first crafty post...

let me start off by saying i hope you had a fantastic fourth of july weekend!  I LOVE THIS HOLIDAY!  we had a great weekend spent in the country w/ family and friends, and we came back to spend some time in our hometown as i love our small hometown celebrations :)

in my last post i mentioned a project my friends and i did (my whole hobby lobby fiasco) last week.  my friend brooke had mentioned in the beginning of summer that she wanted to try making tie-dye shirts w/ permanent markers.  i had never heard of it, and i was totally game!  so, i suggested we do red, white and blue shirts, and they turned out SUPER CUTE!

taken on the 4th after a HOT ride in the parade :)

my isabella is being a trooper...sophia, she's just telling you like it is, "HOT!"

now i totally forgot to take photos (of course i did) during the process.  so, i decided to make another one so i could show y'all step-by-step :)

WHAT YOU NEED:

white shirt

permanent markers

alcohol (91%)

dropper (or straw)

cardboard or cereal box (something to put b/w the front and back of the shirt)

any iron letters or appliques you wish to use

FRESH AIR (the strong markers and alcohol can do a number on you!)

first, stuff cardboard in the shirt so your marker and alcohol won't bleed thru

then draw a small burst of color (like a flower)

surround that first "flower" w/ a diff color all around it and continue to do so until you reach the size you desire.  you just want to make sure to leave room for others.

*please note that the 4th of july shirts i made was done w/ one "flower" right in the middle of the shirt

now for the fun part...

take your dropper (or straw and hold the top of the straw w/ one finger) and dip into the alcohol.

drop a little bit of alcohol in the center of one "flower", and then circle around each ring while releasing alcohol (the weaker percentage of alcohol, the more you'll need to use).

continue process on each "flower"

you'll start to see the colors bleed into each other...

after finishing each "flower" let it dry for about 10-15 minutes and then dry in your dryer.  once it's dried (should only take about 20 minutes) you can iron on decoration (follow directions to your specific decoration :)

now, i will say that i think these are a GREAT idea for a special occasion that your child might get one use out of :/  holiday wear, birthday party, etc.  there has been some mixed results w/ the washing (maybe my gal pals can comment?) ;)

i hope i wasn't too confusing!!!  please be patient w/ me as i hope practice makes perfect on relaying instructions for these projects!!!  coming up next...the REAL pineapple upside-down cake recipe aaaand, in the works, the very first FAB MAMA~JAMA OF THE MONTH!!!