Father's Day Fun

Being a product of the 80s and growing up in the 90s we created many projects using puff paints. Even today I still use them. There was one project in particular that was a special go-to most Father's Days. I remember the feeling of squishing my hands in puff paint to make sure my hand (or foot) was completely covered, and then my mom would guide my hand to the perfect spot and ::smash:: my hand was forever emblazoned in bright green on my dad's newly created shirt. All of us kids got our own special location on these shirts, and my dad would wear them with pride. I remember how cherished they were and how special I felt when I saw him wear our creations.

This year for Father's Day I gave myself an objective. I wanted to create an updated version of this idea. At some point this past year, my brother's roommates created interesting designs on their shirts using bleach, and it just got the wheels in my head turning. I wondered how I could use that idea. Grandma Glenda and I put our heads together and we created Constellation Hand Prints.

Here it is in a nutshell, but I'll break it down for you.

You will need:

spray adhesive

a spray bottle containing half bleach and half water

a hanger with an upside down plastic bag on it

a shirt

cardstock

First we traced Connor's hand prints onto pretty substantial cardstock, and then cut them out.

We hung the shirt on the hanger that had the plastic bag already attached. We put the bag inside to protect the back of the shirt since we didn't want the bleach to bleed through. Then we LIGHTLY sprayed the adhesive on the hands and placed them in the location we wanted on the shirt. Be sure not to spray too much because you don't want any of the sticky residue to adhere to the shirt itself.

We then headed outside. We placed the shirt on some newspapers just to protect the back from getting dirty on the ground. Time to spray! Now be careful not to go overboard with the spraying. Our first "test" shirt came out almost white from Grandma's exuberant spraying. Now that I had the bottle in hand I sprayed a little at a time. Not too close to the shirt, and trying to get an even spray.

Be patient because as the bleach processes it will begin to show up. If you see that there is a place you want to add more, than do it as it appears and it will keep you from over spraying.

After it processed/dried for a few minutes I peeled back the prints and was able to reuse them for my second shirt/design. I then hung this medium blue shirt up to dry a little more as I worked on the next one.

The second shirt I was able to use the exact same prints since I used a pretty heavy cardstock (think file folder) and I didn't go crazy with the spray adhesive. Remember you're adhering it just to keep the edges down, not to make it permanent. Again, put it on a hanger with a plastic bag, took it outside, and created a different design.

This time I put the hand prints in the center and sprayed even less. The bleach spots on the dark blue shirt turned a pinkish/brown and I loved the way it looked.

It truly reminded me of the Milky Way and I was thrilled. I hung this one up to dry for a few minutes and then promptly took them into the bathroom for a water rinse in the sink. Though we didn't use straight bleach, we were afraid it might eat through the shirt if we let it sit for too long. We rinsed until we couldn't smell bleach anymore and then sent them off to the dryer, and voila! A perfect Father's Day present! I still can't get believe how easy it was, and that a little idea turned into something so perfect and special. I wish I could have made one for Grandpa Gary, because I know he would have sported it the same way he did our puff paint creations. 

I feel like Tim had the same reaction to his shirt that dad always had to ours. It meant so much to him. Here is the one he decided to sport on Father's Day! He was so thrilled and touched by how special it was.  He can't decide which one he likes more and is packing both of them for our vacation!