Heart Ring

Inspiration: 

http://www.ispydiy.com/2012/04/my-diy-heart-ring.html

Attempt at DIY:

It might be easier to say just click on this, but it's much more fun if I get to explain what I did to make the heart ring in the middle. It was pretty simple, but obviously it's not professional quality. The wire I used was easy to bend (there's probably an official term for that but I don't know it) so with a pair of needle-nose pliers I could shape it. I wrapped the ring part of it around the pliers too to make it round enough (is this making sense? I'm really trying!) to fit my finger. And then, my favorite- I hot glued it together because the edges were a little sharp. That's it! I put it on and haven't taken it off since.

Lightning Bolts

http://www.urbanoutfitters.co.uk/lightning-dye-tank/invt/5111415163228/&bklist=

Inspired by the Urban Outfitters lightning bolt shirt, I cut up a white tee and Sharpie tie-dyed it black and purple. It wasn't as dark as I had hoped, so I (no surprises here) spray painted it black. It still probably wasn't dark enough but I wanted to wear it already! I printed out a lightning bolt, cut it out, and spray painted white around it. I'm pretty happy with how it turned out because it was free and when I went to a black-light party, it really stood out. Success!!I really like lightning. Like, really. It's because I like storms (hence my name http://570rm.blogspot.com) and I like symbols and lightning is a pretty cool symbol for a storm. I like lightning and storms so much that I've developed a collection of pictures on Pinterest: http://pinterest.com/doubleyellow/storms/ and made a soundcloud: http://soundcloud.com/570rm.   So I'm not exaggerating when I say I really like storms and lightning. I also really like metal. When I saw this 
on Pinterest, I had an idea. Lightning bolt. Metal. Jeans. Done. 

...maybe I have a problem.

To attach the metal lightning bolt to the pocket, I cut out a pocket-shaped piece of an old t-shirt and hot glued the lightning bolt to it. Then I stitched that fabric to the jeans pocket. It kind of came off a little bit so I used Gorilla glue between the metal and the t-shirt material. It stayed and looked almost as cool as I'd pictured :)

Update: I  can  never wear these because the metal pulled away from the hot glue when I moved, so now the sharp points will catch on other fabrics and make it uncomfortable to sit down. So they look cool but are pretty much useless= IMPRACTICAL

Fortune Teller Lantern

http://www.allthingspaper.net/2011/08/faceted-paper-lamp.html

http://www.mymodernmet.com/profiles/blogs/fortune-teller-pendant-lamp

http://www.etsy.com/listing/96286383/origami-fortune-teller-chinese-lantern

Those were the examples of fortune teller lanterns that I was trying to copy. That's what it should look like... 

Well, close enough. It's just a little smaller. I think the difference is that I didn't use a Chinese lantern for structure. Actually, all you see there (besides the light & cord & stuff) is paper and glue! It was incredibly cheap to make, and if you were ever an elementary school girl, you already know how to make cootie-catchers. If you don't, Wikipedia does: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paper_fortune_teller 

I realize this isn't exactly a tutorial because I didn't take pictures as I was making it, but I can try to explain what I did. You start with like a billion cootie catchers (not really, but a lot) and fit them inside each other- if you lay 4 down, you can put a 5th in the middle and connect them all together. Glue them in place and let them dry. 

The hardest part for me was trying to fit the lighting fixture inside after I was done making the lantern, so I'd recommend buying a lighting kit for hanging lanterns http://www.homedepot.com/buy/lighting-fans/fluorescent-lighting/westinghouse/6-ft-cord-set-with-snapin-pigtail-with-candelabra-base-socket-and-cord-switch-38404.html#.UELUIEKFn6l and adding it /setting it up before you finish the lantern. Also, you might need a way of holding it up- mine didn't work perfectly. Anyway, once you have a strip of connected fortune tellers, you can wrap that around on itself. If you want, you can add a few at the top and bottom to make it look nicer. 

