sharpie – MINDING MY P'S WITH Q

A big problem in the laundry room can be bleach spots. Yes, I am sure you know the scenario if you’ve ever used beach, I am talking about the despicable and horrifying spot of bleached out color you often find on a pant leg or sleeve after using this super whitening agent. The cause is usually a bead of bleach running down the side of the bottle after pouring. This small droplet is usually not noticed by the person using the bleach. The run-off is then accidentally brushed by the cuff of a sleeve, or drips off the bottom and mars the leg of your pants.

I have found a solution. I cover-up with an old, scruffy bathrobe that I no longer wear at night. I have the robe in the laundry room, always at the ready to throw over my clothing when I add bleach to anything. Whether I am using bleach for normal laundry days, or spraying it on mildewed shower walls, a bottle of opened bleach finds me wearing my big, all encompassing lavender robe. I might look a little funny, but I haven’t ruined any of my clothing for a long, long time.

A solution for covering up white spots caused by bleach or normal wear and tear is Sharpie markers. The permanent ink, available in many colors, easily covers up white spots.

My grandsons and I created beautiful Waxed Paper Stained Glass Hearts to put on our windows. First we used pencil sharpeners and created shavings of pink, red, and violet crayola crayons. Yes, our crayon box is now depleted of these colors…must buy more.

I used the back of a cereal box and cut out a heart shaped pattern. We traced this onto waxed paper with a Sharpie, and then dribbled bits of the shaved crayons into the outline. We covered the shavings and paper with another sheet of waxed paper, and I ran a hot iron over them very briefly. This melted the crayons into a beautiful pool of swirled and translucent colors. I carefully picked it up and laid it on the garage floor to dry. When they had hardened we cut them out and hung them on our window with double sided tape. (I have since realized a glue stick is a much better choice!) I would give this project an A++.