We try to do at least one craft a week, so this week we decided to make something for the 4th of July!
I found a photo of similar shirts on pinterest that I used as inspiration. The kiddos and I made up our own strategy together.
(I think the original site was http://kidblog.org/SummerFun4Us/2c3b679f-6803-4b85-ad05-936ba6d61fdc/independence-day-shirts/ .)
We went to Hobby Lobby for supplies, then made the shirts after nap time. As there is only one of me and there are 4 of them (actually, 6 the day we did these shirts!), we worked in shifts.
The older girls and I did our shirts first to figure out what strategy worked best. They had a blast, as did the boys. The younger kids thought painting their hand blue was fun, but that was about as exciting as it got for them.
I DID let L (4) paint his own stripes for the most part, and he did pretty well.
Below you’ll find what worked best for us!
Supplies:
Red fabric paint
Blue fabric paint
Foam brushes
Plain white Tshirts
Paper or cardboard to place inside the shirts while painting
Tape (painters, packing or scotch – we used packing and scotch tape because it’s what we had on hand)
Step 1:
Insert paper into T shirt and lay shirt flat
(We worked outside – much less stress about making a mess out there!)
Step 2:
Paint left hand blue and make a hand print on upper left side of the shirt.
(The fabric paint is a bit sticky, so be sure to coat your hand very well and when picking your hand back up you may want to have someone else hold the shirt down to prevent smudging.)
Step 4:
Tape off your stripes. Make sure to press the tape down firmly to prevent bleeding and to place tape vertically next to the handprint to protect it from overzealous painters.
(We each did our own “interpretation” and I don’t think any have the correct number of stripes on an actual flag. The little kiddos had (obviously) smaller shirts, so I used regular tape to tape off their stripes and made a small flag in the center of their shirt. The older kids decided to make their stripes take up the entire front of their shirts and used packing tape to tape off stripes all the way across their shirts.)
Step 5:
Use a foam brush to paint the red stripes.
(We tried regular paint brushes because one of our foam brushes broke…it works, but it takes F.O.R.E.V.E.R. Another thing we learned was that squirting the paint in a line on the shirt, then spreading it out with the foam brush helps that part of the process go faster.)
Step 6:
Let the paint dry, then remove the tape. Be sure the paint is completely dry (check the label of the paint you use!) prior to wearing and washing!
This craft was enjoyed by both the boys and the girls and worked for kids ages 13yrs to 18months. (I had fun too – so adults can absolutely do this as well.)
Enjoy! Be sure to share a photo on social media or comment below if you try this!
What #4thofJuly crafts do you do together?