DIY: Colorful Tea Towels

It's funny how much a colorful tea towel can brighten up my mood, but for some reason I rarely stray away from buying the basic white flour sack towels. I've always loved how thin and soft they are but often wished they had a little color. Enter fabric markers! I picked up these guys for $1.99 at Hobby Lobby, but I'm sure you could find them at most any craft store.

After allowing 24 hours dry time, the "art" you create with fabric markers is completely machine washable. This is one of those craft items I had never purchased before, but I'm so glad I finally did. For about $2.50 each, I have colorful, unique towels to greet me after washing my hands. I bought my usual pack of 5 tea towels for $6 and then paid $1.99 for each of the pens, which I'll be able to use on many more projects. (I keep eyeing plain fabrics in my house thinking,"What could I draw on that?!")

  You could draw anything from geometric shapes to seasonal pictures, monograms, or your favorite quote. (I stole the one from my friend Dana's kitchen chalkboard...gotta love Ms. Piggy.)

For the circles, I just used a template I had in my craft stash.

Writing the words was a bit trickier. I tried to stretch the towel over a book to make it taut. If you can, I would suggest stretching the towel and clamping it to a table or desk to make for easier drawing.

If I had known about fabric markers sooner, I would have been using them all over the place. How cute would it be provide plain onesies or bibs at a baby shower for guests to create unique gifts for the mama-to-be?  If given the chance , I might consider a career move to become a fabric marker graffiti artist. What would you add a little color to?