DIY: Cute Canvas Shoes

I've recently been in such the mood to do DIY, but have so little time. So until my next break, I will have to settle with admiring those with the time and creativity! Check out these cute canvas shoes that have been personalized using only paint and tape! Make sure to check out the full DIY here!

DIY...Sweetheart Cardigan

It's that time of year for all college students; professors decide that right before the holidays and finals that they have to cram everything into our minds all at once. This is part of the reason that I have been away from you guys! I hope that you all are still doing well and having a great week! Today I would like to share pictures of my DIY t-shirt cardigan. All that I did was cut the front of a t-shirt vertically (using a ruler to make sure that it was even on both sides) and then decorate with paint! I don't encourage cutting the collar for these cardigans because I feel like it makes the cardigan floppy and not as stiff. Instead of cutting it, I painted the color for contrast:

Have a great week!

Trick or Treat...Last Minute Halloween Ideas!

Can you guess what I was for my Halloween weekend? I'll give you one guess...a Zombie Hipster! Alex and I spent the weekend visiting one of my great friends in the Appalachian Mountains this past weekend (just what I needed to balance out my crazy week!), and everyone loved out costumes! We had people come up to us the whole night saying things like, "so exclusive" or "this song is too mainstream." We also had people stop us on our way to the party to take pictures! It was such a blast. And guess what? Our costumes were homemade, and very inexpensive.t-shirt: $1 at the Dollar Generalpaint: $1.20 for all 4 colors (and I have plenty left over!)Hipster glasses: Free, with the purchase of an awesome 3D movie ticket!Flannel: $4 at a thrift store, or free if you can bum one off of a friend
It took me about 30 minutes to make the shirt and let it dry (I cheated and used one of those powerful hand blowers to make it dry faster!) And here are the results! Alex's shirt says "So Exclusive" and my shirt says, "Life Was Too Mainstream"And here is a picture of us in our element, infesting the town!Feel free to copy our last minute idea ;) Also if you want a few more ideas, try some of these DIY looks below:
1. SailorWhat you need:a white t-shirtnavy blue painta ruler to keep your lines straighta cute white skirt or shortsa cool paper sailor's hat (click here for instructions!)or try painting this if you are feeling artsy:and try pinning a quick bow onto your hat using my 2 minute bow instructions!
2. The IncrediblesYou can either make this shirt with "No Sew" glue, like the one above, or with paint (probably the easiest way for the procrastinators in all of us!)What You Need:Red Shirtblack, orange and yellow paintpencil (you want to sketch this design out first!)black mask ( either make out of old DIY fabric, or buy one for $1 at Wal-Mart)red tightsblack shorts...or undies, depending on the party, I suppose ;)
3. David BowieAll you need for this one is some face paint, hair gel, and some super tight and flashy clothing! Try something similar to the look below:
4. The SmurfsThey were adorable! This one might be messy with all of the baby blue body paint, but pair this with a cute thrifted dress and some blue leggings, and you'll definitely be a conversation piece!
That's all that I have! Happy Halloween, Everyone!*********IF YOU ARE INTERESTED IN THE SMALL WORLD PROJECT FOR THIS MONTH, PLEASE EMAIL ME ASAP. WE ONLY HAVE 2 SPOTS LEFT!!!!**************

DIY...Rainbow Strokes Tee

 Hello everyone! Today I have a new DIY that I like to call the Rainbow Strokes Tee. I made this t-shirt in honor of my non-profit organization, Party For Autism. The different colorful strokes and the mixing of colors are suppose to represent the primarily similar yet different characteristics that make up individuals with autism. (Read about our philosophy here!)

Normally, I would give a detailed tutorial on how to make this shirt, but I feel like that takes the creativity out of it! Here are the basic materials that you will need:

-A black t-shirt (learn how to make a tank top out of a t-shirt here!)

-An Assortment of Acrylic Paint

-A paint brush (I use a black sponge brush)

-A straight edge (optional) to make sure that your lines are even on the top and bottom, and not slanted on the sides, unless that's the look you want!

