UPDATE: Random.org drew three winners | 7, 18 & 4. Congratulations to cfbarnette, jcarrkc and amyl.lupo! You will receive a email from me shortly~

The kids are out of school for the summer…now what???  I don’t know about you but I struggle with keeping the kiddos entertained after umm…about 3 days. LOL

You know what I am talking about right?   They’re either glued to the television or playing their video games or touting…”I’m bored” and “There’s nothing to do” or better yet…the fighting and bickering starts. UGH!  I knew I could not survive another summer like that so I have devised a plan to keep the boredom at bay.  What you ask???  We, my friends, are going to create our own fun!

What does that mean?  It means that we are going to turn the tv off, put our thinking caps on to find projects we want to make this summer and head to the craft store!

Tie Dye Summer Fun

This week’s craft…Entertaining the kids with Tie Dye!  I love tie dye because there is really no right or wrong method to do it…the kids can be as creative as they want.

You can die just about anything but cotton, rayon and silk seem to work the best.  I let the kids choose what they wanted to die and they chose…wait for it…wait for it…SOCKS!

Crazy socks are all the rage right now (for boys and girls) so it will be the perfect summer project.

To allow others to share in the fun…we decided to invite some school friends over and neighbors over and have a “CRAZY SOCK” party!

Each person was asked to bring  a pair of white cotton socks and I will supply the rest.  I also picked up a spare 10 pack of socks (just in case. lol)

Before the party, I decided to try my hand at a few of the techniques on the instruction sheet so that I would have some examples for them to look at.  (Plus…I wanted to make sure I knew what I was doing right???)

Tie dye supply pic

 Supplies

  • Tulip One-Step Tie-Dye Party Kit
  • Large Disposable plastic tablecloth (included in the party kit for 6)
  • Prewashed 100% cotton shirts, socks, pillowcases, etc… (have guests bring or provide yourself)
  • Plastic bin filled with water (for dampening clothes before dyeing
  • Buckets or plastic bins (for dyeing in)
  • Filled water pitchers, sink or hose
  • Gallon-size resealable Ziploc bags
  • Paper towels
  • Wet wipes
  • Permanent marker
  • Wash care instructions printed to go on bag

Tie dye colors pic

I started by opening the box and laying all the colors out!

 

Tie dye pic 1

The next step was to band the socks and tshirts.

 

tie dye starburst pic

The tshirt was a bit more tricky than the socks, obviously! Lay the tshirt flat. Then twist in a clockwise motion starting in the center. Once it’s in a “ball” band it together.

tie die pillowcase collage

The next step is to place it in your bin and start adding the dyes to the shirt. There’s really no right or wrong way to do this! Once you have added the colors to the shirt place it in a plastic bag and let sit.

tie die sock collage tie die starburst collage

For the socks I laid the flat and placed 6 rubber bands along the sock. Then for each section I alternated colors in red and blue…I was going for a Red, White and Blue theme here…mmmk?!?

I also tried my hand at another tshirt…it was pretty darn addicting! I couldn’t stop at just 1! I banded this shirt length wise and then two horizontal and basically colored a pattern on the shirt with the dyes.

tie die pic 2

Everything got placed in a ziploc bag to let the dye do it’s thing!  Let it sit for 6-8 hours then rinse in warm water to remove the excess dye.  Remove the rubber bands and rinse again.  Now run them through a full wash cycle with hot water and laundry detergent.  Dry as usual and voila!!!

Alright now that you know how to create your very own tie dye with the Tulip Party Kit let’s get you entered to win your very own kit! All you have to do is leave a comment below, it’s just that easy! The giveaway is open to US Residents and will end June 1, 2015 at 9 PM PST.

Each and everyone of you inspire me and I LOVE to see the work that you’ve created. Feel free to share with me on Instagram, Twitter or Facebook. And as always, be sure to follow Diva Of DIY on Pinterest and sign up for our FREE Newsletter to receive the latest projects delivered straight to your inbox!