Kid-friendly Tie Dye to Wear and to Eat!

What's not to love about tie dye? The colors are vibrant and cheerful, it's really fun to put your own spin on a pattern, and you end up with a creation all your own to wear! But the mess, the MESS. I really wanted to do some tie dye with the twins this summer but simply could not stomach the impending disaster we'd be in for with two 7-year-old Tasmanian devils boys and quite possibly a small toddler. I kept trying to figure out how I'd explain why my toddler was now completely dyed purple...not good, folks. So I put that thought aside.  

Pinterest to the rescue! At the end of the school year, the twin's art teacher asked for Sharpie markers and white t-shirts. 32 first graders made their own shirts using the Sharpies and NO MESS, so I started digging round Pinterest to see who perhaps had some experience/instructions for executing this miracle at home. I found a great site called Steve Spangler Science and then knew I alone could manage this project with not only two 7-year-olds, but THREE 7-year-olds. While still giddy, I allowed the twins to invite their good neighbor friend and fellow 7-year-old, C. We did these a couple of days before the 4th of July and we called the pattern "exploding fireworks" instead of boring old tie dye. All the boys had a ball! 

You need:

Sharpies, just as many colors as you want. I picked up a12-pack of multi-colors for $7.96 and a couple packs of blue and red for $1.54 each at Wal-Mart.

Plastic cups with a lip

Rubbing alcohol

Rubber bands

Droppers or syringes

Here we go. Have the kids place the cups right side up under the shirt. If you don't want the pattern to bleed to the back, you have to put the cups inside the shirt. Have the kids use rubber bands to secure the fabric over the top of the cup. I let the kids use five cups each. If I were to do it again, I'd let them do two rounds so we'd get more starburst effects but you would have set the first round before adding a second. 

Anyhoo, now it's time to draw. Kids select the colors they want and start with a dot in the center of the cup circle. Then it's up to them how they decorate. 

When they are done decorating, they may use the dropper/syringe to apply small drops of rubbing alcohol to the ink, starting again from the center. It doesn't take a lot, and you'll immediately start to see the ink migrate. Here's N1's shirt just after he did the alcohol drops. 

Let it sit and air dry for about 20 minutes. Then have the kids remove (and save) the rubber bands, and remove (and save) the cups. N1 models, until Mom whisks the shirt away to apply a very hot iron and set the pattern. I especially love how that red/pink starburst turned out. 

And here's how a couple of the other shirts turned out. I did a small shirt for B as well. 

Then you need all artists to model their shirts and act completely goofy in the front yard while Mom is trying to get a decent shot. 

The clean up was a breeze - pick up the pens, stash the rubber bands, cups and alcohol, wipe down the table and you're literally done. Not a single toddler was dyed purple in the making of these shirts. Whew! 

And in continuing our tie dye 4th theme, later we decided to make a lovely strawberry Jello Poke Cake. Twins took the job of decorating the cake very seriously...note the raspberries are all facing the same direction. This is a delightfully easy and tasty recipe...wait, what? Please don't tell me you don't know about Jello Poke Cake?! 

Ok, if you insist. 

A beautiful Jello Poke Cake photo from Betty Crocker to simulate our now long-gone cake. 

Jello Poke Cake

1 cake mix (white or yellow but not lemon)

1 3 oz box of red (or blue) Jello, your favorite flavor

1 regular tub of Cool Whip

Berries, sprinkles, whatever you like on top

Make cake mix according to package directions. Bake in a 9 x 13 pan and set aside to cool for 15 min. With a large fork (sometimes I just use the handle of my wooden spoon), poke the cake at regular intervals, going almost all the way to the bottom but don't break through cuz you'll lose some of your Jello if you do. 

In a separate bowl, add 1 C boiling water to the Jello. Stir until dissolved. Add 1/2 C of cold water and stir. Slowly pour over the top of the cake, be sure some Jello gets in each poke hole! Refrigerate for 2 or 3 hours. 

"Frost" with Cool Whip straight from the tub. Add your toppings/decorations/berries. Enjoy your cool treat and put any leftovers (yeah right Mom) back into the fridge to be consumed by Dad sometime around midnnight. 

There, now you have some new tie dye to wear and some "tie dye" to eat. Enjoy!