Framed T-Shirt Art Tutorial

You know I have an affinity for favorite old t-shirts.  I simply cannot throw away a sentimental shirt.  Especially the Chicago Fire Department shirts that my dad has given us.  We wear them till they literally start falling apart, I alter them to fit better so I'll wear them more, and now I've begun using them as wall art! 

Paxton has grown out of his animal-themed nursery.  So gradually we've been turning his room into a more big-boy room.  He already had a giant fire station (Kidkraft Deluxe Fire Rescue Set) that he got for Christmas last year, plus several larger fire trucks, so we decided to continue that theme.

Lucky me. :) I had several old authentic CFD t-shirts and a few red record album cover frames that made the perfect (and cheap) wall-art project for his big boy room.

This t-shirt framing idea would be really cool in a teen's room - maybe to display old sports team tees or jerseys, or favorite concert t-shirts, etc.

I used several different t-shirts for all the frames.  The back design for three of the shirts were put into these red frames.  I took the backing of the frame out, wrapped the design on the back of t-shirt around the wood backing, and placed it in the frame.

Next, I cut the rest of the t-shirt off and secured it to the board with good ol' duct tape!  No one sees the back -- it's okay that it's not pretty.

I still had the front emblems from the t-shirts leftover that I didn't want to throw away, so I used those in some smaller frames that I had spray-painted red.  I used duct tape again to attach the fabric to the the back of the white photo mat.

I like how this 5-minute project turned out, and I think it gives his "big boy fire station" room a more grown-up feel. 

I still have a few projects I might work on to finish off his room:

• maybe a custom-painted sign that says "PAXTON FIRE DEPARTMENT" to go below the t-shirt frames
• or a fire-bell lamp above his bed
• paint the walls
• add a big life-sized dalmation figurine at the foot of his bed
• a white ladder shelf above the bed on the side wall
• and wouldn't it be cool to have a brick wall installed alongside his bed? (okay, I probably won't really do that one). 

But for now, this is a good upgrade (along with that headboard I got from craigslist & the little red dresser that was about to be tossed in the trash by my neighbors - a good sanding and a fresh coat of glossy red paint, and it fits right in!)

He seems to like it too.  That's important, right? :)