Seamed stockings

I ordered seamed stockings yesterday. I'm so excited about them! There is something extremely sexy about that straight line at the back of the leg. I'm so glad companies are making this style of stocking again, I've been wanting a pair for ages, but I didn't have the heart to spend so much money on them. I love Ebay.

I've also ordered a few pairs of tights to decorate and show to my boss and see what she thinks about selling a few pairs in the store. After wearing my Button and Pearl socks at work, everyone wanted a pair!

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Currently still working on the leather disc jacket inspired by PHOSPHENE. I'll do a progress report soon.

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I also bought a few pairs of cheap fingerless gloves from the dollar store. I think they call for another DIY project.

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The blingin' headphones are about done. I ordered more crystals, but used them up already. I'm not sure if they look finished, but I feel I've spent enough money on them to be finished. I've got a few orders of pairs for friends, which is exciting. And they even offered to pay! :D Always a plus.  I'll have to get moving on ordering enough crystals for those projects!

Well, that's a bit of an update on what's going on here. My production design work is picking up, so there may be less time to work on Missing James projects over the next few weeks. But I'll try to keep up.

Bisous.

Image from Free Pretty Things for You

Knocked my Socks off!

I decided to wear my DIY Button and Pearl Socks to work yesterday (click here and here for photos of what I wore.) Everyone loved them! They were a hit. I had girls asking me if we sold these socks in the store! My boss wants me to make her a pair of tights, and then suggested that if I'm up to it, I could make a line of socks for Stylust. It's so exciting. I'll make her a pair of tights and then I'll talk to her about selling some of my items in the store. Because she owns the brand and the store, my boss can sell whatever she wants. She had some bib-necklaces that her friend made, so it's a great opportunity to get some of my DIY stuff out into the open. Maybe even publicize this blog a bit more. Well, I just thought I'd share that little bit of info with y'all. It's just so exciting!

DIY Vivienne Westwood Bunny Skirt

Remember in Sex And The City when Carrie comes back to New York for a few days after spending a weekend in the country with Aidan? She goes out to dinner with Big and then walks home and gets frightened by a squirrel? Do you remember her outfit? It's one of my favourites! She's wearing an emerald green Vivienne Westwood Bunny Skirt. In the whole series she wore this skirt twice - once in emerald green, and once in orange with feathers. I can't find a photo of the emerald skirt, but you remember it, right?

Well, last year I decided to make my own. And then I decided that I should share it with y'all today. It was my friend's 21st Birthday and she asked everyone to show up in black, so I made a black version of the skirt, and in true Carrie style, I made a flower to match. Here are photos taken before the party with my dear friend, Meg.

 

Materials:

• Mini-skirt to use as template (Don't worry, you won't cut it up)
• 1.5m Fabric (I used polyester silk in black)
• 1-2m Organza
• buttons
• Sewing Machine

Step 1: Draw out a patter using an exising mini skirt as a template. You may also wish to measure yourself around the waist, hips and thighs, then divide that measurement in half. You'll have 1 peice for the front, and 2 pieces for the back. Remember to add at least 1 inch to each the back pieces so your bum can fit. Leave 1-2cm of extra fabric on the side for seam allowances.

Step 2: Sew your skirt together. Down the sides, and the back. You can either put in a zipper or use buttons at the back to keep the skirt closed. 

Step 3: Divide the organza into little puff balls. Hand sew each puff ball in an arrangement that looks like a bunny tail. The top bundles should be longer so they stick up, and the bottom should be dense to keep the bunny tail pointing up. The sides can be short too to create a rounded shape. Sew generously so each bundle is secure.

To make the flower, cut awkward circles and hem the edges using a sewing machine. BEcause they are circular, the machine stitching will make it wonky by default. Use a button for the centre, and sew sparkly beads to look like dew drops on the "petals." Simply use a safety-pin to tack it onto a shirt, or go out and get an alligator pin and sew/glue onto the back of the flower. Easy peasy.

Bisous.

Flower Headband

In my last post I updated y'all on my ideas for upcoming DIY projects. Well, I finished one (because  I have no life.)

