Looking for a fun Christmas break project? Try this quick technique to customize a basic tee shirt!
**GIVEAWAY UPDATE: We have a winner! It's Patricia, who said, "My favorite Christmas decoration is the very first one we got 43 years ago this Christmas. It was an Angel dressed in red with yellow hair. It was given to my first born son Robert who was 2 weeks old that Christmas." What a great memory, Patricia! We'll be in touch via email soon :)
To make this project, all you need is some fabric paint, cardboard, a paintbrush...and of course, a tee!
Draw a holly leaf shape onto a piece of cardboard. For reference, mine is about an inch long from top to bottom.
Cut out the holly leaf, and also cut a strip of cardboard. Bend one end of the strip, and glue it to the back of your leaf to make a handle.
Use the paintbrush to 'ink' your stamp. Do a couple practice stamps on some scrap fabric -- it took me a little while to figure out how to transfer the holly leaf shape most clearly.
When you feel confident, slip another piece of cardboard in the middle of your tee (to protect the back from any possible bleed-through), and go for it!
I decided to do an all-over pattern, but you could do leaves in clumps or pairs, or make several different sizes of holly leaves, or....!
Then, use the back of the paintbrush to make the holly berries. Let the tee dry thoroughly, and heat-set the paint following the directions on the package.
And ta-da! You've got a finished shirt!
And, as always, thanks for following along today. Have fun with this!
For Pixie Faire,
Melinda
Where can I buy the little shirts for the 18" dolls? I would love to do this with my girls.
Thank you for this tutorial. I’d just finished making a little white tshirt and was thinking it was too plain. I’m going to let my granddaughter try this on the tshirt for her doll. Should be fun. ;-)
thanks this is fantastic will try with girls shirt
Idea. the petite verison of the ugly holiday sweater. Doll size of course.
My favorite decorations are the ones with our children’s & grandchildren’s pictures at various ages and those collected traveling.
My favorite decoration was the tree topper.
My favorite holiday treat was after we set up and decorated the tree, we would all have hot choc. in my mothers hot chocolate beverage set. The cups were small and delicate. We usuallly had a few Christman cookies too.
My favorite Christmas decoration is a tweety bird ornament that mt kids actually keep track of who gets to hang it each year.
My favorite Christmas decoration is an Advent calendar that my mom made for me. It’s a felt tree that you put an ornament on each day in December leading up to Christmas.
My favorite Holiday decoration is the little village I have on the bookcase. I even have little street lights that really light up.
Candles!!
My favorite Christmas Decoration is our Christmas Tree. We always have a real one. We choose ours and cut it down at the tree farm and then decorate it with ornaments we’ve collected through the years. decorating our tree is a walk down memory lane for me.
My favorite ornament was given to me by my 3rd grade teacher. It was a plastic reflector that fit behind the big bulbs. My mother has it as my tree has mini lights and she still uses the big lights from 1962. My teacher challenged me by making us memorize a poem a month and other things, such as raising a baby squirrel abandoned because her husband had shot the mother. We all took turns bottle feeding the little guy during the school day. She made such an impact on my life that I became a teacher. My own 2 kids teach high school math, while I am in special education in the middle school. Mrs. Brown passed down a legacy that she will never know about because we moved away the summer after I had her.
lights
My favorite Christmas decorations was the year my Mom had her first stroke and could not go out to shop so I went to the ceramic shop and bought all the tiny Tim dolls the lady had and took them home for Mom and me to paint and crochet them clothes. We had no patterns for the clothes, so we used our brains and made up each outfit including shoes and boots. After we had them all dressed we hung them on the tree. We had a bunch of little girls in our family and on Christmas day each girl got to pick out a doll until all the dolls were gone. My youngest niece still has all of her dolls and now she has three girls of her own. Now my Mom is gone and I am her age when we did that. That is the most wonderful Christmas I have ever had.
Poinsettia is my favorite Christmas decoration.
