Bleach Pen Stenciling

It's been a busy week with big painting projects around here! And baby boy is finally sleeping through the night = much more energy for me! I am finishing up the trim in my bathroom and my husband started ripping up carpet in our boys' room, painting the floors and walls. I'm excited about the vision I have for their space-it will be fun and colorful and 100% boy!

Now, whenever I'm doing a big project that takes weeks to finish, I need to take breaks for quick little craft ideas I've been storing in my head. So, I experimented with the idea of using a Clorox bleach pen and stencils on a t-shirt. I first saw freehand bleach pen shirts  last summer from a blog called Show, Tell, Share and did a freehand numbers one for my son that turned out cute.

And then, I started thinking about all the cool patterns I could make if I used stencils-turned out to be even quicker and easier than freehand because the gel is so easy to work with (and a great way to hide stains or in my case, paint spots on an otherwise nice t-shirt)

Here's what you need to make your bleach stenciled T-shirt:


Clorox bleach gel pen
plastic stencils (I used my Martha Stewart freebies)
safety goggles if you're smart (oops-I should do that next time-eyes are important!)
plastic bag or wax paper to line inside of shirt
rag or paper towels


First, lay your t-shirt flat and line the inside with plastic or wax paper to prevent bleach from bleeding all the way through.


Place your stencil where you want it on the shirt.


Put your safety goggles on to protect eyes from bleach (and open windows or do outdoors).


Use the wide brush end of your bleach pen to squeeze out gel in a circular motion onto stencil.


Carefully remove the stencil, wipe off with rag or paper towel and repeat with another design where you want your pattern to be.

Allow the shirt to dry for a few hours or overnight. It's dry when the bleach gel dries up into a whitish powder. 

Finally, wash and dry your shirt and get ready to rock an artsy, original, not-found-in-stores look! 

I admit I've been a little self-conscious about wearing what I create (I'm a little scarred from that Bedazzler look from the 70's/80's) but I'm pretty happy with how this shirt came out and can wear it with pride.

Hope you enjoyed this little project-now remember the big projects we've been working on? 

Here's a sneak peek into the boys' room floor and wall painting project-It's really coming along and I can't wait to do the bright blocks of color, huge chalkboard wall and more stenciling. I also can't wait until I can put the boys back in this room-they've been so crazy excited it's been hard to get them to go to sleep at night in a different room (yawn...)

Stay tuned for more sneak peeks and the big reveal of bathroom and bedroom! 

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Smart Simple & Green Boot Storage Tips

It's that time of year again-time to store away all the fall and winter clothes and boots and get out the sandals and flip-flops (and scrub those feet...paint those toenails pretty... )

If you have tall boots and want them to last long and keep their shape, don't just flop them down on the closet floor; try this quick trick: (and rescue some plastic from the recycling bin or trash can).

1. Grab two rinsed out empty two-liter bottles.

2. With the caps on tight, push them down into your boots to help them hold their shape.

3. Store away.

Ok, so that was the easiest and quickest tutorial I've ever shared-no skills required!
I really think this trick has helped my favorite boots last for years-now all I need to do for next season is polish them up.

Hope this tip was helpful and thanks for visiting ReMadeSimple! Looking forward to sharing more spring decorating and crafty ideas with you!

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Thrifty Spring Finds

Happy St. Patrick's Day everyone! 

These Irish eyes are smiling because the weather here is gorgeous-almost 

80 degrees with green grass and daffodils popping up (in case you're 

wondering, every other St. Pat's day I can remember wearing sweaters 

and seeing snow outside my windows...) 

Today I wanted to show you some thrift store finds I pulled together 

for a cute little spring outfit. I am excited because this spring, after losing

twenty pounds since last spring, I am two sizes smaller! 

(I plan on doing my official weight loss post with before and after pics

 once I actually hit my goal-only a few stubborn pounds to go! )

So, here you have my black H&M cotton dress, only $7--I've been

searching for something like this for a while-can't believe I found it so cheap! 

(I love how slimming and comfy it is).

And a cute little flower brooch (no I didn't make this one!) with the 

tag still on from New York and Co.: my price: $2 

Champagne ballet flats barely worn (I washed them anyway!)

for only $3

Besides the leggings and jewelry, everything  I'm wearing came from Saver's. 

Total cost: $12

Hope you enjoyed my spring "fashion show"--

(and yes, I'm smiling even though I'm sleep deprived from newborn feedings!) 

Thanks for visiting ReMadeSimple today! Stay tuned for more thrifty finds later next week! 

Linking up with these parties.

Bleach Pen Fabric Art

Have any plain T-shirts laying around that you're bored with? I first saw this fun idea on Pinterest by a blog called Show Tell Share and I couldn't wait to try it.

I think it made me reminisce to my '90's childhood days of designing shirts and canvas shoes with puffy fabric paint. (I thought I was so cool! )

I love that this technique looks a little like batik (and not so '90's).  Here's what I saw:

bleached T-Shirt designs from Show Tell Share

After seeing this idea, I went through some of my kids' clothes and some of my own to see if there were any with little stains on them that I could disguise this way. I also went to the grocery store and picked up my Clorox bleach pen-around $2-3.

