Sar Bear's Blog: Spray Painted T-Shirts

I found this idea in a spring edition of Disney Family Fun magazine. It is online here. The basic idea is that you cut a shape out of contact paper, and you use that shape to resist paint on fabric. I wanted to adapt this idea for a craft project my daughter and her friends could make at her 4th birthday party. The shirts were the favors each child took home, so I personalized them with each child's initial. Look at the website for details and instructions, and read more below for specifics of my version.

Just like they did in the magazine, I cut shapes from clear contact paper. Instead of animals, I cut negative shape initials for each child who was attending the party. We adhered the contact paper to the center front of each shirt. I enlisted help from my brother-in-law who expertly assembled a low clothesline in the backyard. We hung all the shirts with a thin piece of cardboard inside. Each child's name was visibly pinned to the hem of the shirt so they knew which shirt to spray.

After looking for a while for small spray bottles at craft stores, I found about 20 perfect little ones at a beauty supply store (thanks Mom for suggesting that I look there!). I bought an assortment of colored fabric paint at Michael's and diluted each color at a ratio of 2 to 3 parts paint to 1 part water in a bottle.

Here are a few of the finished projects before removing the stencil:

Some Tips:
The shirts that came out the best were those with fewer colors. Also, the paint bled under the stencil at the bottom, as so much paint dripped over the surface of the contact paper and collected at the edge. The more clear letters came about by spraying from a greater distance. Below you can see where the paint collected and bled, though this one is one of the more clear, as is the A shirt at the top of this post. I think removing the stencil as promptly as possible would limit the amount of paint that dripped down.