mother's day diy.

So, guys. I totally made my mother's day prezzie and I got it from Pinterest and I thought I would show you guys like, a little DIY thing for it. Is that cool? Or is it lame? I guess we may never know.

Anyway, I did a bleach pen t-shirt! And obviously I chose a shirt in my mom's favorite color.

Things you'll need:
-t-shirt or clothing item of your choice
-bleach pen
-a big piece of cardboard
-wax paper
-tape
-any stencils or patterns if you are not a free-hander like myself.

First, you'll want to cut the cardboard so it will fit nicely inside the shirt or pants that you're working with. Mostly just so things will stay in place and not get shifty on you.

Then, if you plan on re-using your cardboard like I do, cover it with wax paper and tape it down in all the spots that are kinda roll-y still so it won't get in the way of you drawing.

Then you put the shirt on the cardboard and tape on any stencils that you want so they don't shift.

 Before you start drawing, make sure you shake the pen really well so it's an even consistency and so the bleach-y part is all mixed with the gel-y part. And then have at it! Draw to your hearts content.




Right after I finished drawing.

Right before I rinsed off the
bleach.

I let mine set for about 10 minutes, but you can go longer or shorter. You can even let the bleach dry all the way if you want the color to be white white white. If you don't let all the bleach dry, it comes out different colors. Which, mine has a little bit of a teal color in the middle of some of it, which is a result of having thicker lines or globby bits of bleach gel on those parts. And the longer you leave it on there, the thicker your letters or design will be, because the bleach kinda seeps a little bit and gets soaked into the fibers of the cloth. And you can see in the pictures how you can tell that the color is changing and you can see what it's going to look like as it goes on.

An example of the color
variation.

  When it's as dried as you would like, rinse off the bleach with COLD water, to stop the bleaching process. COLD water. That way, you're good to go to wash it with other stuff if you want. Or, if you're paranoid, like me, you can wash and dry it by itself. :)



Once you've rinsed it, like I said, go ahead and wash and dry as normal. And that's it! Ta-da! You have a cool unique shirt that no one else will have!



Finished product!

I went with a lime theme because that's my mom's favorite color. And I also went with a joke-y present because of a recent conversation I had with my mom. Basically, she's just the best, and I don't tell her nearly as often as I should how much I appreciate and love her. Even though some days she drives me up the wall, she's still the best Momma for me.

Anyway, I hope everyone has an awesome week! I may have an announcement later this week, and I may not. Look for a post on probably Wednesday. :)

Cheers!
     Reille K.