Then hang it up!!

My take on a chinese origami light:

Stealing from Ren Ariel Sano

First of all:

http://allthegoodgirlsgotoheaven.blogspot.com/2012/03/diy-mara-hoffman-inspired-woven-tee.html

She can tell you how to do it right.

Second of all:

That's my attempt.

And then, since it was an old shirt with a logo on the front, I added a pocket. And a new logo!

Do you like it? I did it with spray paint. Apparently those symbols stand for the elements (fire, water, air, earth) so I just arranged them to look cool. I'm kind of a fan.

Oh, and I really liked Ren Ariel Sano's original idea, so I did it again.

I'm sure you couldn't guess that this was my tie-dye/dip-dying phase right?

map of the world jeans

It might just be me, but there's something cool about maps of the world, right? Especially when it involves crafting :) And because I spend too much time on the internet, I've found plenty of examples of map crafts!

by kevin van aelst 

 http://www.brooklynlimestone.com/2011/03/old-sideboard-to-teal-worldy-sofa-table.html#.UDmRIkKFn6k

Globe Chandelier by Benoit Vieubled

http://www.notonthehighstreet.com/theoldlampshed/product/vintage-map-handmade-lampshade-large

http://shop.firepitart.com/thirdrock.aspx

keno map rug

http://ourminifamily.blogspot.com/2011/12/pinterest-challenge-az-love-nail-and.html

the ones I don't have sources for came from tumblr.

I was inspired by these, and I had an extra pair of jeans and spraypaint, so I printed out a map of the world, cut it put to make a stencil, and taped it on to the back pockets. It looked really cool and I was so excited that it worked... and then the white paint started soaking in and disappearing. It was depressing. But then I dried my tears and tried plan B. I had fabric paint, so I traced the stencil with that and filled it in. The only slight problem was that the fabric paint was blue so it didn't contrast with the jeans as well as white would have, but I still like it. Tell me what you think!

Spraypaint American Flag Shirt

I've been crafting like mad lately, and the slightest inspiration will set me off. When I came across this lovely little gem,

http://www.seamsforadesire.com/2012/05/usa.html

I really just couldn't help myself...

and the best part was that I could use packing tape for the stripes! (which makes my life, and yours if you try this, really easy. yay!) oh also it was awesome that my dad didn't mind me uh "borrowing" his shirt :) for the stars, I just printed them, cut them out, and taped them on. and I got the line down the back almost perfect by folding the shirt while I spraypainted it. (btw, I use spray paint on clothes A LOT and it works really well. that seems to surprise people, but Krylon even advertises using theirs on clothing). Not sure if I prefer the original, but that's not a DIY, so it's at least a little exciting that my homemade version doesn't look like a joke next to it. 

Lace Shorts

This just might be the most straight-forward project ever.

Buy/find old shorts (these are more from the Goodwill spree), buy/find a piece of fabric (I used lace but it can really be anything), pin the fabric to the shorts, sew it on. And you have a new pair of pants! I kind of love that the shorts are so tough and then the lace is so fragile, but you could also use jeans shorts or another type of fabric, like this

 http://imgfave.com/view/2570945?r=pin

Apparently some people have a problem with the asymmetrical look *cough my dad cough cough* and if that's the case, I guess you could even do both sides.

Stud Shorts

Suddenly I'm obsessed with studs. I blame this picture

from http://favim.com/image/433299/

and this

 http://www.socialbliss.com/lionsandlams/denim-shorts-GM4TI/micro-studded-jeans-shorts-by-juliland-on-etsy-wanelo-G4YTMNI

and

 from http://www.beautyriot.com/fashion/hot-trend-studs-spikes-g11131-page3?lc=sh1464

and then I had to make my own.

