insideSUSSEX Magazine Issue 18 - August 2016 | Page 22

ARTS+ENTERTAINMENT

summer CRAFTS cont.
Homemade Crafty Wind Chime
To make your garden or outside space a truly
relaxing place to be, why not create your very
own wind chime? Not only will it use up all those
bits and bobs you didn’t know what to do with,
but it will look great too.

Tie Dye T-Shirts
The art of tie dying clothing has been around
for decades, but it has never lost its appeal.
Fed up with your boring summer wardrobe?
Make it groovier and add a hippy shake by
trying out this simple dying effect.
What you will need:
• White or light coloured t-shirt (or long sleeved
top if you prefer)
• Dye (whatever colour you like the look of)
• Elastic bands
• Clingfilm
• Masking tape
• Newspaper
• 1 tsp washing powder
What you do:
• Lay your t-shirt down on a flat surface and
cover the top part with a big sheet of
Clingfilm. Roll the top half down towards
you so that it is encased in the Clingfilm –
just roll down the part you don’t want to
dye. Tape up the ends of this sausage of
shirt and Clingfilm with masking tape.
• Now roll the bottom half of the t-shirt up to
meet the first half. You’ll end up with two

sausages of shirt, one wrapped in Clingfilm
and one uncovered.
• When the two halves are touching, wrap
elastic bands around them. Make sure the
bands are on tight, or you’ll have a problem
with the dye seeping into the wrong places
and ruining the effect you’re going for.
• Dampen the bottom half of the shirt by
running it under the cold tap – squeeze out
any excess water.
• Lay out the newspaper on your flat surface
– make sure there is quite a bundle, or the
dye will run through.
• Cover the bottom half of the shirt with dye
then wrap the whole thing up in some more
Clingfilm and leave alone to dry for 6 hours
or so.
• Once the time is up, remove the second
layer of Clingfilm you put on and rinse away
any excess dye. Now remove the elastic
bands and the rest of the Clingfilm.
• Pop a teaspoon of washing powder in some
warm water in the sink and gently handwash
the t-shirt. Wring it out and hang it up to dry.

Planting A Cactus Garden
With thanks to www.abeautifulmess.com
Cacti are great plants to make a stunning mini
garden with since they don’t need too much
aftercare – perfect for the less green fingered
amongst us. But the end result can be just as
captivating as any rose garden.

© Lee Meredith (https://www.flickr.com/photos/trilliumartisans/)

What you will need:
• Some pieces of twine, string, or thin rope
(we can’t tell you how long it needs to be…)
• Old bits and bobs – keys work really well as
they make a lovely sound
• 3 or 4 hinges (or as many as it takes)
• A hook
• Shells or pieces of coloured glass etc

What you will need:
• A wide, shallow vase or pot (10 inches by 5
inches is about the right size), or a variety of
vases and pots
• Pebbles, rocks and small stones
• Soil
• Your favourite cactus plants
• Trowel

What you do:
• Bend the hinges so that they are at right angles.
• Thread the string/rope/twine through the holes
in one side of the hinge, and then attach your
keys to the other end. Make sure the knots are
large enough that nothing will slip through.
• If you want to make your wind chime look really
pretty, why not also thread some decorations
through as well?
• Tie some more thread to your hook, and attach
that (more thread) to the top of the hinges.

What you do:
• Add some rocks to the bottom of the vase(s).
This will help with drainage when you water
them.
• Add soil. It should be filled to about an inch
from the top, but not too densely packed so
there is still plenty of room for plants.
• Plant a group of small cacti in the soil. Be sure
to space out any colorful cacti.
• Cover the top of the soil with a thin layer of
rocks for decoration.

22