Upcycling Your Kid’s Outgrown Shirt

What do you do with those shirts of your kids that they’ve outgrown but have adorable prints? A lot of the clothes my kids outgrow we donate, but I have kept a few of them because I was so delighted by the print. And at the back of my head I knew I could use it for some DIY. So here is one adorable upcycling project as adorable as the print on the fabric.
This is the shirt with such an adorable print. I guess I just love birds that any bird print is uber cute for me.
And I had this 10” x 10” red wooden framed mirror with a small mirror at the center measuring about 3 3/4” x 3 3/4″. Nothing wrong with the mirror really, it could possibly stay that way and it would look good but I knew I could do something else with it.
I then cut out each image from the shirt.
I left out a few centimeters of the background color and did not cut right through the edge of the image. These will turn out to be such cute appliques.
Apply Mod Podge on the top of all the bird cut-outs using a sponge brush or a paint brush. This will protect the fabric from getting any dirt or stain on it. Once dry, you will notice that the edges will curl up so place them in a thick book and put weight over the book to flatten the cut-outs. I left them there overnight.
Cover the mirror with masking tape or painter's tape.
Then paint over the red frame with white chalk paint. I used chalk paint for this so I do not have to prime it or sand it.
Use a pencil to sketch branches or twigs . I mixed white and black acrylic paint to make a dark gray color and painted over the branches and twigs outline.
Then play around with the placements of each bird cut-out or applique on the frame. Once you’ve decided on where each bird cut-out will be placed, apply Mod Podge on the back of the cut-out so they can be glued to the surface.
Continue the gray paint on the twigs all the way to the edge of the frame like so. For a more detailed tutorial, just click on the link below.
Queti @ Fancy Momma
Want more details about this and other DIY projects? Check out my blog post!
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  • DIANA DIANA on Oct 10, 2016
    Very created idea! I kept some of my son's t- shirts that were favorites of mine and made throw pillows out of them to put on his bed.
  • Queti @ Fancy Momma Queti @ Fancy Momma on Oct 11, 2016
    Thanks Diana! Oh I love your idea -your son's shirt as throw pillow.
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