Quick and Easy Double Rainbow Shirt

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finished double rainbow shirt

I did a video yesterday with William, Pattie, and Scott based on the Double Rainbow video that’s been all over the net. Anyway, I wanted to share the magic of creation with you guys on a tutorial here on the blog as well. Haha. Here’s the video for you to view in all its glory…

Admittedly, the shirt in the video didn’t turn out the way I had wanted (I had to nail it on one shirt in one take, Wah Wahhhhhhh). I like the top rainbow, but the bottom rainbow got a little too squished. Below, I redid the shirt on a slightly smaller shirt (a cute baby t-shirt I will prob. give William’s niece Sophie), but the technique remains the same. So many of my DIY projects are trial and error. It’s a fun project even if it is a little messy and outside the lines a little…the fun is really in the experience and the creativity! It doesn’t get more creative than Double Rainbows!!!

And now onto the step by step photo tutorial…

inserting wax paper

1. Insert a sheet of wax or freezer paper inside the shirt. For the freezer paper, you may want to iron it into place so it doesn’t shift around during your project.

fold in half first

2. Fold shirt in half to make a crease and mark. Press firmly to make the crease. This crease will come in handy in a bit.

scribbles lined up

3. Line up your colors of fabric paint in ROYGBIV order. I used Scribbles 3D Paint for this project and tapped them a few times on the table to remove any air bubbles. I’ve always loved Scribbles since I was a kid!

paint half a rainbow

4. Now start painting your rainbows. I created half rainbow arches until they met the crease and I painted clouds on the side in black. For best results, make sure you don’t leave a big bead of paint at the center point. Try to keep your hand steady with an even flow of paint for the entire painting process as you use the different the paints.

press lightly

5. Now fold your shirt in half at the crease. Very lightly press in place. Don’t press on top of crease too much (this is what happened to my shirt in the video, it splooged in the center rainbow in the video). Pat gently all areas.

open up

6. Now here comes the fun/scary part…open up your design to reveal your pressed rainbow.

fixing mistakes

7. Do any necessary touch ups or corrections you want to do. Now wear and rock those rainbows out!

And because I just can’t resist, the Double Rainbow Song that has been stuck in my head for days!

Until next time Swellions!

Alexa

Does anyone else remember this shirt?

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Does anyone else remember having this shirt?

This past weekend, I went to both Berkeley and San Francisco with my friends Chris and Kristy. In one of the thrift shops, I noticed this shirt as we entered and I totally had this same Santa print as a middle schooler. Yep, I did the whole embellished t-shirt thing back in the day. I think I used gold Scribbles paint on mine and I’m pretty sure I put a little bell on there somewhere (I think on the dog bow) so that it could jingle jangle while I walked. I don’t know if this print was Daisy Kingdom or not, but I’m pretty sure it was purchased in the Wal-mart fabric section. Oh, the good ol’ Wonder Under/Scribbles Paint sweatshirt days. I posted about another one of my creations a few months back…you can check that out here.

BTW, I totally rocked this look with a giant jingle bell on a satin cord and gingerbread men that slid onto hoops.

Well, I’ve had a long weekend and promise to post more in the week ahead. If you want to see some more pics of my trip, check them out in my Flickr set. I’ll be adding more as I edit them.

Hope everyone had a great Turkey day!!!

Until next time Swellions!

Alexa

When Swell met Scribbles

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scribbles-paint

As most of you guys know, I currently work for Duncan Enterprises in Fresno, California. The funny thing about me working there is the fact that I’ve already had a 20 year or so relationship with the company, because of the Scribbles Paint you see above. Let me explain…

swell model

This was me…around age 11, 5th grade to be exact. I look very wistful in this photo (I remember specifically trying to be modelesque as my dad shot this photo-ha ha). Around this time in my life, I was a very crafty girl. This was the year I got my first glue gun to make ribbon hair bows (I even had glitter glue sticks to go with it). I also loved making macrame bracelets using my fingers as a loom out of those neon nylon loops (which I learned that year in Bible school). For me and the rest of the crafters in this country, this was also the year of the painted t-shirt and sweatshirt!

My mom and I would go to the little Wal-mart (it was super tiny) in our town and I’d scour the fabric section for the perfect print to make a custom sweatshirt out of. The designs came printed just for the size of a sweatshirt, so that you could just cut the image out, Wonder Under it onto some fabric with an iron, and then outline it with your favorite Puffy or Slick paint. The swatch below is something I’ve kept all these years as a momento from my childhood. I made a black sweatshirt with this exact same design outline and embellished, but unfortunately I don’t have it today. The print is from Daisy Kingdom. Back in the day, Daisy Kingdom had a huge line of fabrics and patterns. Many patterns featured matching mom and daughter dress designs like this. Even back then, I was totally all about Halloween and apparently cute bears (don’t ask me why about the bears part).

DSC_0709

I specifically remember being enamored by the Scribbles Paint in the Hancock Fabrics store that we went to in Owensboro. As a kid, I would spend hours in there with my mom as she perused through the pattern books and fabric, so I was bored a lot! The fabric paint was ALWAYS something I was very much gravitated to and I remember studying the bottles and usually pulling my mom’s arm into buying me a bottle or two to make a shirt with.

So back then, I had no earthly clue where this paint was made. I had no concept of the craft industry or that an industry such as it even existed. It just is funny to me that I work for the place whose products captivated me as a child.

I make a point now to tell my nephews and crafty niece about how things are made and explain the inner workings of how our products that we buy come to be. In there era, there is so much information at their fingertips and a big ‘ol world out there for them to explore. Having some additional perspective and knowing that they have options will hopefully give them even more opportunity to go after what they want in life and a career.

So anyway…that’s how Swell met Scribbles! Hope you enjoyed!

Until next time Swellions!

Alexa