Children are a blessing for certain. But raising them is undoubtedly one of the hardest things that you will ever do. It is easy to become completely overwhelmed with the demands of school let alone after school activities and weekend plans. The notebooks, book bags, papers, homework and artwork pile up and at the end of the day you are left wondering which way is up. The demands of your own life often take a back-seat to the needs and desires of your children and the push and pull of parenthood begins to consume your life.
While these are surely crazy times, they are also some of the most exciting and full years of your life and you must always be thinking of ways to preserve them for the future. Photographs are an easy option. By taking lots of pictures of school events, friends and family, you are ensuring that you and your children alike with remember these years down the road. But with all this worry about school, homework, and books, it is easy to loose sight of the smaller things that come home in the children’s backpacks.
A child’s artwork often takes a backseat to photographs when thinking of preserving family memories. This is quite understandable as the materials children for art projects are often not the sturdiest and keeping a set of paper mache planets is not always possible. So why not transform some of their precious artwork into a functional piece of clothing!
Artwork of any kind, including your little one’s drawings, paintings and scribbles, can easily be transferred onto t-shirts, canvas bags and other articles of clothing. There are many methods of transferring. Any flat work of art can be scanned into a computer using a personal or business scanner. If you do not have a scanner at home, many copy centers, and office supply stores have scanners that can be used in-store for a small fee. Once your image has been scanned into the computer, you attach it to your t-shirt with special iron-on transfer paper that can be purchased at craft stores or office supply stores. Be sure to read the directions on the package as iron-on transfer require specific heat setting on your iron. Or, to get a really good print that will last much longer than an iron-on you can upload your design online and have someone else print the artwork on the t-shirt.
Customizing a t-shirt with your child’s artwork is an amazing way to preserve the memory of these very special, if hectic, years. Parents can wear them proudly and show off their little ones’ budding talents at the store, on the street, or in the office. Customized t-shirts also make incredible gifts. What grandparent wouldn’t beam at the idea of wearing their grandchild’s special artwork around town.