diy. varsity letter sweater.

In honor of St. Patrick's day, as a newly minted Gallagher (my husband is 100% irish), 

I made this GALLAGHER varsity letter sweater! If only it were green.

1. red sweater or whatever you like. Similar to mine here.

2. matching thread

3. scissors

4. 2" chenille iron on letters. Similar here.

(optional) iron

open all of your letters and decide on your layout.

i decided to break apart my last name into 3 lines. after you lay it out, it works best to hit it with an iron and a pressing cloth. but definitely plan on  stitching down your letters, works best for longevity. 

simple tack stitching goes quick, no sewing machine necessary. done and done. 

diy. dylanlex.

DYLANLEX INSPO

Not my best step by step DIY tutorial, but forgive me. 

I've been out of the habit of blogging and made this back in February. But none the less, I'm back & am pretty proud of this!  I'm so obsessed with DYLANLEX, I was actually going to buy the FALKOR necklace and justify it as a 'wedding expense', but they don't have a showroom and I found out that it weighs 1 pound so I had to give up on my dream. 

Keep reading after the jump...

so in January we're gettin' married. diy invitations.

Wedding planning so far...

I've been engaged now for just over 8 months and I feel like I have a pretty good handle on things.  They say the average cost of a wedding in New York City is $76,000 (anywhere else U.S.A. $25,000).  I don't know about you, but in my book $25k still seems like a lot.  But, at some point you just accept the fact that it's going to cost... and hopefully all be worth it. 

That being said, we're striving to spend more along the lines of the national average, but we'll see how it all unfolds.  We definitely have our work cut out for us.  I have plenty of resources in the city, so I fully plan to use them.  But, being that I have recently entered my third decade of life, and none of my city friends are married or engaged, I haven't been given any wise words or friendly advice on how not to have a wedding in the city that costs a million dollars.  

So I'm really excited to share my experiences with you, and hopefully add some inspiration to your own weddings.  One thing that I've realized is going to be really important for me... is to not bite off more then I can chew.  I am well aware that if I try to DIY everything, my head will probably explode, so I really have to recognize some of the choices I make and think objectively if it will literally make me go crazy.

The first thing I am 100% DIY'ing are my wedding invitations!

I found this great Portland based etsy seller named

PAPER SUSHI 

that makes these amazing custom wedding invitation suites, that are stamps.

You buy the right kind of paper and ink, and you have everything you need to print them yourself.

So it's perfect incase you forget a few people, you can just make a few more.

This full suite + the save the date are $240 & available here.

  

diy. stella mccartney resort 2014 inspiration.

kerry washington at the teen choice awards 2013 in stella mccartney resort 2014

i can't decide if i love this or hate this, but it looks super easy to diy.

all you need is a pale pink dress, some random bling to attach (old earrings, cut up a bracelet etc), 

beads to create the match stick and other shapes, and a few heart/lip patches that you can easily get on the internet. search for "beaded applique's" too, you will get more options. 

examples: 

crystal hearts

 heart appliques

lips patch

diy doughnut sweater.

enjoying a peach yeast doughnut at the doughnut plant on grand & essex today, 

contrary to my lackluster expression - it was AMAZING!!! 

supplies:

1 grey sweater/sweatshirt

(mine cashmere blend from uniqlo for $30)

1 standard piece of felt - pastel pink

various round objects to trace circumference 

safety pins for placement

an assortment of tube beads, sequins and seed beads

1 bead needle, 1 embroider needle

1 white skein of embroidery floss

i just learned the definition of the word skien***

A length of thread or yarn wound in a loose long coil

those wrapped colors of embroidery floss are indeed called skeins

MORE AFTER THE JUMP

diy leather collar.

materials:

thrift store leather to repurpose

black felt

e-6000 craft adhesive & wooden sticks

fabric scissors

black embroidery floss & needle

hook & eye for closure

8 swarovski 3240 sew on stones in jet black

& approximately 40 black tube beads

MORE AFTER THE JUMP

workshop. MOCA X Swarovski X HocusKocis

  Last month, I was so excited to teach my first workshop at the MOCA! Based around an exhibit showcasing chinese american designers, "front row" served as inspiration for a day full of DIY accessories & jewelry.  Making the day extra special, the super nice people over at Swarovski Elements were generous enough to help us out with some beautiful crystals to adorn and attach to our accessories. Here are some highlights from the event!

