Summer fun {custom bleached shirt}

Thanks for all the comments on my trip to Seattle and odd way of entertaining myself in the airport. For those wondering the SkyBridge we were on was a more remote one that only led to a few gates. For that reason it was basically empty unless a plane landed. I sat my camera on the ground – with no one around. I did also sit it on the SkyWalk. Those things are meant to speed you up when you are walking. If you are standing still they move rather slowly so I had plenty of time to take timer pictures without reaching the end.

Here’s another outdoor summer activity.

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My disclaimer: This requires very attentive adult supervision and responsible kids that are obedient and good listeners.

Supplies:

Bleach

Water Guns

Water bottle that can do a light mist spray

Solid color t-shirt (I got mine at Hobby Lobby when they were 50% off…costing me $1.50 each. Score.)

Freezer paper

Rubber gloves (for you and the kids)

Using freezer paper cut out your letter or design. Iron the paper securely onto the shirts. Hang the shirts outside with a piece of cardboard on the inside.

Put on rubber gloves. Fill the water bottle and water guns with bleach. Using the fine mist setting on the water bottle spray around the letter. Then let the kids use the water guns to squirt more bleach randomly on the shirt front and back. This is where the adult supervision is crucial…you don’t want them shooting the gun at anything but the shirts. In the sun it doesn’t take long (just a minute or two) for the bleach to start changing the shirt color. Once it is as light as you want, rinse the shirt…then wash it. You can buy chemicals that further stop the bleaching process, but they cost more than your $1.50 shirt. You don’t want to leave the bleach on too long or it will begin eating the shirt. My friend tried this with a hot pink shirt and it came out super cute.

He should be wearing a rubber glove…the cheap water guns leak a little.

It is Big Brother’s current favorite shirt. It reminds me of the 80s, but 80s is back in style – right? If you notice on the “h” I didn’t get the freezer paper ironed on securely enough. I kind of like the effect it made. The brown parts of the shirt had the bleach on the least amount of time, the gray parts the longest. (yes he got a haircut in between the day we bleached the shirts and the day I took these pics)

Biggest Brother was hanging around when I was trying to get a picture of the shirt. He decided to try to leap over the cooler. Can you guess how that ended up for him?

And after all that fun of making your own shirt, you can curl up on the couch with your legos…snuggling Luke Skywalker & his lightsaber…for a summer nap.

In other news…next week I am going to be a part of the Blogger’s Guide to Summer at Blessed Little Nest. There will be several posts each day and giveaways each day. Some of my very favorite bloggers will be guest posting during the week too…be sure to check it out….just don’t enter any of the giveaways I would kind of like to win them all!

It has been a while since I posted any diy projects…next week I will be posting one….

UPDATE 6.16.10: My friend Jamie emailed me the day I originally posted this. The night before I posted this, she had done a similar thing to a onesie for a gift. It is so cute! I asked her if I could share it with you! Thanks Jamie!