Wednesday, July 29, 2015

Graduation Necklace Ideas 20xx

Here you will find graduation necklaces and pendants that you can customize online. A graduation necklace is a lovely way to commemorate this important event. You can choose a cap and tassel design and or the celebration style.

This first design features a blue cap with yellow tassel, with a placeholder for you to easily customize the year:


This cap and tassel design is also ready in other color choices, including red on red, green on gold, and more: graduation necklaces.

This celebration design features my painting of a star pattern of silver and blue with a streaked affect. It has a placeholder for the year in a large font, and is easily personalized with a name on the template forms:


Congratulations to you and your graduate.

Cheryl Paton

Find other graduation necklaces on Amazon.


Wednesday, July 22, 2015

Tee Shirt Coloring Parties Ideas


Kids love to create. With outline tshirts, they can let their creative juices roll.

A Tshirts to Color Party offers coloring fun for the kids, and gives them something that they can also take home and enjoy later for months and perhaps years to come. The shirts can be for themselves or made for someone else and given as gifts; i.e. they can color in shirts for their moms for Mother's Day. They could even trace their hands for a more personal gift.

The pre-printed design is already there on the coloring shirt. The kids can color in the basic design, and they can add additional design elements to it. They can add a ball for the cat, stars around the space shuttle, a starfish or coral by the fish, etc. I have found that sometimes kids just need a basic inspiration to get their own creative juices flowing.

Wanting to just find out about painting a tshirt? Read the short version on my blog: Color In Kids T-shirts Activity.

Here are the basic questions to consider for your party planning:

1. How many kids are you planning for?

2. Do they like to paint? The painting/coloring will work best on white or light colored shirts.

3. What kind of designs might they like, or is it a theme, such as dinosaurs, parrots, etc. Kids can get pretty creative with a simple design.

4. Can the kids easily hold a paint marker and or paint brush with little to no supervision?

5. Do you have at least one and a half weeks, two is better, before the party date? If so, then on we go.

Preparation and Supplies

You will need a color assortment of fabric paint and the t-shirts to color.

The kids will need old shirts to wear, or aprons, to help protect their clothing from the acrylic paint.

It is best to have some paper or plastic to help protect your table, and some paper towels for any clean ups.

Steps to take before the party.

1. Before the party, you will need to order and receive the outline art tshirts in time for the party. It is helpful to pre-wash and dry the tshirts ahead of time, without the use of any fabric softener. The paint will adhere better when fabric softener is not used. If you are short on time, the shirts should still do pretty well if they aren't pre-washed. Here are designs, already printed on shirts, that you can choose from.


2. Send out the invitations 1-1/2 to 2 weeks before the party. These custom postcard invitations can be personalized online at CherylsArt on Zazzle.


3. You will also need a piece of flat cardboard for each shirt, or layers of thick paper, that will be placed in between the top and back of the shirt. The cardboard needs to be large enough for the design area, plus some extra room for artistic creativity. If you don't have any boxes lying around, grocery stores are usually pretty good about helping out. You can also order cardboard cake boards; the rectangle ones are best for good coverage area in the shirt, or purchase them from a store that sells cake supplies.

4. Purchase a variety of paint colors. Fabric paint markers will be the least messy, and less supplies will be needed, i.e. brushes and water bowls.

5. You will need to provide an area for the kids to easily paint, and a place for their paintings to dry while they are playing games, snacking, etc.

Choosing the Paint

For younger children, my recommendation is fabric paint pens. These are also called fabric paint markers. They are non-toxic and are easy to handle. They can be used in a coloring motion. Tip: Aprons are a better choice for using paint markers, as the material doesn't have the stretch to it like tshirts. For techniques about painting on aprons, read my blog Outline Drawings on Aprons.

If you are using the paint pens, have some scrap paper on hand for the kids to test the paint flow and/or to get the paint flow started.

For older kids and for more blending capability, I recommend using acrylic fabric paint, along with a small variety of paint brushes.

Tips for the Day of the Party
1. Have all the supplies close by and ready to use.

2. Cover the table with paper or plastic.

3. Have an idea for an activity that the earlier arrivals can do. Ideas are word games and or singing songs.

4. Have the kids or help the kids put on their old shirts or aprons/bibs.

5. The first activity will be painting the color in (outline art) tshirts. (So the paint will have some drying time during the other party activities.)

6. Slide a piece of cardboard, centered behind the outline art drawing, in between the front and back of the tshirts. Lay each shirt flat for each child to paint. (If the children are old enough and able, they can do this step themselves. You can also do this step in advance.)