My favorite Christmas ornament(s) are a set of handmade, beaded lights that my mother made for me. I usually put them around the mirror over the fireplace so everyone can ooh and ahh over them. :)
My most favorite Christmas decoration is actually an ornament I received while I was pregnant with my first born. It is a Santa kneeling with his hat off in front a manger with baby Jesus in it and a stained glass background. It is beautiful and I look forward to seeing it every year!
My most favorite is the santa in his sleigh , that we bought our first Christmas togethr 36 years ago,,,,,,, I dont know how it survied.
A plastic canvas needlepoint star that has a picture of my children in it. It gets central placement on my tree every year!
A plastic canvas needlepoint star that has a picture of my children in it. It gets central placement on my tree every year!
My favorite Christmas decoration is not mine but was my grandma’s Nativity set. I remember as a child and into adulthood how gram would have that beautiful nativity set out each an every year. Over the years the painted figures showed their years with paint worn off and pieces chipped even the star went missing, and gram made a new one out of aluminum foil. So many beautiful memories of Christmas eve at grams.
I love the t-shirt. Holly is one of my favorite Christmas symbol maybe because I can draw them.
What a cute t-shirt! I love the idea. I like to hear the bells ring at Christmas.
My favorite Christmas decoration is the vintage bulbs I’ve been getting from auctions. They bring back my childhood Christmas’.
My favorite Christmas decoration is the pretty lights I hang in my room! :)
~Kaitlyn
The old fashion candles my parents put in the window each Christmas. I no longer have family members with me and these candles remind me of the love my parents showed me and my brothers. The candles are at least 60 to 70 years old.
My favorite Christmas decoration is Nativity Sets sitting around the house. There are so many creches from around the world that are the same but so different. They can be on the Christmas tree as an ornament all the way to a yard decoration. They can be very simplistic to very elaborate. This year my AG helped decorate the tree. :)
My favorite Christmas decoration is a Christmas bulb shaped musical photo frame of my grandchildren. Not only do their lovely faces make me smile but when you turn it on there is a recording of them singing “We wish you a merry Christmas”. Can’t get any better than that!
I just love to see the look in one of my special girls who have a American Doll when I give them cloths that I have made for them. There is something very special when they are special cloths to wear at Christmas. Thank you so very much for this new idea.
My favorite Christmas decoration is a hand blown glass ornament that belonged to my grandfather. It came from Ireland around 1900 and is a tiny little red pine cone. I never met my grandfather because he died when my dad was a small boy. It’s a tangible link to my heritage and makes me smile when I see it.
my favorite Christmas decoration is my Christmas village.
My favorite Christmas decoration is my Charlie Brown Christmas Tree.
my favorite christmas decorations are the ones my children and now my grandchildren have made thrugh the years. i keep them in a special box to keep them safe from year to year.
My favorite Christmas decoration is a set of yellow felt birds I hand-stitched and placed in a copper coir scrubber. I made it when I was 4 years old (I’m 56 now). It’s been on my Christmas tree every year.
My favorite Christmas decorations are the homemade ones,from my kids and grandkids.
my favorite decoration is my Nativity scene.
What a super cute t-shirt. I love how festive it looks. I’d love to see it on one of my daughter’s dollies. :)
My favorite things are the animated carolers we have.
My favorite were candies we made to put outside on the shrubs and windowsills. A project the kids could help me make. Now they are on the shrubs that my grandchildren put up in their yard.
My favorite Christmas decoration is my 6" Chrstimas Angel that is on my tree. I am 44 and it was given to me when I was only 3 by my Great Aunt Dot. It is one of those Styrofoam dolls from the early 70’s that is covered with nylon’s and has a painted face that looks like she’s sleeping. She has this great pink mohair and a halo made from a metallic pipe cleaner. She is laying down (on a branch on my Christmas tree) and has wings that are wire frame with what looks like panty hose stretched over them with glittery dots glued to them.. I loved those type of dolls from the 60’s -70’s. They remind me of the old Rudolph specials that were new back then. Good times for me and great memories. <3
My favorite Christmas decoration is a gold leaf that was always on my Mothers tree. I love to put it up every year on the tree.
my favorite Christmas decoration is a snowman on my door
My favorite Christmas Decoration is my Village buildings because my Kids and I spent many hours together Painting them!
