Tuesday, October 25, 2011

Apple (and Pumpkin) Stamped Shirts

I do a little preschool swap with a friend two days a week (once a week at my house and once a week at her house).  It's a great motivation to actually do some preschool activities with the kids and to get out of the house and hang with friends.  Last week the house was a disaster, I was trying to get it slightly more presentable, and I didn't have anything planned.

So I checked my plain T-shirt stash, and was happy to see I had enough random shirts, so that all five kids could make one.

I pulled out one of my favorite apple books...I am an Apple by Jean Marazollo.  (She has a whole series of super simple science books...LOVE them.)



We also read a couple pumpkin books.

We had plenty of apples from our recent trip to the apple orchard.  All you have to do is cut one in half.  Add red paint if you want an apple or orange paint if you want a pumpkin.
For a pumpkin, you'll also want to fill in the seed holes and the top just a bit, so it looks more like a pumpkin.

Five minutes later, you've got a fun shirt (made even more fun when you realize there are also pumpkins on your pants.)

Sorry, I didn't take pictures of the process.  There's something about 5 preschoolers all wanting a turn with the paints that leave permanent marks on their clothes that precludes stopping to take pictures.  I used regular acrylic craft paint, which works as well as fabric paint in my experience as long as you remember to set the paint by ironing over it.  It will have just a slightly worn look after washing...or you can use fabric paint if you want a sharper look.
This picture is from our project last year.

I originally got the idea from Christianne at Little Page Turners a couple years ago.  You also might remember the apple stamped kitchen towels that we made last year.  You can go to either of those posts for more "in process" pictures.

And if you're looking for some other great apple themed projects, there are quite a few at Little Page Turners in her apple archives.

I'll be linking to:
Gwenny Penny - Point of View

5 comments:

  1. Oh, you smarties! What a fun learning memory for those kids, every time they wear their shirts!

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  2. Oh my gosh, these are so cute! What wonderful one of a kind shirts. I am a new follower from ABC and 123. Vicky from www.messforless.net

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  3. Very cute! You should do pears too! How fun!

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  4. Cute idea! I love the pumpkin, I've never seen that one done before. We are going to have to try that one tomorrow! :) Thanks for linking up to Sassy Sites FFA party! Have a wonderful Halloween weekend! XOXO!!

    Marni @ Sassy Sites!

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  5. Great idea! I'm thinking this is exactly the kind of project my daughter would love to do with me.

    Thanks for linking up to Point of View!

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