Time to Dye

Several months ago I was given a Tie Dye kit by the Hubs. It was in response to my complete obsession with hand dyed yarn and other custom dyes, such as those over on Rainbow Fusions (a really lovely page, go and visit it!) I vaguely recall tying marbles into t shirts and dipping in a pan of dye, along with eggs at Easter as a child, although it isn't a practice I've continued. But I do still hold a special place in my heart for that style of art. Tie Dye kits are readily available now and I urge you to give it a go. It's not as scary or complicated as it might seem...though it can be very messy!

I thought I'd share the results of my dying sesh with you all. It did take longer than i anticipated, and getting up early to start it all off without Little People round my feet didn't really work out, as they were up before I got to the dying stage! Incidentally this is totally an activity that you can share with the kids. You just need to be well prepared with messy clothes, aprons, gloves and covers .....the dye gets everywhere! But on my first try I didn't want to be worrying about dying the children ..or the walls...or the floor... (in the end I escaped with a multicoloured bin lid but that's a small price to pay really!)

The dye really does get everywhere but that's part of the fun, and the beauty. There are loads of tutorials and techniques available. or you can make your own up too.

Anything can be dyed, though natural fibres are the best. Most of the items I used were 100% cotton. I had some plain white t-shirts, that were new and bought especially to dye (I don't normally buy white clothing for my children, I hate laundry and spending hours trying to get whites white is just too much effort for me!) but I also had some old clothes, too, including a white school shirt that I've not quite finished altering, so will share another time.

I just wish i could have saved the paper towels, they looked so pretty.

The colours did fade quite a bit, more than I thought they would, but I've learned loads and hopefully next time the results will be even better. Even so I am pleased with my little efforts. And the children are, too, which is really the main thing after all.

Here they are...still abit damp so not pressed yet, but you'll get the idea!

And it's not just tees that can be dyed. Here's a pair of once white leggings, that had started to go grey. Not any more. 

I'm looking forward to doing this all over again, and involving the children, too. This would make a great activity for the school holidays, so I'll have to book a day in half term to have another dying day.

I hope I have inspired you to have a little go yourself! 

You can see more of my makes, finds and little adventures over on my Facebook page. Come and say hello!

Broken crayons? No problem!

I posted recently on my Facebook page about recycling old, broken crayons and making them useful again, instead of throwing them out.
Here's how I did it!

You need:
Broken crayons with all paper removed.
A silicon tray/mould  such as a muffin tray, ice cube tray, cake pop mould. Please note it must be silicon.
An oven

Preheat the oven to about 150 c
Organise your bits of crayon into colours and fill the moulds with the crayon pieces. You can really play with the colours here, putting them together as a single colour or a rainbow of colours. Be careful not to overfill the moulds!

Put the tray in the oven and set your timer for 5 minutes. You'll need to put it on top of another tray just in case of spills - you don't want wax on the bottom of your oven! You'll also need to stay nearby and keep a close eye on the wax as it melts. It might take a little longer than 5 min, that's just a guide.  As soon as it has melted, take it out of the oven and set it aside to cool.
Please note, the wax will be very hot and will cause burns if spilt. This is definitely not a job for the children!
Once cool, push the crayons out of the moulds, and set the children free with them, to create their masterpieces. Or just play with them, as my 3yr old likes to do!