diy: bleach sprayed shirt

i should probably be ashamed at my complete lack of attention to my blog.

in my head october was going to be a great, busy, blogging month.

in truth, it's been a great, busy, lack of blogging month.

honestly.

i feel bored with myself.

i feel like i have nothing to say.

i'm kinda in a rut.. but more than that, i'm wondering why i blog.

is it the craftiness that brings you here?

the recipes?

my general loveliness?

i'm totally kidding on that last one..

'cause i know it's my sarcastic wit that keeps you coming back!!

whatever it may be that brings you here, thanks for stopping by.

i know i've got to blog that darn birthday party of rance's...

 but it's sorta intimidating me now with all the pictures..

so in the mean time..

how about a easy crafty project?

i'm so cheap, i didn't want to pay for a 'fan' shirt for the babe to wear to his brother's soccer games..

so i totally diy'd it.

i'm became sort of obsessed with this bleach spray technique, if it can be called that, over the summer.

i've started to blog about it a zillion times..

but each time i try to get the boys in their shirts for pictures, it just doesn't pan out.

irked at the lack luster pictures.. i shelved the blog entry on it.

well, when i went to make this shirt last week..

my camera made it clear it was on strike, because the shutter froze up & the battery died.

the nerve, right?

so.. determined to blog this idea already, i went to the trusty ol' cellphone pictures.

(i'm aware the phrase may be a little inappropriate, but it made me laugh, so that's what i settled on! :)

diy: bleach sprayed shirt

-shirt

-bleach

-spray bottle

-freezer paper

-iron

-design/stencil

just cut out your design from freezer paper, making sure the 'shiny' side is facing down to your shirt. i used my slice die cutting machine & cut out the letters. you print letters on to computer paper & trace them on the freezer paper, or freehand a design, etc.

iron the letters down onto your shirt. i had my iron on the cotton setting & just picked it up & put it down for a few seconds on each portion. it doesn't take long to get the letters to adhere. DON'T slide your iron like you normally do, or your design placement could shift on you!

once your design is on where you want it, insert a shirt board or a stray piece of cardboard into the shirt.

take your shirt outside & lay it face up on a towel & surface that you are not worried about ruining. DEFINETELY do this outside, or maybe in dry bathtub.

fill a spray bottle with straight bleach. squirt off to the side on your crummy towel a few times to get the bleach flowing. stand a few feet back from your shirt & spray up into the air, letting the bleach mist drop onto your shirt.

you can spray any amount you want, but if you want your design to POP, you need to try and get a fair amount of bleach around the design part itself... i have found that i like the randomness if i continue to spray up into the air & let it drop down... but you can spray directly at the shirt for a more solid bleached out area.

once you have sprayed an amount that you are happy with, set your shirt off to dry. let dry completely & then peel off your freezer paper. it typically comes off fairly easy once it's dry.

there ya have it.

i've found that the thinner the letters the more likely they are to bleed,

 like the 'y' in my & the 'ck' in kick did here. 

but i'm okay with that.

i've also found that not all shirts bleach the same.

this is a shirt from hobby lobby, & it bleached out pretty much like a pinkish white color.

a black one from the toddler section at hobby lobby bleached out like a orangish white, which was perfect because it was a halloween tee for the babe.

play around with shirt from different places.. see what ya get :)

hopefully i can get a picture of the ones we've made up here soon.

but for now.. i've given up! :)

xo-k

linking to:
whipperberry