Did you catch the sneak peek of my Mickey tee in the earlier post about our trip to Disney?

It was really the only pre-vacation craft I had time to do, but I would totally do something like this again for a future trip–it’s just fun to have a special shirt to wear on a special trip!

The process was really simple. I started with a black t-shirt I found at a thrift store for $3 about two years ago (I’ve worn it so many times—one of my best thrift store purchases ever!)

Then, I did some research. I knew I wanted to make a glittered t-shirt, so I googled other bloggers and crafters who had done it before me. Isn’t technology wonderful?

I pretty much followed the advice and tips in this post, which worked reasonably well. The only thing I’d really say is that the glitter does not stay on “quite” as well as she says it does.

Or rather, in my case it didn’t stay on as well. Granted, I was wearing a bag which rubbed on the glittered part of the shirt a little bit, but even without that, I found myself shaking glitter off from my clothes a few times throughout the day. Of course, I also wore it two days in a row so it had some wear and tear…

I think the next thing I use this method on will get some type of top coat…although I’m not sure yet what that will be…I’ll have to check the craft store for some type of glitter sealer the next time I’m there. Of course, it’s possible something like Mod Podge would work…

Still, though, it was a great success when I think about how perfect it was to wear to Disney World—I mean, what says magic better than glitter? And what says Disney better than Mickey Mouse?

I went to Michael’s to buy the glitter and the glue. I ended up getting two colors of glitter but only used one of them for this project.

Then, I made a stencil by printing out the outline of some Mickey ears, tracing it onto freezer paper, and cutting it out. You’ll need to cut around the inside and the outside, leaving the outline part empty to use as your stencil.

Then, I gently taped it to my shirt in a few places.

You’ll want to place a magazine or some paper into the shirt to protect the glue from seeping through.

Then it was time to carefully iron the paper onto the shirt to hold it in place.

(Keep in mind that freezer paper is different than wax paper! They sell it at Wal-mart really inexpensively, though, and can be used to make future stencils so I considered it a fine investment.)

You want to make sure the edges of the stencil are really securely glued down to make sure your stencil will end up with clean, smooth lines. You don’t want any glitter/glue to seep under the edges. Then, I used a foam brush to dab the glue onto the shirt, working quickly, but making sure to get a nice thick coat of glue all over.

Then, sprinkle your glitter on lightly. I found it helpful to not peel all the label off the sticker on the top to give it a smaller opening.

You’ll want to get it thick enough to cover, but not so thick that you have a bunch extra on there. Keep in mind, the glitter doesn’t stick like magic, so any glitter that’s only barely touching the glue/shirt, will more easily come off. That being said, don’t be stingy. You can always shake off any excess and try to put it back in the bottle. (Having a helper/husband for that part is a must!)

Then, I gently pressed the glitter down into the glue to help give it even more of a chance for sticking on there tightly.

After a few minutes of drying time, I peeled off the stencil, very carefully. I think it worked well to do this step before the glitter was all the way dry. Similar to how it’s better to peel off painters tape while the paint is still a little wet.

I was really amazed with how well it came out! The lines were really smooth!

After letting it dry 48 hours, I washed it on the gentle cycle, inside out, packed it away in my suitcase, and the headed off to Florida! It was such a quick, easy project that really helped play into how excited I was for the trip.

So, yes, I had a lot of fun making this project, but I had even more fun wearing it afterwards!

Tell me, are you a fan of glitter? Wyatt HATES having it around, but can tolerate it as long as I don’t make a mess since it makes me so excited.