gone Pen (the pen I used one with two ends - Disappearing Ink and Mark-B-Gone.  You will want to use the Mark-B-Gone end with ink that disappears when touched by water.  These pens can be found in the sewing section of some craft stores and in sewing stores).

- A piece of cardboard or heavy paper to provide a barrier under the shirt (not shown in the picture above).

- Fabric glue (also not shown in the picture above).

Directions:


1.  Slip the cardboard or paper in between the front and the back of the shirt to provide a barrier which keeps the ink and glue from seeping through the top of the shirt to the back of it as well.  You may also want to make sure your shirt is in a place where it will not be disturbed for a few days once you are done, or on top of something which can be moved with ease to a different location as needed because your shirt will need to dry for a few days undisturbed.

2.  Let your child used the Mark-B-Gone pen to draw her ballerina on the front of the shirt (you may want to let your child experiment with a cut piece of rose ribbon to come up with an idea of how large to draw the ballerina to fit the "tutu").  If she makes a mistake or gets frustrated, just wet it down, wait until the shirt dries blank again, and start over (you may also want to make a square or rectangle out of tape on the shirt to give your child some drawing boundaries - otherwise her design might end up all over the shirt.).  When everything is dry, you can easily remove the tape from the shirt.

3.  Once your child is done, take the fabric paint and carefully trace over your child's design.

4.  Use the pre-cut piece of shabby rose ribbon to be the tutu on the ballerina design (or you may need to cut a new one for a better fit) and glue it to the design carefully with fabric glue.

5.  Follow drying instructions for both the paint AND glue.  Chances are that this will be 48-72 hours at least.

6.  Wash the shirt, and it is ready for wearing!  :)

This idea could easily be adapted in many different ways for a child to make his/her own t-shirt design so don't limit your thinking to just ballet!  :)  Happy designing to you all!  :)

Linking up:

www.tipjunkie.com

www.cleanandscentsible.blogspot.com

www.gingersnapcrafts.com

www.momontimeout.com

www.bearrabbitbear.com

www.handsonaswegrow.com

www.houseofhepworths.com

www.happyhourprojects.com

www.kitchenfunwithmy3sons.blogspot.com

www.joyfulstamper.blogspot.com

www.livinglifeintentionally.blogspot.com

www.tatertotsandjello.com