Tuesday, August 28, 2012

2 Back to School DIY T-shirt projects!!

So....I took the entire summer off from blogging. It has been wonderful but I am glad to be back.  And since my kids start school next Tuesday I have a project list forever long that I am dying to get to. These next two projects for back to school are more of my Pinterest finds. How did I ever survive before Pinterest?
 
 
The first is a DIY painted stripe T-shirt. All I needed was a plain white T, some painters or masking tape and basic acrylic craft paint. I choose neon because I am on a neon kick right now.
Lay your shirt as flat as you can and don't forget to line the inside of the shirt with wax paper or in my case an old plastic IKEA cutting board. (so that the paint does not leak through to the back side)
Next place your tape to desired stripe length. I just made sure mine got progressively closer together.

 
**TIP- I used pieces of tape that were long enough at the ends to attach it to the table. This kept my shirt secure and stable while I painted it.**

 
The rest is easy. Paint. Let Dry. Peel off tape.
 
Super cute trendy shirt that cost under $10.00.
 
This next project did not go so well.
It's a Watermark Tee and it did work, but it was also a for sure my "tester" and I'll tell you why...THE GLUE. That darn glue. I was suppose to use the BLUE Gel glue you find in stores, only I could not find it anywhere!! So I used the next best thing which was the clear Gel glue. And technically it totally worked (dye wise) but the letters bleed together everywhere so much that you can't even read what I wrote. Not to mention that because it is clear...I had a hard time reading my own writing when I was putting it on.

I'll give you the quick tutorial anyways because it does work you just have to really make the glue come out in a thin line.
Start with a plain white T,  BLUE Gel glue, and a small bottle of RIT dye. Choose a quote, or a lyric or a saying you love to write on the shirt in glue.
I choose to write the word Love in as many languages as I could...but you would never be able to tell looking at it.
Next, let it dry completely. I let mine sit for over 24 hours. Then follow the directions on the back of the RIT dye container.
 
Voila! Another cute and creative shirt for Back to School!