Bleeding Heart Tee (DIY)

I made this tee for Patrick's Halloween costume (not so much of a costume for him - he really is a bleeding heart liberal).

Although, I have a feeling you might happen to see the shirt on him after Hallow's Eve.  It was a quick project and requires one of my very favorite craft supplies: Project Paint made by Simply Spray.  The Project Paint works well for this shirt design because its thicker and won't bleed like the regular spray fabric paint (yes, I know this shirt bleeding has a heart on it, but if the paint runs, you'll have a blob instead of a heart).  You can also use the Spray Blood, but not if you plan to wash and keep the shirt after Halloween.  I've seen Simply Spray paint for sale at Michaels and Jo Ann Fabrics.

You will need:

red Simply Spray Project Paint

a tee shirt

contact paper

scissors

cardboard

shipping tape

paper towels

Slide the cardboard between the layers of your shirt (to avoid paint from seeping through to the back).  I folded the fabric around and taped it in the back to keep the cotton taunt and in place when I prop it up to spray.
Next, cut a heart shape from your contact paper. I folded the contact paper in half to cut it.

Discard the actual heart cut out.  All you need is the stencil (shown in the image above).  Decide where you'd like the heart located on your shirt.  Remove the backing and press the stencil on your shirt.  Rub the edges of the stencil with your fingers to be sure that it seals to the fabric.  This will prevent unwanted bleeding.

Now, cover the remaining fabric around your stencil with extra contact paper or shipping tape.  Only the heart should be exposed. Your shirt should look something like a tape covered mummy... or a giant diaper, but mummy sounds better.  This is a very important step.  By covering all the remaining fabric, you can prevent the paint from spraying or dripping on other spots.

Prop the shirt up against a wall or railing.  Its very windy here, so I taped the shirt mummy to the railing to keep it from blowing away.
To begin, spray the top portion of the heart with little spurts until its completely coated in paint.

Like this.  Use the paper towels to dab away any excess paint as you work.

When the top half is ready, wipe as much of the extra paint from the surrounding contact paper as you can.  The cleaner your contact paper is, the easier it will be for you to work with in the next step.

Gently pull up the bottom half of your stencil. you may have to unpeel or cut some of the surrounding tape and contact paper.

Holding the stencil up with one hand, use the other to spray the bottom portion of the heart. Allow the paint to drip and run down the shirt. If you'd like more drips, use a toothpick to drag the paint down in streams.  

When you are happy with your bleeding heart, blot the heart with paper towel to absorb extra paint and slowly remove your stencil.

 Allow the paint to dry for a few hours before removing the remaining tape.