Wearable Art

A month or so ago I noticed that one of my new shirts had a small stain on it from accidentally getting paint on it while playing with my daughter. I loved the shirt and was disappointed, till I came up with an idea. I made it into a craft shirt for my two year-old.

Whenever Victoria does crafts, she wears her craft shirt. It looks adorably big on her and covers her down to her knees. And here's the kicker-- I encourage her to get it messy!

Victoria is helping to create a work in progress to remind me of these days. Every paint splatter and gooey green handprint this bedraggled shirt gets will bring back these days when she's off doing her own thing and too old and sophisticated to get messy with mom at the kitchen table.

I wash it gently because I don't want to remove the paint or stains, which is quite a switch for me. Occasionally, I fix the paint with a solution of one part vinegar and 3 parts warm water, and let it soak in that for a few minutes before washing it lightly (rinse the vinegar out well, I've heard it can harm fabric otherwise). I don't mind if it fades a bit as long as I don't accidentally make it (heaven forbid) clean again.

Victoria's craft shirt is already adorably marked up. At the moment it has a sort of Christmas look, since she's been messiest with green and red paint. I already have plans to start new shirts, since I'd like to give her one as well, and daddy, and Aunt Val...

Luckily, she's a messy enough kid she's up to the challenge!


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All works on this site Alicia Bayer unless otherwise noted.
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