This sandpaper printing project is sure to thrill! It is a super simple and a much less messy t-shirt decorating project than painting. Even your littlest scribblers can participate.
Decorating t-shirts with kids is up there on my list of fave activities but it is a lot of set up and the permanent fabric paint is not a product I want to let my 3 year olds go wild with. That’s why this activity is so great, crayons are safe and easy for tiny hands!
Here is what you will need:
Sand paper, the variety pack
Crayola crayons
A white t-shirts
Scissors
Card board
Iron
Here is how it works:
1. Color! My girls are 3 and love to scribble on paper. I originally got the idea for this project from alpha mom the author’s daughter is a little older and able to draw a real picture for transfer but I decided to modify for younger kids. I told Stevie and Celeste to color like normal on the sand paper then I cut heart shapes out of their artwork. The finer the sand paper the less texture your design will have. Be sure to go over their designs or scribbles with a little extra pressure to ensure you have a good amount of crayon ready for transfer.



2. Iron! Set the iron to cotton setting. Slide a piece of cardboard inside the shirt so you don’t accidentally transfer to the back side, it does not have to be heavy duty a piece of card stock worked fine for me. Put your design color side down and press the iron for 30 seconds. Peel up a corner to see if your design transferred and iron longer if necessary. After you remove the sandpaper place a couple paper towels on top of your designs and iron again. This helps remove some of the extra wax.


3. Marvel at your custom t-shirts! Stevie and Celeste LOVE these shirts and are so proud of their coloring. I planned to wash them separate for the first time but failed and put them in the wash with a full load and dried them normal too. When I discovered my mistake I was so pleasantly surprised to find the design perfectly intact. It hadn’t faded or smeared at all! But I do you think you should wash this project separately the first time just to be safe 🙂 🙂

I hope you give this project a try and share your awesome designs with me. Get coloring!