I admit it, I have never, ever tie dyed anything before. It’s always seemed messy and a little daunting to me. My oldest daughter Emma picked up this Tie Dye kit by Creativity for Kids (which is owned by CTD favorite, Faber-Castell) up at the local Target with some of her allowance money. I kind of rolled my eyes when she and my husband brought it home and he disappeared into the other room. Upon closer look, I noticed that these were SPRAY tie dyes and were’nt going to be as messy! Awesome! Now I was feeling a little better about the purchase. This is what the Creativity for Kids website says about the product:
“Less mess & more fun! Our no-dipping, no-dunking tie dye kit features pre-measured powder dye in handy spray bottles – just add water, shake & spray.”
So, what’s in the box? You get three spray bottles with the pre-measured powder inside in magenta, cyan and yellow. You also get an additional bottle and three small bags with the same powdered colors you can use to create and customize your own colors. There is a plastic apron for protecting clothing, a plastic drop-cloth, a set of gloves, rubber bands and a white cotton bag so you can get started dying right away! I wish there was one more pair of gloves in the kit because there are two separate phases you need to use gloves with in the process, but just have your child rinse the gloves off before removing them and you can re-use them.
As I said before, my daughter (eight years old) brought this home wanting to do it right away. I had just started making dinner and wasn’t really into making a huge mess on the dining room table, but to my happy surprise, Emma was really able to get most of it done herself. She put down the drop cloth and filled up the water spritzers with a few tips from mom and even mixed a custom color in the extra bottle. Then we realized we made one big boo-boo by not reading the directions all the way through: We saw that we were supposed to pre-treat the bag in a salt water mixture for one hour prior to spraying. Not really a big deal, but we couldn’t get started right away and that was slightly disappointing to her.
Once we were ready to start spraying, we placed our rubber bands and she got to work. There are some good tips and techniques listed in the directions that she and I both enjoyed having since we were both beginners. Once you’re done spraying, you can let the dye sit for one hour to 24 hours. The longer you let it sit, the more vibrant the colors will end up being. Once done, rinse, wash, dry and wear! Emma had so much fun making this that she quickly went to rummage through her dresser to find anything that was all white she could also tie dye. There was PLENTY of liquid in the bottles after doing the bag for many more projects, not to mention three more refill/mixing packets of the dye remained. Emma and her little sister made two tshirts.
Then I wanted to play a little bit. A white shirt (or any color for that matter) does not last long on or around me. I’m constantly spilling things on it or accidentally wiping ink and paint on them. I had bought a new tank top and the first morning I wore it, SPLAT, I had a clog in my concealer and got makeup on the top. I tried to bleach it out but it didn’t work. I figured this tie dye spray would be the perfect opportunity to try and put a fun spin on the stained shirt.
I tried two different patterns on the front and back; the one on the back was fairly simple and common rubber-banding for tie dye. I sprayed each side and let it sit over night.
When I rinsed it out in the morning I realized I had made a mistake and didn’t pre-check to make sure the shirt was at least 90% cotton. It was only 60% and some parts of the shirt had gotten “eaten.” Oh well, it will add to it’s artsyness, right? I chose not to wear gloves while rinsing the shirt and my hands did turn a lovely shade of blue, but this didn’t bother me as my hands are usually inky and painty. Just be warned if you don’t want to resemble smurfette, wear some disposable gloves!
Overall, this was a fun kit for all ages. My daughter’s really enjoyed it and I had fun as well! I didn’t have any problems or “cons,” with it other than the lack of extra gloves, which is really no big deal. There was plenty of product left after our four projects, so with a price point any where from $15-$20, I think you’re really getting a good bang for your buck. You can find this kit in big box stores like Target, Michael’s and JoAnns and at multiple online retailers.
What do you think crafters? As always, let me know if the comments!
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Rebecca Ednie says
I think the first two projects should have come out looking more like the bottom one. I would be very disappointed with these results. I’ve done real tie dye and the results were amazingly vibrant. Nothing like all the white left on the top projects.
mimicrafts says
This project looks like so much fun!! I think what negative Nellie (RE) above doesn’t realize is that it looks like you can use as much or as little as you want on your project and your kids will enjoy what they created. Isn’t it wonderful that we all enjoy being artistic in our own ways!
I love that Emma then went in and traced around her designs. Your tank top looks pretty good too. A cute patch, or bling iron on, over that hole would look AWSOME!
Good review Sara…….always love to read your reviews. You keep me wanting to read more!