Personalized Clothes Hangers
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I don’t know about where you live, but there’s a baby boom happening here in my neck of the woods. I have been to several baby showers already this summer, with several more coming up.
Each time I give a gift, I like to include something personal and hand made, so all these little cherubs will be getting personalized hangers for those adorable, tiny outfits that are sure to fill the closet.
Here is what you’ll need to make your own:
- Wood or plastic hanger (make sure the face of the hanger is flat – this is where you’ll be doing the decorating).
- Your favorite digital paper.
- Modpodge and a brush
- Ribbon, gift tag, or other embellishments to add the finishing touches to your creation.
Here’s a before photo of my hanger. It came with a department store outfit and it’s always bothered me that the brand name is prominently displayed. This hanger is plastic – but wood is an even better choice. Amazon.com and The Container store sell children’s sized wood hangers and IKEA is a great source for adult sized wood hangers. You might even get lucky and find some at your local fabric store’s $1 section.
Because the edges of my hanger will show on my finished project, I chose a paper with some similar blue tones in in. Quirky Twerp’s Pattern Play Paper Pack fit the bill just perfectly.
I chose my favorite pattern and printed it onto an 8.5×11 sheet of standard weight computer paper using my inkjet printer. Since inkjet prints aren’t water safe, and ModPodge is water based, I had to figure out a way to seal my print. If I didn’t, I’d have a smeary, smudgy mess on my hands. No good. Two simple steps solved the problem…
First, I let my sheet of printed paper sit in the freezer for about 6 hours. I have NO IDEA why this works, but it does. Who knew?
After the freezer treatment, I lightly traced two hanger shapes onto my paper and cut them out.
Next, I took my cut out hanger shapes and gave the paper a light spray with aerosol hairspray, just to be really sure my colors wouldn’t run.
Giving the hairspray a few minutes to dry, it’s time to attach my paper pieces to my hanger. Any decopage kind of glue will work… ModPodge is my absolute favorite! 
I applied a thin coat of Mod Podge to my hanger with a foam brush, then placed the paper piece on top. After letting it sit for a few minutes to firm up, I trimmed away any edges of paper that were overhanding the hanger sides. With that finished, I applied a top coat of Mod Podge to seal everything in. Once that top coat is dry-ish (15-20 minutes), I applied 4-5 more coats. Flip your hanger over and repeat for the other side. Here’s my hanger drying in between coats…
With all my top coats applied, I let it dry over night, then added a little tag with baby’s name and some coordinating ribbon. Ready for gift giving!
You can dress up hangers for any theme. These would make lovely gifts for a bride-to-be, a new mom, or just a friend who needs a little pick-me-up. Happy crafting!
Other Articles by sporte91:
- Super Hero Masks - June 6th, 2012
- Hybrid Cupcakes - May 2nd, 2012
- Wine Glass Markers - April 11th, 2012
- Three Little Birds Wall Art - March 24th, 2012
- Pencil Valentine Cards - January 25th, 2012
