How to Make a 4 year-old HAPPY!

I finally figured out how to make my 4 year old happy.  Make him a MONSTER shirt!  He was sooo excited that I was finally making something for HIM (and not his little sister) and he had a fun time helping me make it.  He helped 'design' his monster and he helped make the shirt a little too!  But, don't forget...there are key points in what makes up a monster.  Make sure your monster has....

....one GIANT creepy eyeball.  The eyeball is appliqued on with creepy red veins stitched in the corners...yikes!

.....a big mouth full of sharp pointy teeth (the mouth can also double as a pocket for little hands).  The teeth are painted on with velveteen paint that give them a bit of dimension, using a freezer paper technique.

......crazy 'monster' hands all over the sleeves (this is the part that Carson loved helping with...those are his hand prints!).  I used the freezer paper technique here also and traced Carson's hands on the paper and then ironed them on the sleeves and painted.

......and don't forget SPIKES on his head!  This is just big ol' Ric Rac sewn into the seam. 

Don't worry though, Carson assures me that this 

is a nice monster...phew!

I'm so happy with how this shirt turned out and it was soo fun to make.  I used Ashley's pattern, from Lil Blue Boo.  Her patterns are AWESOME!  They are simple and easy to use and she has finally solved the mystery of how to sew with knit...YEAH, HALLELUJAH!!!  I used two of her patterns for the monster shirt.  I combined her Sienna Dress pattern and her Hoodie pattern.  She has a fun contest, the 'Lil Blue Boo / Dharma Trading Design Challenge', over on her blog that I'm going to enter the Monster Shirt in...go check it out!  I've got so many fun ideas for these patterns in the works...thanks Ashley for these great patterns!