Snowy T-shirt
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Even if you're expecting a white Christmas this year, your crafter will love making it snow on these whimsical winter shirts. Just be sure all elves involved wear rubber gloves and use caution during the bleaching process.
What you'll need
- Rubber gloves
- Brightly colored cotton T-shirt, prewashed
- Plastic trash bags or tablecloth
- Plastic grocery bags
- Scissors
- 3 kitchen sponges
- Bleach
- Small disposable container (such as an empty margarine tub)
- Spray bottle
- Fabric markers, such as FabricMate or Marvey
If it's not easily seen, you may want to mark the bleached (snow) and unbleached (sky) portions of the shirt with masking tape to avoid losing your snowman in a blizzard!
How to make it
To begin, lay the shirt flat on a plastic trash bag or old tablecloth and slip one or two grocery bags flat inside it. Cut the sponges into a star and two circles, one slightly larger than the other. Rinse the sponges with water and wring them out thoroughly.
With a window open for ventilation, pour a shallow layer of bleach into the disposable container and about 2 inches into the spray bottle. Have your child spritz bleach across the bottom of the shirt to saturate it. She should gradually apply less bleach as she moves up the shirt, ending with a thin mist across the middle. Allow the bleach to soak in for a moment to see how it's working.
To build the snowman, help your child dip the larger round sponge into the bleach, squeezing to remove excess liquid, then press the sponge onto the shirt. Lift the sponge and check the boldness of the imprint. She can repeat this step if necessary, but should avoid using too much bleach, as this can obscure the image. Repeat with the smaller round sponge for the snowman's head, then complete the scene with a bleached star. Allow the shirt to dry overnight, then soak it briefly in hot, soapy wat
