DIY mini cardboard t-shirts are just the cutest for birthdays, anniversaries, reunions, graduation, baby showers, casual weddings, and to welcome guests or just because! Simply make some mini cardboard t-shirts, decorate them with the message or graphics that works for your party, and voila, you can hang them on a string with mini clothespins, attach them to skewers for cake decorations, add a ribbon to make gift tags, or even use them to make fun napkin rings! And that is just for starters, I'm sure you can think of some more great ideas! I just love drawing black line drawings of clothes on cardboard, and you may remember my recycled cardboard clothes on a clothesline stage set, or even my mini Purim costumes on a clothes line kids craft. Once you realize how quick these ilttle t-shirts are to make, and how adorable they are, you'll be hooked, I know I am! Now if you'll excuse me, I think I'll go make a whole pile of them to have on hand for every occasion! Of course this is a bit self explanatory, but let me give you a few tips to make it even more simple, shall we?
You'll Need:
- medium weight cardboard, I used a recycled cereal box
- fine black permanent marker, and pencil (though I didn't use one......)
- scissors
- colored paper and glue, or self stick paper to cover printed side of cardboard if necessary
How To:
- Decide on the size of your mini t-shirts, mine are 2" wide and 3" tall, which is like playing card size. Keeping them small means less time investment with the decorating of the shirts, and plus everything looks great small!
- Draw one good version of a t-shirt, using mine for reference, and then cut it out to use as a template.
- Using your fine marker, trace around the template on your piece of cardboard as many times as necessary.
- Add the shirt details, don't forget the little neck tag, and then add the graphics. There may be a few mess ups, but not to worry.
- If you need a 2-sided t-shirt, add your paper to the other side if using a cereal box or something with graphics that you'd like to cover.
- Now cut out those adorable little shirts and use them to make one very memorable party!
They even look great empty, right?
I used these for a fun birthday party, you can use yours for just about any event, or even spell out Happy Summer or Welcome, or Yay!
Happy crafting!