How2 Design your own T-Shirt

You will need:

White T-shirt (plain)

Cardboard

Black permanent marker pen

Gold and silver permanent marker pens

1. Place a piece of cardboard inside a plain white T-shirt. This stretches the fabric, making it easier to draw on.

2. Sketch a rough design on a T-shirt in pencil, so you can change part of the design if you want to.

3. Trace over it with a permanent black marker pen.

Step 1- 3

4. Now colour in with permanent gold and silver marker pens. Make sure you use light, flicked strokes to avoid smearing.

Step 4

Voila ! Your designer-T-shirt is ready.

You can also use fabric paint or acrylic paint if you want to jazz up your T-shirt with different designs and colours. Use nail varnish, which is waterproof, to touch up for some glitter jazz.

Other T-shirt ideas

Washing care: Gentle wash so that colors stay bright as poster paint and felt-tip pens are likely to fade.

Also See:

How2 Make a Glitter Painting

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How2 Make Crazy Book Covers

If you are fascinated by wonderful old book covers; you too can easily transform one of your own boring exercise books into an ancient personal diary with these crazy book covers! Here's how..

You will need:

Hardback writing book

Cloth / rags

Toilet tissue paper

Glue mixture

Acrylic paint (brown and gold)

Marker pen

1. Take a plain hardback book and lay strips of toilet paper on the cover. Paint over the strips with glue mixture. The toilet paper will stick to the book as it soaks up the glue.

Step 1-2

2. Cover the whole of the front and back. It is also a good idea to coat the inside of the book cover too, as this will help to stoop the book to stop warping outside as it dries. Dry overnight.

3. To make the book cover look fancy, draw fancy hinges on the sides and metal ends with nails at the corners. Let others know it's a private diary by putting a lock and keyhole on it.

Step 3

4. Take some more strips of toilet paper and dip them into the glue mixture. Squeeze out excess glue and use this pulp to build up your design into a 3-D effect. Dry overnight.

Step 4

5. You can now color the book cover using acrylic or poster paints, or even rub in some brown shoe polish for an 'old leather' effect.

Step 5

6. Color the keyhole, hinges, and nails with gold paint. Draw around the edges with a black marker pen.

Step 6

Voila! Your own 'ancient personal diary' themed crazy book cover is ready.

Also See:

How2 Make a Glitter Painting

Other Arts n Crafts

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How2 Make a Glitter Painting

You paint a picture with glue instead of paint and add some glitter for that extra sparkle.

To make this 'ballroom' glitter painting, you will need:

• Coloured Poster Paper
• PVA glue (or mix fevicol with little water to make a fluid in a squeeze bottle)
• Glitter (gold, silver, red and blue colours)
• Cotton buds

 

1. Draw a picture on the paper in pencil. Spread some glue over drawing outline with the squeeze bottle (or an icing nozzle).

Step 1

2. Use a piece of cardboard to spread the glue over the bigger areas. You can use a cotton bud for the smaller fiddly areas. Or better still, use a fine tipped paint brush.

3. While the glue is till wet, sprinkle the coloured glitter over the glued areas as shown in the picture. Red for the dress, blue for the suit, gold for the body, silver for the halo ring. Don't worry about being too neat, just make sure you cover all the glue with glitter.

 

4. Allow to dry well. Simply tip the picture up and shake off till all excess glitter has come off. Make sure you've covered the area with newspaper first to collect the spills.

 

Glitter Art

Voila! your 'ballroom' glitter painting is ready.

 

  

Also See:

How2 Design your own T-Shirt

Other Arts n Crafts

Homepage

 

Paint A Terracotta Pot

I love terracotta pots. If placed cleverly at prominent spots in and around the house, they can enhance and give the decor a new dimension. It also reflects your creativity and a self-made creation will turn to be your pride and  piece de art.

Terracotta pots make great ornamental pieces for indoor use. You can also choose to place another potted indoor plant inside a large painted terracotta pot. You can use your imagination and choose various effects to make the pots attractive.

• Terracotta pot
• Water-based acrylic paints
• Soft-bristle paintbrush
• Sealer (liquid or spray)
• Old newspapers
• Sandpaper

Clean/Prep the Pot

• Lay some old newspapers where you will be working to catch any drips or paint spills.
• Clean the inside and outside of your terracotta pots with a cloth soaked in warm water.
• Once the pots are completely dry, sand away any loose clay particles or rough edges, especially around the rim, base and outside.

 Apply the Paint

• Seal the inside of your pots with oil- or water-based polyurethane before you commence painting. Allow one coat to dry completely before you apply another coat.
• Once the inside dries completely, you can start painting the outside. Apply one coat of water-based acrylic paint to the pots and allow it to dry completely before you apply another coat. For best results, make sure you apply at least two to three coats of paint. Let your terracotta pots dry completely in the sun.
• If you wish to decorate your pots, now is a good time. Attach embellishments of your choice with glue, or paint any design or pattern on your pots. You can find design patterns in bookstores or on the Internet. You can sketch the design onto a transfer paper, place it on a pot and paint it any color after outlining the image.
• Allow the pots to dry thoroughly, preferably overnight.

Seal the Pot

• After reviewing your paint job, apply a few coats of clear acrylic sealant to the outside of your terracotta pots. The sealant protects them from moisture in the soil and prevents the paint from bubbling, cracking and peeling.
• Remember to let your pots dry thoroughly, for a few days to a week, before you place your plants in them.

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