You might be wondering why the title of this post is New Best Dad Ever Shirt. The reason is I made a different best Dad ever shirt last year for my husband.
My husband truly is an awesome dad. He loves to play with the kids and is so patient with them. For this Father’s Day this year, I made him a new version of last year’s shirt with updated photos and this new BEST.DAD.EVER. shirt which has a simpler text only design.
Supplies:
- DecoArt So Soft Fabric Paint in Ebony
- gray t-shirt
- iron and ironing board
- large piece of cardboard
- freezer paper
- foam brush
- { Silhouette and Silhouette mat } or { exacto knife and cutting mat }
Directions:
1. Wash the shirt.
2. Download my design as a Silhouette Studio file here or as a PDF here. My design is only for your own personal use.
If you wanted to make this shirt with heat tranfer vinyl instead of with fabric paint, just flip the image in Silhouette Studio before cutting.
3. Use either the Silhouette or an exacto knife to cut out the design from freezer paper. Make sure that the shiny side is face down on the mat no matter your method of cutting. I used the Silhouette and here was the result.
I peeled the stencil part off the mat and left the letters and periods on the mat. I also peeled off the insides of the B, D, A and R but they aren’t pictured above. I cut off the excess freezer paper along the bottom of the stencil.
4. Iron the shirt on the ironing board. Place a large piece of cardboard in the shirt so the paint won’t bleed through to the other side.
5. Place the freezer paper stencil shiny side down on the shirt and iron it down. I ironed the main piece of stencil down first and then did the insides of the B, D, A and R individually. I found that sometimes the corners didn’t want to iron down so I wold just place the tip of the iron on that area with downward pressure and that worked every time.
6. Use a foam brush to dab the paint on the shirt. Don’t “paint” with strokes because that may make the paint bleed under the stencil.
7. Wait until the paint looks somewhat dry and carefully peel off the stencil. I waited about 25 minutes. I used tweezers to peel off the middle pieces of the B, D, A and R letters.
I have to give a special shout out to the awesome and supportive ladies of the Silhouette Challenge Facebook group. This was my first freezer paper stencil and I was nervous about some of the details. Those crafty ladies helped and encouraged me real time as I worked on this shirt. It was like a real time crafty tech support! Thank you ladies!
The kids loved the shirt and are so excited about giving it to him. I hope my youngest will be able to keep it a secret until then! My husband doesn’t read my blog so he won’t find out that way either. 🙂 I will update this post with a photo of my husband wearing his shirt on Father’s Day.
Disclosure: I was given the fabric paint by DecoArt but all opinions are my own.
This turned out fabulous, especially the thoughts on this make it special gift. It will be so much fun to create. Thanks for inspiration!
Thanks for stopping by Maria! My husband loved the shirt and I think he will be requesting another one in a different color soon!
Kelly, I tried once stenciling using freezer paper but failed 🙁 May I know what kind of fabric paint you used for your project?
Hi Helen. I used DecoArt so soft fabric paint. What kind of issues were you having with that project?
Kelly, the paint I used was Plaid, multi surface paint. The freezer paper didn’t stick well on the burlap and the paint blended under it. I would love to try on a t-shirt but afraid will ruin it. But after seeing your project, I would like to try again.
Does DecoArt is also for other surface, like ceramic or wood? Or just fabric paint?
Hi Helen. DecoArt makes all different types of paint. The paint I used was only for fabric. Tshirts were on sale for 4 for $10 at Joann or Michaels recently so I bought a few because I knew I wanted to experiment some more. I think it might be harder to use fabric paint on burlap because it is porous and can still bleed through easily.
Ah… that makes sense… I never thought that being porous would cause the problem. I will check JoAnn later when we go to city 🙂 THANKS Kelly for helping this newbie! 😀 You are awesome and always inspire me!
Love it! And what a great step by step freezer paper tutorial. 😀 Thanks for linking up with Creative Spark!
What a fun project. So simple and easy. Thanks!
Aah! That is so cute! Love it! Pinning. 🙂
This looks professional! My hubby is a great fan of the t-shirt and has quite the collection of snarky sayings that he proudly wears. I am thinking this could be quite a fun project.
I just pinned this to my Father’s Day board.
Thanks for sharing and PS: I found this through SNAP’s linky party today.
Gosh I love freezer paper. This shirt turned out perfectly! Thanks so much for sharing it with us at The Makers. 🙂
Love it Kelly. It truly is the Best. Dad. Ever. shirt!!!
Kara and Colin are adorable. Best. Models. Ever.
Hugs,
Linda
Kelly,
I followed your experience with the freezer paper closely. I have never used it yet but have big plans in my head. Your tutorial as well as your Fathers Day Gift turned out perfect.
Thanks for sharing,
Karen Marie Kedzuch
It turned out great! Makes me want to stencil some more shirts for my hubby.
This came out so great! Makes me want to make a shirt for my dad! Love that you were adventurous and jumped into freezer paper!
Awesome!! I wish I were brave enough to try this but I’m not so great with the knife. Yours looks perfect!!