Eat...Sleep...Play Minecraft

I recently saw a shirt that said Eat...Sleep...Minecraft. I thought hey that describes my boys. Here I thought they were the only obsessed ones!
My boys ages 5 and 7 are both OBSESSED with the video game Minecraft. They have it downloaded on just about any device that they can get their little sticky hands on. We have to enforce game playing time limits or they would play it 24 hours straight. When my older son is not playing he is reading or watching tutorials on it. I will be honest,  I don't quite get the fascination of the game but I do like the creativity the game offers. 
In years past I have always made my little men something super cutesy and matchy matchy to wear for Valentine's Day. This year I knew that was not going to be an option for a few reasons. 

February 14, 2013

• One, being that they attend the same school now it's just not cool for either to be matching ( so I have been told). 
• Second, my older one is all about the "fancy" clothes as he calls it and my younger would live in camo or a costume.
• Third, these days I am realizing as much as I love to dress them up and have them run around my way, they have their own personalities that shine when I let them be themselves. 

but dang it they look so cute when they are matchy match :) 

This year in a weekly trip to Wal-Mart I noticed a green shirt for $3.00. Yes $3.00!!! So I grabbed it. Hey you never know when your creative juices will strike. A few days later the idea hit. That shirt would be perfect to display the Minecraft Creeper. So I started pondering how I could make something come to life. Then in another trip to Wal-Mart I discovered a similar but still green shirt in which I could use to make my younger son one also. Being careful to make them similar but different the Minecraft Creeper inspired shirts were born! 

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You will need:
T-Shirt
image (I used the Minecraft font and printed in Word),
freezer paper,
fabric paint,
Exacto Knife, and
something to write with
painting sponge

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Lay freezer paper shiny side down and trace image. You must use FREEZER paper!

Use your Exacto knife and cut out the negative space of the image. Use a self healing mat or magazine under the paper when cutting.

Iron shiny side down for a few seconds. Make sure to hit the edges of your image good. You don't want any lifting.

Grab your fabric paint and carefully paint the negative space. I like to go with the edges instead of against them to help prevent paint from creeping (haha) under the paper. Make sure to put a piece of newspaper or something inside the shirt so the paint does not go through to the backside.

Give it a few light coats. Waiting about 20 minutes between coats.

Here's a lovely picture of me (captured by my 7 year old) working on some additional Valentine's wording he wanted added to his. Note...Drinking energy drink while using and Exacto knife can be dangerous!

I hope this has inspired you to create something for the little ones in your life. 
Let me know what you think in the comments below.
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