Hi Pad Scrappers,
Polly Liana here and I am up late again and I’m thinking about what happened in Orlando last weekend. I don’t know anyone who was killed that night but I know plenty of people who could have been killed that night. The rights and freedoms of all groups is a subject very near and dear to my heart.
I do not know what was going through the shooter’s mind as he walked into the club that night. I do not know what he was struggling with that led to this horrific event. But I do know that, as Lin-Manuel Miranda so eloquently said when he accepted his Tony, “Love is love is love is love is love is love.” Simple but powerful message. Belongs on a t-shirt for all to see. So let’s make one, shall we?
We are going to be creating a shirt using bleach and a freezer paper stencil. Cheap, easy and very cool results.
You will need:
- a cotton t shirt in a darkish color (mine was $3.99 at AC Moore)
- a Clorox bleach pen
- freezer paper (NOT wax paper)
- an iron
- a piece of cardboard
- a way to cut the freezer paper (I used my Cricut with the wax paper cut setting)
- a sink of cold water
First, create your design from freezer paper. The product is parchment on one side and waxed paper on the other. You find it with parchment and waxed paper. :) You can use a cutting machine or an exact knife. Make sure your paper is shiny side down.
Slip the piece of cardboard inside the shirt so it will protect the back of the shirt from getting bleached. Iron the shirt flat, then arrange your design on the shirt with the shiny side down. Iron the design on until you’re sure all the edges are flat.
With the skinny tip of the bleach pen, color inside your stencil. Take care not to put too much on near the edges as the bleach will eventually soak under them. Start with the parts you want to be the lightest and end with the parts that you want to be the darkest. (for example, I put the bleach on the words “love” before the word “is”)
When you’ve filled in the empty parts, quickly pull the cardboard out of the shirt and dunk it in cold water to stop the bleach from working. Then add some detergent and wash the shirt alone. Throw it in the dryer and there you have it!
(the wide light and dark lines on the tee are just wet spots because I was too impatient for it to dry properly!)
I love this symbol and sentiment. It’s simple but it says a lot. Love is love.
Be kind to each other, especially those who need our love most right now. <3
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