I've been promising my friends that I would post bleach-art instructions. The holiday break finally offered me an opportunity to do just that. (If we're being honest here, I must admit that it's the LAST day of my two week break and I'm just now doing this project. Procrastination and I go WAY back and have a rather co-dependent relationship.)
This project is an "upcycle" project. A friend of mine gave me this shirt because it had bleach stains on it anyway. Don't you hate it when that happens? Now, you'll know exactly what you can do the next time that happens!
This project is an "upcycle" project. A friend of mine gave me this shirt because it had bleach stains on it anyway. Don't you hate it when that happens? Now, you'll know exactly what you can do the next time that happens!
Original bleach spots clearly visible - but no worries because they will soon be part of the art!
Sometimes I use sticky shelf paper and sometimes I use stencil plastic. In this case, I drew the butterflies freehand on the sticky paper (before it was sticky, of course) after searching the web for some images. Once I'd looked at a few butterfly silhouettes, I felt confident enough to draw a few. (This is when my ADHD comes in handy - good enough for me, baby!)
Butterfly stickers pre-spray...
Then it's time to cut out my butterflies and stick them on the shirt (avoiding the bleach areas because I want the butterflies to be the color of the shirt).
Before spraying, take these tips into consideration:
- I converted a few cookie trays into bleach trays that I keep outside because I like to have a cookie tray between the front and back of my shirts. It would have been great to get a picture of that for you...but trust me, it's there.
- Always spray outside and be aware of the wind. (Oh - and only wear your "bleach clothes" for obvious reasons.)
- I enjoy having wrinkles in my shirts because I think part of the charm is that every pattern is a little bit different.
- My bleach/water ratio is about 50/50 and after each spraying session, I squirt regular water through the sprayer (from a regular glass) to clear out the bleach and prolong the life of my sprayer.
- I've had much better luck with the 99-cent sprayers from the hardware stores. (Those pricey $4 sprayers didn't work nearly as well for me. Go figure.)
Before spraying, take these tips into consideration:
- I converted a few cookie trays into bleach trays that I keep outside because I like to have a cookie tray between the front and back of my shirts. It would have been great to get a picture of that for you...but trust me, it's there.
- Always spray outside and be aware of the wind. (Oh - and only wear your "bleach clothes" for obvious reasons.)
- I enjoy having wrinkles in my shirts because I think part of the charm is that every pattern is a little bit different.
- My bleach/water ratio is about 50/50 and after each spraying session, I squirt regular water through the sprayer (from a regular glass) to clear out the bleach and prolong the life of my sprayer.
- I've had much better luck with the 99-cent sprayers from the hardware stores. (Those pricey $4 sprayers didn't work nearly as well for me. Go figure.)
 Right after spraying, while it is still wet. |  After air-drying and then completely clean (washed and dried). You can see it gets a bit darker. |
Ta-dah! Easy peasy, right? Feel free to ask any questions you have and have fun - don't stress out because it's a cheap hobby and as long as you don't spray bleach-water while wearing nice clothes, you shouldn't be out very much money. I'd love to see pictures of any shirts you create so let me know if you take the plunge!
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