dip dye diy

so here's something I haven't done in forever : a diy! today's diy is super simple, and honestly i love the outcome so much.

ombre has been big for a while now - from hair to clothing to anything in between. so many bloggers have done the ombre diy, and after lusting after an ombre shirt i decided i'd make one for about $3.

you need:

a shirt in the color and style of your choosing; some fabric dye, a bucket

i personally used a thrifted white collared shirt and black rit dye. my advice to you upon doing this diy is to use a cotton shirt, as cotton retains dye much better than others. do not use polyester, or it will not be very strong. since I was going for gray, i didn't care that my shirt was polyester, but just be warned if you want a really contrasting, bold color it won't really work with polyester. trust me. if you want to do denim, rit dye makes dye specifically for denim.

instructions:

1)gather your dye, shirt, and a bucket. I used a white collared shirt that I got for $1 at a thrift store.

2) mix your dye according to the directions - usually there will be something to mix it with like vinegar or salt and water, etc.

3) dip dye! you may be able to just put the base of the shirt in the bucket and let the dye seep upwards, but if you can't, just dip the part of the shirt you want dyed into the dye over and over. this way you can control how high you want the ombre to be. dip to the highest point you want it to be first, then gradually dip lower and lower, so the color is darker at the base and lighter upwards. 

4) rinse your shirt in cold water until the water runs clear.

5) hang dry.

6) wear it!

super simple stuff. this picture isn't super good because it makes the whole ombre look really faded - it's more contrasting in person. because my favorite color is gray,  I made a gray shirt. also the whole shirt is a little gray now because i accidentally without thinking put this shirt in the wash after dyeing it. oops. you should probably get it dry cleaned, hand wash, or just wait a little longer before washing it on cold. but I love gray so I don't care. I've already worn this shirt like six times.

go ombre all of your clothing now.

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scarf vest

What do you get with a $1 thrifted scarf and a great, easy tutorial from Kristen at Studs and Pearls? A new beautiful silk vest. I loved the flowers on this scarf and actually bought it for the purpose of making this vest. I saw the tutorial a while ago and it just was so simple! It's the kind of thing you kick yourself for not figuring out. 

All you do is get a large square scarf and cut two slits in it. With the diagram she provided, the two slits are the perfect length and give a great look from the front and the back. The scarf creates an automatic collar... it's pretty interesting. You can style it however you want, i just wore it with a black velvet dress and my trusty old belt.

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My hair is black.

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recent diys

it's a little funny to think this started as a craft/sewing blog. i had a bunch of features on cut out and keep so i made accoudrements.. 

thought i'd go back to its roots with a little diy-roundup of what i've made more recently.

bleached sleeve dress; lame-esque elastic skirt; pleated floral skirt w/exposed zipper; painted-stripe suedeish booties.

the denim dress and the shoes are thrifted (both from rumours, i think.) i loved the shoes ($5) but they seemed plain so i added a racing stripe on the exterior side of each one. tape & fabric paint.

that's all, folks!

p.s. it's so horribly miserable out. the midwest is all 'it's sooo hot!' but here in virginia we've got 100*+ temperatures. daily. no offense to any midwesterners. that's also why the silver skirt seems so goddamn shiny. it's not that shiny; it's like a matte gunmetal.

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to diy for

i have a quick diy for you all today -- shocking, no?  i haven't done any diys in forever..

i decoupaged some  old antique book pages from a ripped up copy of jane eyre i found in a vintage shop. it killed me a little to have to remove pages from such a splendid book but it did my heart good to see it repurposed -- and this way i see them every day.

materials: mod podge, old book pages, clothes-pins, paint brush, scissors (not shown)

1. use a pencil to trace around the clothespins to have the basic size down. cut them -- but cut them smaller than you think you should.

2. mod podge the surface of the clothespins, then press on the sliver of page.  afterwards paint mod podge on top of it to glaze it.

3. finished? no. use them!

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i've decided to disable comments for a while. i'm a little tired of just the publicity people try to attract with comments -- i.e. "lovely pics... HEY come check out my giveaway!!!!!" and just the generic comments.. if you like what i post that's so wonderful, thanks! feel free to follow or favorite or anything. i just want you all to like me for my content. not necessarily because it's easy for me to facilitate your content for you subconciously.

thanks loves.

