Back to School Wardrobe on a Budget!

 

This has been the funnest Back To School Wardrobe ever!

And Cheap too!

Prepare yourself for a photo explosion...seriously,
I should have divided this post up into 6 separate posts!

Do you spend a ton of money on a new
Back to School wardrobe?
I get it, some schools have uniforms...but we homeschool...so
here is how we do our Back to School Wardrobe on a Budget!

 

To begin.  We bought a grundle of t-shirts at the dollar store.

Yes, a grundle...I think in the 20-30 range.  So $20 for 20 shirts...awesome!

And we bought a roll of FREEZER PAPER...about $6 at Walmart.

Freezer paper is awesome.  One side is shiny, one side matte.

The shiny side will stick when you iron it...so you 

can cut a stencil...Iron it to fabric...paint it...then peel 

off the freezer paper!  Perfect custom shirts!

 We had lots of fabric paint, so we were ready to go!

 And a custom t-shirt form...I mean, a flat rate box...fits a shirt perfectly!

We used the Silhouette Cameo to cut the freezer paper in our desired shapes...
but this could be accomplished (maybe more easily) with a hobby knife!

There were a few varieties of tee's we did.
 We'll start with the most complex...that way it'll feel like a breeze by the end!

We used a picture of Applebloom from My Little Pony.

#1: Full Color

 

We cut the outline of the picture out...

essentially all the black lines.

Then carefully took 1 piece at a time and ironed it on the fabric.

 Once secured, we painted all the outline black.

 While still wet, we removed piece by piece...

 Until only a sweet outline remained.  Then we let it dry.

  Then we used a paintbrush and simply "colored" her in!

 

 One color at a time!

 
 We added some glitter paint in with the
 pink for the perfect bow!

 Let dry.  Wear.
Force child to change clothes after 2 days of wearing...

 Love it!

 Here's some more outline shirts we did:
Cherries!

Lego Head...super simple--no filling in needed!

Diablo 3 Whimsyshire happy cloud!  Filled in with glitter paint!

And yes, R2D2!  Has to be my favorite!

  Quick recap...Iron on outline...

 all the inside pieces...

 paint black...

 let it dry...

 Fill in color and enjoy!!!

#2: Ombre Silhouette!
Simple silhouette...more than 1 color of paint
Here's a Dalek (Doctor Who inspired geek shirt)

 iron on shapes...

 Red at the bottom...yellow at the top...
blend in the middle!

 Perfect!

 Awesome grunge look!  Can you believe this shirt was $1? :)

#3: Multi color awesome.
Okay, basically same idea...just no blending.

 Here's the silhouette ironed on...that Gandalf staff was hard, but worth it!

 All painted different colors...love the lightsaber!

 The Elder Wand from Harry Potter
Gandalf the White's staff
Jedi Lightsaber
10th Doctor's Sonic Screwdriver

Since I know everyone wants it...here you go.  Happy Birthday!

  Necklace shirt.  Super easy.

cut the freezer paper in the shape of a necklace...

 Punch holes (I used a 1/2" punch)
Cut a heart...ribbons...then paint

 hmm...not enough!

 Just use the back end of your paintbrush
 and add in some silvery dots!

 Perfect!

 They are crazy about these shirts!


#4: 2 stencil shirt
Begin with first background stencil.
I used vinyl on this one...could still use freezer paper.

Lightly sponged for a distressed look...

Remove stencil.  Let dry.

Iron on your Freezer Paper ATAT

Paint it, peel it, dry it, wear it!


Last!
 #5: The Super Simple Solid Silhouette.

Cut design, iron it on.  Paint it one color.

Peel off freezer paper...let dry.

Dominate! Boba Fett from Star Wars.

Phoenix outline, Harry Potter inspired...

River Song inspired...get the silhouette here!

Are you exhausted?  Is your brain full of ideas?
If you've never used freezer paper for crafts, try it!

It was so much fun!
We still have a bunch of black shirts for a Halloween project!

Linking up to THESE parties this week!