Wham, bam, stamp you ma'am...

Heyoooo, it's been awhile since I posted anything, and I really need to get into the habit of crafting more than just once a month. It's tough though when you're in as committed a relationship as I am with your TV. But don't worry, I'm working on creating some boundaries...
I've been wanting to do stamping for awhile, and last night seemed like the perfect time. I always picture some crafts taking forever, but this one I banged out in a half hour, minus drying time.

 The always classy wrinkly wife beater, with 

fashion enhancing holes...

Tools: Screenprinting ink, tiny sponge triangle, and old wrinkly T shirt. I apologize for the state of my clothes, my folding technique involves balling things up and shoving them into drawers.

 Thank you IKEA for your wide 

array of cardboard boxes :)

Put some kind of layer in between the front and back of the shirt. Cardboard box or paper bag works fine, just to keep the paint from seeping through.

 Wanted to do a Navajo inspired design, this turned out a little 

bit more Puff the Magic Dragon.

I put some of the screenprinting ink onto a plate and dipped my sponge triangle into a thinish layer. Not too thin or the print won't show up, but don't glob paint on or it'll seep, run and take forever to dry.

I like the simple shapes because they're easier to cut out and work with, and honestly you can make some of the most beautiful designs using just one or two really basic shapes. Also the simpler the shape of your sponge, the cleaner your lines will be when you stamp them on the fabric.

As you can see I wear my  T shirts 

until they disintegrate or just turn into a puff of smoke...

I did a set of these shapes all down both sides of the shirt, and all along the bottom hem. Wait for one side to dry before flipping it over to do the back, the ink can easily smudge and send you into ruined craft rampage.

I was on a roll so decided to cut out a little houndstooth stamp as well and try that on another shirt. The toothpicks help me pick up and stamp down the sponge as it can get a little smushed from pinching. Some serious crafters like to affix their sponge stamps to blocks of wood to really get a firm press on the whole stamp, but that's a little bit too much work for me.

 

Please ignore the exposed wires in my living room...

 Once you've finished stamping it's a good idea to heat set the ink so that it won't come off in the washing machine. You can either use a hair dryer to set the ink, keeping it a foot or so away from the shirt and blasting it from the inside and outside of the shirt, or throw it in the dryer once the ink isn't sticky anymore.

Either way, a small amount of ink may come off once you wash the shirt, but that adds to the punk allure of the whole project. I find it's much easier to accept little mistakes in crafting rather than fight them, and in most cases it ends up enhancing the final piece and making it much more unique than if it turned out perfect.

Here's a couple different variations that you can do with easy shapes. The houndstooth turned out more space invader than anything else, but hey I'll take it.

 Now all I need to do is find some pants :)

 Oscar approves, though slightly confused.