anchors away

I have a thing for anchors.  I do.  And all things nautical.

Funny...so do two of my sisters!  We are trying to convince our other sister to join the club and to get some boat shoes to go with some nautical things.  It's possible that we are also trying to dress her daughter in anchor apparel.  Just maybe. 

Over Memorial Day weekend, I got to be with those two "anchor sisters."  Sister time is just the best.  Although, we missed out other sister who lives farther away.  We went to Lake Michigan and had some time on the beach.  The next day, I convinced them to make some anchor shirts with me.  It is ridiculous how excited I was about it.  I mean, here is my inspiration:

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I am quite sure that there is a smarter way to make a graphic tee than the method I used, but here it is anyway!

Stenciled Graphic Tee

Supplies:

tee shirt of your choosing {I used a long-sleeved striped shirt that I thrifted}, washed and dried

copier
scissors
scrap piece of cardboard
pencil/chalk/marker/etc.
multi-surface/fabric paint of your choosing {I used Martha Stewart Deep Sea multi-surface satin finish paint}
small paintbrush

Time Commitment:

Approximately 30 minutes, plus drying time. 

Cost:

tee   $6.00

paint   $1.65 {I used a coupon at JoAnn Fabrics}

{the other supplies I already had in our home}

Total:  $7.65

Print off an image of your choosing.  Cut around it carefully with a sharp pair of scissors.

Take a basic tee that you don't mind embellishing.

Add a piece of cardboard in between the front and back of the shirt to create stability and to prevent paint from leaking to the back piece of your tee.

Trace around your "stencil" onto the shirt, being careful to make it visible enough for you to see to paint in between the lines. 

The jersey material of a tee may be tricky, but just be patient.  (This image is hard to see, but I used pencil.)

Using a small paintbrush, trace with your desired paint along the lines to get the graphic all set.  It will not look great right away, but hang on!  It's coming!  (Yes, I smudged on the side there...oops.  My sister told me it just looks like a water drop by the anchor.  Silly.)

Fill in the lines with paint, making sure to add enough coverage.  Let it dry, and voila!  How fun is that?

I wore it with a fun vintage necklace that I thrifted (nautical and J.Crew-inspired!).  I also wore some of my favorite bracelets from my mom and from a friend.

  

 

***Note:  I do not expect this graphic to hold up forever.  I washed the tee inside out already, and the paint did crack a bit.  Ah, well.  It will be fun for this season, at least!

My sister did one, too!  She used chalk to trace her anchor on the gray, and it turned out great.

My baby sis almost painted white on her navy tee, but then during the tracing stage she had a brilliant idea:  stitch it with embroidery floss!  I think it is adorable, especially on her.

 

I used the same method to make an itty bitty shirt for a baby girl gift for a friend of mine.  My baby sis helped me with this one, too. 

 

Love you, sisters!