After sharing the Doily Heart Shirt the other day I tried out a second version.
And absolutely hated it.
But I also hate to leave projects in a state of awry and truly believe Tim Gunn when he says make it work. So I did just that and I still wasn’t sure if I liked it till Lucy tried it on. Then those big metallic hearts made me smile.
Here’s where the mess started…
I thought: black shirt, metallic gold paint, lots of small doily hearts. Cool right?
But ew. The finished product looked like a cheap craft Ad from the 80s. Sorry. It just wasn’t my style.
But I couldn’t throw away the shirt (even it cost $3.50).
So I grabbed more metallic paint and got busy.
Now typically when painting on shirts I use fabric paint (such as Tulip brand). But acrylic paints are a fun option because they’re inexpensive and come in a ton of colors. However, they dry more stiff than fabric paint and may crack on clothing over time. UNLESS….you add a fabric painting medium to the mix to soften up the paint! I actually haven’t tried it yet but I have a bottle ready for my next project.
Okay, here’s how I made the Metallic shirt…
• I laid a large piece of Freezer paper over the shirt (read more about freezer paper stenciling here) and drew large hearts over the doily ones. I just eye-balled the size and didn’t worry if the shapes were uneven. I like an imperfect heart.
• I cut out the hearts with scissors or a craft knife
• Ironed the paper to the shirt (with the shiny side of the paper down and with a cloth over the top so I wasn’t ironing directly on the paint)
• I painted the hearts with various metallic colors (make sure you have a piece of paper in between your shirt so paint doesn’t seep through to the shirt back)
• Dried the paint with a hair dryer, peeled it off, and voila!
Metallic hearts!
I sort of liked the finished product. But still wasn’t sure if it was kind of a disaster, or kind of cool. So I pulled out some accessories (clearance leggings from the GAP)….
And decided I really liked it! (and the price tag too).
Now we have two Valentine’s Day options.
Hope your Monday is off to a great start!
I’m still home with a pregnant tummy. But thank you, thank you for all the fun comments you left last week. I can’t believe some of your stories! Makes me feel normal and ready for when the time comes.
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And for a double-dosage of MADE today….I’m guesting over at Kristen Duke Photography. She’s sharing a series about decorating your house with pictures/portraits. Come check out my spin on it….
