(diy tutorial) coloring book t-shirt

I was recently invited to be part of the Crafty Chica Design Team and play around with her new fabric markers or “Juicy Fabric Inks”. I love trying out new craft products, sign me up! Ya’ll know I have a slight obsession with stencil making at the moment, so I decided to keep the stenciling going. This time, I used one of Logan’s coloring pages (that I printed out from here) and turned it into a stencil.

I recommend picking a simple image to work with, because the cutting can get a bit tedious. I totally intended to let Logan color his own shirt, but I just couldn’t help myself. I gave him a paper version of the image and we both went to town, coloring our dinosaurs (scroll to the bottom to see his version). I’ll have to make Logan another shirt soon so he can color it himself.

I’ve worked with fabric markers before and the tips almost always break or the ink runs out, but that wasn’t the case with these markers. The colors are also very vibrant, unlike others I’ve worked with in the past. The image above just doesn’t do the colors justice and I think it got more vibrant as it dried. This project would be perfect for a child’s birthday party or sleepover, just do the stencil cutting beforehand!

Materials
White T-Shirt
Coloring Book Page or Printout
Black Permanent Fabric Paint
Sponge Brush
Adhesive Stencil Paper
Multipurpose Heat Tool or Exacto Knife
Cardstock or Piece of Cardboard
Crafty Chica Juicy Fabric Inks

Instructions

Step 1: Find a simple coloring book page and rip it out of the book. You may want to photocopy it so your child can have copies to color later and so you can print it to a size that will work for your shirt size. Place coloring page under adhesive stencil paper and tape to a table or wood board if using a heat tool. Cut along the lines of the image using an exacto knife or multipurpose heat tool. When making your stencil, keep in mind that the areas shown will be painted black. So, you will want to cut away only the original black lines shown in the coloring page. Keep the little pieces in between the lines to use with your main stencil.

Step 2: Remove the backing of the adhesive stencil and adhere to the shirt. Include the little pieces you cut out in the first step, making sure the only areas showing through the shirt are the areas that will be painted black.

Step 3: Place a piece of cardstock or cardboard inside of the shirt. Using a sponge brush, dab black fabric paint onto the stencil. Don’t remove the stencil until the paint is dry. Set the paint according to the bottle (some brands require ironing).

Step 4: Now that you have your coloring book shirt, you get to have some fun with Crafty Chica’s Juicy Fabric Inks! Color inside the lines (or let your child do the coloring), to your hearts content, and let dry flat for 20 minutes.

Step 5: Place shirt on dinosaur obsessed 2 year old.

This is Logan’s coloring version…

Fine print: I received this complimentary product(s) from CraftyChica.com. As part of the Crafty Chica Design Team, I was asked to share an original DIY project. Click here to see if a Michaels store in your area is carrying the Crafty Chica line.