Freezer paper "screen printing" Tutorial- ROBOTS!

So I have been known to spill bleach/cold process soap/paint/food on my shirts. Every single time I swear I wont do it again, I'll be more careful... but alas, I have a drawer full of "bleach shirts". What to do with them? Now I have a solution.

Check out my new robot T shirt!!!


Every time I look at it I start laughing.. I just love his lack of expression and broken heart.. and the fact that I made him pink is just utterly superb in my world. So how did I do this? SUPER simple!

A few months ago I found a tutorial for using freezer paper to "screen print" clothes.. I dont have that original link.. but here are the simple simple steps in my own words.

#1. Prepare your image to "copy" onto the freezer paper. As you can see here I was inspired by old school robots like this fellow:
mini Q&A...*what is freezer paper?* Essentially its wax paper, but its only "waxy" on ONE side, making it simple to iron down the wax side to create your seal for leak free painting. I don't think you can find it everywhere, but I know they have it at Walmart and it comes in a GIANT roll that's very affordable.. which means LOTS of Tshirts! Buy the white, versus the brown, for easier tracing.

Using paint.net I made a simple boxy robot image, printed it out on a piece of printer paper, and traced it onto the freezer paper.

Now- remember that what you want "painted" you need to cut out, and what you want "tshirt" you leave on.. basically the opposite of your image you are tracing... so for my robot, all of his black body was "cut out", the "outline" ironed on, and the detail pieces like his eyes, mouth, and "heart panel" cut out as well, and placed/ironed last.

#2. Place your freezer paper SHINY SIDE DOWN onto your Tshirt (or whatever you are printing on), iron it down piece by piece, placing your detail pieces last. When you have it ironed down really well, you are ready to paint.

mini Q&A: what kind of paint do I use? You have options here... acrylic craft paint will work but may need MANY coats and may flake off in the washer. Fabric paint is best. I used acrylic because its all I had on hand tonight, and it dries quickly.. but I may use fabric paint in the future because its denser and doesn't soak in as much. NOW! STOP before you paint, and make sure you put something inside your shirt.. a piece of cardboard, another piece of freezer paper.. just SOMETHING to keep the paint from leaking through to the other side of your shirt.. because that would be a bummer.

Back to the paint.. You want to "dot" it on, as if you are doing a stencil on the wall, until you have a decent base coat.. then you can finish with a larger brush to get a smooth finish. Peel the paper off while the paint is still tacky but not wet enough to run.

Let it sit and dry for at least 2-4 hours before hanging it up and admiring. Isn't it FAB!? I love it! I am quite addicted to the process already, and my husband asked for a robot shirt of his own.. though, not in pink. What I love most is it would be so easy to add more detail.. like more hearts around him, by just adding on more layers of freezer paper.. or even doing multiple colors! So many options...

Happy crafting!