bringin' back: tie dye

tie dying ain't just for hippies and summer campers, y'all.

we had a tie-dying party in our backyard (TDP09) last friday and it was a hit to say the least. a highlight of the summer, would be an understatement.

this was the brainchild of me and lindsay, of course, as we are the creative freaks that come up with these ideas for ourselves then they undoubtedly turn into a reason for a party. our friends were excited about the idea, as this group is up for anything, but my expectations were slim. I truly thought it would be lindsay and I geeking out over our pieces and a few other girls fiddling with some shirts.




boy was i wrong. about a week before the party we were on a camping trip and I overheard a conversation between collin and several of the guys as they were discussing tie-dying "game day shirts" {with their favorite college team colors}. while I thought that was kinda clever, I didn't know what we were in for.

several of us sat down and just started throwing rubber bands on our duds with a mindless plan, a wing and a prayer, letting our creative juices flow...then we look to our right and there sits collin with his laptop open and a gaggle of guys watching a tie-dye tutorial on youtube.

we died. it was hysterical.

they researched techniques.


and conquered them.

{this was my reaction that was captured when collin stood up & showed off his first shirt which was perfect; thanks to the creepy guy on the YouTube tutorial}

from then on everyone was unleashed. folks were timing their dye dips, comparing techniques, helping each other out, and looking for anything made of cotton to dye.





this went on for about four hours and folks kept coming over and joining the fun...the brews were flowing, we had grub on the grill, homemade ice cream churning and fresh peanuts that had been soaking and boiling for two days.


we ended up with about 40 pieces total completed that night; everything from t-shirts and cloth napkins to sports bras and summer scarves...


and the masterpieces dried in our backyard over night.

then naturally, we moved our gig to the front porch. enjoying a good friday night in Nashville never complete without a good guitar pickin' and singin'...

we finally got to eat our homemade peach ice cream but the real treat was that we were joined by nashville legend, Mr. Johnny Rose and our own front porch legend, Drake White.

The night came to and end and we all went to bed with stained fingers and ruined clothes (!) but how convenient that two of the guys were hosting their annual Fish Fry the next day....so it was only the perfect excuse to showcase our new piece of art....and oh, did we!

as you can see, this was a hit with our rockstar group of twenty-something outcasts we call friends! but no matter your age or the extent of your creativity, this is an awesome project for the end of summer or just to bring back some good childhood or free-lovin' memories!

go get a few boxes of $1.50 rit dye, gather a few friends, let your imagination loose and you're guaranteed a good time.


photo credit: lindsay mcmullen