Fun Family Reunion T-Shirts

 

“Ahhhh . . . summer. What power you have to make us suffer and like it.”

-Russel Baker- 

 

 

(AFTER READING THIS BLOG POST – SCROLL TO THE BOTTOM FOR THE PHOTOS OF THE GRANDCHILDREN WEARING THE SHIRTS)

We are closing in on our annual get-together with all of our children and grandchildren. I had great fun making personalized t-shirts for the kids. This year I used images from some favorite children’s books to personalize each shirt.

I prowled my image collection which I titled Children’s Book Illustrations and found one for each child which reminded me of them. ( I have long collected images I love and kept them in various files in Picasa)  I added a name to each image I had chosen and printed each one onto an iron-on sheet which I ran through my color printer. Next, I ironed each image onto a t-shirt. While doing this I was in domestic heaven because it was so fun and the images were some of my favorites from delightful children’s books by very talented artists.

 

 

Here are a few hints:

  • You cannot use illustrations for commercial gain. That means you can’t make shirts like these and sell them. These t-shirts are for personal use only.
  • I buy white cotton shirts when they are 4 for $10. This time I found them at JoAnn’s.
  • Buy the shirts big. They shrink !
  • Wash the shirts BEFORE you iron on the image.
  • I buy June Tailor Iron-On Print ‘n Press Transfer Sheets for Ink-Jet Printers at Hobby Lobby because I can always use a 40% coupon at a minimum. The Value Pack of 10 sheets is $18 at regular price so you can see that the coupon is essential. I have not found anything less expensive anywhere else. If you have . . . tell me.
  • BEFORE YOU PRINT YOUR IMAGE SELECT MIRROR IMAGE UNDER YOUR SPECIAL PRINTING INSTRUCTIONS SO THAT YOUR NAME/TEXT WILL PRINT CORRECTLY.
  • For the girls’ shirts I made a small slit in the underside of the hem around the sleeves and threaded some tiny elastic into it. That made the sleeves puffy and thus more girly !
I have had a love for children’s book illustrations for as long as I can remember. I especially love the illustrations by Clara Burd, Margaret Tarrant, Jesse Willcox Smith and Arthur Rackham. Today’s illustrators are not to be outdone by any of these wonderful artists of the past. Contemporary illustrators are incredible, especially when illustrating childrens’ books.

 

Done.

The Sequel !

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