TUTORIAL: Doily Heart Shirt

It's getting harder to shoot pics of Lucy without her being posey-posey or totally silly.
Of course it's still cute and makes me laugh.
But if Owen's around to distract her, some of the natural expressions come out.
Mostly she was just excited about her new Valentine's Day shirt. I was pretty happy with how it turned out too.
I've been prepping everything for V-day coming up so I don't have to worry about school parties, etc. when the new baby is here. And this shirt seemed like an easy place to start.

Now, I can't take credit for the idea. I saw it in the Disney Family Fun magazine. But you know how magazine crafts usually are--one small photo with very limited info. So I added my own twist on it and created a little tutorial for you with tips at the end of the steps. It's similar to freezer paper stenciling/painting, only the paper doily is your stencil!
Here's what you do....
ADDITIONAL TIPS:
* You can buy paper doilies at Michael's, Hobby Lobby, and other craft stores. If you're having difficulty finding them, look in the cake decorating section
* Larger doilies work better than small ones
* I attached my doily to the fabric with a bit of tape in the middle of the doily but you could try a glue stick? You'd need to wash the shirt afterward.
* Be careful as you paint that you don't push any paint outside of the heart. I found that lightly dabbing the paint around the edges worked well, to get the paint in those little holes. It helps to hold the edge of the doily with your fingers as you go, so it doesn't lift up.
* Some of the paint may seep through the little doily holes. But I kind of like how it looks...inconsistencies give it character.
* You can also stencil directly to the shirt and skip the applique method I did here (i.e. painting to the purple fabric and sewing it to the shirt) but I would definitely do a test-run first on scrap fabric to see how your paint/doily works before tackling a cute shirt.
* Some of the doily may tend to stick as you pull it away from the shirt when the paint is dry. Use your finger or the end of a seam ripper to carefully pick the little pieces off.
* Pink T-shirt here is from Walmart, in the girl's section. $3.50. They have other cute shades. The purple fabric is a knit scrap leftover from a thrifted T-shirt.
* Fabric Paint can be purchased at most craft stores. I prefer Tulip brand, matte finish, about $2/bottle.
* Heat setting your paint is important otherwise the paint will fade as you wash it. Read the back of your paint bottle for more info but typically you do this by covering the paint with a cloth and ironing over the top for a minute or so to "seal" the paint.

And that's about it!
Time to decorate....
(Lucy's always thrilled about that)
Thanks Luce for being my little guinea pig. I'm glad you find fun it all too.