Aztec Painted Beach Hoodie

So if you’re new around here you might now realize that we live in SoCal – pretty close to the beach. Which basically means that I’m cold all the time and live under throws and bundled up in hoodies. Yep, even in the summer.

Since we (and by we, I mean me) wear them all the time, I like to have a few on hand. Which if you want to have that cute beach-y style, can get pretty expensive. I will confess that I have a hard time paying tons for hoodies that are faded and awesome and stylish, even if they are super cute. So I thought it was time to decorate my own – and I used some fun Tulip Soft and 3D Paints to do it!

I am in love with my new Aztec Painted Beach Hoodie!

This project is super easy to do! And so fun.

I don’t know about you but I totally remember painting t-shirts and sweatshirts in high school. Did you? It was a blast. I remember doing sweatshirts with cute flowers on them all outlined in Tulip® Dimensional Fabric Paints – especially puffy paints. My favorite part was ironing and watching the paint “puff” up. So awesome. Kind of like my bangs back then.

Check out this fun retro video from Tulip – see if it brings back any memories. :)

Well Tulip paints are still awesome. I loved playing with the  Tulip® Soft® Fabric Paint to make my hoodie. The paint goes on super easy and dries soooo soft! It feels just like a design on a store-bought hoodie.

This would be a great activity to do with your older kids too!

To make a cute hoodie you’ll need:

• 1 purchased sweatshirt (mine is from Target)
• Tulip® Soft® Fabric Paint – neon orange, pink and yellow
• sponge, paintbrush

Start by washing your sweatshirt first. (please ignore the tag on my sweatshirt. obviously I didn’t follow instructions)
Place something under the area you’ll be painting – so the paint doesn’t seep through onto the back.

We’re going to sponge paint the design. So it looks like we paid $60 for it in a surf shop. Cause we’re cool like that.

I recommend using a sponge that isn’t super “holey”. A surface that is more even will create a better print for this design. But I used what I had on hand.
Cut out your shapes. I have two pieces – a parallelogram and a trapezoid. (look at me being all fancy and geometric.)

Pour out your paint and dip your sponge in it. Use a paper plate or paper towel to blot the sponge so it’s not super covered with paint. Start with your first sponge print.

Continue working on your design, changing colors as needed.

Also, if you’re making a hoodie – paint on your design with the zipper closed if your design will be on the center of your sweatshirt. That way it will look right when you’re wearing it, zipped up or not.

I found on the black hoodie that I needed two coats of every color. Because my sponge was so holey, I decided to do my second coat with a thin paintbrush. This gave me the chance to clean up any edges or corners that weren’t great.

The neon paints are so cute, and I love the shimmer that they have.

Let your design dry flat for 4 hours and wait 72 hours before washing.
Sit back and admire your fab new hoodie that didn’t cost you a fortune, but looks like it did.

Take some time to admire your not-so-poofy bangs too.

This is going to be so perfect for this summer!

Have you painted any shirts lately? I’d love to hear about what you made!

Tulip continues to be a craft favorite in households today!  In addition to Tulip Soft Paints and Dimensional Fabric paints included in my post, Tulip is known for it’s wide variety of Fashion Glitters, Glam it up Crystals, Fabric Markers and One-Step Tie Dye! Find all your favorite Tulip products by clicking here.
In fact, all this summer Tulip is bringing tie dye to the masses with their Tie Dye Your Summer campaign!  Visit their Tie Dye Your Summer site at Tie Dye Your Summer. They  have so many fun tie dye videos and inspirations as well as an awesome giveaway of a tie dye iPad and party (it really is an amazing prize pack that you’ll want to enter!  Click here to enter this exclusive giveaway!

Disclosure: This post is part of a paid campaign by Blueprint Social and Tulip. All opinions and projects are my own! :)

Linking up at Sunday Scoop, Today’s Creative Blog, Met Monday, Tutorials & Tips Tuesday, Quilt Story, Shabby Creek Cottage, My Repurposed Life, 504 Main, Everything Etsy and the other fabulous parties on the party page – make sure you check them out!