March 9th, 2010

The Result


diygrommet_blackteedressp2_0


diygrommet_blackteedressp1_0


I have an addictive personality. Whether it’s food, clothing, or magazines, whenever I find or rediscover something I like I will buy/eat/do it over and over again, like The Great Peanut Butter and Jam Sandwich Addiction of November ‘09 where I had about two per day. My addictive personality touches all parts of my life including my Do-it-yourself projects. So yes, I have done another grommet DIY! If you look back (waaaay back to three weeks ago) I have already done a DIY with grommets but I have had way too many ideas whirling around in my brain on how to play with grommets that I just had to do another one (and maybe more, again, my brain whirls). In any case, I hope you like my newest DIY!

What You Need

  • A Tshirt: I used an XL so I can wear it as a dress (3 for $10)
  • Grommets and Grommet Kit: They come in various sizes and you can find them at a fabric store from $5 – $12 depending on size and amount
  • Hammer
  • Scissors

How-To

  1. Turn your shirt inside out. When you hammer grommets, the bad/ugly side faces you so by turning the shirt inside out the good side of the grommets will face out.
  2. Decide on the placement of your grommets. Mark with a pen or whatever you have handy (that’s washable!)
  3. Make small holes with scissors or a hole punch if your kit came with it
  4. Depending on if your kit came with an “anvil” tool place that under the shirt and then the grommet with the “horn” or the long tube
  5. Place these two parts under the pre-made hole and pull the tube part of the horn through the hole.
  6. Place the other side of the grommet over-top fitting around the horn
  7. Use the Tool onto the horn and use a hammer to fuse the two ends of the grommets together. Make sure you’re on a sturdy flat surface to hammer on.
  8. Voila! Continue until you finish your desired design.

Total Cost of DIY: $10

Photo Gallery


Final Thoughts


Sorry for the monstrous amount of photos but it’s a hard process to explain. I hope you like this DIY! Let me know what you think about using grommets! Would you like to see more of them?

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Categories: Blog, Do It Yourself

March 7th, 2010

The Find


flowerdress_p1


flowerdress_latestfind_p2

A Bitter Fashion Memory


I have found a lot of great items in the kids department in thrift stores. The boys section always produces some nice blazers but this time I found something from the girl’s section – a little floral dress circa 90s, the days of Full House, Family Matters and Sister Sister. I seriously think my cousin owned this at one time. I remember the pretty flowers and soft fabric which turned out to be rayon – a material, I found out, my mother wanted nothing to do with as it’s hand wash only. So there I was stuck with my practical and boring, easy-to-wash cotton t-shirt and jeans while my cousin ran around in her flowing dress that didn’t let her skin breathe properly. I was so jealous! But today I am happy to have finally redeemed this painful childhood moment of my past. And to my, Mother (who would probably roll her eyes at this repressed fashion memory) I say, “It may have taken me eleven years to find but this dress is finally a part of my wardrobe. So there!”

Before & After


flowerdress_latestfind_original flowerdress_latestfind_after

The Alteration


I changed the collar as it was just a bit too girly for me. I already look 17 years old and a lace-trimmed peter pan collar isn’t exactly mature. (Note: I wanted to keep the collar intact because when/if I’m ready to give it away it’s easy to change it back to it’s original from). Quickly, here are the steps I took to make it more age-appropriate:

  1. I took the buttons off to replace later.
  2. I turned the collar inside, ironed it and sewed it down.
  3. Now, I’m a bit boobalicious for the dress (quite rightly as it was meant for an 8 year old) so I sewed the two button front areas together (to prevent a popping-out situation) so the bottom two buttons don’t actually function in the normal button-hole-button way
  4. Voila! Quick and dirty fix.