My favourite Xmas ornament is a small silver wreath which I received from the Hospital Auxilliary for volunteering my knitting to the hospital to raise money for them.
My favorite decoration is the creche, which is the meaning of Christmas to me.
My favorite decorations are the ones my grandkids and I have made together.
My favorite Christmas Decoration is the string of lights on the tree.
My favorite Christmas decoration is our Angel tree topper. We bought it our first Chistmas together 40 years ago and it still holds that place of honor!
My favorite Christmas decoration is the very first one we got 43 years ago this Christmas. It was an Angel dressed in red with yellow hair. It was given to my first born son Robert who was 2 weeks old that Christmas. The ornament was given by my mom to her grandson. That is my very favorite decoration
My favorite Christmas decoration is the angel on the tree top!
My favorite Christmas decoration is the manger scene.
My favorite Christmas decoration is…Christmas lights!
My favorite Christmas Decorations are: the ones I leave up all year round – the 9 Nativity sets I own, to remind me of the true meaning of Christmas.
My favorite ornament on my tree are my seashells that I have collected for many years .My tree and house are all in a shell …beach theme .
My favorite Christmas decoration is my AG girl doll dressed to the nines in her Holiday outfit that will being given to my granddaughters along with many other new outfits! I have been having fun sewing for them.
My favorite Christmas decorations are those huge gaudy tinsel decorations (bells, candles, wreaths, snowflakes, etc.) that some towns hang on their telephone poles. They had those in my grandparents’ town and I loved seeing them when we went to their place for Christmas.
My favorite Christmas decoration is any handmade by a family member, especially if made by the grandchildren.
My favorite Christmas decoration is a very old musical church scene that belonged to my grandparents.
My favorite Christmas decoration is a collection of very old ornaments that were on my family’s tree when I was a child. Every year when I get them out and put them on a special display tree, the childhood memories of Christmas, friends and relatives, comes flooding back. They truly help me keep the true meaning of Christmas in my heart.
My favorite is a handcrafted mother christmas doll. She was a gift in 1974, and she has been hanging in my kitchen window at every christmas since then.
All my decorations are special to me and my family but my favorite would be my tree and all the special ornaments collected over the years.
Silver Bells, for the song Silver Bells and all the happy music
a snowflake! I love how they look hanging on my the tree. I especially like the glittery ones.
My favorite Christmas decoration is the fireplace mantel- all the years my Mom and Grandmother decorated it with tons of greens and candles. On Christmas Eve we turn out all the lights, lite all the candles and Christmas tree. The silence is over whelming. Christmas Carols are sung! A great time!
The handmade ornaments from family and friends.
My little seven year old cousin has a bad heart and is a Make A Wish child. At one of the MAW events they had some of the kids do Christmas theme paintings. Two of my cousin’s paintings were chosen to make Christmas cards and porcelain ornaments to raise funds. I have a one of the gorgeous ornaments she sent me and I will treasure it always! We now have our very own heirloom ornament <3
My favorite Christmas decoration is our family’s gold plated ornaments. Each of us has our with our name and birth year on them. We usually get them the year we are born. My sister and I have angels, while my brothers have Christmas trains, and my mom has a candy cane. Every year we all want to hang our own somewhere on the tree and they are special to each one of us.
My favourite Christmas decoration is our little Christmas tree with decorations saved from special times in our lives – so many memories attached to each decoration. My childhood, my children’s special treasures, and decorations they made for me. It is all contained in a 2 foot tree with tiny lights and tinsel garlands.
My favorite Christmas decoration is: the Christmas tree. It is so pretty and it makes me smile every time I look at it. =D
<3Hope
My favorite Christmas decoration is a blown glass bell it is a 3 tier bell with a jingle in the middle
My favorite Christmas decoration is my collection of tree ornaments made throughout my children’s childhood years.
I have two favorite so I was having a hard time choosing so I am
going with the one I have had the longest. She is a Holly Hobby doll I have had since 1982. She is about 20 inches tall and dressed like classic Holly Hobby except Christmas. At the time my boys (3) were small and I was so excited to by a doll and bring her into the house. I smile when I unpack her every years.