Make sure that you hold your t-shirt up against you from time to time to make sure that your lines are long enough, or mark them ahead of time.

(My inspiration bored in the back is feeling pretty empty! That's a problem!)And I cannot mention strokes without thinking about this wonderful band! Thanks again, Alex for introducing me to them awhile back ;)

DIY...The Easy, Two Minute Bow

Ever wanted to make a bow, but couldn't because you didn't have access to a sewing machine or hot glue gun? Well, have no fear! The Two Minute Bow is here!

Here are quick and easy instructions on how to make a temporary or long term bow out of scraps from an old t-shirt!1. Identify an old t-shirt or scraps from a DIY t-shirt. If using a full t-shirt, cut horizontally across the bottom of the t-shirt the length that you want your bow to be (my bow was about 4 inches long). Once this is cut, make sure to cut the side seams so that your fabric lays flat and is not doubled. Also cut the bottom seam so that you can use this to tie your bow later.

2. Take your seamless fabric and fold a portion of it to the width that you want your bow.

 3. Cut this portion from the fabric.

 4. Unfold this fabric and slightly fold the egdes of what will be the top and bottom of the bow.

 5. Fold the fabric so that the two folded edges lay on top of each other.

6. Take the bottom seam that you cut off earlier and wrap it around your bow. Cut it so that it fits (I only used about 2 inches to wrap my bow)

7. Once you are finished wrapping your bow, tuck the lose edge in the back of the bow and stick a bobby pin  through the back side of the bow so that it can easily be bobby-pinned into your hair.

Voila! An easy bow that shouldn't take more than 2 minutes! Make sure to save your scraps so that you can make more bows in the future. This would be cute to pin on the straps of a sleeveless shirt or on a bag, and of course in your hair! Let me know if you try it!

DIY...I'm Seeing Stripes Tee

Remember sometime, about a month ago when I told you guys that I had been working on a few DIY t-shirt projects? Well I am finally putting up my results and instructions! My prized possession is my "I'm Seeing Stripes" shirt. As you can see, the shirt has definitely had some wear and tear, due to my cheap laundry detergent, and because I wear this shirt all of the time!

Here are the instructions:

1. Crop your white t-shirt as desired, using a ruler and a pencil to draw a line of wear you plan to cut it. For short instructions on cropping a shirt, check out my DIY Flower Girl Shirt tutorial

2. On a steady and flat surface (I used an ironing board, instead of my carpet), draw lines that are a ruler's length apart (approx and inch and 1/2), all the way up to the armpit. The number of lines will vary based on shirt size; I had 7 lines.

 3. Outline the lines that you plan to paint black, to ensure neatness, and then began to paint within with a black sponge brush. Make sure that the top line is painted black!

 4. Measure out about 3 1/2 to 4 inches above the top back line and draw a horizontal line. This is where the yellow portion of the shirt will be. Trace the outside of this area with the yellow paint to ensure neatness and then proceed to painting. Let it dry where it is; it'll take a few hours to dry completely.

And we're finished! This is how I wore it out the other day,

DIY...Cute Wall Clock

My roommate and I have been trying to figure out cute, inexpensive ways to make are apartment...well, better! Right now, it's nothing but black and white, literally so we are trying to spice it up...add a little pizzazz! Therefore, in the near future, I plan to make this clock! It's very bright and bold and all that you need are 12 long markers (RoseArt, I think),a plastic box (I think I'm going to use a sturdy, plastic lid since it's already round), a drill with drill bits, measuring tape, a pencil, a small clock mechanism and a pair of pliers.
Tah-dah! Super amazing, an easy clock! Not your style? I also found this cool book clock that blew my mind! Click the picture for the link!

Upcoming DIY T-Shirts

Hello everyone! I hope that you've been having a great week! I've had the busiest week so far this semester at university; however, I still somehow found time to do two DIY T-Shirts! I will post the instructions and finally products on a later date, but I am most excited about my cardigan, which was crafted out of an old $3 shirt and some paint. It has definitely become my favorite new accessory!