A Pinterest Summer: Sharpie Shirts

 I feel kind of like I blinked and summer was over.  Here I am typing my last activity for our Pinterest Summer Series and my kids are at school doing their thing (and hopefully not melting. . . it's going to be 110 degrees today!).  I hope you all had a fantastic summer and got to do some fun things with your family. 

One of the last week's of our vacation we tried out the sharpie tie dye shirts.  I had seen this idea before school got out and knew we were going to do this. This was a project I was super excited about all summer long, but it took until the last week of vacation to actually get it done.  It was also really easy.  Like SUPER-DUPER easy!  Also, don't let the Tie Dye in the name scare you away. . . there's no crazy messes with this one!  Also, the white shirts. . . super cheap!

So, let's get started!  All you need is a white shirt, some sharpies, a piece of cardboard (we used plastic box lids with a target bag over the top), and a spray bottle with some hydrogen peroxide in it.

First of all, Hobby Lobby is your friend.  They have shirts from 0 months all the way up to at least a XL, maybe bigger.  They are regularly less than 3 dollars.  That makes this project so cheap!

Next you need to put a piece of cardboard between the layers of the shirt.  That way it won't bleed through.  If you are like me and the trash had already been taken out and so that Prime Pantry box was already gone (they are huge!) and so you have to get creative, think plastic tub lids with Target bags over them (so the lids don't get destroyed).

And then, let the kids go at it with sharpies.  Lines, dots, you name it they can do it! 

Then, when they are all done coloring and designing their shirts, give them the spray bottle and let them spray.  I recommend doing this away from any painted furniture. . . we may have taken some paint off one of my metal patio chairs. . . OOPS!.  As they spray, the ink from the sharpie will start spreading. . . like tie die. 

And, ta-da!  They love the way they came out!  Weston made a crazy monster and Ethan played with different designs to see how they would spread.  They ended up loving them!

Wondering how to keep them all pretty?  Soak the shirts for 30-60 minutes in a bowl of white vinegar and then wash them in the washer.  This will set the color.  Ours faded a little bit, but they still look great! 

We had so much fun doing this one and it was a great way to wrap up our summer! 

If you are just joining us, check out our summer Pin Challenge:

Rock Painting

T-Shirt Bags

Solar S'mores

Slime

Directed Drawing

Pool Noodle Fun

Did you try any pins out this summer?  Post a picture to Instagram and use the hashtag below to share what you did.  I would love to see them!