By Olivia Bennett, for The Children’s Book Review
Published: July 20, 2011
How to splatter-paint your jean shorts or Converse sneakers
What’s more fun than flinging paint around? How about flinging paint around and, at the same time, spicing up your ho-hum jean shorts and sneakers? Splatter-paint clothes are one of the hottest trends right now, and Allegra Biscotti can show you how to channel your inner Jackson Pollack (he’s the artist guy who became famous for throwing paint to make art) and create fab must-have fashion in your back yard.
What You Need:
Paint brushes (try a bunch of different sizes)
Fabric paint (available at craft stores— use fabric paint so your designs don’t wash away in the laundry) Try a rainbow of colors or stick to one color family (Purple Passion and Summer Sunburst are my current favs.)
Newspaper or a drop cloth
Jean shorts, jeans, or canvas sneakers
What to Do:
1. Cover a flat surface with newspaper or a drop cloth. If it’s a nice day, work out in your yard.
2. If you are doing the splatter-thing on your kicks, remove the laces first and stuff the sneakers with newspaper.
3. Using the paint brush, flick, fling, or lightly brush paint randomly on your fabric. Make splotches or spots of color. Try spreading paint with a comb or a toothbrush for a cool effect. The key is to drip the paint from high above the fabric and to vary the size of the splotches. Before the paint dries, sprinkle on some glitter for a sparkly attention-grabber (shake off excess glitter).
4. Let jeans dry flat for at least two hours before flipping them over and splattering the back.
5. Make sure all paint is completely dry before wearing.
Olivia Bennett is the author of Who What Wear!: The Allegra Biscotti Collection. For Project Runway fans and fashionista lovers everywhere, Olivia Bennet has created the ultimate secret identity story: by day, Emma Rose is a quiet, under-the-radar student who doesn’t mix with the popular set. But when school’s out, she becomes Allegra Biscotti, Queen of the Runway—whipping up cutting-edge designs and wowing the world with her unique sense of fashion in Who What Wear!.
