Tired of the giving the same old Father’s Day gifts? Want your children to use their imagination to create something unique while still having it be useful? Here is a quick, easy, and inexpensive gift your kids can make this year. (I recommend this for ages 4+).
1) Gather up your materials.
You will need:
- T-shirt (darker colors work best. I love these soft shirts I found in the men’s section at Target)
- Bleach pen
- Cardboard
2) Practice.
You only get one shot with this project, so planning ahead is essential. I suggest having your child practice their drawing a couple times. It is very hard to achieve details with this project so I suggest simple line drawings.
I also suggest having your child practice drawing with the bleach pen on a paper plate so they are comfortable with squeezing it while moving the pen.
3) INSERT CARDBOARD!
This may seem simple and obvious, but if you don’t put cardboard (or some other barrier) between the layers of material, the bleach will run through to the back.
4) Draw image on shirt.
Have your child draw on the shirt with the bleach pen. Let the bleach sit for a few minutes to make sure it is working (you should be able to see the change in color around the lines of bleach). However, don’t leave it too long or it can spread. I usually let it sit 3-5 minutes, depending on how the shirt I’m using. Dark colors tend to bleach more quickly.
After drawing A LOT of ideas, my 4-year-old daughter finally settled on a motorcycle and sun.
5) Rinse, wash, & dry.
Rinse the shirt thoroughly (and then some more) to make sure all the bleach is out. Then wash and dry it as normal.
6) Wrap it up!
The hardest part of this whole project is trying to get your kids to actually wait until Father’s Day.
Have fun crafting, and show those daddies how much they are loved!
Thanks for this great idea! My kids enjoyed so much working on the new decorated T-shirt for their dad. And my husband really liked it!
Oh, I’m so glad you tried it out (and, of course, that your husband enjoyed it)! 🙂