Bleach Art T-Shirts

We've been doing some Summer Crafting with the Kids.

Keeping it Simple - but filled with lots of options for personal expression.

We started with a Solid Black Cotton Tee.

Your work surface should be covered completely.  I also placed a barrier on the inside of the t-shirts to prevent bleeding from the front side to the back - although that could be a successful look as well. 

Not any Rules here.  

The girls Raided my Craft Studio and pulled out all kinds of decorations:

stencils

chip board shapes

keys

paper clips

flowers

rice

silly bands

Almost anything goes

Just make sure your decorations are fairly water resistant (heavy cardboard worked just fine).  And that you don't care if they get bleached (metal objects can discolor and paper will lose it's color).  This is not the place to use  family heirlooms or expensive mementos.

After (what seemed like) Hours of Arranging - and Re-Arranging.  They each decided on the perfect design.

Truth is - they wanted to keep working on their designs but I was itching to see how the effect would turn out so I rushed them to finish.

Next step is to mix up a solution of bleach and water into a spray bottle.

I forgot to take a picture of this part (see above where I couldn't wait any longer).  I'm not sure of the proportions.  I actually used the bottle I already has mixed for in the bathroom to keep the shower mildew at bay. I would guess about 1/3 bleach to 2/3 water.

Then you just spritz over the design.  

We adjusted the spray nozzle to include both a stream spray and a mist spray for different effects.  

Don't they look cool.  

Just as a precaution - I gave them a quick wash and dry to remove any of the extra bleach solution.  

Next on the agenda is to try the Bleach Pen method - although I think that would require considerably more artistic effort than I want in a Summer Craft.