Crafty Baby Gifts: Personalized Snap-Suits with Shiva Paintstiks

There has been a small baby boom in my world, and I’ve got lots of little princes and princesses to make baby gifts for. This week I’m going to share some of my favorite baby gift crafts with you. First up: Shiva Paintstik baby snap-suits (onsies!)

So…..I love Shiva Paintstiks! I’ve had my set for years now, and I pull them out again and again when working with fabric. They are SO easy to apply, are low on the mess-ometer, and they feel smooth and soft on the fabric, almost like there was nothing there at all. (Unlike traditional acrylic paints for fabric, which sit on TOP of the fabric, the paintstiks sink in like a dye.) And even though they are oil-based, they are so heavily pigmented that they don’t leave an oily ring! Hooray!

OK, enough about my love affair with Shiva. Let’s make some super-cute personalized baby onesies! (Or t-shirts, or receiving blankets, for that matter.)

For this project, I’m using my Slice Machine to cut stencils, but you can used ones that are commercially purchased or hand cut. If you want to make your own stencils, you can always free-hand draw or trace a shape using a cookie cutter, and then cut it out with an X-Acto blade. We’re using my old stand-by, Freezer Paper, for this project, so it’s super easy to use.

I cut my stencil using my Slice Machine- so here are a few pointers if using one:

Make sure the waxy side of the freezer paper is down on the glass mat- the waxy side won’t stick well.
Remember to use the “mirror” option for monograms, or if it’s important that your image faces a certain way. Since we’re cutting the stencil up-side down, it’s worth paying attention to.

After your stencil is cut, just iron it onto your snapsuit using the cotton setting and no steam.

Using "Animal Crackers" Design card for the Slice

Peel off the “skin” on the Paintstik- it’s rubbery and will peel off if you use a plastic knife. Then just rub the moist part of the Paintstik through your stencil. I like to start ON the freezer paper, then rub to the fabric to get a crisp line and to keep the image from distorting. Knits have a tendency to do that!

Keep a rag handy to wipe your fingers if they get smudgy!

Peel off the stencil when you're done.

Give your paint 24 hours to dry & set- you don’t need heat for oil paint, just time… and then if you want to add a second layer, you’re paints won’t blend. Unless you’re into that. Or if you’re adding a darker color on top, as I did, you can proceed right away. Just be careful of smudges!