DIY Botanical Print Jacket We are smitten with Stella McCartney‘s floral ensembles from her Spring 2011 collection, inspired by 18th and 19th century botanical prints. The studies by notable botanists Robert John Thornton and Pierre Joseph Redouté are so incredibly lovely and vibrant that we too were inspired to add a bit of floral flair to our own clothing. Follow the instructions that accompany the iron on transfer papers, as they drastically vary depending on the brand. We chose to add flowers to a small portion of this jacket, but feel free to go wild! (top image from Hanneli, botanical images from here, here, here and here, rest of images from Honestly…WTF)
DIY Midsummer Flower Crown It’s officially Midsummer and honestly, what’s not to love about time-honored celebrations, especially when it involves wearing wildflowers around your head, drinking vodka and dancing around a maypole? Naturally with our love of cultures, customs, and DIYs, we’ve partnered up with our friends at Kanon Organic Vodka on a sweet flower crown DIY for their annual Swedish Midsummer festivities and for the ultimate contest. Participating is as simple as liking Kanon’s Facebook page, picking your favorite Midsummer tradition, sharing it with your friends, and winning a chic Phillip Lim bag, gorgeous Pamela Love jewelry or much much more! Update: the Kanon Midsummer Contest is now over so here is the full tutorial! You’ll need:a variety of fresh flowers trimmed down to 3″ stems2 pieces of 16 gauge floral cloth wiregreen floral tapefloral shears or scissors To begin, you’ll create the base of the flower crown out of two pieces of floral wire. Your flower crown is finished! Happy Midsummer’s Day!
DIY Shibori Today marks HonestlyWTF’s four year anniversary. Four years! To celebrate, we’re revisiting the very first tutorial we ever featured on the site: shibori tie dye. Lauren and I first discovered shibori after discovering an old photo on the web. You’ll need:an indigo dye kitnatural fiber clothing or fabric2 5 gallon bucketsrubber glovessmall wood squaresrubber bandstwinea PVC pipea long wooden sticka drop clothrubber glovesscissors When choosing fabric or clothing, it’s important that made of natural fibers. Itajime shibori is known as the shape-resist technique. Fold it again in the other direction – again, like an accordion. Arashi is the Japanese term for “storm” and it’s also known as the pole-wrapping technique. Wrap the twine around the fabric. Continue wrapping, scrunching and tightening until all the fabric is compacted. Kumo shibori is known as the pleat and bind technique. Do the same with the opposite side, in staggered sections. Keep binding until you can’t go any further.
DIY Wrap Bracelet You should all know by now that we are all about stacking bracelets on our wrists. The more, the better. In fact . . . the most, the best! With that being said, we’ll show you how to master a version of the ever so popular wrap bracelet. It’s so simple and addicting, you’ll soon be churning out these wristlets with your eyes closed. Clearly this arm party train isn’t stopping and it’s about time you get on board! You’ll need (for a double wrapped bracelet) :* Lengths will vary depending on the size of your wrist (see comments for suggestions). Fold the length of leather cording in half to form a loop. Place the ball chain along the leather cording with the end of the chain meeting the end of the wrap. Continue wrapping while checking it for fit around the wrist. When you have reached the end of the ball chain wrap the linen cording around the leather strands 2-3 more times. Thread the hex nut through the strands and tie a second knot. Trim with scissors and your wrap bracelet is finished!!
DIY Peter Pan Collar We almost lost our marbles when we first spotted these scalloped white Louis Vuitton collars on the runway. And so when Lucky Magazine asked us to create a tutorial for their November issue, DIYing Peter Pan collars was an absolute no-brainer. Crisp, feminine, and perfect for fall, who would have thought Neverland could look so chic? You’ll need:2 scalloped edged collar pieces cut from white felt or rubber flannel (pattern downloadable here)a single hole punch or leather rotary hole punch1 yard of white ribbona needle and threadhot glue gunbutton Using the pattern template, cut out the two collar pieces. Create small holes between each scallop, using the hole punch. Overlap the two wider end pieces and push a button through the last two aligning holes. Cut the ribbon into two half-yard lengths. Wrap the collar around your neck and tie it into a bow. Your Louis Vuitton inspired peter pan collar is finished! (top image via FGR, rest of images by HonestlyWTF)
DIY Friendship Bracelet For several months now, we’ve been receiving emails requesting a friendship bracelet DIY. Well, friends, ask and you shall receive! Today, we’ll give you a step by step tutorial on the classic chevron pattern. If you used to whip up friendship bracelets like a champ in grade school and have since forgotten how, consider this a refresher course. And if you can make these with your eyes closed and arms tied . . . umm, can we still be friends? You’ll need:embroidery threada safety pin or tapea pair of scissors Start by cutting several strands of embroidery thread at about 24 inches each. Start on the left side with the outermost color (shown here in red) and make a forward knot by creating a 4-shape over the 2nd color, loop it under and back through the opening. Pull up and to the right to tighten. Now pick up the outermost color on the right side (show here in red) and make a backward knot, creating a reverse 4-shape over the 2nd color, loop it under and back through the opening.
