Let me start by saying-The party was a huge success! Do I still have tie dyed fingers? Yes. Does my house look like a party bomb went off? Yeppers… However that mess isn’t going anywhere for a bit, so I thought I would walk you through hosting the ultimate tie-dye birthday party while it’s still fresh on my mind.

Tie dye is huge this summer! Is it because, while I write this, everyone has a stock pile of nitrile gloves and a TON of extra family time quarantined at home because of stupid COVID? Maybe, but also tie-dye is just cool - it’s a fact!

So let’s talk about your tie-dye options. I used 3 different types of products and techniques because if I’m going to share with you what worked and didn’t work, I need to try it right?! I knew I wanted to do a t-shirt, headband and tote bag…

Then I needed to do a little research to figure out the best way to execute these items. I got one of these fabulous techniques from A Joyful Mess! In case you’re not familiar, A Joyful Mess is this crazy cool art studio here in Prosper, TX. The owner is Alycia Trotter and she told me about the sharpie and alcohol technique. This, my friends, is your least messy option out of the three. I would rate this “Easy Level” because even the littlest ones, I think, can enjoy this and learn how the three primary colors mix together to make the secondary colors (the hair stylist in me can’t help but love that part!).

Grab some white headbands found on Amazon, some permanent sharpies, rubbing alcohol, disposable roasting pans and a dropper or spray bottle. Color literally any pattern or blocks of colors on to the headband. Then put it in the roasting pan and spray or drop the alcohol to watch the colors start to mix. This is where your DIY clothes line comes in handy, hang your items up to dry. Guests can then take home in a ziplock bag. These should sit over night and then you can wash. Boom, done.

The shirt. It’s all about the shirt! I used Bella and Canvas v-neck cotton shirts for the party because I like how soft they are, and the Tulip Two Minute party pack.

You can totally just use regular Tulip tie-dye but it needs to sit for 16 hours before you can wash and I wanted to speed that up. If you go to Tulip you will find all the different products and a ton of resources!

There’s a little pre-work involved here. You want to make sure that you pre-wash your t-shirts to remove any sizing and also do NOT dry with a dryer sheet.

Put some thought into your location for this step. I set up outside because I could just hose down the grass and this kept my stress levels down. Also, you will want to set up all the supplies so you have them right at your fingertips. Once the first drop is poured things move fast! You will find a check list below, just click the image for the printable. When you have your location and supplies, set up a large table and tape down a disposable plastic cover. Have large disposable roasting pans for each guest, nitrile gloves kid and adult size (you can use the ones that come with the kit, but they are formless and frustrating), water proof aprons (ordered mine from Amazon), paper towels, trash sacks and your garden hose ready for any spills.

In your Tulip kit you will find a poster with the instructions for creating different patterns of tie-dye. Here’s a picture of me showing the girls. You need to wet the shirts so they are damp before creating the pattern.

Honest moment, I did do a test run a few days before with my kids so I could see how it all would really work. I mean we had all the stuff, right ;) Also I found a lot of helpful videos on Pinterest that absolutely made me feel more confident teaching these sweet kids!

Back to the party, the designs each guest landed on were as follows:

1 crumple, 2 swirls and 1 bulls-eye pattern. Once the tie-dye was applied and cooked for two minutes in the microwave, you’ll want to let them cool off a bit.

Next is the BEST part. The reveal! With gloved hands, carefully unwrap each shirt and hang them on the DIY clothes line. Every single shirt was my favorite, honestly! How great did they do!

The last and final technique took a little more pre-work. The totes… I thought these were going to be my favorite, but I’m gonna be honest… I think I will have to try the color shot spray dye on my own again before recommending it.

I spent a good amount of time designing a stencil for the bags using my handy silhouette cameo and I’m kinda wishing I would have just made their bags with the heat transfer vinyl…or even just paint. BUT I had to try out the color shot Tulip spray for the third creation.

If you attempt this you could just do pattern because the color does bleed out of the stencil.. However, the girls loved how they turned out even though you couldn’t really read the words as well anymore. Make sure to put something like foil or parchment paper on the inside of the tote or you’ll get bleed through. These need to be washed after they sit for about 12 hours.

You’d think Tulip was paying me-but nope. LOL, come on Tulip!

So I’m not paid by Tulip, but I do love creating magical slumber parties in tents with my company Crate Party! These are the last of our “Ultimate Tie-Dye” party pictures. We ended up not having the kids stay the night but settled for a “late over” instead because of Covid. Even so, our whole evening was a blast from tie-dye fun to swimming. The kids loved taking silly pictures at the photo booth (be on the look out for DIY balloon garland;) and ended with a movie and a fun slumber party game in tents… I’d say it was a perfect 10:)