Great Idea For Old (And New) T-Shirts

Do you have a T-shirt that is washed out but you still love it? Or do you have a design that you would love to put on a t-shirt. Well I have a great solution!

About a month ago the we were planning the PTO's annual walkathon. Jennifer and myself were trying to figure out a t-shirt design that was A. cost effective and B. different from last year. We would make shirts for the board members to wear on the day of the walkathon and then we would make one for each student that raise more than$50. While looking on pintrest I found the perfect idea.

All you need is a t-shirt, a bleach gel pen (for whites) and you design. You can either free hand or use a stencil. Place wax paper or card board on the inside of your shirt. Place the stencil where you want the design and then color in using the bleach pen. Or begin drawing free hand with the bleach pen. Then let it sit. The longer you let it sit the lighter the color will be. Once it is the color you want rinse the shirt in the sink. Some people just put the shirt in the washer and wash it alone with no other shirts. However I prefer to wash the shirt by hand the first time. Once I finished washing the shirt by hand I wrung the shirt out and then placed it in the dryer. You can wash the shirt either way. The gel does not run and will stay in the spot you put it. When I went to wash the shirt after wearing it, I did wash it in the washer alone just in case. However every time I wash it after I was able to wash it with other clothes without a problem. Below is a picture of the shirt that I made for the walkathon.

Creative Candle: Great Gift at a Low Cost

I was looking for a gift that was inexpensive for the kids to give the school secretaries. I was searching on pintrest and came across a candle craft. This craft the kids can draw a picture or you can create a poem or picture and print it out. Because you are printing on tissue paper you need to use an ink jet printer only, NOT a laser printer. I also tried this with photos too. Just print the picture onto tissue paper using the directions below:)

Supplies:

                                                        regular paper
                                                         tissue paper
                                                              tape
                                                    sharpies or markers
                                                             a candle
                                                           wax paper
                                                         and a heat gun

1. Tape a piece of tissue paper to a piece of copy paper. The tissue paper size should have a maximum size of your candle.  Make sure it is taped tightly to the paper especially if you are going to print your picture or poem.  

2. Either have you or the kids draw the picture or write the words you want on the candle. Or set the paper in your printer and hit print.

3.   Cut out your design, and place it on to your candle.  It is important to cut away as much of the excess tissue paper as you can.

4. Then take a piece of wax paper that is larger than your candle.  Pull it tight around your candle,(wax side down)  and use your heat gun to melt your design into the candle.  Moving the heat gun in a back and forth motion for about 30-40 seconds.  Be careful of your fingers, the heat gun will be hot. Also do not go longer than the 40 seconds or you will start to melt the candle itself.

5. After the 30-40 seconds gently peel back your wax paper and make sure the entire design is adhered to the candle.  If not just repeat with the wax paper and heat gun.

After you follow these steps then you can wrap the candle up and give as a gift. I may update this blog eventually. I will be trying to print a family picture out on the tissue paper and attach it to a candle. That would make a really cool gift.