Happy Wednesday! I missed you all last week and hope you enjoyed my last blog post on dog paw print art! I skipped my blog last week since it was fall break in our area. Although, I still did my day job, but took time off from the blog to spend it with Harper! We had a fun week at home, but on Friday we did a fun overnight activity and we also learned how to make tie dye t-shirts! It was such a blast making the shirts and we even wore them to our overnight fun trip!
Quick and Fun Fall Trip!
So, where did we go last weekend … none other than The Great Wolf Lodge! It was a last-minute decision to go. I had forgotten it was only a two-hour drive for us and we were trying to think of something fun for Harper to experience on her very first official fall break. We didn’t have the time to go to the beach, and when The Great Wolf Lodge popped into our heads we had to see if there were any open reservations.
As luck would have it, we were able to get a room and we decided to head out Friday late afternoon and spend the night. The kids were ecstatic to go and so were Ben and I! It’s always fun seeing the joy on a kid’s face. It’s so pure!
We got to Great Wolf and checked in, located our room and then left to explore a bit. We started off with some games in the game room then I showed them the water park. They really wanted to go right then, but I knew they needed some dinner first!
But dinner first!
We ate dinner and then got ready for some water fun! Miles was not afraid of anything and tried all the slides! Harper was bribed to try the slides, but after she did it she wanted to go again and again. Sawyer loved everything too, but couldn’t do as many of the activities since … well, he’s only 16 months! HA!
Mom’s freaked out … what else is new?
One thing that freaked me out was Sawyer and his need to plant his face in the water. He’d squirm away from me and plant his face in the water over and over again. I have no clue why he likes sticking his head in the water, but at least he does well holding his breath! This kid is aging me fast!
After enjoying the water thill their close at 8pm, we went to our room and settled for the night. The kids loved their beds. Harper was on the top bunk, Sawyer on the bottom and Miles in the twin bed next to the bunk beds. This was Sawyer’s first time in a big boy bed, so I wasn’t sure how it would go.
Big boy bed!
I gave Sawyer his night milk as normal and then laid him down in the bottom bunk with his “baby” moose and his blankie. He sat up and talked a bit, but within five minutes or so, he was out like a light till morning! Harper and Miles were exhausted too, and quickly fell asleep.
Day two fun!
The next day, we at our breakfast and then played a bit more in the game area. We tried a little put-put golf until the water park opened. We made our way to the waterpark again and enjoyed the kiddie area, the waterslides and of course the wave pool. That was a favorite of all of ours!
We left early afternoon to eat lunch and head home. We were ready to get back to the dogs and relax. Definitely a fun mini trip … we hadn’t been to Great Wolf for two years. It was definitely nice to be back!
Now, how about learning how to make tie dye t-shirts?!
Whew … but as I said … before we left on the trip, we learned how to make tie dye t-shirts! I made some for Harper, Miles and Sawyer … as well as some for my niece Karlee and nephew Kellen. I also threw in one for Ben and I as well. I’ll show you the tie dye kit we got and the different looks for each shirt we made. They all turned out so unique and awesome!
Grab your supplies!
I grabbed this tie dye kit off of Amazon a while back on a sale. I’d heard multiple good things about it, so I thought I’d give it a try. I also found a white shirt for each of us. Then, to make it even more fun I grabbed a few iron-ons to make the shirts even more awesome and unique!
After you have all your supplies, set up a location to do the tie dye. It’s messy and you don’t want to inadvertently dye something!
Prep your workspace!
I set out some plastic on my counter with plenty of paper towels ready. If I had a rack, like a cookie rack or something, I would have set that up as well. But, I didn’t so I just used plastic and paper towels. You can use a garbage bag for your plastic area, too!
Oh, you’ll also need to get all your white t-shirts wet by soaking them in water and wringing them out, or simply throw them in the wash. I threw mine in the wash on the quick cycle and got my dye ready while that was going.
Easy tie dye kit!
In this dye kit, all you do is fill each tie dye bottle with water. Then, just shake till all the dye inside dissolves. Once your dye is ready and your shirts are wet and your work station is ready to go … the tie dying can commence!
This tie dye kit has a paper with some ideas on fold you can do to achieve a particular look. I did some folds from the instructions and then just had some fun on others. It’s a learning process, but the most fun part is seeing the end result!
Let’s get started!
To start, grab your first shirt. Put on some gloves (plenty of gloves and rubber bands come in this tie dye kit!) and pick out the colors you want for this shirt. Fold the shirt how you wish and then place the rubber bands where you wish. Generally, you use a different color for each section of the rubber bands.
After you have the shirt tied, take the little caps off the dye and start! Generously drip the dye on the appropriate section of the shirt and move to the next color. Try not to over-kill the colors next to each other, or the shirt will get muddy. Just dye up to the rubber band and you’ll notice it soaking in. After you do one side of the shirt, flip it over and fill in the same color on the opposite side.
Waiting time …
Grab a plastic bag, like a grocery bag, and place the shirt in there (with rubber bands and all still intact). We will be letting the shirt sit 6-8 hours in the plastic bag so the dye can soak in.
Once the 6-8 hours has passed, take the shirt out of the bag and cut the rubber bands off. Make sure you have gloves on again! Then slowly open the shirt and look at the amazing pattern! This is the most fun part! Do your ooo’s and awww’s, then move on!
Rinse and wash!
Now, rinse the now awesomely patterened shirt well in the sink and wring it out. You’ll then wash the shirt again. I’d recommend washing with the deepest water level so it can get out all the dye. Then dry the shirt and look at it! The colors will lighten after the wash … FYI!
If you did multiple shirts, do the steps together and wash them together. I didn’t have any issues with color by washing mine together. They all turned out amazing!
I’d also recommend washing these shirts separately from your other clothes for the first few washes … just in case!
Bonus – the decal!
As a bonus, after they are dry you can iron on a decal or image! I grabbed some iron-ons from Amazon. These ones are super easy … just iron on! HA! You’ll need an iron and a pad (I just used a towel and a t-shirt).
Iron time!
Heat up your iron and turn off the steam. Place a towel or pad in between the front and back of the shirt. Then place your iron-on image on the shirt. As to not place the iron directly on the iron-on image, I cut up an old white t-shirt and placed it on top of the iron-on image. This created a buffer between the iron and the image.
Then, just press and hold the iron for 5 seconds or so all over the image. You can check to see if it’s staying by lifting up the plastic. If you see some of the image not yet sticking to the shirt, place the plastic back down and iron a bit more. Once it’s all heat pressed onto the shirt, the plastic piece will come off neatly and you are done! You have learned how to make a tie dye t-shirt!
The results!
Here are a few of the shirts we made … as I said, each was so different but fit the personality of the kid they were made for!
Your turn!
Harper and I had a blast making these shirts. Each person’s is unique and we looked awesome sporting them at the Great Wolf Lodge! We even FaceTime’s Auntie to show off the shirts!
What colors do you plan on using on your tie dye t-shirt? Have some fun with it and let me know in the comments below.
Be blessed!
