Monday, July 29, 2013

Made It Monday- Dye-colored Clothespins!

This is my first Made-It Monday post!  After reading everyone's fabulous Made It Monday posts, I'm happy to finally join in on the fun!  I'm linked up with Tara from 4th Grade Frolics.
I've been spending the past 2 weeks gathering supplies, printing and laminating everything, and trying to pack everything in suitcases before I head out to China.  When am I leaving you ask? I'm patiently waiting for my visa to go through but I am hoping and praying that I will leave by the first week of August.

So I I found this idea on how to make colored clothespins from Buzzfeed. There wasn't any good tutorial I found, so I decided to test it out myself.
I went to Walmart to see what RIT dyes they had.  They sell liquid and powder versions.  I went with the liquid version because I wasn't sure how well the dye would stain the wood.  Each bottle was roughly around $2.80 each.  The colors I got were dark green, yellow, red, royal blue, and purple.  If you don't want to spend a lot of money, I would suggest getting the primary colors because you can mix them up to make other colors.
I also bought my clothespins from Walmart.  I found a 24 pack and bought 2.
Then I used plastic containers to mix the dye in.
***This is the important part when using the RIT dye, use about 2 cups of hot water.  I found out that cold water doesn't work well at all when staining wood.  To measure how much RIT dye to use I use the bottle cap.  I poured between 2-4 caps into the bowl.  With the darker colors I used about 2 caps.


I couldn't find any plastic silverware to stir the hot mixture so I used chopsticks (thank God for take-out Chinese food!).  I let the clothespins sit in the dye for about 5 minutes before I let them dry on styrofoam plates with a paper towel to soak the excess water.
And this is how they turned out!  The two green bags actually are different shades in person.  The bottom right is the actual dark green dye.  The green bag on the left is more of a brighter green.  I mix yellow and blue dye together.  I ended up making orange clothespins because I did not like the way the yellow turned out.  So I added a few drops of red to change the dye orange.
I loved how my colored clothespins turned out! I'm still debating on what I'm actually going to use the clothespin for in my classroom.  I'm thinking using some for my Behavior Clip Chart.

What do you use clothespins for in your classroom?  I need some more ideas!

9 comments:

  1. Cool! I never thought about dying clothespins. I bought washi tape to decorate mine. I'm going to use them for my behavior clip chart, a how we go home clip chart, and maybe to display no name papers, or hallway displays... I'm not sure what my plans are exactly but, maybe I need to dye some, too! I'm looking forward to reading more about your adventures in China!
    Meghan
    First Grade Hugs and High Fives

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    1. I never thought of using washi tape for clothespins! Thanks for giving me more ideas on what to do with the colored clothespins. I might have to make more...

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  2. I am so glad you posted this because I am going to dye clothespins sometime this week for my behavior clip chart and "how we go home" clip chart! Do you think that if I only let them soak for a short time I can get light color on them?
    -Carol
    Mrs. Cobb's Kindersprouts

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    1. Hi Carol, I think if you put less dye in the water it will be a lighter color. I also saw at Walmart that the RIT brand sells other colors than the ones I've purchased. I think I saw a bright blue, pink, and orange. I'm sure they will turn out great!

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  3. I dyed clothespins for my Monday Made It, too. I am using mine to organize the students' Accelerated Reader "Brag Tag" necklaces. Your clothespins look great!
    Angelia
    fourthgradedayatthebeach.blogspot.com

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  4. THanks for the tutorial! I tried to dye some but the only dye I had at home was dark green and they turned out looking blackish! You have inspired me - I am going to head to Walmart for some fun light colors and try it again!
    I use clothespins for my behavior chart and have also used them for the job chart too.
    Laura ~ First Grade Spies

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  5. I've been wanting to dye some clothespin too. It seems like it would be easier than painting them. Thanks for the tips! Yours turned oput terrific!
    Kelly
    I'm Not Your Grandpa, I'm Your Teacher

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I love reading your cheerful comments!