Summer's end: Bleach T-Shirts

Today's project took a lot of prep work but the results were flipping awesome!

Olea was the photographer for most of the pictures, not that you'll notice a difference but.... :)

Yesterday I had the kids pick a design from the Disney Cricut cartridges I have. (thanks Mom) Then I cut some out on vinyl and some on card-stock. There were reasons for the different materials but I won't go into it just yet.

I put some scrap board in each of the shirts to create stiffness and prevent bleed through.

Zurich's design was just the regular base (Cricut people, you know what I am talking about right?) so I got out my scalpel and started connecting cuts and adding more. That took a fair amount of time. Then I transferred the vinyl to the T-shirt, which would have been easier with transfer paper, but alas, I have none.

I used card stock on the words for Olea's shirt just to try it. Cut it, use spray adhesive and place it. I thought this would be the best method for the back of Zurich's shirt since he had floating letters. I was right. Much easier. I put the whole thing down to spray it with adhesive (all pieces like a puzzle) and then transferred it to the back of his shirt and peeled away the parts I didn't want. Last night I laid out all the shirts with their stencils on them.

Today I put 50/50 bleach and water in a spray bottle. Put out some scrap paper on the lawn and got out some gloves (again, thanks Mom). I brought their shirts out and them after a quick discussion on how dangerous bleach is and the importance of being obedient so this could be fun.

I helped the kids spray their shirts and ooh and ahhh. Did one side blotted it with a paper towel and then flipped it over and bleached the designs on the back. I might have been a little too cautious about over bleaching. I thought it would continue to process so I didn't want to leave it on to long and we let them dry in the sun a bit and then threw them in the washing machine. I washed it without soap and then a quick wash with soap and dryer it. The kids were pretty psyched about them.

Knowing what I do now I might have sprayed it a few more times for the kids designs. But honestly I like the distinct lines but subtle contrast. I'd totally wear one. I'm a tad jealous. I got the kids' shirts at the dollar store a few months ago and they only had smalls. When Gary got home he was totally impressed with them.