Chevron Wall DIY

So we did a little Pinterest-worthy chevron wall over Thanksgiving break! I think it turned out really well. The family really loved it and it changed up our stark white walls downstairs into something a bit more fun and modern. 

First, I began with vertical stripes using painter's tape. The lines on this wall are spaced 8 inches apart. 

Here's the painter's tape I recommend using - Scotch Tape Edge Lock 2080EL. Thank your local Home Depot for this wonderful tape.

For the next step, I created a chevron pattern alternating with downward and upward arrows every 2 columns. I used a variety of spacing so the pattern was a bit random. 

Next, the paint went on! Here's the hubs getting on the first coat. We covered the wall completely. 

This part was fun! We started removing the tape and bit by bit, our pattern was revealed!

Voila! The wall was done!

And now to add back our mirror... and add in the family. 

We are pretty pleased with how it turned out. What do you think? 

DIY Bleach Stencil Lettering on Apparel

For Fashion 'a la Mode at Saddleback College, we are having many volunteers that will need identifying "Staff" shirts.  I looked into screen printing "Staff" or a Saddleback logo on some t-shirts and was surprised that it would cost at least the cost of the t-shirt itself (the shirts were bought for $2 online).

So in DIY fashion, Misty and I decided to take matters into our own hands and do a bleach "STAFF" stencil on red t-shirts (It was completely her idea, I just decided to document her brilliance).  It's super easy and would be fun to try with other designs.

You will need: 
-dark colored t-shirt (or fabric you may be stenciling)
-Exacto blade for cutting out the lettering
-Printed logo, design, or lettering
-cardboard to put inside of t-shirt to prevent bleaching on other side
- 1 spray bottle ($1 at dollar store or Walmart)
- bleach (do not water down)

Print out the lettering or design you need and cut with an Exacto blade.  Make sure to leave connecting parts, so design remains a whole, as you see here:

Align your design on your T-shirt or garment for the placement you desire.  We wanted it front and center.

Make sure you place a piece of cardboard or plastic in between the shirt so the bleach doesn't run onto the other side of the shirt.  Spray as desired.  A little goes a long way.  If you like that graffiti spray look, it only requires 3-4 spays.  For more white coverage, a couple more sprays will do the trick.  Make sure you do this outside.  Here's Misty spraying away:

This is what it might look like with 3 sprays at first.  Remember the bleach takes a couple minutes to process.  It will turn even more white. 

With a few more sprays it will look like this.  Experiment with the amount of bleach you would like. 

We ended up spraying 30 shirts.  After all of them were done, we put them in the wash to rinse out the bleach.  Make sure you do this right away when you've completed spraying your shirts.

It's a fun and easy project!