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knocked off

Let's pretend it's Friday.

Just a tad late, but here it is:

The Comme des Garcons Heart tee!

So, I'm probably going to put elastic in the top, as it continued to fall off my skinny shoulder blades, but oh well. Here's the tut!

Ingredients:

-Plain Tee shirt whatever colour you want

-Red fabric paint

-Black fabric paint

-Scissors (optional)

-Sewing machine (optional)

-Printer Access & an X-Acto knife

1) Mark a line where you want the neckline to be with marker. Cut it off!

2) Fold, pin, and sew the neckline you cut.

If you want, you could use a contrasting thread to sew it. But, if you kind of lack actual sewing skills, like me, it may take a few tries. See? Black thread on white tee. Daring.

3) Print your design twice. Print it so that the heart takes up most of the page. If you need the Comme Des Garcons design, here, steal mine!

4) Cut the heart out of one of the papers with your X-Acto knife.

Put the paper sans heart on the shirt where you want the design.

Make sure you have

5) Use the X-Acto knife to cut the eyes out of the heart. Then, using double sided tape, stick them where they need to be.

6) Mix your red fabric paint with some water to dilute it - and add even more water for a water-colour effect. Dab it directlty on top of the 'stencil', and wait maybe 5 minutes.

Won't be perfect, but who cares?

After waiting a while, peel off the paper. If you're lazy like me, use a hairdryer on it to speed up the process.

7) Mix & dilute your black paint. Cut out the black parts of the eyes from the second print, and place on shirt after drying. Then dab in the eyes. Here's a pic with one done:

Then you're pretty much done! I'm going to convert to a tube top because i bought an XL. Or maybe a romper.

Here's the real one:

And here's mine again. 5% of the cost. Just saying.

Ignore the crappy cutting out of the background.

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loop scarf

Well first of all, i just want to state that i now have 2 followers. Woo! This might be a small accomplishment, but because I gained a random follower who in no way knows me or is a friend, i feel extremely proud and mildly relieved. If at least one person cares to read, then i will supply the reading! Well thanks Jocelyn - she has a lovely blog called Always Spread Love - for appreciating my budding (if underdeveloped) blog. It means tons to me ♥

She also is giving away some cute clothes and CDs (she has nice taste in both), but back off because the pink plaid dress and the purple dress are going to be mine (once i set up a paypal hah!)

I just finished a 5 minute project: a loop scarf! Another Anthropologie knock off/version/whatever you want to call it! Pretty simplistic - I'm going to try to post in the accessory section of the Ultimate DIY Competition too, so be sure to fave/heart/tweet/whatever.

You need: Some woven fabric and some scissors, a sewing machine, and 5 minutes to spare.

1) Cut a strip of the fabric about as long as you are tall, and anywhere between 4-10 inches tall. Mine ended up being 5 feet long even though i am 5'6" because that's all i had. You can even sew the long sides together, flip inside out, and make a tube, but i didn't feel like it.

2)Since it's woven, you can probably see little pieces of string hanging off everywhere. The fun part: PULL 'EM! Pull them to your heart's content. It creates a nice fringe. I made about an inch of fringe on both sides.

You should get a lovely ball of string -- if you knit, this would be a perfect time to recycle it!

Charming.

4) Sew the edges together, and flip, and voila! That's all there is to it!

Enjoy.

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ladder chain necklace

I found this ladder chain armour harness on Etsy one day, and i liked it, but I don't have fifty dollars. I also don't really love the whole armour jewelry craze. So i came up with my own rendition (for about $3) and as promised, here is the ladder chain necklace how to!

You need : 30 inches of thick-linked chain, 70 inches of thin chain, some pliers, jump rings, and whatever kind of clasp/hook you want to use.

1) Cut the 30 inches in half, and use jump rings to attach the clasp to each end.

2) Cut 7 inches of the thin chain, and again, use jump rings to attach each end of the piece to the last links on the thick chain. If you were going to wear it, it would look like a normal whole chain.

3) Count up 5 links on the thick chain, then add another 7 inches of thin chain to it.

4) Repeat, just count up 5, add, count, add, and so on. You can do this as many times as you want, and just decide how high up you want the draping to be. I ended up using ten 7'' chain pieces on my necklace. Enjoy!