My favourite Christmas decoration is a small quilt my mother made for me.
My favorite decoration is MISTLETOE! Then I get lots of kisses from “Santa Clause”. He’s pretty cute too!
Cute….great tutorial!
My favorite, Hanukkah decoration, would have to be my grandchildren’s handprints. Thought I would just throw that into the mix. ;0)
My favorite Christmas decoration would have to be my Irish dancer ornament. She looks so young and beautiful. Since there are not many Irish dancer ornaments out there, I really treasure her.
My favorite Christmas decoration is a small glass nativity that my son bought for me when he was about 11. He’s 39 now with 2 children of his own. His daughter would love this shirt for Christmas.
my favorite Christmas decoration is the little glass bird my Dad gave me when I was 7, the
tree just isn’t complete until it is on there.
I have a collection of nutcrackers that I really love and I like to show them off at
Christmas.
My favorite Christmas decoration is a wooden rocking horse ornament my sister-in-law sent me from Germany when my daughter was born.
My favorite Christmas ornament is our Fisher Price Little People nativity. My kids loved playing with it, and now my grandkids are old enough to enjoy it.
My favorite is the set of hand blown ornaments ones my father brought back from Germany when he was in the Air Force. He got them when I was 2 and I am 59 now. I have the entire set with the original box, they are packed away carefully with love every year.
My favorite Christmas decoration is the angel at the top of our tree. My daughter made it in pre-school out of a toilet paper tube, some construction paper and about 1/2 lb of glitter glue :)
My favorite ornaments are a fat angel and a bright yellow star made for our first Christmas tree 44 years ago. i always hang them front and center and my husband moves them to the back of the tree. This goes on throughout the Christmas season.
I am always looking for crafts to do with my grandchildren and the tee idea is a fun one. One of the girls would love the holly tee!
My favorite Christmas decorations are the one I made years ago using Cinnamon and apple sauce. They still have a very strong scent and the last ones to be put on the tree!
My fav ornament is one I bought the year before I married- on the after Christmas sale in 1968!! ..Santa Little Kiddle doll in an ornament . that has never been taken out of its ornament!! always think the tree is perfect when that is finally on!!
My favorite Christmas decoration is a tiny, red, dime-store elf. It was my mums. The person who unpacks it, hides it. Whoever finds it, tells where it was and hides it again. We continue this game of hide and seek throughout the holiday season. The whole family participates. I love the game, the memories of mom, and playing with my family.
My favorite Christmas decoration is…a pair of musical angels. I look forward to bringing them out every year.
My favorite decoration is the fresh tree we decorate with all the family ornaments we’ve collected through our 42 years together. Each one brings back a memory of a place where we’ve lived, friends we have made, or experiences we’ve shared through the years.
My favorite christmas decoration is an embroidered pillow that has a snowman with a sign saying “free snow”
My favorite Christmas decoration is definitely my tree top angel. I made her in a porcelain doll class years ago and this year I’m having to replace her dress.
My favorite Christmas decoration is a flat round foam ornament that my youngest son hand-decorated in the design of a bumble bee with the words…"I’ll bee wishing you a MERRY CHRISTMAS! My youngest son is currently active in the military and cannot be with us for Christmas, so this ornament takes the front and center position on our Christmas tree which gives us a sense of his being present.
My favourite Christmas decoration is the beautiful snowman embroidered wall hanging my Mum made me.
I was given some very old, very fragile family ornaments when my aunt and uncle passed on. These ornaments bring back many memories when they are brought out each year.
My favorite Christmas decoration would be my Fontanini nativity set.
I love my “Rudolph” fireplace decorations! I have all the plush characters from the TV show, and I put them all around our stockings. Of course, Rudolph and Clarisse are kissing in the center!
My brother, he gets on his ugly Christmas sweater with lights that glow. He has naturally white hair and a long beard with his reading glasses he looks just like Santa Claus.
Sonya S Logan
December 21, 2016
Where can I buy the little shirts for the 18" dolls? I would love to do this with my girls.