Craft-a-week TRIAL RUN!

Hi all,

Well, given that this week is  supposedly the return to "normalcy" as well as the first week of the new year, as expected NOTHING has been normal this week. But with the Jan. 16th start date for our "Game On/WW: Minnesota style" looming, I'm busy getting ready to make some healthy changes to my life (and kick my friends BUTTS in the process!! :) But I was able to sneak a craft in-a bleach t-shirt for my niece Paula for her birthday. Unfortunately I hit some snags, so I will have to start over this weekend, but here is what I've started thus far! Check it out!

 Ok, so the supplies you'll need for this are an ALL COTTON shirt (this is where my mistake was-I have now learned that polyester does NOT work for this craft! urgh!), and a Bleach pen (perhaps two just in case-they are only a few dollars and you can find them by the bleach at any target, etc.) and I'd recommend some white chalk to draw out your design with first.

So I laid out the shirt (this is the polyester version, but you get the idea) and put something between the layers so the bleach wouldn't bleed through and ruin the back. I then took chalk and drew out my design on the shirt to help gauge the placement of my design.

So this is what it looked like once I was done applying the bleach. Make sure to shake the bottle, and test it before using it to get used to the flow, but it comes out quite easily once you get going.

Alright, so the last step after completing your design would be to let it sit from 10 minutes (a shirt that has been used/washed or is older tends to pick up the bleach faster) to 2 hours (newer or thicker shirts take the longest), checking periodically to see if the color is fading behind the bleach (you'll be able to tell without touching it.) When you feel it's done, I suggest taking it to a sink with a sprayer if you have one, or any water outlet, and washing off the bleach thoroughly. I was initially concerned that the bleach would run, but it didn't on the first shirt I did prior to this, and I don't think it would otherwise if you wash quickly.

Then, you can either wash your shirt or simply set it out to dry and POOF! You're done!!!

I plan to redo the shirt on a COTTON shirt (my polyester shirt seen in these photos didn't absorb the bleach, it was bizarre and it just washed off with a faded tint behind it-grr!) and I will post pics of the results this weekend, but as promised, here is my blog on the craft of this week!! Thoughts?

Oh, one last thought: I did see on pinterest the idea of putting bleach in a spray bottle, and then cutting out a design, taping it to the shirt and spraying the REST of the shirt with bleach-this may have to be tried as another craft-a-week activity! Could be fun!!