Remember the awesome pink flower headband I found on Facehunter? I was so inspired by it that I decided to make my own. Unfortunately, it's not how I imagined it would turn out. The flowers I chose were too bright and too big. But it's still fun for dress up.

Materials:

• Bouquet of fake flowers of your choice (I chose large carnations)
• Headband, preferably covered in fabric
• Needle and thread

Step 1: Pull the flower head off the plastic stem.

Step 2: Take the green bottom of the flower and pull the flower apart.

You should be left with the fabric layers only.

Step 3: Lay all layers on top of one and other and sew them together with an X.

Step 4: Fold the flower in half and sew over the fold.

Step 5: Fold the flower the other way and repeat step 4 in the opposite direction. You will end up with a 3D Flower, instead of 5 flat layers.

Step 6: Sew the flower onto the headband. You'll need quite a few stitches to keep it sturdy so it doesn't flop over. 

Step 7: Repeat steps 1-6 five times to fill up the whole headband with flowers.

As I said before, this project didn't turn out how I wished it would have. But if you use smaller flowers, and maybe more expensive ones, it might look a lot better. It just looks like Dr. Zhivago on acid at Woodstock! It's not as elegant as my example from Face Hunter.

DIY Project Proposals

I've got a few projects on my mind, and I thought I'd share my ideas with you guys.
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I came across PHOSPHENE'S leather disc jacket a couple of weeks ago and fell IN LOVE with it. I decided that I'm going to make my own because it is beautiful, easy and looks like a million bucks. I'll update with a "DIY in progress" post soon, but I just wanted to keep this blog updated with my projects.

Check out PHOSPHENE and her beautiful leather disc jacket.
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Just yesterday I was doing my daily routine of checking all the blogs I follow and came across a beautiful photo on Face Hunter from his trip to Saint Petersburg. He always has beautiful photos, but this one had a specific DIY project in mind. An amazing pink flower headband. The girl looked adorable in a white lace dress, beige flats and this pretty head piece. I think it's a quick project for today.
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On Ebay the other day I bought these amazing vintage flower appliques  from wattleinspireyou and I'm thinking of doing another cardigan, like the leather disc cardigan. They are amazing, and it would make a great collage layered vintage looking spring piece.  I'm thinking of getting a bright green cardigan, like the background of the photograph wattleinspireyou uses to have that really awesome 60's flower-child look.

Animal Print Cuffs

A quiet day at home requires an easy DIY project.

I bought these really awesome sheets of felt from Spotlight that are printed with leopard and tiger print.  I also picked up leopard beads, so a set of cuffs was inevitable.

  

Felt Cuffs:

Materials:

• Patterned Felt
• Chalk
• Snap fasteners
• Sewing Machine
• Needle and Thread

Step 1: Using another cuff, or measurements from your wrist, trace the shape of the cuff twice onto the felt using chalk.

Step 2: Cut out the two shapes you just traced.

Step 3: Place odd sides together and sew along the outer edge of the shape.

Step 4: Depending on the width of the cuff, sew one or two sets of "snap fasteners" (I used 11mm size snaps) at the edges so the cuff can snap closed around your wrist.

Step 5: Sew on embellishments if you choose.

Leather Cuff:

Materials:

• Scrap Leather
• Chalk
• Snap Fasteners
• Beads, studs, etc.
• Needle and Thread
• Glue Gun (optional)

Step 1: Trace the shape of the cuff onto the piece of scrap leather using chalk. This can either be traced from an existing cuff, or a measurement of your wrist.

Step 2: Cut out along the drawn line.

Step 3: Using a needle and thread, sew on a set of snap fasteners.

Step 4: Fold the cuff in half and mark where centre is with chalk.

Step 5: Using the marked centre as a guide, choose where you want to place your beads/studs/etc. on the cuff and sew/glue them on. I used beads, so I sewed them on.

You can make this project all your own! Use different colours and patterns of felt, or use the swede side of the leather. Choose whatever type of bead/stud/ribbon/stone/etc. you want to embellish with. You can make sailor version with red/white/blue and buttons....You can do whatever you wish! It's so easy to make and even easier to design. Have fun.

