Giving Experiences (and an Experiment) for Father's Day

"Father's Kiss" by Shuana Hawkins

Father's Day is coming up this Sunday, and in my household, we have been brainstorming ways to show the many fathers in the family that they are appreciated and loved.  Psychologists say that the most satisfying gifts are experiences, not things.  Maybe take a family outing to the beach, or eat out or in from a favorite restaurant (Gari's Maki Madness for sushi lovers)?  Or, relieve Dad of his household chores so that he can spend more time doing something that he really enjoys?  Some family fun ideas include an art festival, farm festival, a day sailing, and Stone Zoo or Franklin Zoo (fathers get free admission!).

While gifting an experience is a good idea, I'm also a big believer in pairing it with something tangible that can be unwrapped.  Luckily, my craft-loving preschooler has been excited about creating a present for Dad.  So, we took a trip to Michaels and after nosing around a bit, came home with a large, white, cotton tee-shirt and dimensional fabric paint to customize a Father's Day shirt.  Along with a stencil and sponge brush which we already had at home, these were our basic tools. The results of my little guy's first shirt-decorating experiment is below.

OUR PROCESS

First, we laid the shirt on a flat surface.  After placing the stencil where we wanted it (middle of the shirt), my son squeezed fabric paint onto the stencil.

Then, with a sponge brush, he spread the paint throughout the parts of the stencil that he wanted to use.

To switch paint color, we rinsed the sponge brush in a cup of water, and squeezed out excess water with paper towels. After rinsing and squeezing, the brush was ready to be used with another paint color.

The stencil was moved to another section of the shirt to continue decorating.

When the stenciling was finished, my son added "DAD" and signed his name on the shirt, next to a heart.

When the back of the shirt was dry, I turned the shirt over to add lettering for Fathers Day 2016 on the area under one shoulder. My son added his fingerprints in his favorite color everywhere else, adding his personal touch.

LESSONS LEARNED

• Dimensional fabric paints, I discovered, are the same thing as "puffy paint."  It can be hard to squeeze even amounts while writing words, and the words end up . . well. . . puffy.  Next time, if a more polished look is the goal, we'll try flat paints, letter stencils, or markers.

• Using a simple, single shape would probably result in a crisper, cleaner look than the graffiti stencil we used here.  For our second try, I may have my son paint a large sponge or cardboard cut-out that I provide (possibilities include a happy face, palm tree, or ocean waves) to simply press onto a clean shirt for the image transfer.

• It helps to place a couple of brown paper grocery bags on the inside of the shirt to prevent paint soaking through to the other side.  In case you are wondering, yes, adding my son's fingerprints to the front side of the shirt was how we made a couple of unintentional dots of paint become part of an intentional design!

Even if the ultimate result is not really polished looking, I know my husband will enjoy this gift.  It's a wearable piece of art as well as a tangible reminder that he will have of the fleeting days of his son's early childhood.

Happy Father's Day!



About the Author
Darlene W. Cancell is an attorney turned stay-at-home mom.  After serving as Parent Talk's Blog Coordinator, she looks forward to her new role as PT's Volunteer Chair for 2016-2017!