Dyeing Pocket Charts - Epic Fail

Did you ever start something and realize that you are in way over your head but you're just too stubborn to quit?  I decided that I wanted needed black pocket charts to match my color scheme for next year.  Of course no one makes it easy and sells them.  Okay - maybe Target did once upon a time long, long ago but we are in the here and now.  So what is a teacher to do?  Get her craft on - right?  I found a website that talked showed how she was able to dye her pocket charts as long as they were the nice, expensive Lakeshore ones.  So I followed her directions and bought the dye and proceeded to start the process.  At the end of my washer cycle I had clean, yet brightly colored charts.  Not a black chart in sight.  I should have quit then.

I decided I simply needed more dye.  So I switched to powder dye and tried again.  Now keep in mind that while in Walmart, the nice elderly lady warned me that I was wasting my time and money.  I thanked her for the advice and proceeded to waste my time and money.  Back to the washer with my new dye mix.  Well, it ran down the seams of my front loading washer and onto my floors.  I spent the entire washer cycle scrubbing.  When the washer stopped out came mottled, splotchy brightly patched pocket charts.  At this point my husband entered the picture.  He informed me that I was using the wrong dye, what I needed was a ton of vinegar and acidic dye.

I had planned to try it all this weekend in the backyard with a large garbage bin.  My husband had other plans.  He decided to surprise me by starting it all in our bathtub.  Yep - black acidic dye and gallons of vinegar in the tub is what I came home to.  Now his heart was definitely in the right place but now my tub is dyed black.  Oh and two of the pocket charts actually turned out black as night.  Too bad the boiling water used to activate the dye shrunk the chart but not the plastic pockets.  Epic fail.  I am now two gallons of bleach into cleaning the tub.

I have learned 3 valuable lessons:

1. Never start a project for the next school year days before the current year is over.
2. Never dye in the bathtub
3. Always listen to your elders (especially ones who work in the Walmart craft section).