Mother's Day Gift Idea: DIY Kid's Art Tea Towels

Turn a treasured piece of art into a keepsake with this easy printer paper transfer project.

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April 06, 2021

Turn Kids' Artwork Into Tea Towels

For the mom who has it all, what's better than a thoughtful, homemade gift from her little ones? This easy, inexpensive project turns children's artwork into a sweet memento that can be used and displayed all year long. Use artwork the kids have stockpiled or have them draw a new piece for Mother's Day.

Photo by: Cassidy Garcia

Cassidy Garcia

By: Chelsea Faulkner

Related To:

Materials Needed

kids' artwork
smartphone
inkjet printer
image transfer sheets for light fabric

iron
solid white dishtowels
pom-pom trim
fabric glue

Take a Picture of a Picture

Position the art on a flat, well-lit surface and take a picture of it from straight above using your smartphone (Image 1). Make sure you get all four corners of the piece in the picture and ensure that the camera isn't angled. In edit mode on your smartphone (most have built-in photo editing software), brighten, straighten, saturate and bump up the contrast of the image until it's clean and crisp and focused in on the art. Crop out everything around the piece of art (Image 2). Finally, flip the picture so it reads backwards (Image 3). If your phone doesn't have this capability, there are many free apps that will do the trick.

Cassidy Garcia

Turn Kids' Artwork Into a Sweet Mother's Day Gift

Photo By: Cassidy Garcia

Print It

Load your printer with fabric paper for light fabrics and follow the package instructions to ensure the paper is facing the correct way in the print tray. If your printer is connected to Wi-Fi, send the image file directly to print from your phone. If not, email it yourself and print from your computer.

Cassidy Garcia

Photo By: Cassidy Garcia

Cut It Out

Cut out around the essential parts of the art (in our case, the flower and the name). This will keep more of the tea towel exposed and prevent the "white box" that occurs with iron-on transfers.

Cassidy Garcia

Photo By: Cassidy Garcia

Iron It On

First, iron out any wrinkles in the tea towel and lay flat on a clean surface (Image 1). Arrange the transfer paper cutouts face down on the front, bottom center of the towel and iron according to package instructions (Images 2 & 3). Wait 2 to 3 minutes until paper has cooled, then peel off backing to reveal transferred artwork (Image 4).

Cassidy Garcia

Photo By: Cassidy Garcia

Decorate

Use fabric glue to secure colorful pom-pom trim to the backside of the bottom edges of the towel (Image 1). Display on your oven's towel rack for a sweet surprise when mom walks in (Image 2).