There’s just something about summer that makes us break out the arts and crafts supplies – and when the craft is wearable, that’s all the better. So we were completely smitten by this bright batik T-shirt treatment from our buddies over at Family Fun magazine. Normally, batik is a wax-resist dye treatment, and neither the hot wax nor the dye baths are particularly kid-friendly. But the Family Fun folks adapted the idea for the younger set in a way that’s both safer and less messy. Plus the results – as you can see – are kinda spectacular.

The full instructions are here, but in a nutshell, you make a gooey flour and water paste, and use a squirt bottle to apply the pattern – here, a simple sun pattern with a spiral center. Let it dry, then use orange and yellow spray fabric paints to add some sunny hues. Let dry, then peel off the flour goo. Very, very cool!