Blingin' Headphones: The Beginning

 

Well, I've started to bling my headphones. It's actually really easy, you just need to have patience.

Materials:

• 1 pair of big headphones
• At least 700 Swarovski Crystals, size 16ss, 3.4mm (I only had 400 to start with and I needed to order more)
• Hooked tweasers
• A peice of paper
• Gem-Tac Permanent Adhesive
• Head form (easy to keep headphones in a position you can glue on)

I bought myself a Styrofoam head form to place my headphones on and got out a peice of paper as a table protector and a place to squeeze glue onto. I spread out the Swarovski crytals one pack at a time and used a hook tweaser to pick up the crystal, dunk it in glue I placed on the paper, and then stick it onto the headphone. You could bling anything with this technique. All you really need that is incredibly important is patience. I watched a TV series (Mad Men for the 2nd time) while gluing. It's mindless work, but takes a long time. You also really need to make sure you have enough crystals. I've blinged quite a bit, but I've run out of crystals and had to order more. Ebay is great!

The following are some photos to show my progress.

Shredded T

As stated in my birthday post I've been working on a shredded T-shirt, inspired by Raquel Allegra and OutsaPop. It's very simple to do. All you need is your fingers and an jersey t-shirt.

Step 1: Unpick the bottom hem. 

Step 2: Find the bottom most thread of the jersey knit and pull.

Step 3: Keep pulling. It's fast work with your fingers. Try not to break the threads, but it's not an issue if you do. It'll just make a hole. Go as wide as you want with your first threads and continue that width as you move up the shirt. 

  

It creates a very Punk DIY  look, and is so easy to do! Childhood Flames has a "How To" video that helps explain the technique.

22 Today

Today is my 22nd Birthday.

I haven't planned much. Just to continue to work on my DIY projects at home. It will be nice to have a quiet day. 

I'm currently shreading a T-shirt a la "Raquel Allegra". I got the idea from OutsaPop, who also has her own line of shreaded t-shirts. Childhood Flames has a great "How To" video if  you want to shread your own. It's EASY PEASY and mindless work. You can sit in front of the TV and do it for hours.

I'm also going to work on my Blingin' Headphones today. It's about time I started gluing.

Bisous.

Image from: http://farm1.static.flickr.com/29/44245283_54ee260cca.jpg 

"j'adore" T-shirt

One of the best things about living in Australia is the store SDS. It sells basic t-shirts for $3 and is absolutely FANTASTIC! I bought a heap the other day and I'm "decorating" them individually.

Today I felt like being french and decided to do a "j'adore" t-shirt. To do this, I stitched the word into the t-shirt using yarn.

Materials:

- 1 plain t-shirt

- yarn, any colour you wish

- big needle

- a computer

- a printer

- sewing pins

Step 1: Get a plain t-shirt.

Step 2: Make a template of what you want to have on your t-shirt. It could be a design or a word, and can be done in Photoshop or Word, in any font you like. I chose to do mine in Word because it takes 3 seconds to write and print. I wrote "j'adore" in the Jellyka, Saint-Andrew's Queen font, that I downloaded of www.dafont.com .

Step 3: Print out your template.

Step 4: Pin your template onto your t-shirt.

Step 5: Set up your yarn and needle. You'll need a big needle, like an upholstery needle, for the yarn. This does make a big hole in the shirt, though, so your stitches have to be pretty wide apart. But because the holes are so big, you can use the same hole again when you back-track.

Step 6: Following your template, stitch along the lines of the text. Use running stitches, and then backtrack to fill in the spaces. Now, this was a bit difficult because the jersey is so flexible. You may find that it shifts under the paper you've pinned on. To keep this from happening too much, make sure you really pin down the paper, and you try to be really accurate where you place the needle.

Step 7: Rip off the paper to see what you've stitched.

Step 7: Continue with the rest of the pattern. You can change the colours of yarn you use for some effects. I chose to make a heart to dot the "j" for a cute effect.

It's a cute little project that is quick and easy to do. I'll be updating with a few more T-shirt projects over the next few weeks because I have so many t-shirts to use up!