I do everything from painting my own art quilts to teach five year olds how to paint their own design on a t-shirt.

But do I necessarily use the same fabric paint for every project?

Of course not!

There are lots of different fabric paints on the market these days.  You can find everything from inexpensive squeeze bottles of puffy paint to high-end designer paints that can cost more than a meal.  I recommend playing around with different products to see what you like the best.

And don’t forget that by mixing in a fabric paint or textile medium into standard acrylic paint you’ve turned it into a permanent fabric paint.  The medium makes the acrylic paint dry to a softer hand and after you heat set it (according to the bottle instructions) it’s permanent and washable.

I quite often use a textile medium mixed with Golden fluid acrylics for my own art quilts.   It gives you lovely, rich colors and blends nicely on the fabric.

For kids t-shirts you can definitely go with a less expensive paint however   I’ve had quite good results using a student-quality acrylic paint, mixed with medium, for kids projects.

As with any paint on fabric, make sure to use a thin layer – it doesn’t dry well if you leave clumps of paint…

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Post from: Blisstree

Tips & Tricks for Painting on Fabric

Take a look at my post at Blisstree’s Arts and Crafts section, Crafts for Kids – Mary Emma’s Round-up.

A number of these activities tie in with my Theme Weeks here at Blisstree’s Parenting section, such as Beach Week, Travel Week, and Family Reunion Week. What crafts and activities have you been enjoying with your youngsters this summer.  Do share with us.

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Post from: Blisstree

Round-Up of Crafts for Kids

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Why not try some crafts?  I’ll suggest some in a round-up from my Arts and Crafts posts at Blisstree.

Creating Family Reunion Crafts

10 Artistic Opportunities at the Beach

Travel Memory Crafts

“Trash” Quilts

Clipboard Altered Art & Wall Hangings

I hope you find these craft suggetions helpful for the youngsters in your life.  Some of the activities are compatable with the Theme Weeks I’ve been emphasizing in my Parenting posts here at Blisstree.

Let me know what crafts you’re doing this summer.

Post from: Blisstree

Crafts for Kids – Mary Emma’s Round-up

This video tutorial is on how to make pompoms and pompom maker! Next school year is just several weeks away so you’d be busy waving those pom poms! Better learn how to make them. Saves you money!

Materials needed:

For the pompom maker:

• Old CD
• Popsicle Sticks
• Hot glue gun

For the pompom:

• Yarn
• Scissors
• Pompom maker

**STICKY: Join Bliss Tree’s Arts & Crafts’ latest giveaway: Win 1 of Rand McNally’s Pin Your Journey Maps!’

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Easy Craft Project for Kids

I’ve got dozens of projects planned out, my supplies are ready to go – and hopefully the kids will be as enthusiastic about it as I am

Are you still looking for more fun things for your kids to do over the summer?

Whip Up has been collecting some great ideas to keep your crafty kids happy this summer.  From learning how to weave, making sun prints to creating puppet shows, there are tons of fun ideas for happy kids.

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Post from: Blisstree

Crafty Summer Fun for Kids

Garden crafts for adults:

Pressed flower note cards

Fresh blue & white summer wreath

All American wreath

Gain inspiration from Recycled Birdhouse Company – cool site!

All sorts of pressed flower crafts

Metallic wind chimes

Homemade Recycled Luminaries – good for evening garden picnics

Make Your Own Natural, Colorful Dyes

Garden Hats

Growing Ornamental Seed Heads and Plants For Crafting

Garden crafts for kids (and or adults):

Garden stepping stones

Button bouquets - not truly for a garden, but flowers, and too adorable not to post

Garden buggie puppets

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Saturday Fun: Garden Crafts

Craft Ideas:

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Popsicle Stick Frame-  Kids love to make things with popsicle sticks, let them make mom her very own picture frame she can keep on her desk.

Fingerprint Family Tree- Have your child paint a brown tree and then take their finger and dip it in Mom’s favorite color finger-paint and label each member of the family.

Mother Poem- I have always loved those Mother Poems, it can be the one talking about what a mom is or the any.

Mini Garden-  Recycle, recycle, recycle. My kids once used those 2-liter bottles to make me a mini garden. They had dad cut off the top part and kept the bottom, filled it with dirt and started growing a flower for me. By the time Mother’s Day hit I already had a small token of their work. You can also use the top as a green house for the garden.  Don’t forget to decorate the bottom of the bottle though.

Coupon Booklet-  These can be slips of paper stapled together that say you’ll do something special for her. One might be, “Coupon for a Free Hug” or “Clean Your Room Day” You get the picture.

Mother’s Day Card-  A card straight from you to mom is always special, one of my favorites are the ones with my children’s hand-prints and telling me they love me. Make sure to say “I love you Mom.” It’ll mean a whole lot to her.

Pop-Out Card-  I never had much luck with these, but you can visit Enchanted Learning to get easy instructions.

Photo Album-  You can make your own photo album out of construction paper and pictures, or purchase a cheap one and put stickers on the pages. But not on the pictures.

Scrapbook (make sure these aren’t Mom’s favorite photos she has stored out of reach)

Macaroni Necklace-  Using some yarn or fishing line you can make a necklace just for mom. You’ll need macaroni noodles and finger paint. Smear the noodles all over, let them dry and then place them on the line and tie it in a knot.

I hope these helped some of you looking for something to make mom for Mother’s Day, after all, doesn’t she deserve it?

Post from: Blisstree

Easy Mother’s Day Crafts for Kids

Need a fun and easy Christmas project to keep your kids happy during the holidays?  Better Homes & Gardens has a great idea for creating stamped holiday bedding.

Lots of craft stores have inexpensive holiday-themed foam stamps – get some acrylic paint as well and you’re set!  Of course, you could also create one-of-a-kind stamped fabric for gift bags, Christmas gifts or even a tree skirt…

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Quick and easy Christmas projects for kids – candy cane sheets

It’s not quite Hallowe’en and we’re not celebrating Thanksgiving yet – but your kids still want to make crafts with a Fall theme – what’s a fiber person to do?

Luckily, there are tons of free, fun patterns for kids!

• This pumpkin is perfect for your pre-teen or tween who wants to learn how to cross-stitch.
• Toddlers can learn to “sew” with these fun laced Hallowe’en themed projects.
• Your older child can make their own sewn trick-or-treat bag using these easy instructions.
• Make pumpkin lanterns or luminaries with glass jars and fabric.
• Pom-poms and pipe cleaners make fun “critter” rings for little ones.
• You can choose glue or sewing to make these cute pumpkin people – depending on your child’s age.

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Pumpkins and more – free Fall crafts for kids

I’m spending my summer trying to keep kids from getting paint on their shoes – this could be a fun alternative!

Craft Chi has come up with a clever idea to use kid’s sneakers or running shoes as fabric stamps – that sure sounds like a fun summer activity to me

image: Stock.xchg 

Post from: Blisstree

fabric printing with sneakers?