I decided on a green shirt for my son that had a bleach mark already on it. This was so simple and fun to do!

Here's what you'll need: 
1. Clorox gel bleach pen 
2. Cotton shirt or fabric of your choice
3. Plastic to line the back of fabric (plastic bag, wax paper, or cereal box liner). 


First, lay the fabric out flat on table. Place plastic liner in between front and back of fabric so bleach doesn't bleed through. Then, draw whatever design you want-I did freestyle numbers for my son's shirt.

It's fun to watch the bleach slowly lighten up the fabric until you see your design. Be prepared for a bleachy smell in your house. Opening up windows might help!

The nice thing about the bleach pen is that it comes out as a gel, with two different ends for flow options.

Allow the gel to dry completely onto fabric for a few hours. Then throw in the wash and dry!

my son happily holding up his shirt

I'm glad my son liked his shirt! (I know my time is limited with them willing to wear what I make for them...) I'm excited to try this technique on some of my shirts, and maybe some pillows, curtains or a table runner. Does this inspire you to go color with bleach like it did for me?

Linking up with these parties!

Thrift Store Jackpot

I have been shopping thrift stores ever since my teen years and it seems like these stores are becoming more popular--probably because of necessity for many and because "cheap is chic", as Better Homes and Gardens wrote this month.

 When you are a person that likes to sift through garage sales and thrift stores, you know that it can be hit or miss a lot of the time. A cool shirt here, a table you can redo there. And you have to be able to stand the stale smell of the store and really use your imagination.  (Why don't they put air fresheners in those places?)

This week, I couldn't believe the jackpot of cool stuff I found between two thrift stores. I can hardly find clothes I like or in good shape and I found 3 perfect sweaters! And I found out  Savers has 25% off every Monday-how could I have not known that? 

Here is a photo stream of what I found:

  Pretty lemon yellow linen napkins, oh, what shall I make with these? 

A nice Tupperware cake carrier! -(my husband thinks it might have been his mother's from when he was little--Tupperware does last forever!) And a nice Pyrex dish in pretty cream and orange. 

I couldn't believe someone wouldn't want this Swan Creek Candle in Pumpkin Vanilla-these high quality soybean wax candles normally cost around $15! 

 A cozy cotton button up cardigan in perfect shape and one of my favorite colors originally from Sears.

Short sleeved Italian Mohair blend sweater from the Limited, in a deep peacock blue to match my door.

 Another cute sweater in perfect condition  from A.N.A. JC Penney ,one of my favorite brands-will be nice with leggings and boots.

 A ruffled Vera Wang scarf in a perfect purple!

When I came home with my bags full of goodies at such great deals, I felt so blessed. It's the little things that make this girl happy!

DIY 3 Layered Fabric Pouf Brooch

I have been loving those little fabric pouf brooch/hair clip duo's I've been seeing in stores lately and was determined to figure out how to make one of my own, so I searched the internet high and low and found a few tutorials that helped me create my own version.

I also took a trip to this great non-profit art supply place called Scrap 4 Art, that will let you fill up a big bag of donated items for $6. They have lots of fabric scraps there, so I was happy to fill up a bag bring them to life again.

I'm excited to show you  my version of the pouf using three types of fabric to add color and texture.

Before you get started, you need to know that this project is not hard, but took me about 2 hours to do, so plan ahead!

Here's what you'll need:

1. two fabrics of your choice (I used one cotton vintage patterned and one polyester solid)
2.  tulle
3. thread
4. sewing needle
5. traceable object (like a jar lid)
6. sewing scissors
7. brooch pin back
8. glue gun
9. marker

Trace four circles on the fabric you want the base to be.

    Cut them out!

    Fold each base circle in half, then in half again.

   Pinch each circle at the corner, then sew a stitch through one corner at a time, connecting each corner with the thread. Knot in place.

   Now it's time to trace circles onto your top fabric. The amount will vary, but I used about 15-20 circles.

 Cut the circles out.

Fold them in half and in half again, repeating the same process as above. Pinch one corner at a time for the next step.

 Next, hold each pinched corner of the folded circle and make one stitch through the entire brooch into the corner. Stitch again, all the way through connecting circles in the same way until the pouf looks tight enough. 

    Next, I cut out about 8 strips of tulle about 5 inches long, knotting them in the center.

    Place the knotted center in between the two different colored fabric pieces and sew a stitch all the way through, repeating this process all the way around the circle with tulle strips until tulle evenly covers the pouf.     

If you want to make your tulle curl up a little and look vintage like mine, hold the ends of the tulle carefully about 6 inches above a lit candle. They will start to curl up pretty fast, so start further away from the flame and slowly warm them. And watch those fingers! 

If you want to see a picture of how I did this with some other fabric brooches I made this summer, click here.

And here is the finished 3 layered brooch! 

                 

                 

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