Final Thoughts


Do you have a repressed fashion memory from your childhood? I think we all have family members who have prevented us from wearing or owning something  that we really wanted and we still hold onto that memory. I’d love to hear your story… and it would make me feel better about being such a brat. ;)

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Categories: Blog, Do It Yourself

March 2nd, 2010

Hello! Sorry for the late night DIY but I’m a student so…. there. With the homework out of the way I would like to show you this easy do-it-yourself project. I wore this fringe tee today and let me tell you, fringe is fun! I’m one of those people who enjoy/annoy other people by swinging in chairs. Fringe is the grown-up version of a fun chair swing. Without further ado I hope you like my latest DIY!

diy_blackfringetee

What You Need:

  • One tshirt: I got mine from Salvation army for $1.50
  • Fringe: I paid $3 for this fringe which was in a package of remnants (leftovers) at Sussman’s Bridal on Queen, normally this size is $18/yard

Instructions:

  1. Find a tshirt
  2. Pin on the fringe or other trim of your choice
  3. Sew directly on making sure the fringe doesn’t go under the needle. One thing to note is that if you’re using a sewing machine make sure the tension is loose otherwise the fringe will get sucked up.

Gallery:

Total Cost of DIY: $4.50

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Categories: Blog, Do It Yourself

February 24th, 2010
diy_tshirtshouldergrommet


As promised here is my DIY! I tried to prepare this project two days ago and thought I could do it without the proper tools but turns out you can’t! I get my ideas for DIYs through various websites and blogs. I subscribe to over one hundred blogs (through handy Google Reader) and whenever I think I (and YOU) can do something I see I tag it with a “DIY”.  I probably have hundreds (well over a hundred at least) posts that I scroll through for inspiration for each new project.  I have had a pack of grommets since November after I saw the picture below from 10th Muse. I love this peek-a-boo style and waited until I found a suitable dress to apply it to. BUT I still haven’t found one so I decided to apply grommets to a plain men’s t-shirt. I hope you like it!
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Categories: Blog, Do It Yourself

February 23rd, 2010

A How-To Quickie!


I am little Ms. Procrastinator and I waited until last night to do my original Do-it-yourself project which unfortunately failed because of the wrong tools. But I have this quick and dirty project for you now and there will also be a DIY Wednesday!


One of my favourite sites, Refinery 29, featured an awesome post on the bow-tie as a spring trend for girls! I instantly loved this idea so I made one out of an old hair clip and a pin.


diybowtie_post
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Categories: Blog, Do It Yourself

February 19th, 2010

It was my boyfriend, Wes’s birthday yesterday but we are celebrating it tonight where I’m giving him his gifts and where we plan to drink a meter of beer. Being the DIY/Thrift-obsessed person that I am I decided to make him a gift as well as find something spectacular at a thrift store. Wes is obsessed with bikes (he has four) and doesn’t have any decorations on his wall. (Yes two unrelated things but I’m coming to that.) He also loves t-shirts, weird right? He has over sixty t-shirts, plain shirts, patterned shirts, wolf shirts, and band shirts. So for his birthday I decided to hand embroider a picture of a bike so he can hang it on the wall AND find him a hilarious vintage t-shirt.


bikepic summercampteeshirt

Bike Picture:


I used a backstitch for the frame and a chain stitch for the wheels. Check out the videos below on how to perform these stitches. Keep on Reading »

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Categories: Blog, Do It Yourself

February 16th, 2010

In the beginning of January I asked people to vote on which Men’s
Dress Shirt DIY
I should do from one of my favourite books, Cool
Couture Remake Dresses
. One of the runners up was Tie-Me-Up
so I did it today!

diyshirt_final
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Categories: Blog, Do It Yourself

February 13th, 2010
alexander-mcqueen


I’m sure most of you have heard the news about Alexander McQueen’s death. He was an amazing designer and innovator, and his absence will cause a huge impact.  I didn’t realize how much I would be affected, but I think everyone in fashion or who knew of his amazing talent are feeling like they lost a part of themselves. I’ve decided to dedicate a do-it-yourself project to him. My prayers go out to his family.


mcqueendiy_me


mcqueendiy_closeup


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Categories: Blog, Do It Yourself

February 9th, 2010

I had Chain of Fools by Aretha Franklin stuck in my head as I was making this DIY. It didn’t turn out exactly like the picture last week in the proposal (yes, it’s quite different) so I think grooving to Aretha had an influence on me. Here it is!


purse-revised-diy2   post_chainpursediy_finalfullpic
Before                                                                                 After


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Categories: Blog, Do It Yourself

February 2nd, 2010

Proposal


Boring isn’t it? I have started re-purposing this bag several times but every time I begin another new idea pops into my head. So I require your help! Please help me decide which project to do! To vote please comment below.


purse-revised-diy2


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Categories: Blog, Do It Yourself