They cost me a total of $4 and were the fastest, easiest thing ever and I can't bring myself to take them off- ever. Well sometimes I do, but I don't enjoy it. Anyway, I'd never been to Goodwill until recently and I went on $2 Tuesday, so I walked out with 3 pairs of shorts and a pair of jeans... for only $8. TOGETHER. It was like Christmas morning. Then I found (from hong kong on ebay?) a pack of 50 studs for $1.99 with free shipping if I waited a few weeks. I'm ecstatic and even more obsessed with studs now.

By the way, I have this Pinterest account http://pinterest.com/doubleyellow/doing-and-done/ where I post pretty much all the same stuff, at least in the crafting department, but you should visit it and follow me and I'll follow you and it will be a Pinterest party since I spend wayyy too much time there!

Duct Tape Armband

I'm kind of in love with duct tape. Obviously. But here's another duct tape project! I always liked the look of black leather armbands, but they're expensive and hard to find the perfect style. I took matters into my own hands and made this:













for about 3 cents. It's just a piece of paper that I completely covered in duct tape and then poked holes with a pin through the place where the ends overlapped. In Walmart, I found a package of brass fasteners for about $3 (for 300) and stuck them through the holes. Done! It looks pretty cool- the only little issue is that duct tape doesn't breathe well, but you can just make it loose enough to slide it up and down your wrist. Good luck :)

Duct Tape Prom Dress

This one's a little bit more complex, but I'll start off by admitting I used a template. Instead of making my duct tape prom dress out of duct tape alone, I just cut some fabric into a pretty basic dress and taped over it. Later, when I wanted to make changes, I just cut the duct tape and fabric and re-taped it if necessary. This was really convenient for the back. The dress I started with had two straps and a back, but you can see I was going for something completely different, so I cut the whole back out and added a new strap. The hardest part was the top, which I had some help with. We just put tape anywhere we could still see the dress, and surprisingly, the slightly wrinkled tape gave it a nice texture compared to the neat, straight tape lines on the bottom. Then the electrical part was also a little bit of a challenge. I had sketched out exactly what I had in mind on paper, but I barely used it except to get ideas for shapes, and sometimes had to alter them as I went. Finally, I got to the scales (I realize it sounds weird to describe it as having both an electrical circuit and fish scales theme, but I think it turned out pretty cool anyway) and struggled before someone suggested folding the tape over on itself before cutting the rounded edges. Do you know what I mean? It's a little complicated to explain, but if you've ever tried cutting elaborate patterns in duct tape, you can appreciate this method. Since the you eliminate the sticky sides by folding them together, cutting is much easier. The scissors don't get stuck. It was definitely a time-consuming project, but probably worth it- look at it! What do you think?

(Leave me a comment if you're not too busy, I'd love to hear your opinion :) )

Duct Tape Pants

So I figured I would start off with one of my first duct tape ventures: pants! The whole project went pretty well... until I tried to get out of them. When people see this picture:

http://pinterest.com/pin/136233957448344280/

 that seems to be their first question. I guess that was just bad planning on my part, but I just cut vertically down the sides to get out and added zippers so I could wear them again. So I could bend my knees, I used the scraps of an old t-shirt in strips. And here's the step-by-step if you want to try for yourself:

1) Tape around your ankles, sticky side facing out

2) Keep making tape circles around each leg all the way up, skipping your knees, where you can stick in the t-shirt strips

3) Make a belt, again with the sticky side out, and keep making belts until you reach the tops of your legs (which should already have tape around them)

4) Add in little pieces of tape wherever necessary to fill in gaps between the leg rings and belts

5) Tape vertically from your ankles to your knees, connecting all the rings- you can alternate tape colors if you're going for the stripes look that I have

6) Tape vertically from your knees to past the top of the belts, folding the vertical tape underneath

7) Neaten up your edges, around your waist and ankles you might want to tape horizontally for a cleaner look.

And you're done! It really wasn't too difficult, other than reaching behind you and trying to keep the tape vertical haha- you might even want to ask someone else to help you. Good luck!