You know I have an affinity for favorite old t-shirts. I simply cannot throw away a sentimental shirt. Especially the Chicago Fire Department shirts that my dad has given us. We wear them till they literally start falling apart, I alter them to fit better so I'll wear them more, and now I've begun using them as wall art!
Paxton has grown out of his animal-themed nursery. So gradually we've been turning his room into a more big-boy room. He already had a giant fire station (Kidkraft Deluxe Fire Rescue Set) that he got for Christmas last year, plus several larger fire trucks, so we decided to continue that theme.
I used several different t-shirts for all the frames. The back design for three of the shirts were put into these red frames. I took the backing of the frame out, wrapped the design on the back of t-shirt around the wood backing, and placed it in the frame.
I still had the front emblems from the t-shirts leftover that I didn't want to throw away, so I used those in some smaller frames that I had spray-painted red. I used duct tape again to attach the fabric to the the back of the white photo mat.
But for now, this is a good upgrade (along with that headboard I got from craigslist & the little red dresser that was about to be tossed in the trash by my neighbors - a good sanding and a fresh coat of glossy red paint, and it fits right in!)
Someone shared this post with me today and it's incredible how you've preserved these wonderful sentimental tshirts. Thank you for sharing this! Looking forward to looking at your archives for more projects! Thanks
This is such a great idea! We have a lot of sports jerseys from all the teams and different sports our three boys have played on. This would be a fun way to decorate their game room. I've pinned your project, and eventually, when I finish my post about great ways to repurpose t-shirts, I will include a link here!
I really like this idea, and you are inspiring me to frame all my race t-shirts from all the 5K and 10K's I ran with my Dad. The original plan was to make a quilt, but I think i like this better. Thanks for sharing.
Found this picture a few weeks ago of what I was pretty sure was 4004 in some photos my Grandma had let me borrow several years ago that I had saved to my computer. Low and behold one night I was looking them over and seen this picture of two of my uncles taken in Cheyanne in 1973. My uncle standing in front of it in the brown shirt actually worked for Union Pacific and retired as an engineer. He was my Grandmas brother Doyle. The other Uncle was married to my Grandmas sister. Pretty sure my Uncle Doyle was retired by the time this picture was taken. He lived in Cheyanne I think. He started out as a fireman back in the day. I remember him talking about the Big Boys. Not sure if he spent time in one when they were still in service. 4004 was one of the 8 out of the original 25 built that never got scrapped. As some of you may know they restored 4014 to be operational again. I have seen 4014 in person 4 times now since 2019 when it came through Iowa. Last summer I seen it twice. The thing is awesome. So glad Union Pacific brought it back to life.
UP has the 3985 which is a Challenger that has been ran some but recently parked it. Not sure I have heard of any plans to work it over. They also have the 844 that they have made some runs with. It came through my home town a couple times at least 10 years ago. Not sure about it's road worthiness right now either.
UP divested itself of most of it's historic projects. The 3985, 844 & a load of other relics were shipped off to Steve Sandberg at Railroading Heritage of Midwest America a few years ago. The 3985 hasn't been run by itself since 2010 when it failed boiler inspection & needed an overhaul.
The other 7 Big Boys don't have the same bill of health the 4014 had. It would be cheaper to build a new one at this point. Which is what's going on with the PRR T1 Trust. It's a pipe dream that's about 52% complete.
