Kid Friendly Craft: Painted Polka Dot T-Shirt

My nieces love to be crafty, but it can hard for all of us to come up with kid friendly ideas for them to make. Joann craft store had a painted t-shirt hanging up in the store, and D really liked it. It seemed like the perfect project to let her conquer. Bonus, she was also willing to make one for her sister! She was also really excited about being featured on the blog – so here is her Painted Polka Dot T-Shirt!

MATERIALS
T-Shirt of choice
Soft fabric paint
Round sponges for paint application
Parchment or Wax Paper
Ribbon for sleeves
Scissors
Ruler/Yard Stick
Pencil/Fabric Chalk
Paint Palette (I use aluminum foil.) 

DIRECTIONS
1. If the t-shirt is too long, like their’s definitely were, use a yard stick and pencil to make a straight line along the bottom of the t-shirt. D needed to take about 2 inches off. Then, follow along the line with the scissors.

2. D wanted the shirt to look a bit nicer and finalized, so we also took the scissors to cut off the collar. To help her, I made a cut on the top at both sides. It made it easier for her to navigate the round nature of the collar. I also had her use one of the seams as a “line” for her to follow.

3. Put a layer of parchment or wax paper between the layers of the t-shirt to make sure the paint doesn’t bleed through the top layer.

4. Start with one color and start making random polka dots on the t-shirt. When done, repeat with the next color and then the next.

Tips I gave D before letting her go off on her own: 1, at the end, you might want to go back through and layer the colors to add more depth; 2, make sure not to have too much paint on the sponge; and 3, keep the sponges wrapped when you aren’t using them so they didn’t dry out too much. When the paint is done and dry, remove the lining.

5. Roll up the sleeves and tie with a little ribbon. And Wah-Lah! Here they are!!

I tried really hard to give her tips before each step and then WALK AWAY! My favorite part about crafting is not having to be perfect. Nothing takes the fun out of it more than unnecessary pressure. It is supposed to be fun, so it’s important to just give kids the space to enjoy. She asked for help when she needed it.

What are your favorite kid friendly crafts?