Meet the Pocket Tie: Turn Any Tie into a Wearable Wallet You know we’re head over heels for the pocket scarf, but what about the summertime? What about all those summer weddings? Dudes, it’s time to add pockets to your tie. Ladies, it’s time to add a tie or two to your wardrobe. (And yes, this would go perfectly with a few our Men’s Shirt looks!) All you need is a tie, scissors, fabric, and a needle and thread (or sewing machine)! Materials: - tie - small piece of fabric (for the pockets) - needle and thread - sewing pins - snap button - optional: sewing machine First, get your materials in order. Use scissors or a seam ripper to unstitch the back of the tie. Take your pocket fabric and cut a piece that will serve as the iPhone pocket and base pocket layer. Iron the fabric. Repeat with the next pocket, and use a credit card to measure the size. Now, you need to attach it to the tie. Lastly, we added a simple snap button to keep the pocket closed. This is a great DIY for guys and gals alike! With a simple cardigan and super colorful skirt.
Perfect Summer Bangle Here's a fun tutorial on how to make a message bangle that's one-of-a-kind, done in the sun, waterproof and weatherproof. Even after several trips to the beach, it won't fade or wash off! Essentially, it's the Perfect Summer Bangle. Used in this tutorial: Inkodye Red Prepare. Transcribe. Perfect. Pour. Brush. Wipe. Wrap. Tape. Expose. Develop. Cut. Reveal. Wash. Enjoy. Invente-moi une histoire! Mamamiiia! Qui n'aime pas lire des histoires avec ses enfants? D'ailleurs, la semaine dernière, Martine Gingras des Banlieusardises a fait des recommandations très intéressantes de livres pour enfants sur Ipad. Chez nous, on adore aussi les histoires, mais l'apprentissage de la lecture et de l'écriture est encore difficile. Dans le but de l'encourager, je me suis lancée à la recherche d'outils qui me permettraient de l'aider un peu dans son apprentissage de la lecture et de l'écriture tout en exploitant son talent et son intérêt pour les histoires. Et j'ai trouvé Storybird - Collaborative storytelling. Même si l'interface est en anglais, ce site applicatif permet de créer une histoire à l'aide de superbes images réalisées par des artistes. Un deuxième site, Little Bird Tales vous permet d'enregistrer vos enfants une fois qu'ils ont composé et illustré une histoire.
Stay-at-Home Artist: stencil with freezer paper (harry potter tee)... Yes, I am a nerd. I came up with a brilliant idea for a Harry Potter t-shirt and I couldn't resist. "Expecto Patronum!" However, you can make whatever kind of design you want with a freezer paper stencil. I learned about the joys of freezer paper back in my early college days. Basically, freezer paper is backed with a plastic coating that will stick to soft surfaces when ironed, but it peels off cleanly and easily. To make a sweet t-shirt you will need: paper & pencil a t-shirt an iron a piece of cardboard or poster board fabric paint & brush Start by drawing your design on some regular old paper. My design kept getting bigger, so I taped two sheets together. Next, place your design underneath a sheet of freezer paper and trace it neatly with a sharpie. The marker gives your lines greater width making it easier to cut them out and paint them in later. Now place a piece of cardboard under your freezer paper to protect your table while you cut. Important: Set these shapes aside.
Tutorial: Homemade Sidewalk Chalk by Michelle Vackar, Modern Handmade Child One of our favorite outside activities at our home is drawing with chalk on the driveway. You can play hopscotch, four-square, and of course draw and create silly stories. My daughters and I were talking one day as we played hopscotch about how to make chalk and I thought to myself, let’s try it! It ended up being quite a lot of fun. What you will need: • Toilet paper or paper towel tubes • Scissors • Duct tape • Wax paper • Small bucket or disposable container to make the recipe • ¾ cup of warm water • 1 ½ cups Plaster of Paris • 2-3 tablespoons of tempera paint • Paper bag or a “mess mat” ** we made six tubes of chalk – we simply doubled the above recipe Step 1: If you are using paper towel tubes, cut each tube in half, so it is roughly the length of a toilet paper roll tube. Step 2: Cover one end of each tube with duct table to hold the contents within. Step 3: Cut as many pieces of wax paper as you have tubes.
