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Showing posts from 2009

DIYWed: Scarfing Round Town the No-Sew Way

Well, it's finally starting to get cold** here in Atlanta which means I can start rocking my skinny scarves without getting stranger-than-normal looks or a hot neck. I really only have two, though: a pink-and-black striped one and a black-and-white striped one. I am always on the scout for more but am really picky about the ones I'll get. It can't be too thick or scratchy in any way. (I have really sensitive skin which is one reason I wear a lot of jersey knits.) That's why I got really excited when I saw Missy's tutorial on Cut-Out-and-Keep for making a no-sew circle scarf out of a t-shirt . :) The only thing I did differently was keep my ends separated and used the sleeves of the shirt to make fringe. Her tutorial goes into a lot more detail but the gist of it is cutting 1" bands starting with the bottom of the shirt (after cutting off the hem), stretching the bands, looping each band around your hand a few times, then tying the bunched up loops together

DIYWed: Happy Frankenshirt

This was a really simple refashion. I love how it turned out but it's still a bit... um... happier than I am used to wearing. :) I started with 2 t-shirts: a plain black one and a pink and white striped one which was much brighter than I used to wearing so I felt very out of place wearing it. Originally, I was going to stencil a black skull on it but I decided this would be better since it'd still be too much brightness for my clothes. :) I carefully cut the sleeves off the black t-shirt at the seam and used one of them as a pattern to cut new sleeves from the pink and white shirt. I lined the hem of one of the black sleeves up with the bottom hem of the P&W shirt so I didn't have to hem the new sleeves. After sewing those on, I did a reverse applique of the pink and white striped heart with a black heart regular applique over that.

DIYWed: Beaded Skull Tie (a start)

I picked up some ties from the Goodwill a few weeks ago with the intent of painting them but then I got the idea to sew a beaded pattern on at least one of them. Honestly, this was a project I thought I could knock out completely in a couple of hours. Shows how little I know. :) I did get a pretty good start, though, with this little skull which I free-handed with silver-lined clear seed beads. I also went to see a friend of mine in Augusta, GA this past weekend. I had my pink belt bracelet with me which inspired him to make this for me using an old belt his dad had gotten for him. (His dad did not realize it was a girl's belt. :) )

DIYWed: Out of my Skull

Did you know that yesterday was Wednesday and not Tuesday? I realized that last night as I was getting ready for bed. Hence the day-lateness of this post. I would guess that, by the very nature of the peole who tend to visit my little blog, most of you have heard of Skull-a-day.com . Artist Noah Scalin started it June 4, 2007 and made a skull everyday for the following year. The site is still alive and kicking with a couple of co-moderators who make things and also share skulls that others have made. It's a pretty cool site that I have been following pretty much since it's inception. I was even mentioned on the site once . :) Not only did Noah post his own artwork, he also made some of his ideas available for others to use, including his stencils he made. (Scroll down the right sidebar of his site to find all of his free stuff... including a connect-the-dot skull!) At least a couple of these stencils are going to end up on my t-shirts, skirts, and bags, I think. Click the image

DIYWed: Easy Paper Stars... thanks, Betsy!

I am cheating... again, I know. But my in-laws were in town for the first time in 2.5 years and my favorite uncle passed away which sapped away whatever creative energy I had left this week so I think it is forgiveable. I have a couple of things started so I should certainly have something good to share again next week. So, instead, I am going to share a wonderful secret with you that I discovered years ago for making perfectly shaped patterns for stars . About.com also has good illustrated instructions here . It starts with an 8.5" x 10" sheet of paper which produces an ~8" star but you can scale it up or down depending on the size you need. You can also vary how far in you cut as well as the angle to produce all sorts of fun star shapes. The picture is my proof that it works. :) About my Uncle Roger: He had a tough life up until he came back into our lives 20 years ago but he was always in a good mood and was always cracking stupid jokes to make you laugh. He'd do

DIYWed: I {heart} Cut Out & Keep for DIY ideas and tutes!

One website that I absolutely adore and visit often throughout the day is Cut Out & Keep . It's free to join and members post pictures of really cool things they've made as well as some pretty funky tutorials. If you make a version of something based off someone else's tute, you can link it which I think is a fabulous idea! You are also able to save projects as favorites so you can come back to when you are ready to either make something or get a little inspiration. I've heard the forums are fabulous, though I have not had the time to peruse them yet. But there are so many awesome ideas on there! From making jewelry and clothing out of just about anything to a plethora of plushies to recipes for things like rainbow cupcakes and how-to's on making comic shoes . I can guarantee that you will find me making more and more things based on tutorials and other projects here. Their categories are Accessories , Art & Craft Supplies , Bath & Beauty , Food & D

DIYWed: Shirt + Skirt = Um... Another Shirt! (Now with a tutorial!)

I really need to start remembering to take before pictures. So, imagine ~ if you will ~ a black t-shirt that is too tight around the hips and sleeves that are also too short. Imagine as well a red and black paid skirt with a slight A-line shape to it. That's what I started with for this: This was actually pretty easy. UPDATE: Here's an actual tutorial .... drawn in the very high tech MSPaint. :) (end UPDATE) Here's a detail of the elastic band on the sleeve: And here's a detail of the pattern of the skirt I used... complete with cat hair ! It's not perfect, of course, but I really like it! It looks a little like a mini-dress so works really well with leggings and pants that are a bit slim-fitting. :) Management would like to apologize for previous pictures that were poorly taken. They regret that the artist/blogger has not yet gotten off her lazy butt to make a dress form dummy and is still using her phone camera instead of the good digital camera.

