Glittery Bow Tee – A DIY Venture

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I love glitter.  Glitter makes me so happy I could squeal.  I also love glitter on girl’s clothing. I do NOT like paying for those glittery clothes.

I recently purchased a few shirts for Madilyn at the mall at $15 a pop, and those were sale prices!  Even large retailers like Target are ridiculously priced for something that isn’t going to be worn long.

I had a lightbulb moment as I was standing at the register gaping at the $100 receipt the cashier had just handed me for the outfit and a half that I had just purchased for my little 3-year old fashionista.

I could MAKE this. Easy enough, right? So I went to Walmart and grabbed a cheap Garanimals shirt, a roll of Contact paper, and some glitter.  I had spray adhesive at home that I thought I’d use to get the glitter to stick. I went home and got to work on a cute bow shirt for my glitter princess.

First, I drew out a template on the contact paper in pencil.  When I was happy with it, I went over the design with a Sharpie.  While I AM an artist, you do NOT have to be an artist to make this work.  Notice that my bow is completely asymmetrical?  It doesn’t have to be perfect.  Just remember to leave the contact paper in tact because you are making a stencil and you want to have one, fluid piece of paper to lay on your shirt.

Once you are pleased with your design, use an Xacto knife to cut it out, then place firmly onto your clean shirt.  Make sure all edges are flush against the shirt.

Now you’re ready for some glue & glitter.  Spray the design down a few inches at a time with spray adhesive, and sprinkle glitter down a little at a time.

Allow the glitter and glue to dry for the specified amount of time.

So I thought I was done at this point, but come to find out, (because I’m not really all that crafty, I just pretend to be), I had not purchased washable glitter.

***HEADDESK***

I was all excited for Madilyn to wear this shirt but glitter was getting EVERYWHERE.  Grady looked like he had been sprinkled with pixie dust just by walking by his sister, and my floor?  Gold plated wood.  It’s the new look in haute flooring.

I refused to be defeated by my amateur craft venture so I went to Michael’s and found some fabric glue.  I thought if I could just seal the glitter down with some glue, I’d have a weiner.  I mean, winner.

I painted over the glitter with the fabric paint and let it dry overnight.  When I woke up the next morning, the glitter was still glittery, but wasn’t falling all over the place.  Because the fabric paint is PERMANENT, I can wash it. And guess what?  My complete #CraftFail turned into an absolute #CraftWin.

I love this shirt and I’m so proud of it.  Madilyn loves it too, and we just bought the perfect little kilt from Goodwill (in the family Plaid no less) that it matches PERFECTLY.

The cost of materials including the shirt was under $20, and I can make many more shirts with those materials.  If you already have most of the materials laying around your home, all you have to do is buy a new shirt, or use an old stained shirt that you’re embarrassed of, and completely repurpose it – for way less than $10.

Stay Tuned for a GAP inspired shirt that will cost you less than $10 to make yourself! Happy Crafting!