Everything Golden » DIY – Block Printing DIY – Block Printing For my latest contribution to Sugar and Charm, I created hand printed napkins. This is a fun and easy way to add personality to anything…napkins, tea towels, t-shirts, onesies, you name it! Once you’ve created your stamp, you’ll want to print on everything in your home! Here’s how you do it… What you need: 1. Instructions: To make the stamp, you’ll first draw your image on the rubber block and start carving away the areas that you don’t want to show. Also, check out DIY – Hand Dyed Vintage Linens for instructions on how to make the tie dyed napkins.
DIY Proenza Schouler Scroll Necklace Were you blown away by Proenza Schouler‘s entire Fall 2011 Collection as much as we were? The juxtaposition of digitalized and geometric Native American inspired prints with decorative, Victorian-like statement necklaces was all kinds of genius. And of course, the jewelry had the wheels in our DIY minds spinning ever since. Erica of PS I Made This recently made a beautiful version of Proenza Schouler’s scroll necklace in white and today, we’re tackling a version in black . . . it’s all about the yin and the yang, right? You’ll need: The hardest part of this project is finding decorative mouldings that are small enough to use. Lay the mouldings on a wooden block and carefully drill holes through each marking. In a well ventilated area, spray an even coat of flat black paint over the mouldings and charms. Connect each piece with a jump ring using the pliers. Your Proenza Schouler inspired necklace is finished! Scroll-ed! (top image from here, rest of images by Honestly…WTF)
DIY Bleach Tie Dye Last summer, we were obsessed with shibori indigo tie dying. No, really . . . we just about dyed anything white in sight. So when Free People asked us to include a DIY in their guest blogger series, we knew a new tie dye project was absolutely in order. And as the weather is beginning to warm up, what better time than now to start experimenting with reverse tie dye using bleach! Black tees and tops: watch out! To make a grid-like pattern, fold the shirt like an accordion and bind it between two pieces of wood or other flat shaped objects. Before you start bleaching, make sure you are wearing gloves and working outdoors or in a well ventilated area. The rusty brown color will slowly fade into a beautiful lighter shade as it begins to set. Your reverse bleach tie dye shirt is ready to wear! (top image from here, rest of images by HonestlyWTF)
DIY Ombré Denim Dip dyed ombré denim has been popping up here and there and not only do we love the look, it’s super easy to do yourself! We’ve combined Tory Burch‘s dip dyed jeans and Miss Unkon‘s ombré 501s as inspiration for a pink infused DIY that could be done in a jiffy. Start by rinsing your shorts with water. A bottle of RIT liquid dye amounts to 1 cup; you’ll dye your shorts with the lightest shade first and darkest shade last. Pour 1/3 of the cup of dye into 2 gallons of hot water and mix. When dyeing dark denim, you will want to use less water for a darker dye. Ring out the excess dye and add another 1/3 cup of dye to your bucket. It’s that easy: ombré dip dyed denim shorts! Everything Golden » DIY – Hot Pads DIY – Hot Pads Here is my latest contribution to Sugar & Charm. This is a very simple sewing project that makes for a great, personalized gift that’s both functional and attractive to display in the kitchen. I had some black and white photographs printed via Spoonsflower. How to: You’ll need batting for the stuffing, I used 3 layers. Place the handle in the open side then close it up by sewing all the edges(this gives a nice border and helps the batting stay in place). Most hot pads are sewn in a checkered pattern to give a quilted look but I kept it simple by sewing only a small x in the middle to keep the batting in place without complicating the image. That’s it!
DIY Net Bag After crushing hard on this vintage net bag spotted by Phil Oh on the streets of NYC, we knew we had to attempt to DIY it. Sprucing up a reusable cotton bag from the grocery store with some hardware and carabiners? Sign us up! In just a few simple steps, we’ll show you how to make our rendition of the net bag – perfect for a stroll in the park. Supplies Lista cotton net bag (also available at Whole Foods)2 carabiners (if you can’t find gold carabiners, you can spray paint them)8 sets of 1/4″ screw postsa flat head screwdrivera pair of scissors Start by cutting each of the straps down the middle, creating 4 loose straps. Carefully pierce a small hole through each mark with the tip of the scissors. Push the screw post set through both holes and tighten with a screwdriver. Add another set of screw posts about an inch of the way down for more support. Your bag is finished! Attach keys, charms or pom poms to one of the carabiners and you’re all set!
Everything Golden I recently made these pillows for a wedding gift. I found these awesome vintage national parks posters that I re-worked in photoshop and designed custom prints to match. DIY – Find a cool landscape photo and have it printed via Spoonflower, then choose an existing fabric as a cool contrast for the back. DIY Luv Aj Handpiece When the lovely Amanda Thomas of Luv Aj offered to show us how to DIY her signature handpiece, we were ecstatic! Not only are we huge fans of her jewelry, we’ve been dying to adorn ourselves with this ring and bracelet combination. Thank you for the awesome tutorial, Amanda! This season, the best seller in the entire collection was the Polished Pyrite Handpiece. You’ll need: Now that you have all you need, let’s get cracking. Now for the bracelet portion- everyone’s wrist is a little different so you can ball park the length. So now we need to attach all the smaller chains together: Open up one of the smaller jump rings and loop the shorter piece of chain and connect the jump ring on both ends. Don’t close the jump ring yet though, we need to add the two longer strands of the thin chain to the same jump ring. Grab the thick chain you cut for the bracelet portion and find the middle. Repeat the same step on the other side. Voila!