Back to School Art Apron

My kids need art shirts every year at school and I have always sent their dad's old t-shirts turned inside out with their names written on them in Sharpie.  Really classy.  But I've always WANTED to make them cute art smocks.  Every single year I've thought about it and it has never happened.  This year I have a fifth grader (last year in elementary school) and I finally made it happen.

We happened to pick up a cute toddler and matching doll apron pattern at a garage sale in late August and I changed it to fit my lanky ten year old.   The center part is a couple layers of muslin I had laying around.  It was already in my stash and it was sturdy and it sort of looks like canvas.  I'm sure it's no longer this pristine now that it is being used at school.   The purple print came from the same garage sale.

The letters are stamped on with regular stamping black ink and heat set with the iron.  I made the whole thing in one afternoon and then stood back and said, "Whew... I have been meaning to do that for a long time!"

My ten year old loved and it loves wearing it to art class.  My eight year old kind of shrugged and wasn't interested so she went off to school with an inside out tee shirt with Sharpie.  Party pooper.