For Jaden's gorilla fascination

Our nephew, Jaden, will be four years old in just a couple days. We recently received a picture of him, showing him in all his dimple-faced cuteness! 

Jaden has been having a big fascination with gorillas these days, so I thought it would be fun to make him a couple things to go with that theme for his birthday present. The first thing I did was paint a gorilla on a long-sleeved t-shirt. I looked all over the internet for clipart so that I can have something to go by. It's sometimes hard for me to just create something in my head to draw, especially when it comes to animals. I found a drawing that I liked and set to work.

I first used tailor's chalk to copy the drawing onto the t-shirt. Then using a couple permanent acrylic paints, painted over the chalk. After letting it dry, I heat-set it by turning the shirt inside out and ironing the underside of the design. I also threw it in the dryer and let it tumble for a few minutes. I like how it turned out with its simple lines.

Jaden's been known to suddenly turn into a gorilla, so I just had to make a mask to make his imaginative play even more fun.

I used pictures I found on the internet to create this simple gorilla mask. I had to cut out two pieces of the tan felt because I didn't have a piece big enough to do it all in one. The other part of the face is dark brown and the eyebrows, nostrils and mouth are black. I used tacky glue to put it all together. I cut out small slits on the sides and attached very thin elastic so it's easy to put on and take off.

Happy Birthday, Jaden! Hope you enjoy your gorilla gifts.;)