Clipart Clothes - Made It Monday, and TWO, yes! TWO giveaways!

Kids grow.  All.The.Time.  Totally unfair to my precarious budget. 

So Squirt comes to the conclusion that she needs some summer clothes.  And checking out the itty bitty shorts, and inappropriate length dresses, and beaten up t-shirts- yeah, I guess she was right.  Unfortunately, she also has a particular taste for things that are sparkly, bedazzled, labeled, EXPENSIVE. 

Enter Super Duper Duping powers!
"Hey, Kiddo.  I know these tanks looks really, really plain...{insert decisive nose wrinkle and raised eyebrow at this ridiculous mother} but, uh, what if...we put some of Aunt Traci's art on them?  And then you could jazz them up all you wanted and nobody would have the same shirts as you?!"

Heh, heh, heh. Yes.  Evil.  I know. Yet, Genius. And more importantly, money saving. And my sister makes great art, to boot!  So it's a win~win for everyone!

We used this:

 

It was twelve bucks, but the shirts were only three- and there is still more transfer paper left over to make tons more.

 

 

I set up the clipart I wanted on power point, and then saved as a pdf and printed.  Overall, I felt this one turned out the best for a couple of reasons:

 

 

1. Size matters.  I just feel like the larger transfer looks better.

 

2. Layering.  We selected two different pieces of clipart and layered them on top of each other to get the picture we wanted.

 

3. Mental investment.  Squirt selected the colors for the fish herself.  So I was able to use black lines, load them into the paint program, and teach her how to color a piece.  Mommy-daughter time, technology education, pleased kiddo. 

 

 

However- Squirt says this one is her favorite:

 

 

"It's the beachiest!"

 

I don't like it because I can see where I forgot to trim the image...but she hasn't noticed, so, shhhhh.

If I do this again though- I'm going to get the paper for light fabric, so it's on clear paper and I don't have to be as detailed with the trimming.  I am a lazy woman. Yes, indeed.

 

Ok, ok- but where's the educational connection?

If that matters at this point in July- but I have decided on this -

 

1: Class Designed Logo Shirts:

 

If I divide a page of transfer paper into fourths- I can get twenty images on five sheets.  So I'd still have to buy the second pack to get my whole class done, so I might as well only divide the page into thirds so that I get larger pictures.

 

Have a contest for the kids to design a class theme or logo.  You can pick the motto or motif if you want, and then see what they come up with.  Or design your own- or even let each kid make his own design and then you just stick a little "branding" in the corner.

 

Ask them each to bring in a blank t-shirt.  Doesn't have to be fancy- doesn't have to be a specific color unless you want it to be.

 

All you have to invest is $24 and some time.  scan in the pictures, arrange, print, iron.  Class community expressed through fashion. Voila!

 

Have $24 laying around every month?  You can go crazy like a group of sorority sisters hyped up on Mountain Dew!  A T-shirt for EVERYTHING!!!

 

2: Spirit up your frumpy teacher wardrobe:

(alright, mine is frumpy, but perhaps I'm not the only one not looking particularly glamorous out there in the construction paper trenches)

 

Do you realize how much awesome clipart there is out there?!  Of course you do, you know you're hoarding it on your computer.  You know you had to buy an external hard drive just to tame that beast! 

 

It's time to slap it on some of your clothes.  Rock that adorable armadillo riding a Vespa!  Make a patriotic statement by styling six realistically drawn famous Americans! Go Ms. Frizzle during science time with a White-tailed deer lifecycle motif right on your chest like you are SUPER SCIENCE GAL!

 

Just saying- you can make this work, kittens.  I know you can...

 

Link up with Tara at 4th Grade Frolics to share your Monday Made It!

 



Now, before I leave you, check out these two wonderful blogs that are both hosting giveaways where you can win some Meek Moose products as well as many other things to tickle your fancy!