Autograph Tee for the End of the School Year with Freezer Paper Stenciling

Things have been crazy around here. The school year is winding down and this past weekend the whole family played hot potato with a stomach bug. I will be happy if we don't have that experience again for quite some time. It meant that all my cooking, baking and crafting posts were pushed back... and this week I have been sprinting to finish things up. Finally, I have another project to share with you.

Next week will be my son's last day of Kindergarten. We opted out of buying him a yearbook and told him he will thank me later. My husband and I curse our box of yearbooks everytime we make a move. I mean, how often do we actually pull them out? And we didn't start having the option to buy yearbooks until Junior High. But, starting in Kindergarten? We have has class photo and that will just have to be enough.

Since I didn't want him to feel left out, I decided to create him an Autograph Tee. Paired with a package of Crayola fabric markers, he can have his teacher and friends sign their names, leave a message or draw a picture for him. Then he can wear it all Summer long to remember his friends till the next year.

I was really excited because it was a great excuse to final try out Freezer Paper. Have you used this for crafting yet?

You can find it in the grocery store with the aluminum foil and plastic wraps. Though also intended to use for wrapping meats, etc., this stuff is fabulous for crafting. It has a thin layer of plastic coating on one side, and the other is regular butcher paper. The plastic side can be ironed down to fabric for easy cutting or in this case, making stencils for a T-shirt.

Yes, you have probably seen it all over Pinterest and craft sites. I just finished up a similar stencil craft for a post next week and this stuff is superior. It is inexpensive for a huge roll of crafting fun and not only stuck to the fabric well, but peeled back up easily afterwards.

I used my Silhouette Cameo to cut out my stencil. I went with a big chuncky font for the "K" and a simple and narrower font for the year. Then I flipped the image horizontally because I wanted to cut the freezer paper with the shiny side (plastic coating) up. Don't worry. On the Silhouette I can group my images and then flip them with one click. I drew a box around my stencil so I would have a good negative space to work with.

,I ended up cutting my Freezer Paper at a 3, speed of 10. It was trial and error based on a new blade and several other blogger recommendations. It worked for me and I had no trouble with cutting it shiny side up.

Take care when peeling up your stencil. The Freezer Paper is thin and tends to curl on itself. With my iron on medium I was able to press it down. I hand transferred the number cut-outs and ironed those down as well.

I used some paint dabbers from the painting section to apply the paint. I know the grew isn't too flashy, but I really want the fabric markers to take center-stage when the kids write on it.

After painting, the end of the 2 started to peel up on me. That was the only problem I had. I don't think I ironed it down long enough. Luckily, no paint bled or muddled up the area. It turned out great.

Once it all dried I peeled up the stencil revealing my finished image. Simple, yet perfect.

And now it is ready to go... along with a fresh box of fabric markers. They will be permanent once I heat set them. Seems like the fitting end to a year where half of the days my son came home covered in marker. Now at least it will be intentional.

An InLinkz Link-up