52 Week Challenge: #10 DIY Screenprint Dodger Tee Chris and I are going to a Dodgers vs. Angels game next week for opening day. I don't know much about baseball, I usually just fill up on food, sun, and beer. I just cheer when everyone else does. I've been seeing so many awesome textile diy's around lately: A Beautiful Mess' hand stamped dress, a bleach painting tutorial by Lune via A Beautiful Mess. Shirt (thrifted), modge podge, fabric paint (this was my first time using Martha Stewart's all-purpose acrylic paint and it's amazing!) 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. I also did the front part of the shirt. A few people have commented asking me how I made the design on the front.
How to Turn a Pallet into a Garden Good news and bad news. I had planned to film a short video showing you how to make a pallet garden, but the weather didn’t cooperate. I was stapling the landscape fabric onto the pallet when it started drizzling and got really windy. That’s the bad news. But I know I promised a tutorial today, so I took photos and have kept my word to share how to make the pallet garden. I tried to be as detailed as possible. So keep reading my pallet loving friends, instructions on how to make your own pallet garden are just a few lines away… Find a Pallet The first thing you need to do is–obviously–find a pallet. Don’t just take the first pallet you find. Collect Your Supplies For this project, you’ll need the pallet you found, 2 large bags of potting soil, 16 six packs of annual flowers (one six pack per opening on the face of the pallet, and two six packs per opening on the top of the completed pallet garden), a small roll of landscape fabric, a staple gun, staples, and sand paper. Now for the sides.
Fabric Alteration Experiment 2: Overdye I've dyed fabric before, which is why I already had all the supplies handy. I used fiber-reactive dyes and other supplies from Dharma Trading Company . I started by cutting 12 fat eighths from each of these two fabrics (The bird print is from the Soiree collection by RJR and the white and gray print is from Amy Butler's Midwest Modern 2.) I followed the instructions in this book , which I bought at Fabric Depot years ago, for dyeing a 12-step color wheel. The directions have you mixing dye solutions in primary colors and then mixing them to create a color wheel in 12 dye pots. Here are my dye pots out on the deck. And here's a close-up of one of them. My dyes had been sitting in my garage for several years. These colors came out a little deeper, but I suspect that's because I was dyeing over an already-colored background. Here's some of the fabric I threw in partway through the process. And here's another throw-in. I threw in some Essex cotton/linen too, just to see what would happen.
How To Make An Easy Dress (For Cheap!) Two facts about me: I'm cheap. I love dresses. I wear dresses probably 6 days out of the week. It's not that I one day just decided to wear dresses to feel cute and girly. Far from it. Back in November when I really started Talk2thetrees I kinda just wore pajama pants and sweat pants. Dresses are so comfortable, I can sit around the house and feel comfortable and cute. The only problem.. they are expensive! Here is a tutorial on a High Waisted Dress: For under 6 bucks! First you will need a ribbed tank top. I got mine from Walmart for 2.50 You could also use a t-shirt 3 yards of matching fabric. Clearance section is my favorite. Cut the tank top almost in half. (I cut mine a little too short.. oops!) For the bottom part of your dress take the fabric and wrap it around your waist about 1 and a half times, and cut in a straight line. I never measure, I never use patterns... Next you fold your fabric in half. You have kind of a big blocky rectangle skirt. We are going to create a ruffle.
DIY Anthropologie-Inspired Photo Transfer Polaroid Shirt with Mod Podge It's no secret on this blog that I am a huge fan of good old Mod Podge, so when I got the chance to review some of Plaid's new products in the Mod Podge line, I was really excited. Those Mod Podge scientists have been concocting some really cool new formulas. :) Some of the new ones: There's now Outdoor Mod Podge, Antique Mod Podge, "Dimensional Magic" Mod Podge that behaves a lot like resin for jewelry-making, Hard Coat Mod Podge, Super Gloss Mod Podge, and so many more. For this project, I used the incredible Photo Transfer Mod Podge, and I was seriously blown away by the results. If only I had known this stuff existed earlier. Here is my inspiration: My version: I bought my shirt at Goodwill, and I chose to go with a chambray shirt instead of a white one because white shirts tend to be short-lived in my closet. ;) -Shirt -Photo Transfer Mod Podge -Fabric Mod Podge (Optional. First you need to cut out the photo and lay your shirt out flat. And now to the magic part. And voila!