I was too busy helping with the bleach t-shirts we made the last day of WordSparks Camp to take many pictures, but I do have a few. They turned out pretty well (this was a first run for me, so I was a bit uncertain) and I thought the kids did a great job coming up with a quotation or slogan for their shirts.

Other quotes / slogans include:
“Right or wrong? Choose write!”
“Fiction is the truth inside the lie.”
“Stupid is as stupid does.”
“Write is to write as awesome is to awesome.”
“Metaphor… it’s like a simile.”
“Star Wars: The Writers Strike Back”

~

I wanted to add a few tips about making bleach t-shirts for posterity’s sake.

Basic instructions:

Put something inside your shirt to keep the bleach from bleeding to the other side. Cardboard covered with wax paper is often suggested, but I didn’t have any wax paper, so I improvised. I found that plastic cutting boards work really well. Pizza boxes also work. Whatever’s flat and thick enough will do it.

You can draw your design on the shirt first with a washable marker or chalk. I did some freehand, though, and it worked fine.

When you’re ready, use the bleach pen to draw your design on the shirt. Let the bleach sit for about 15 minutes (depends on how white you want the design to be). Rinse the bleach off with cool water. Wash and dry (or just dry — your choice).

Is the big container of bleach gel that you can get for laundry made of the same stuff as bleach gel pens?
N0! It is not. The bleach gel pens have a much thicker fluid in them. I tried pouring bleach gel from the big container into some pointy squeeze bottles, but it did not work at all. I did find a recipe for make-your-own bleach gel (linked here), but I didn’t have time to give it a try. So I just went with the pens.

Write big! The bleach spreads out a bit, so if you don’t give your lines enough room, you’ll end up with a blob instead of a letter.

Rinse with care! Whatever you decide to put inside the shirt to keep the bleach from spreading, LEAVE IT IN WHEN YOU RINSE THE SHIRT. That way, you will avoid the shirt crumpling on itself and bleach getting on parts of your shirt you don’t intend for bleach to be on.