    

moca.

hey guys! just wanted to share with everyone a special side project that i've been working on. i will be (expertly) facilitating a DIY day with the Museum of Chinese in America on July 13. i'm super excited to share my ideas with everyone (note that the event is limited to youth). So send me your little sisters or check back soon for photos. 

diy. chanel espadrilles.

summer flats made easy.

uber expensive chanel espadrilles for just over $22.

SUPPLIES

1. a spool of thread and a needle

2. a chanel logo print out to be your stencil

3. old denim (color of your choice)

4. sharp scissors

5. aldo touggourt flats in navy & white 

on sale for $22.48

MORE AFTER THE JUMP

rich bitch.

finally got to see bling ring last night! 

it opened today but usually (at least in new york, all movies come out at 10pm the night before).

i love this Tough Talk Tom Binns necklace that they stole from Paris Hiltons house, but it has a hefty price tag. $1665 here. likely won't have a chance to DIY it, but I will certainly look into it.  

doodle stitching.

Wishfully thinking I will have time to start doodle stitching. This book is seriously adorable.  I'm just waiting for my next wedding invitation to arrive in my mailbox so I can get started on a set of monogrammed tea towels.

Available on amazon for $7.62

I'll be sure to post anything I get around too.

diy. skelly nails.

skelly nails.

Supplies:

Waterslide Transfer Decal Paper

(found mine on ebay)

Photoshop & Printer

Scissors

Base Color & Top Coat

I started with Sally Hanson Xtreme Wear in White On.

Here is a screen shot of my print out, but I can share the hi-res file with you

if you ask me nicely.

I've done this twice now, once on a laser jet & once on an inkjet. So far I had the best luck on the laser jet and got a lot of smearing from the inkjet printer. However, for my halloween nails the smearing actually made is look more ghostly, so it worked out. 

I will look into this in the future.

Mini designs.

1. Once you have your print out, cut out your little designs. 

2. Literally apply it exactly as you would a temporary tattoo to your skin.  

3. Design, face down on the nail bed.

4. Sopping wet paper towel or sponge directly on top for approx 15-30 seconds.

5. Lift paper off carefully and the design will have transfered.

After I have applied the sponge.

After the paper was lifted off. All that's left if the top coat, which

can you be done immediately.

Other Inspirations.

diy. creme de le creme.

Found these online over the weekend and thought I'd make my own version!

Top: Zoe Karssen Crème de la Crème cotton-blend terry sweatshirt $160

via NET-A-PORTER

Bottom: Kate Spade Garance Dore studio pullover $128

via Kate Spade

I found my sweatshirt yesterday (from uniqlo $15) after all of my usual craft stores had closed, but I was by Washington Square Park, so I popped into New University Pen & Stationary, Inc. to see if they had iron on letters. They did, but not was I was looking for.  They did however have vinyl alphabet stickers, so I figured I would just make some stencils & hope for the best.

Supplies:

grey sweatshirt

painters tape

pouncer sponge

fabric paint

scissors

ruler

adhesive letters

Cut out all over the letters you need 

with as much room around the edges as you can manage 

& space everything out.

Tape everything down with painters tape. 

Anywhere that you don't want paint, tape it down.

I used a pouncer sponge and basically you just bounce it up and down.  

Since you are painting in this motion, your stencils shouldn't bleed.

Don't completely saturate the fabric either, use only as much paint as you need.

Ta Dah! I was really worried I would have some bleeding, but surprisingly I didn't.

I did have a happy little accident on the bottom C. Whoopsy. 

I forgot to cover that little spot of the stencil.

Before you wash it, make sure you heat set in the fabric paint by 

hitting it with an iron on the back side. 

Total time: 1 hour & 30 minutes.

Under $20.

(but I already had some supplies on hand)

image via Atlantic Pacific