A lot of Mother’s Day gifts revolve around the kitchen, garden and home decor, so this year, I changed it up with a custom painted denim jacket fit for a badass momma queen. (And if your momma is a little edgier, use these same DIY steps to customize a leather jacket.)
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This DIY jacket is so simple that it’ll take you just one Netflix episode to complete. The secret: Creating a stencil on the computer with a script font. We attached our stencil, print below for you to make it even easier. This way, you don’t spend hours fussing over hand lettering. (One DIY at a time, amirite?) This is a present she’ll cherish forever because 1) you made it, and 2) denim jackets never go out of style.
Scroll down and follow along to create a customized painted denim jacket for any — heck, all the moms — in your life.
What you’ll need
- Denim jacket
- Fabric paint
- Stencil
- Chalk
- Paint brush
How to do it
1. Create your custom stencil. I chose a script font for “Mom” and a slab serif font for “Est. 2008.” This is your chance to get creative. The computer is a great way to make stencils because you can choose from an endless variety of fonts. Before printing, measure the back of the jacket to make sure you have sized the wording to fit. Here is our stencil in case you want to copy our design.
2. Print out your stencil and trace over the backside with chalk. Chalk only the area of the paper that has text to avoid unwanted chalk on your denim jacket.
3. Transfer the text onto the jacket. Place the stencil on the back of the jacket. Use the back of a marker or paintbrush to trace over the text, pressing hard and tracing over the text multiple times. The more times you trace, the more chalk will transfer onto the jacket.
4. Check your work. This stencil method isn’t an exact science, so check the printout stencil for areas that didn’t transfer over clearly. If you’ve made any mistakes, just wipe off the chalk and try again. If any spots are missing chalk, fill them in accordingly with chalk or when painting.
5. Time to paint! Take your time while painting, especially if you’re filling in a script font. Make the lines very smooth and straight. Light colors (e.g., white, pinks, yellows) might require two coats of paint.
And just like that, you have a one-of-a-kind gift for a one-0f-a-kind mom.