DIY Glitter Heart T-Shirt

There is one thing my girls really love…Glitter! My girls love how this shirt turned out and better, my 6 year old and her friend were able to make them (with supervision, of course), so they love them even more! These were fairly easy to make and all the supplies were at my local craft store except the heart stencil. I apologize these pics are not more awesome, but things were moving so fast between the girls working on the shirts and my one year old trying to get a hold of the glitter that getting pics of it in action was tough! This took less than 10 minutes to make and probably more time than that to shop and plan for it. Ha!

What You Need:

This list may contain some affiliate links to stores so you can see the exact product I used

Tulip Fabric Glitter Pack – We bought 2 different packs and had more than enough glitter left over, but 1 bottle of glue included in the pack per shirt was perfect! You can also purchase a larger addition bottle like this Tulip Fashion Glitter Bond, 4-Ounce if you want to use the glitter in one pack for multiple shirts.
T-Shirt – Walmart had some cute plain ones puff sleeves, but the craft stores always have basic T-shirts
Sponge brush – for applying the glue
Freezer paper – for the stencil (it looks like this)
Silhouette or Criket to cut out stencil – I paid a friend $5 to cut out a handful. She cut a solid heart out with 6 layers (you can see a pic below in the tutorial) and we pulled out 3 layers.
Iron – To iron on the freezer paper
Cardboard or Old Magazine – to keep the glue from seeping through the shirt to the back. You can even use an old cereal box

Directions:

Step 1: Prepare supplies and have them ready to go because once you start this goes REALLY fast with the help of your kiddos. You do not want to have to run to find something and have a kiddo go to town with the glitter! This also includes making sure you prewash the t-shirt so it won’t shrink later and have your stencil ready.

Step 2: Layout your stencil where you would like it. We laid it all out and then removed the layers where we wanted to put the glitter. I let the girls pick which way they wanted it (small heart in the center glitter filled or not).

Step 3: Iron on the stencil until it is in place. Luckily, I had extras because I needed to redo one of the stencils. To keep the stencil from moving I laid the iron across the stencil as much as I could and instead of sliding it around it was more like patting it around until I knew the stencil was in place.

Step 4: Add a little glue to the center heart. You don’t have to use a ton of glue…just enough so that it’s there and the glitter can attach to it. Too thin and no glitter will stick, too thick and it will be goopy! Since the girls wanted to use a different color of glitter for each layer, we started in the center.

Step 5: Add the glitter to the center of your area and spread/pat with your fingers. Once you think it is covered as much as possible move on to the next layer. Instead of shaking off each layer of glitter before moving to the next, we slid any excess glitter that was on the stencil back into the section we were working on. I was afraid of too much glitter falling off before it was dry. Amazingly by the end, we did not have much glitter shake off.

Step 6: Keep on going until the end. When we were finished the girls wanted one more layer on the oust side and so I spread the glue out for them there and they added it. I wish I had cut a 7 layer heart!

Step 7: Shake off extra glitter and let dry. When you are brave enough to remove the stencil remove it slowly. Some of the glue may be a little stuck to it and you don’t want to pull off a glitter layer. I think we removed the stencil about 20-30 minutes after we finished, but waiting would not have hurt at all!

**Follow the directions on the package for drying before wearing/washing. I believe it was 24 hours and to wash inside out. I was so nervous that I think I waited a few weeks before we washed ours. They wore them before that, of course! lol

No matter what, they are going to love it! ENJOY!!!!

What I Would Have Done Differently Next Time:

I would have had a heart cut with 7 layers so the girls did not have to freehand the biggest section.
I would have made sure my one year old was napping or not around. It was chaos having her there with the really fine glitter. I think she even dumped a bottle out.

Featured Products to go with this craft

Tulip Fashion Fabric Glitter, 9-Pack Kids Toddler White Cotton T-shirt for DIY Paint Kid Art and Casual Wear Hanes ComfortSoft® Crewneck Toddler T-Shirt French Toast Little Girls’ Short Sleeve Banded Bottom Crewneck Tee, White, 6 Silhouette Portrait Cricut Explore Air Wireless Cutting Machine