I purchased Women sized Faded Glory tanks/cami from Wal-Mart for $1.69 each in a variety of bright colors. They were originally priced $2.97, but had been marked down. What a deal! I mostly bought smalls in the Woman sizes, but picked up a few mediums because I have some larger girls. Remember these tanks are not designed to fit the girls. They should be large and over-sized to wear over their swim suits. If the spaghetti straps tend to fall off their shoulders, I brought ribbon to tie in the back. Next, I filled $0.99 small spray bottles (purchased from Wal-Mart's travel-sized section) with concentrated bleach. Larger spray bottles can be purchased from Dollar Tree for a $1 and although the small bottles were easily handled by the girls, the larger bottles sprayed better. I also purchased 2 big bags of foam sticky stars and letters for about $5/each. I chose stars, but you could also use the flowers with the cut-outs or any design that appeals to you. The craft is pretty self-explanatory, but I will list the directions so you do not overlook any details. In the end this craft cost about $2.50/girl.
Directions: Let the girls choose their tank and spread out on a picnic table, outside!!! This is important. Bleach should not be used indoors for staining and ventilation reasons. You could also do this in the grass or on concrete. I recommend having some cardboard on hand to slide in between the shirt to prevent seepage to the other side of the shirt and to ensure the tank lies flat. Next, I let the girls choose stickers for their shirts and place them anywhere they like. I always try and have an example for the girls to see and often times they just copy my version. The girls took turns using the spray bottles and spraying the tank right over the stickers. I recommend having the girls wear old clothes and plastic gloves, bleach is unforgiving and will stain, has a strong odor and can irritate the skin. Thankfully the girls were very careful and we were able to do this project with no issues. Planning ahead and explaining how bleach works is helpful.
We completed this craft in the evening hours before a sleepover and hung the tanks on hangers to dry overnight. We pulled off the stickers in the morning when the shirts were dry. The girls were so excited about the end result. The bleach caused the navy shirts to turn pink. This was unexpected and fun. I advised them NOT to wear the tanks until they had been washed. I also suggested they wash them separately to avoid getting the bleach on their favorite clothes. However, one of the tanks managed to find it's way into a normal load at my house and it did not affect any of my other clothes, thankfully. I texted a reminder to parents to wash separately, in case the verbal recommendation from the girl did not make it home. :-)
Supplies:
Tanks
Bleach
Spray Bottles
Stickers
plastic gloves
cardboard
hangers
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