crafty afternoon

Every so often, mostly on days when it's raining, we have what the children call a crafty afternoon! Out come all the boxes filled with stuff, our creation station if you will, and we fashion something out of a variety of things including glitter, fabrics, pipe cleaners, egg boxes, card, glue and anything else we happen to have squirreled away. You know the sort of thing.

One morning recently I thought it might be nice to actually allow them to draw on their clothing for a change and invested in some fabric pens. Berol fabric pens like these to be precise.

Using pre-washed white tee shirts, the children put a magazine layer inside to avoid fabric run and set to work on their designs. Much thought went into this but once decided on their themes, they took to the task with gusto. Actually it was great fun watching them and, once they'd got the hang of the pens (because they aren't as smooth on fabric as they are on paper), they beavered away for the best part of the morning, which meant I got some time to do some "me" stuff too!




Once "painted" the tee shirts were left to dry (which takes upwards of five minutes, depending on the temperature), and finally set by ironing, using a cloth for protection. And within a matter of a few hours, the children were delighted to have a completely new and very original tee shirt, ready for wear and what's more, they wash really well. Fashion designers in the making perhaps ...?