For Charlie's 4th birthday we decided to do a Yo Gabba Gabba theme. That should not surprise those of you who know me, I am as obsessed with that show as Charlie is (maybe more). There is nothing about that show that is NOT awesome....best kids show ever!
Anyway, I have been working on some homemade decorations for the party for a month now. I had tons of ideas for party games, a cake, decorations and so on, many which I saw on Gabba Friends. My main project was making t-shirts for all the kids attending the party.
First I looked at the characters and made rough sketches for the shirts. I bought bright colored shirts at a local craft store, once I had polled the kids' parents for their shirt sizes and favorite characters. Each shirt was a basic color of the character- yellow (Plex), green (Brobee), Blue (Toodee), Pink (Foofa), and Red/Orange (Muno). That background color was their "body" and I painted each face on the shirt! I used freezer paper to make a face stencil, referencing my sketches for help. I cut out the areas that would be painted on, eyes, mouth, ears, or other distinguishable features.
It is helpful to have a piece of cardboard or a t-shirt form (found at craft stores) to hold the shirt in place and to keep the paint from bleeding through. I used regular acrylic craft paint.
Placing the freezer paper stencil on the shirt (slick side down) where I wanted it, I ran a hot iron over the stencil to affix it to the shirt. You only have to hold down the
iron for a few seconds and the paper is lightly attached, it is super cool! Next I just painted in the eyes, noses, and mouths, and let those dry. The eyes took a few coats of white before the background was covered. When doing multiple coats, I stuck a paper towel between the shirt and cardboard to prevent it from gluing itself to the cardboard and ripping off once it dries (learned this the hard way). I let the shirts dry for a few hours, or overnight, then pulled off the stencil to reveal the face. Some things I hand-painted on, once the face was dry-pupils, teeth, flower accents. It took about 1 week to plan, get supplies, and then paint all the shirts.
The birthday boy had Muno with a few extra accents!
Muno and Brobee were the most simple, and definitely the most hug-able.
Plex was the most complicated, but turned out super cool.
My husband and I had to have shirts too, so I chose Toodee and he chose Muno (well I chose for him).
The shirts were a huge success, the kids and parents loved them. Made a great "treat" for the kids to all take home and enjoy.
First I looked at the characters and made rough sketches for the shirts. I bought bright colored shirts at a local craft store, once I had polled the kids' parents for their shirt sizes and favorite characters. Each shirt was a basic color of the character- yellow (Plex), green (Brobee), Blue (Toodee), Pink (Foofa), and Red/Orange (Muno). That background color was their "body" and I painted each face on the shirt! I used freezer paper to make a face stencil, referencing my sketches for help. I cut out the areas that would be painted on, eyes, mouth, ears, or other distinguishable features.It is helpful to have a piece of cardboard or a t-shirt form (found at craft stores) to hold the shirt in place and to keep the paint from bleeding through. I used regular acrylic craft paint.
Placing the freezer paper stencil on the shirt (slick side down) where I wanted it, I ran a hot iron over the stencil to affix it to the shirt. You only have to hold down the
iron for a few seconds and the paper is lightly attached, it is super cool! Next I just painted in the eyes, noses, and mouths, and let those dry. The eyes took a few coats of white before the background was covered. When doing multiple coats, I stuck a paper towel between the shirt and cardboard to prevent it from gluing itself to the cardboard and ripping off once it dries (learned this the hard way). I let the shirts dry for a few hours, or overnight, then pulled off the stencil to reveal the face. Some things I hand-painted on, once the face was dry-pupils, teeth, flower accents. It took about 1 week to plan, get supplies, and then paint all the shirts.
The birthday boy had Muno with a few extra accents!
Muno and Brobee were the most simple, and definitely the most hug-able.
Plex was the most complicated, but turned out super cool.
Lots of the girls wanted Foofa, since she is PINK!
My oldest son wanted DJ Lance, so I improvised and hand painted him without a stencil.
My husband and I had to have shirts too, so I chose Toodee and he chose Muno (well I chose for him).
I rolled up the shirts and tied them with a ribbon and name tag.
The shirts were a huge success, the kids and parents loved them. Made a great "treat" for the kids to all take home and enjoy.
RAZZLE DAZZLE!
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