TieDye Jack-o-Lantern shirts!

We originally saw this craft in a Family Fun magazin back in 2008.

This is a photo of my older kids {now 10 & 12} when we first made them and they were 4 & 6!  I couldn't find a pic of them BOTH in the shirts. 

The shirts we made in 2008:

Six years later & my daughter thinks she can still fit into hers :D

This fun, festive shirt couldn't be more simple to make.  Here are step by step instructions,

What you'll need.

-White shirts, can be old ones with stains a great way to repurpose!

-Orange cloth dye - RIT works well and is cheap.

RIT Sunshine Yellow I used.

- Rubber Bands
Cheap on Amazon!

- Black fabric marker, PermanentSsharpie will work too.

The Fabric Markers I have.

1. Get your white shirt & rubber bands together.

Decide if you want one big pumpkin in the middle of the shirt or many little ones - customize to you liking.

Pinch a small bit of the fabric the smaller the smaller circle you will get.

(the white ring will be left where the rubber band is wrapped)

Wrap the rubberband tight around the fabric.

I bought this big bottle of Sunshine Yellow RIT.  Directions said to use half the bottle in 3 gallons of hot water.

Place shirt in bucket (or sink)  and make sure the shirt is completely submerged.

 Follow directions on your dye. Mine was to soak for an hour. Also to stir often to make sure the color is evenly distributed.

After soaking the dye needs to be rinsed off. 

Remove rubber bands 

Wash according to dye instructions.

Then dry.  Once dry you're ready to add the Jack-O-Lantern faces!

We used a fabric marker.
MAKE SURE to add cardboard or paper as a barrier inside the shirt so you don't bleed the marker through to the back.

We also added some bat stamps.

And green pumpkin stems with fabric paint.

  Our finished product

{NOTE} Our colors ended up a little uneven because instead of stirring the fabric while it soaked... we went outside to play. We like the look we ended up with, but if you'd like a more even orange -- remember to STIR! :)

Sly Fox Threads | Favorite Indie Clothing shops

One of the first shops we found through Instagram is probably Sly Fox Threads.
I feel in love with their tribal looking stuff {have ALWAYS been a fan - must be the American Indian in me }

They had a 50% off sale (some of these shops can be expensive - but they awlays have sales!)

I probably found SLY FOX THREADS because Cannon was so in love with the WHAT DOES THE FOX SAY song that I probably found them through a search {We also loved the fox line at Old Navy last fall & he was fox for Halloween}

I scored this hoodie through an insta-sale.

I'm not sure they make this hoodie still, but we're actually STILL wearing it. I think it might of been 18-24 and we got hit when he was 12ish months.  SO now at 21 months it's *just* starting to get a little small on him. SADDAY.  It's been one of our most favs!

Shortly after we bought this hoodie, they had a 50% sale & I scored this cute shirt & leggings:

Young And Free Tee

One of our most fav outfits! The baby leggings seemed so comfy. After size 2 they come more fitted, we've since ordered ANOTHER pair of these same leggings & they're more like tight leggings, but we're still loving this design so much!

Wild One Leggings

The shirt we're still rockin'!  

Playing in, getting dirty in, it's been through a lot & still looks fabulous!

They've grown so much since we've first found them & added so many cute things, with new releases coming out every seaons. Sly Fox Threads is an indie shop you'll fall in love with too!

They have clothing for all ages, men & woman too!

Here is my current wishlist:

Toddler Style

For the past few months I've been kinda obessed with SHOPPING ON INSTAGRAM.  Something I didn't even know what a thing before I stumbled across some cute shop that sold cute hand printed tees.  Kinda like a new outlet for shops on Etsy to get their stuff out there & seen.

One shop lead me to another shop, to another shop....

Many of these shops have etsy or etsy-like websites as well, but what is so awesome and what really sucked me in is that they have "INSTA-SALES" where they'll post some merch on their instagram feed with a price & ask for people to leave their emails if they'd like to buy.  They then send you a PayPal invoice & ship the product out after you pay.   

This has been a fun pasttime of mine.  Instasales are usually at a discount price and it's always fun to snag deal!

It's been fun picking up cute tees and leggings for Cannon to rock.

He's become quite stylish.

Another thing I've discovered on IG is a whole slew of parents that have been doing this for awhile and have kids with stocked closets of super-cute, trendy new styles and post lots of pics of their kiddos in oh-so-cute poses.  

It's adorable to see, and I admit I love to take pics of Cannon when he's all hipster-d out.  But I've also seen some kids dressed up in, albeit, adorable outfits... that look a little like mini-adult attire, but don't look very comfy. 

Some of those pictures make me uncomfortable.
Little baby/toddler girls in tight pencils shirts?  Giant flowers on their heads? Little boys in supertight skinny jeans with heavy Timberland boots....  

I'm ALL ABOUT STYLE, but comfortable style. Age-Appropriate style.   

I'm not one to buy clothing that is only meant to take pictures in. I want CUTE STYLISH, FUN & PLAYFUL clothing, that steers away from too many "licensed" cartoonish, typical kids clothing.

Im ALL ABOUT supporting work-at-home moms sewing & printing cute stuff, I also love classic pieces that can be found at Khols, Target, & Old Navy.  And am always on the hunt for cute things everywhere I go from Wal-Mart to Consignment shops.

I'm gonna be posting some of my little man's fav finds here in seperate posts & sharing some of my fav INSTA-SHOPS!