Hail to the Chief

For Christmas I gave Casey this Puzzle–since he loves history, presidents, and all things political.
Little did I know that Lucy would love it as well. Over Christmas vacation, she requested the puzzle about 5 times. Casey would eagerly oblige, “sure”! And the two of them would hunker down. Walking by I’d hear her say things like, “Um, I think that’s part of Teddy’s face.” And over the past month, I noticed that both kids started recognizing president’s faces and names. We had the TV on the other night and they both exclaimed, “that’s Obama!”
So with President’s Day happening on Monday (a holiday here in the states to celebrate our presidents) I decided to make Owen another shirt. In fact, President’s Day is the reason I chose the month of February for Celebrate the BOY. It’s a month that honors the birthdays of two beloved presidents, Washington and Lincoln. Might as well add to that party! So this year I went with a face that Owen recognizes…our current President Obama.
Please note: this is not intended to make a political statement. President’s Day is not about parties and ideology, it’s about celebrating our country and the men and women who serve to make our county great (all social and political problems aside). I saw this as an opportunity to teach my kids about our current heritage, about their country.

I used the President’s Day Shirts tutorial HERE:
* First, I searched for an online image under “obama graphic image” and all sorts of pics pulled up.
* I printed it to freezer paper and cut it with my exacto knife (I had thought about using the Silhouette Cutter but there were too many small pieces and I worried that they’d never pull off of the sticky mat).
* Then I painted it with fabric paint, let it dry, ironed over the top (with a pressing cloth) to “heat set” the paint. And my image was done!
To add more dimension to the shirt, the image was actually painted to a piece of scrap knit fabric, cut into a rectangle, and then sewn on to a solid Tee from Old Navy. Walmart is also a great place for plain, solid colored T-shirts without pockets. I double-layered the knit fabric and sewed about a 1/2 inch in from the edges so that they’d curl up a bit.
So pick your favorite president and celebrate the holiday!
Happy President’s Day!

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