Two things make me really excited about today’s DIY:

1. One of my favorite Christmas movies is Elf, and I feel that this quote just really embodies the movie and also my diet.
2. I added this quote to my PJ’s using only paper, spray adhesive, and fabric paint!! That’s right, no Silohouette, no Cricut, and no iron on letters. That, my friends, is a cheap way to screen print.

I’ve been dying to add lettering and quotes to clothing for a long time now. I tried one method of painting over stickers in this DIY Some-Bunny’s Sleepy Tee, but that required using a plain tee shirt or covering up most of the cute pattern on this Macy’s sleep dress (which also comes with fuzzy socks!).

I looked into adding letters to my PJ’s for this quote using iron on letters. Those are easy enough, and common to come by in stores, but definitely not cheap. We’re talking $6 per sheet, and I would have needed at least three sheets and a little creative cutting and pasting because there are so many C’s in “Candy, Candy Canes, Candy Corn, & Syrup”.

On to idea number 3, which was finding a Cricut or Silohuette for cheap… HA. Good luck.

Last, but not least, was scouring the internet for other ideas. I came upon a video that did something similar to this, and figured I would try it. You print out your phrase, use an craft knife or scissors to cut out the letters, spray the backside of the paper with spray adhesive, and lay it down on your PJ’s. Then, making sure all of the paper is stuck down, paint over the open letter spaces with fabric paint. Once it has partially dried, you peel off the paper and have a screen-printed look!

I was so thrilled with how it turned out. Doesn’t it look professional? Try this method out and let me know how it goes!

DIY “Screen Printed” Christmas PJ’s

Supplies:

Sleep Shirt
Fabric Paint
Foam Brush
Paper + Printer
Craft Knife or Scissors
Cardboard or a Self Healing Mat
Spray Adhesive

Difficulty:

Medium

Time:

2 hours plus drying time

1. Go on to your computer and open up a writing program. Type out your phrase and orient it how you would like it to show up on your PJs. Print the phrase out.

2. Lay your piece of paper on top of your cardboard or self healing mat and use the craft knife to cut it out. Alternatively, if the font is easy enough to follow, use scissors to cut out the phrase. Save any of the interiors to the letters (like P, O, A, etc.).

3. Take your paper with the cutouts and spray the back of it with spray adhesive. Lay this down on your PJs and press down so it sticks. Spray and edges that are not sticking with more adhesive, and glue down the interiors to any of the letters.

4. Using your foam brush, lightly dab on the fabric paint to the open space to fill in the letters. Be careful not to get any paint underneath the paper. Let dry for about 15 minutes. If your paint is slightly translucent like mine was, paint on multiple layers.

5. Peel your paper off and let dry for another 24 hours so that it is set. Do not wash for 72 hours.