“Fashion has to reflect who you are, what you feel at the moment and where you’re going.” – Pharrell Williams

Years ago I dabbled in making my own graphic tees with those iron-on sheets, and when I say years ago, I mean the last time I did it, I printed a picture of a bunny that said “Now you see me” on the front and “Now you don’t” on the back. Needless to say, I have grown out of the funny bunny phase since then.

I had the idea to start it up again though when I began practicing more and more with graphic design. I always see those super cute t-shirts on Pintrest with the relatable quotes, so I thought to myself, I can do that. It can’t be that hard.

While I could in fact make the design on my computer fairly easily, applying the paper to the actual shirt (after searching for just the perfect shirt from several different Salvation Army stores) was a whole other beast. Finding the shirt, for starters, proved to be more difficult than I had thought because the papers suggested I find a Poly-Cotton blend. Well, I was insistent on more Poly than Cotton because I wanted that relaxed look which you typically can’t get with 100% Cotton. I was shocked with how difficult it was to find just the right blend though, and actually ended up choosing a men’s shirt that was Polyester and some other fabric that definitely wasn’t Cotton. I had looked for so long at that point though that I was determined to make it work.

Once I printed out the graphic that read, “First I drink the coffee, then I teach the kids” (I was in the middle of student teaching so I figured it was appropriate), I simply laid the paper on the shirt and started ironing. I checked the progress after about ten seconds and completely flipped out. My beautiful work had begun turning a nasty yellow color – I was burning the paper onto the shirt! I quickly began ripping it off, but it was too late. That stuff sticks well and long, so I kept peeling all night. And into the next day. And the day after that. I took the shirt with me everywhere I went and just peeled, peeled, peeled until my fingers hurt (okay so I can be a little dramatic and stubborn, but it got the job done). Finally I got all the burnt pieces off my tee.

I decided to give it another go, but this time I turned the heat on the iron down. This time, I got a slight yellow tint to the paper which probably meant that it was burning on some level, but I didn’t care at that point. My shirt was done and I was happy with it!

I decided to do one for my husband as well, with the “God is greater than the highs and the lows” symbol. This turned out more purple than the black I had been hoping for, probably the result of more burning, but he likes it and wear it frequently! So if you take anything away from this, remember to keep your iron on LOW and don’t be as crazy as me!

Here are the final products!!