Swim Cap Awesomeness + Polka Dotted Shade

My hubby and I will be celebrating our 6th wedding anniversary in about a week. Yay! To celebrate, we are going to have a little romantic weekend getaway to Savannah. We found a decent inexpensive hotel with an indoor pool, which is important with my sensitive skin. (Call me weird, but I prefer my natural pinkness instead of the burn I can get with less than 20 minutes of exposure in the sun.) However, anyone who colors their hair knows that chlorine is the suck so I decided I needed a swim cap. Not just any swim cap, of course, but an awesome swim cap. And I found one! Headcovers Unlimited offers this nugget of goodness in 14 different colors: Of course, I had to get it my colors which also happens to match my swimsuit. I'm thinking I need some waterproof eyeliner and red lipstick to complete this retro look at the pool. What do you think? :) Since we will be doing some walking around looking for photo opportunities, I decided to splurge by getting myself some portable sh

DIYWed: Cinch it at the Wrist

After I made Grampa's Punkin' Hat last week, I realized I still had enough of the belt leftover to make this: Showing y'all some bracelet love! I just cut the belt to be 3" longer than my wrist, added the metal tip back on the end to keep it from fraying, and that's it. Probably one of the easiest things I have ever made. Seriously, I feel like I cheated. :) But the thing I love best about this bracelet is that it is unique AND fits my wrist! Most cuff bracelets in stores tend to be just a bit too snug.

Deliciously Odd!

This really has nothing to do with punk fashion or DIY projects but this was just too wonderfully weird to go by without a comment! They've take 3 frames of various movies and looped them together in sequence for a fun but surreal effect. There is one below but please visit Three Frames for a lot more! Just in case you are looking at this at work or school, there are a couple of clips that show nipplage so make sure to scroll past those quickly. ;) Until later, sweet p'taters! Sashi

DIYWed: Grampa's Punkin' Hat

I just came up with a 9/9/09 resolution. I, Sashi, vow that I will wear more hats out of the house. Cross my heart, hope to get hat hair. I mean, I have several hats floating around the house that will randomly wear... around the house. Occasionally I do venture out with my head covered but usually not. I've always thought my head was too round and small and felt hats accentuated this fact. But, dammit, I love my hats! In fact, I refashioned what I call an old man's hat to something a little more fun. I am weird about putting someone else's hat on my head but I found a nice brown one on clearance at KingSizeDirect a while back. (They don't have it anymore, unfortunately.) This isn't the exact hat but it's close: The first thing I did is cut the threads inside the hat to remove the brown ribbon. It was glued in a couple of places so I also VERY GENTLY pulled the ribbon and feather off of the felt hat. If you go slowly, you will barely notice where the

I {heart} PersephonePlus!

I first encountered this wonderful lady and her dresses a few years ago when I was looking at dress ideas for my wedding (OMG... I looked so different back then!) and I have been drooling over them ever since! Long, flowing, and beautifully Goth. They almost make me wish I had long hair again. Almost. It definitely appeals more to my girly, romantic side, though! Jhone at PersephonePlus says this on the main page: "These clothes are designed with the plus sized woman in mind. They are not just scaled up versions of tiny clothes. They fit gracefully, accentuating your curves, and never bind or pull. Many of the dresses come in a variety of colors and fabrics, and can be custom altered to suit your taste regarding length and style of sleeve." While I love velvet, I am so glad you can choose a slinky knit as well. I have 4 cats and, well, there are not enough lint rollers in the world to

DIY Wednesday: Punked Out Badge/ID Holders

I don't know about you, but I have to work a corporate job. They are fairly lax on the whole dress code thing , fortunately, so I am able to dress the way I want to. Our elevators have a mirror-like finish so I am able to watch people look me up and down behind me. Now, I'm not as outrageous as I could be, but a fat girl with pink and black hair, with visible tattoos and piercings, and wearing all black doesn't exactly scream "corporate." I can almost hear these observers thinking: " Does she work here? She doesn't look like she works here. Maybe she works in the art department. But that's 2 buildings over unless she's just visiting? Maybe? I wonder if her boss is okay with it. Is it up to the dress code? I wish I could be that brave. Hmm... my daughter would love her watch/bag/etc. " (*grins*) Besides just my usual clothing, I like to veer from the corporate norm with other things as well. Which brings me to this week's proje

DIY Wednesday: Rockin' the 'hawk... hat-style

About 3 years ago, I was having an uber-bad day at work so decided to have a little hair therapy to lift my spirits. Plus, as you can see in this old picture, I seriously needed a new hairstyle. This was me 10 years ago :) A friend of mine recommended an awesome salon in the area so I made an appointment for after work. The stylist's name was CC and he was awesome! I sat in his chair with my mousy long hair and said "I want you to do whatever you think will look on me. I want something artsy, something fun, something funky and I don't care about length as long as it can still be grabbed at the crown." :D Without batting an eyelash, he said, "We can do that!" He ended up giving me a version of a bob but the back of my head was shaved about halfway up. My hairstyle has changed a bit since then but I still get the back of my head shaved. I *LOVE* it! After I get my hair cut, I will sit at work and just pet the back of my head. (*grin*) I can't imagine eve