DIY Block Print Tie-Dye

Before I begin I have to admit that this tie-dye was a fluke. When I started I didn't know what I was doing or how I was going to do it. I only knew it was going to be a tie-dye. So that's the reason why it's called 'block print tie-dye', I wasn't sure what to call it. But it is pretty cool right?

Stuff you need:

T-shirt

Dye

Rubber bands

1. Lay out your t-shirt

2. Roll one half of the shirt diagonally

3. Roll the other half inwards

4. Tie several rubber bands along the entire roll

5. According to the instructions on the dye packet, dye the rolled up t-shirts

Remove the rubber bands and dry the shirt. I cut off the collar and shortened my t-shirt because it was a large mens size.

Is this amazing or what?

Photo Diary: Malacca

Over the weekend I went to a lovely little town in the south-west of Malaysia called Malacca. I was lucky enough to take some wannabe pro-photographer photos at this UNESCO world heritage site. Sorry about the overwhelming amounts of red, it is Chinese new year after all :) 

A board outside a cute little cafe.

Last lantern photo, promise.

Candle part 1

Candle part 2

When I lit some incense sticks the ash blew all over my hand. It burned. Badly. 

I love these.

This is probably the best Carlsberg ad I have ever seen, now 'that calls for a Carlsberg.'

There was this incredibly long row of houses along the river and all of them had painted murals similar to this one on them.

No, this is not real gold. It was way to cheap

DIY Fabric Covered Journals

I absolutely love these journals because they are super easy to make and they are insanely useful. Depending on what kind of paper you put inside, the journal can be used for anything: art journals, diaries, organizers etc. I think I've made around 10 in the last 2 months alone!

Stuff you need:

Card paper

Fabric

A sewing machine (a needle and thread will be quite difficult to use in this case)

Paper (I used 15 sheets of A4 paper then trimmed the sides so that they would fit in my journal)

Paper clips

String and large needle

1. Place the card on top of the fabric.

2. Fold the fabric inwards, onto the card and sew around the edges using a sewing machine.

3. Fold all your sheets of paper in half.

4. Open the sheets of paper and clip them to the inside of the book cover. 

5. Poke three holes, make sure the pin goes through all sheets of paper and the book cover.

6. Sew the paper to the book cover.

Now draw, doodle and dream in your new journal :)

DIY Loose Fitting Cardigan

I am not entirely sure whether this is a cardigan or not because google failed to inform me. So I have decided to call it a cardigan anyway. 

When I started this project with a long sleeved shirt I was hoping for something more cardigan-like. But half way through it hit me that this was not going to turn out like I had planned. Lesson learned: large shirts do not make for very good fitting cardigans. Regardless I am still very pleased with the result!

Stuff you need:

Large t-shirt (I only used a long sleeved shirt because I liked the color of it)

Needle and thread (sewing machine is preferable)

Embroidery floss (optional)

1. Remove the neckline and shorten the length of the tee to your preferred length. Fold inwards and pin.

2. Sew both the bottom of the tee and the neckline in place.

3. Cut straight down the middle of the tee. Fold inwards, pin and sew in place.

4. If you are using a long sleeved tee shorten the sleeves and make a seam.

I embroidered the neckline only because I was in the mood to embroider something, but you could also add buttons or a ribbon.

DIY Shirt Dress

Remember this?  Well, that skirt was made from a shirt that was taken from a pile of my dad's old shirts, and so is this dress. There are still a lot more shirts just waiting around to be deconstructed and made into something beautiful. Some of them may even be in your house, so why not try out this tutorial?

Stuff you need:

Large mens shirt

Needle and thread (Sewing machine would be easier)

Dye (optional)

1. Remove the sleeves.

2. Use another sleevless dress or top to measure the size of your armholes and mark. Cut from that mark all the way down on either side.

3. Turn the shirt inside out and sew the sides back together. I dyed my dress yellow because I wanted something brighter. Wear with a belt and you are ready to go!

I quite like the blurriness of this photo just because of how all the colors look together :)

Before and After: Perfectly Pink Pearled Shorts

Once upon a time I had this wonderful pair of white capris that I just adored. They were so versatile and made every outfit seem expensive. So you can understand how devastated I was when they turned pink in the wash, right? I hope so! Anyway, after hours and hours of trying to bleach them this horrible pink stain remained:

Finally when I overcame my great loss I decided to use the stain to my advantage and take on the obvious...

...To die them even pinker (specifically a color called the 'rose of Paris'!). Then I cropped them, then I cropped them even more. To finish off I sewed on the pearls and turned them into this perfectly pink pair of pearled shorts. Enjoy!

DIY Braided Rope Necklace

My new 2nd favorite show (Castle is first) is Jane By Design and I have only seen 1 episode! Maybe it's only because Jane says she makes her own clothes, or because of the exaggerated high school drama's, or because of the necklace in the photo below that I took a screen shot of while watching the show. 

Don't you just love this necklace? I definitely do. As soon as I saw it in the show I knew I had to make it. The combination of rope and beads just goes so well together.

My version:

Stuff you need:

6 x 110 cm Long Rope

Glue

String of Beads

2 Clips

1. Organize your string of beads and rope as shown below. Make sure your rope is separated into 2 groups of 3. Knot at either end of each set of rope. Make sure one set of rope extends above the string of beads and other extends below. 

2. Braid the string of beads and 2 sets of rope together. Clip at either end.

3. Undo the knots on the longer ends of the ropes. Separate them each of them as shown below:

4. Cut off the excess from the shorter ends.

5. Use the single ropes to wrap around at either of the braid. Glue to hold in place then remove excess from the single ropes.

6. Clip to hold in place while the glue is drying.

I am quite satisfied with my necklace, now DIY!