7. Let the painting begin.
a. Shake the paint markers first. Leave the lids on while shaking so that the paint tips stay intact. The kids can have fun doing the shake for this step.

b. Follow manufactures instructions for getting the paint flow to start. The ones that I use require the shaking, followed by pressing the tip on the scrap piece of paper a number of times until the paint has moved to the tip.

8. When the kids are done painting, allow the cardboards to remain in the shirts so the colors won't bleed through to the back. Leave the shirts on the table or a safe place to dry.

9. Do any other activities, games, have cake, open presents, etc. All this gets done allowing the shirts to have some drying time. If the shirts need to dry further, a hair dryer can help, before removing the cardboard.

10. Let the parents know any other manufacturer's instructions for setting the design, such as if there is any dryer time needed, the number of days to wait before laundering, etc.

11. The kids, or the person they are painting a gift for, will get to enjoy their master pieces for a long time.

Let me know if you have any party questions below. Your design request is welcome.

Cheryl Paton

Monday, July 20, 2015

Kids Color Birthday Party Ideas


Kids love to color and paint. They also like something that they can take home with them as a keepsake.

If you are having a birthday party for younger children, then coloring or painting on paper is fine. You'll find lots of variety with this coloring book of 50 unique designs. The tear out sheets are extra large at 11 by 14 inches. Per an Amazon reviewer, the paper is great for crayons, markers, and watercolor paints. The backs of the pages are blank.



Watercolor pencils and some various shaped brushes is a fun way for the kids to paint with watercolors.

If you are planning a coloring party for older kids, then you may consider a craft type project. There are various painting kits that you can get that vary according to age range.

Rock painting kits are a fun choice for both boys and girls. The ideas that the kids can come up with are endless, from shapes to animals, cars, etc. You can even invite the kids to bring a rock with them. (Do have some extra ones on hand though, just in case.)



Acrylic paints are a good choice for painting rocks if you need extra or are planning to get your own rocks. Aprons or old t-shirts to cover up the kids clothing will help reduce any paint mishaps.

Outline designs are a fun way for kids to paint their clothing. Pre-printed outline designs are an easy way to get the kids started. They love to add their own colors and designs to the pre-printed outline. Here is an example of a toucan, just waiting to be colored in.


Check here for more outline drawing designs printed on tee shirts.


Aprons, and canvas bags, also make a fun painting/coloring choice.

Some kids prefer painting with brushes, and this is great for older kids that have more dexterity. Younger kids will probably have better success with acrylic paint markers. There is usually less mess with paint markers. If you are buying your own, make sure that the markers are rated for painting on fabric. Water based markers will probably wash out, and at the very least, will bleed across the fabric.

Important: Whichever method you choose, be sure to place a flat sheet of cardboard between the fabric layers to avoid paint bleed through to the back of the shirt, bag, etc.

When I used to host birthday parties at a local craft store, the kids always loved the painting parties. Even if they started with the same basic kit, each child added their own creativity to the designs. Everyone was always engrossed in their own painting. Paper plates were provided as palettes. The acrylic paint was easily squirted onto the plates to give each child their own color choices.

A major tip: For any type of painting activity, have the kids do their painting at the beginning of the party, so that the paint can be drying while the kids are playing games, eating snacks, birthday cake, etc.

If some kids get there early or are still painting while others are done, have them sing some songs. They find it quite entertaining and it helps to keep everyone occupied and in the same area.

Cheryl Paton

Tuesday, July 7, 2015

Custom Peace Sign Tote Bags

Share in spreading some peace with custom Peace Sign Tote Bags. You'll find a variety of designs here that you can also personalize if you like.

I made this first design for a special request of green and blue blends. The word Peace is spelled out under the blended sign in outline letters; the word can be colored, painted in by hand, with paint markers.


I liked it so much, I made an option in purple and green blends.

If you prefer a bright and cheery look, then you'll probably enjoy the peace sign designed with a painting of yellow sunflowers. The word Peace is spelled out with yellow outline letters that have a yellow shadow to the left and bottom of the letters.


For a modern patriotic design, I recommend the peace sign made up of fifty stars printed on a red and white striped flag.


For a more universal appeal, I recommend the world peace sign design. I painted a picture of the earth, that is flowering and flourishing, with the peace sign in front of it.


For fun and also for thoughts of chocolate, here is my painting of a chocolate peace pie, printed on canvas bags. The word peace is written under the pie with brown outline letters.


Any of the above tote bags can be customized with your own text. Any of the designs can also be ordered on the bag style of your choice. The bags range from the small budget style to sturdier and larger canvas styles.

You can see more Peace Bags by CherylsArt at Zazzle.com.

Cheryl Paton