souvenir beach tees

Pin It Just as vacations are personalized - why not wear a matching t-shirt to go with it? Especially on family trips, matching tees are another way to mark the reunion event in time as a souvenir - and wear all summer long for other to see.

Grab a pack of Hanes white cotton toddler tees, 5-pack for under $7 at Target. Be sure to jump a size, as a pre-wash will shrink your canvas space. If you have time, freehand sea concepts or pick up a pack of stencils from Michaels, for $2. The coral reef turned out to be my favorite... [hidden in the background of this pic below].



Insert cardboard inside your shirt to avoid painting through - with fabric paints in beachy colors [blue, yellow, green, red] and mix them to your preferred shade - like a bold red for a crab or a lighter mauve-y version for the coral reef...] Apply a single coat and return to finish the backs after it's completely dry. Don't worry about filling in the stencil perfectly. The beauty of handmade is that it's like no other. Plus, I like that "worn" look - which emphasizes the beach bums we were anticipating on being...





For the backs, apply a starfish or shell with fabric glitter paint - a subtle way to add artwork without competing with all the text - such as the child's name, beach city, and year. As you can see, the project turned out even for the scrapbook!



Total cost of project ran about $30 - mostly due to the fact that I had to purchase all of the supplies. The good news is that we now have an abundant set of tees, paint, brushes and stencils to make more - perhaps this time, with the kids!