Summer . is . here .
Can I get a boo-yah? A hell-yeah? An Allllright? Maybe a groovy? How bout just a plain ol' YESSSsssssSSSS! With a fist pump, knuckle bump.... yeah....go ahead and explode it. Boom
Summer to moi is countless hours spent outside gardening, splashing in the kiddie pool, spraying the kids with the hose, dive into the sand box, rush over to the fountain, then back to the pool to start the summer-play-keeping cool cycle all over again. But this summer I want to incorporate the kiddos into the gardening a bit more. Rather than keeping it all to my little ol self, I want to include them in on the fun.
So here is my inspiration for a few kid friendly garden projects I plan on attempting this summer. I have been busliy pinning and sketching my ideas and I can't wait to get started. We have this giant open space that is just begging to get in to the kid-fun action.

I remember the days. The days where I could wear and own white clothing without fear. White tees were part of my weekly repertoire. White pants were a definite summer favorite. And white lacey dress.... ah white lacy dress were my absolute 'feel good'. I slipped one of those babies on and I was feeling super pretty and ready to take on the world.

but now

now...

I have two babies. And with those babies comes a whole new world of messy, dirty, yucky, sticky-fingerness. Something my poor poor clothes (and me!) were most definitely NOT prepared for. So I stowed (or donated) all of my favorite white garments in the hopes that one day.... one day I'd be able to be dapper in white again. Time passed and I assumed I would never see white again, until my anniversary. I got brave and bought myself a brand new breezy lacy white dress....


Isn't it purdy? This was taken on our third anniversary just before dinner.

Then this weekend there was a nail polish massacre.

Ahhhhhhhhh! The horror the horror! I literally shed a tear or two. Why!!!!!
Of course my baby girl would dig through my closet and pull out the ONLY WHITE THING I OWN and proceeded to 'paint' nail polish all over it!!!!



I know this doesn't look that bad, but this ^^^^^ was after hours of scrubbing. Definitely noticeable. No longer destined to be an immaculate white dress. So what to do when you have stains? Dye it. This time I decided to try the dip dye method. Quite popular last summer, still so now.

Here is the basic rundown. Grab a big ol bucket, fill it 2/3 with steaming hot water and use 2/3 of a liquid RIT bottle. Or appox 2 gallons for a single piece of medium weight garment. Stir stir stir. Then soak your garment in clear water. Wring out all the excess.

Then dip your garment into the dye bath up to the highest point you want the dye to reach. I left it at this point for approximately 10 minutes. Stir occasionally.

Next carefully pull out the garment bit by bit. Let the garment sit for at least 15 to 20 minutes at each gradient interval. Then pull it out so just the very edges of the garment are still in the dye bath, let sit overnight or for at least a couple of hours. Be sure to not have the garment hang down over the side. You don't want the dye to leach up into the lighter color gradient levels.
Then carefully pull the garment out and rinse it. White (or lightest) side always at the top, rinsing the dye out through the bottom. Once the water runs clear, put it in the washer to release any extra dye. It will do some leaching into the lightest part so If you want to avoid this, hand wash the garment and let dry over night, then pop in the washer.





Important: The fabric must be a natural fiber (like cotton, wool ect) or else the dye will act funny. As you can see the lining and edge piping of the dress is polyester. It did not accept the dye and stayed very light, while the cotton lace overlay really soaked it up.

All in all you can't even tell there was ever an explosion of hyper pink nail polish :)

Whew! DIY saved the day.... Again!

Thanks for stopping by!

Happy Father's Day to all the fathers (and father figures) out there!
The realest and manliest men I know are fathers. Tough enough to get over their own egos and play dress up, tea parties and paint nails for all the little princesses. Or patient enough to show their micro mini-mes how to loop de loop and knot some shoe laces.
Between my own father, my husband and father-in-law, I (and my babies) have been extremely blessed to have such amazing, loving, caring, patient and knowledge filled men as the pillars of this family. Without these men I'd be so lost and alone. So again thank you! Love you! Bless you!

Kiss Kiss Hug Hug