Every once in a blue moon I get, what I consider to be, a fantastic idea. An epiphany of sorts. Friday was one of these occasions. I was so happy with myself that I even did what I thought was a touchdown dance of sorts, celebrating my own brilliance. Gaby mistakenly thought I was having a seizure and asked me, "Mommy, do you need the 911 men?"
Gaby has a faded pair of jeans that still has a lot of wear left in them. The only problem is that there are a couple of grease stains on the front of the jeans and I abhor taking my kids out in clothes that aren't clean. I can't do it. I won't do it. So I was sitting at the table wondering what I was going to do with the jeans... Let her run around in mud puddles? Give her some finger paint and tell her to have at it? Turn them into a pair of cut-offs? Then I looked at where the grease stains were and thought that if I'd cut them off she'd end up with booty-shorts and it could just be me, but I think 4 years old is too damned young for booty-shorts! As I was pondering the fate of the stained jeans, Gaby sat next to me happily coloring away with her Crayola Pipsqueak Markers. I watched her color Snow White's hair blue (she knows it's black, but she was using her artistic license!) and then it hit me! Gaby and I would draw on her jeans and color over the grease stains! Brilliant!
It's not that I was trying to be some sort of frugal fashonista (or would that be frugalista?), but I hate to see something that still has a lot of use left in it, go to waste.
The two of us sat there and colored on her jeans after I made sure she understood that she is never ever ever ever, no NOT EVER to do this on any other item of clothing unless I tell her it's OK and I'm sitting right next to her.
I'm not very good when it comes to drawing and decided that we should keep it simple but I thought they turned out cute if I do say so myself. Gaby did most of the work with a little guidance from me...
The grease stains were covered up nicely! I decided to turn them over and let her work her magic on the back pockets as well...
Martha Stewart, eat your heart out! Have markers, will create!
Gaby wore the jeans most of Friday and for a little while over the weekend whilst we were back in Maine. She took such pride in her handiwork and was certain to point out, to anyone who said hello to her, that she was the brilliance behind the jeans.
I put a load of laundry in the wash first thing this morning, including all of the dirty clothes from our trip. As I sat on the couch and folded the warm, clean laundry I searched all through the pile for the jeans with the rainbows and stars. Gaby asked if she could wear them again. I even went back into the laundry room and looked in the washer and dryer thinking I might have inadvertently left them behind.
I sat back down on the sofa and looked at all of Gaby's clean jeans and then it hit me, squarely in the middle of the forehead!
D'oh! I'd used these markers to let Gaby color her jeans...
And as a result of using those markers, this is what her jeans look like now...
Crayola washable markers are indeed, totally and completely...washable!
