DIY matching family shirts for Disneyland!!!

Last summer our family went to Disneyland for our family trip! I wanted us to all have matching shirts so of course I made us some!! Since there is such a big span in ages of our 4 kids I decided to make them just a little bit different and add a little personality to each.  I bought us all red shirts at Walmart for less than $4 each!

 Joann's sells a ton of different character fabrics for easy personalization or you can use a pattern if you prefer.  My oldest son really wanted to have Star Wars so I found this really cool small print black and white print that worked perfectly! Some of the other fabrics I used I had as scraps from other sewing projects. I stayed in the black and white scheme for the heads. For the little kids and Dad we went with Pirates. We went the weekend that the final Pirates of the Caribbean came out so it was fitting! Of course since I'm the only girl mine had to be a sassy Minnie design. :)

I started out by picking out which fabrics to make the heads out of. I printed out this Mickey head and then traced it onto iron on fusing you can find on Amazon here: Thermoweb Heat and Bond

Then cut out each head, Iron it down in place so that it doesn't move around while you stitch around the edges for a finished look. Then I added any extra details. The heat Bond is strong enough to hold without sewing it but will eventually start to fall off after a few washes.  If you stich it down it will last forever!

 I used White Heat Transfer Vinyl I purchased from Happy Crafters here . I used my Silhouette Cameo to cut out the letters. Remember to Mirror your images BEFORE YOU CUT! Then I used a standard iron to apply the names to our shirts.

 We loved wearing our shirts for our amazing trip! The best part was whenever one of the characters at Disney would walk up to our kids they would address them by name! My little ones were blown away that some of their favorite characters, like Peter Pan would come and start a conversation like they were old friends! It really was the best!

We had so many people ask where we got our shirts and it was so fun to say "I made them!" Fancy Vacay shirts for a fractions of what they would have cost me.  I spent less than $25 for all 6 shirts!

DIY garden flag

I made this super cute Garden flag completely from scratch for our front yard and you can to!! Honestly the hardest part was making the point completely straight and even that wasn't so hard. 

What you will need:

*A length of Duck Canvas in whatever color you would like. Depending on the size of your flag pole you'll most likely need less than a yard.  It's very wide so with the half a yard I bought I will be able to make a couple. 

*Scissors

*Sewing Machine

*Ruler

*1 sheet of Heat Transfer Vinyl.  I purchase mine through Happy Crafters

*An Iron or Heat Press

*A Garden Flag Pole (Found at most stores.  I purchased ours at Joann's.

 I cut the duck cloth to make a 17x20 inch rectangle. 

To make the points I used chalk on the back side, found the center using a ruler. Made a dot. Then measure 4 inches up on each side and made another dot.  With my ruler I drew a line to connect the 2 dots.  Fold in half to make sure that your lines are even before you cut.  Then I folded up to sew a small seem all around for a finished look. At the top make sure you fold enough space to make a pocket for the pole to run through leaving both ends opened.

Should look like this:

I used Siser Heat Transfer Vinyl Purchased from Happy Crafters. I made the design using Silhouette studio inspired by one I saw on Pinterest. I found images of random bird silhouettes online and arranged them on a line I created. I made their sizes vary ever so slightly to represent our 4 kids.  But you can use whatever design you prefer or just words!

Once the vinyl was cut, I weeded it and arranged it onto my flag. Make sure you remember to mirror before you cut when using HTV!! 

Once It's all layed out follow the instructions on your HTV packaging to apply with your Iron or Hot Press.  I used my Cricut Heat Press. This HTV was Hot or Cold Peel so I just waited for it to cool a bit before pulling the carrier sheet up.

And viola! Our new beautiful flag all set to hand out front! It's been out a week and I can't tell you how many compliments I've gotten already!

 What should I make next?