The fourth of July is one of my favorite holidays of the summer. It’s a time when the family gets together to watch the fireworks and celebrate the independence of our nation. We have a yearly tradition of going to the beach to enjoy the firework display. It seems every year I go from store to store to find a festive shirt to wear for the 4^th of July. This year I decided to save a little money and tailor something of my own style by making my festive flag shirt. It was super easy and a fun project to do with the family. Here’s what you need (I bought all of the items below at WalMart for great low prices):

1. White tshirt (I used a Hanes V-Neck which was under $5)
2. 1” Paint tape or Masking tape  (I used Scotch blue painters tape- a 60 yard roll was only $3.27)
3. Red spray paint (I used Krylon Cherry Bomb glitter paint $6.64 a can)
4. Blue spray paint (Rust-Oleum Metallic)
5. Package of star stickers
6. Cardboard

• Take one piece of cardboard and place it inside the t shirt. Fold the sleeves back and tape them across.
• Cut out a rectangle piece of cardboard (this is where the top of flag and the stars will be).
• Decide how you want your flag (traditional with stripes straight across or stripes on a diagonal). Take your rectangle cardboard and place it in the top left corner of your shirt (either at a right degree angle or on a diagonal).
• Make stripes across with your tape leaving about an inch or so between each stripe. [Remember you will be spray painting over the tape, so make sure it is stuck down well and the sides of the rectangle cardboard are taped down good as well].

Once everything is taped, you’re ready to start spraying!

• First spray the red paint between the tape lines. You can spray as much (or as little) red as you like depending if you want your stripes dull or vibrant. After the red is sprayed you can start on your blue rectangle.
• Remove the rectangle cardboard and place your star stickers on the shirt. Take the rectangle cardboard and place it below the tape line to cover some of the red stripes. You’ll want another piece of cardboard to boarder the right side of the rectangle space.
• Use your blue paint and spray over the stars to make a blue rectangle.

Let the paint dry (about 5- 10 minutes), then carefully remove your tape and stars. The stars can be reused on other shirts (just make sure you press down good on each point to ensure the blue paint doesn’t go underneath). Use the remaining role of tape for stripes on the other shirts.

Now you have a unique 4^th of July flag shirt for LESS than you would pay in the store! The best part is, you can customize the shirt to your liking with the stripes and paint colors or opt for a crew neck versus v neck shirt.

Do you create/decorate your own clothing?