Nothing says “I will love you forever Mom” like a tattoo, but here is an adorable toddler alternative! Appliqued shirts are a great way to make a special day even more memorable. You won’t be able to resist your sweeties in these matching Mom tattoo shirts.
Mothers Day is just around the corner and I simply cannot believe that I am a mother to a, now 5 year old boy and three year old little girl. I am, in fact, one proud momma and am so sad at how fast the years are flying by. It seems like yesterday that I celebrated my very first Mother’s Day with my handsome three month old baby boy. Two years later I added another reason to celebrate Mother’s day with a baby girl. A couple years ago I found myself thrilled with the thought of my son and daughter sporting matching “Mom tattoo” shirts for Mothers Day. This was kind of a selfish project, but I was pleased as punch to tote my adorable little ones around to all of our family Mothers Day functions in these shirts. They were just over three years old and one year old that Mother’s Day. My little girl was toddling all over by that time, and my little man was becoming a big boy. I simply adored these shirts on them, and they were super easy to make and really inexpensive too.
I started with two black Cranimals shirts from walmart. They were each $3.50, one from the infant girl’s section, and one from the little boy’s section. I was able to use scraps of fabric that I had on hand to create the Mom tattoo appliques. This takes very small amounts of fabric, a little heat and bond, and a sewing machine to create. Go to my easy applique tutorial for step by step instructions on appliqueing shirts. The only difference here is that you are layering one applique on top of another.
My little girl’s shirts was made using a cute red and white polka dot pattern. I printed a heart the size I needed off of the computer and then cut a heart out of the polka dot fabric. I then added an appliqued backing to attach it to the shirt. I then hand drew the little banner for the word mom to go in on white fabric. I appliqued the heart first, then the banner, and last the letters M and O in black fabric.
I made my son’s shirt the exact same way, except I used plain red fabric for the heart to make it a little more masculine. The sizes of the graphics were also just a little bit larger than on my daughter’s shirt. I used matching thread and my sewing machine to sew around each fabric applique to finish off the shirts. I like the detail it adds to the shirts, and it helps them wash and wear a little better. 
I am so amazed when I look back at the photos from that Mother’s Day at how much my kids have grown. They have morphed from toddlers to big kids, with not a stitch of baby left in their faces anymore. Of course, they will always be my babies no matter how big they get. I am certain that at their ages now, I would not be able to coax them into wearing matching Mom shirts anymore! Good thing I took advantage of it when they were too little to put up a fight!