I had some really great art therapy this weekend doodling on a plain white t shirt with Tee Juice Fabric Art Markers from Jacquard. Armed with all the tee juice markers I needed and some words of inspiration I needed to express, I headed out for some fresh air and sunshine and some needed therapy.
Tee juice comes in three tips sizes- fine, medium and wide and sixteen different colors. Anyone who has doodled lately knows that there are two basic "rules"- you need a variety of line widths and you will use a lot of black.
At first, it seems like a daunting task- covering a t-shirt completely with doodles. Start in a central point and draw a simple image- like this heart I drew with the medium tip black marker.
Color in the heart with a marker such as pink, being careful not to color completely to the black lines to reduce bleeding. Now you can begin to extend your design with dots, dashes, etc.
Keep extending your design outward to expand. I used the black wide tip marker for the perfect large dots.
Once you are "finished" with an area, a nice way to extend your design outward to another patch of doodling is to draw swirls, branches, etc. Here, I chose to draw branch with green leaves and now I am adding lines with the fine point black tip for bird legs.
The theme of my t-shirt is courage. So I added that word along with motivational phrases such as "yes, I can" "be brave," "change is good" and even "yes, girl." These words all reflect some changes I am going through.
I am not much for change, I like to stay in my comfort zone mostly. But sometimes life gives us no choice.
So we have to push forward, trusting that the paths ahead will be for the better.
This is how the back of the t-shirt turned out. I used the wide marker for the black dots, filling in with different colors in patches with wide tip colors.
Finally, and because I love texture, I added some die cut patches to random areas of the t-shirt.
In the end, I felt better after completing this project, having expressed some of the fears and thoughts that have been in my head for the last few days...
For more ideas and tips on Tee Juice, check out Tee Juice.com.
There are some great project ideas there and a video that demonstrates how easy it is to use Tee Juice on fabric.
Tee juice fabric markers can be ordered from Dick Blick.
Live Life Creatively,
What kind of t-shirts did you use? The color from the markers is so bright and beautiful!
Posted by: wholesale blank tees | November 10, 2011 at 12:43 PM
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Posted by: Maruti Ritz | October 8, 2011 at 12:01 PM
I love it. Gives me inspiration. Would love to do this with my grandaughters.
Posted by: Carol Williams | September 24, 2011 at 04:37 AM
For me, art therapy comes in many forms: stamping, quilting, stitching, beading, you name it, it helps! My favorite right now is coloring as it's something I can easily do with all my kids. We're working our way into other forms, but the two year old's habit of tasting things is keeping our progress slow!
Posted by: Laura M | September 14, 2011 at 01:21 PM
I love to xstitch. It relaxes me and gets me over the stress of everyday. I can't wait to get home and stitch something.
Posted by: Mary Hitch | September 13, 2011 at 08:04 PM
It depends on what kind of therapy I need at the moment. I alternate between sewing, crafting, crocheting, and jewelry making.
Posted by: Monica | September 10, 2011 at 07:03 PM
Great tshirt idea..who doesn't love doodling? I am lucky enough to do all sorts of art, sewing, quilting :) but one of my favorite activities is searching for and repurposing wool. Anything from swearers to mens suit coats can make great bags and quilt. The thrill of the hunt and the creativity of the projects make me happy :)
Posted by: D | September 9, 2011 at 07:26 PM
I love the tshirt. I will do anything that suits me at the time. Knitting, sewing, embroidery, painting, drawing... just being creative helps to ease the mind.
Posted by: Tracy C. | September 9, 2011 at 11:02 AM
Love it! I like to craft and cook with my kids and sew/create when I have the time!
Posted by: Lynn | September 8, 2011 at 03:46 PM
I am making this T-shirt my desktop background for my teenagers to see!
When I am lonely or discouraged, I find comfort and inspiration in drawing with just pencil and a notebook on the beach at Lake Michigan. I have ZERO ability to draw, but I still like to do it.
Posted by: susan rall | September 8, 2011 at 09:03 AM
Terrific t-shirt!
I use sewing as therapy. Whenever I am feeling like I really need to clear my head or escape from life for a bit, I sew. I always feel so much better when I've created something that I truly love.
Posted by: Kristin | September 8, 2011 at 08:41 AM
This is beautiful. You are brave, yes you are! This reminds me so much of Zentangles or Zendoodles.
Posted by: Lori Bradley | September 8, 2011 at 08:24 AM
How beautiful is that tee!
I like to knit, bead and read to relieve stress. I hope whatever you are working through turns out ok.
Posted by: Karen Warren | September 8, 2011 at 08:03 AM
Beautiful t-shirt! Sewing and crocheting, drawing and baking help me to get rid of the stress and enjoy the bright side of life!
Posted by: Marga | September 8, 2011 at 12:40 AM
I use visual journaling for therapeutic expression. Now I"m going to do a therapy t-shirt. Seems to be more fun to wear my therapy than to "book it". Your post was great. Looks like fun too.
Posted by: Judith Westerfield | September 7, 2011 at 10:43 PM
This is awesome! For art therapy, I sew, modge podge, glue, just doodle with my kids. Anything that is all about the process is great. If we can get a good finished product, even better!
Posted by: vanessa | September 5, 2011 at 03:02 PM
Wow, what an amazing t-shirt. you are so talented.
my therapy is creating photo collages and photo books on the computer.
Posted by: Gigi S. | September 4, 2011 at 07:49 AM
My favorite 'therapy' is coloring. I have colored my kids coloring books, but I prefer the detailed books that you color with colored pencils. There is something so relaxing about the sound of the pencil or crayon rubbing on paper. It takes me back to a time when my biggest worry was staying within the lines. ;-)
Posted by: Sara | September 4, 2011 at 06:20 AM
Love your tee! And I've got some of those Tee Juice markers around that I haven't really tried yet! You've motivated me!
Posted by: milkcan | September 3, 2011 at 10:02 PM
Wonderful shirt. How long did it take you to make it?
Posted by: Laura Bray | September 3, 2011 at 02:36 PM
Therapy for me is sewing, sewing, sewing. You can tell I'm stressed by how many Skirts I have made in the past week!
Posted by: Emma | September 2, 2011 at 09:27 AM
That t-shirt is amazing! I NEED to do something creative every night after work to de-stress and re-focus. My current projects involve using felt, but I love working with yarn, beads, any media that allows me to be creative. Thanks!
Posted by: Kathy | August 30, 2011 at 12:30 PM
Awesome T-shirt Mel!
You should be STRESS FREE now! Hugs, Ronnie
Posted by: Veronica Goff | August 29, 2011 at 01:24 PM
Great tee shirt Mel!
Yes, art is very relaxing , and great therapy.
It's an an easy for me to get out of my head, and into my heart.
Thanks for the chance to win some great markers.
Posted by: Vicki | August 29, 2011 at 12:53 PM