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Craft with Glitter Fabric Paint Pens on Denim for DIY Back-to-School Fashion Fun

DIY Personalized Denim Jacket "Peace, Love, TKD"  |  3 Garnets & 2 Sapphires
Thank you to Oriental Trading Company for providing some of the supplies used for this DIY back-to-school fashion craft.  All opinions expressed are my own.

In some parts of the country, the first day of school has already arrived, but where we live, we still have a few weeks of summer vacation left.  This is usually around the time our children start to get bored.  Well, a fun craft is always a great boredom-buster.  Check out our latest craft idea and see how easy it is to get creative!

My 10 year old daughter is very much into bling.  She loves graphic tees, emojis, and expressing herself with what she wears.  That's what inspired me to turn this basic denim jacket (that's been hanging on the same coat hook since last fall) into something she'll reach for first when choosing a jacket to wear to school.


Decorating Denim with Glitter Fabric Paint (and Charms) . . .

SUPPLIES NEEDED:
plain denim clothing item
round cans, cups, bowls of varying sizes
sewing needle
clear or invisible thread
scissors
craft sticks (optional)

Decorate denim for fall with Glitter Fabric Paint Pens  |  3 Garnets & 2 Sapphires

THINK about what you want to put on your denim item.  Then decide where each design will go.

Want to add an EMOJI?  Lay your item of clothing out smoothly on a flat surface.  Then place a can or a cup down where you would like to add the emoji.  Use the glitter fabric paint pen in the desired color and carefully add dots around the can or cup to create a perfect circle.
How to make emojis with Glitter Fabric Paint Pens  |  3 Garnets & 2 Sapphires

What kind of EMOJI?  You can find all sorts of examples of emojis online.  My daughter requested a cat and a girl with sunglasses.

TIP #1: Keep in mind that the glitter paint looks much lighter when first applied.  The glue that looks white now will dry clear, leaving only the color of the glitter behind.
Easy cat emoji on denim made with Glitter Fabric Paint Pens  |  3 Garnets & 2 Sapphires

Want to add a PEACE SIGN?  Again, use a stencil to create your circle based on the size you want your peace sign to be.  We used a large bowl to create the design on the back of my daughter's denim jacket.
How to create a peace sign with Glitter Fabric Paint Pens  |  3 Garnets & 2 Sapphires

Use more than one color!  To make your designs pop, use more than one color.  You can create your design with double lines, like we did with our peace sign pictured below.

TIP #2:  It's okay to create your design freehand.  My daughter thinks it adds an artsy look to her jacket.
"Peace, Love, TKD" Glitter Fabric Paint on denim  |  3 Garnets & 2 Sapphires

Express yourself!  My daughter loves art, so I added a pencil doodling a heart on one of the jacket sleeves.  My daughter also loves Taekwondo.  That's where the "Peace - Love- TKD" came from.
How to create a pencil and a doodle with Glitter Fabric Paint on denim  |  3 Garnets & 2 Sapphires

Say it with WORDS!  In addition to the words on the back of the jacket, I also added my daughter's name down one sleeve.  I also added the word "art" on one shoulder above the pencil.  Again, I used two colors for all the text.  Simply choose your main color to dot out your words.  Then go back and use a contrasting color to add dots in between the existing dots.

TIP #3:  I found that the silver glitter fabric paint did a great job offsetting almost any color, so I used it as my secondary color throughout many of the designs.
Ideas for personalizing denim with emojis, a name, and more with Glitter Fabric Paint  |  3 Garnets & 2 Sapphires

What happens if you GOOF?  If you make a mistake with these glitter fabric paint pens, you can carefully lift the paint off with a tiny piece of paper towel.  There may be a hint of glitter left behind, but it usually isn't noticeable.  If it is, then you can always paint over it.

Add paint effects!  Since my daughter is very artsy, I thought I'd add an abstract paint effect to the back of her jacket.  This was super-easy!  I just put 3 or 4 dots of paint on the end of a craft stick (as shown below).  Then I would tap the paint around on the fabric.  Next, I used the craft stick to spread and smear the paint around.  I repeated these steps using red, silver, and blue glitter fabric paint until I was satisfied with the way it looked.
Adding painted abstract background effect on denim with Glitter Fabric Paint  |  3 Garnets & 2 Sapphires

Artsy painted abstract background effect on denim with Glitter Fabric Paint  |  3 Garnets & 2 Sapphires

Add some BLING!  If you'd like to add a touch of hardware to your denim item, you can sew a few charms on by hand.  I chose to add 3 heart charms to the points of each chest pocket on my daughter's denim jacket.  I let her pick the colors of the charms.
Add some bling to denim with cute sew-on charms  |  3 Garnets & 2 Sapphires

Check it out!  My daughter can't wait to wear her new and improved jacket to school this fall!

What designs do you think would look awesome on denim?
Let us know in a comment here.
DIY back-to-school fashion craft project  |  3 Garnets & 2 Sapphires

Like this craft idea? Pin It for later . . .
Easy DIY back-to-school fashion craft ideas  |  3 Garnets & 2 Sapphires