Keep on marching

Top: DIY//Necklace: Ebay//Trousers: Charity//Boots: Next//Watch: Next

Here's the first of my DIY tops - I think the jumper looks fab with the studs, I've worn it so much recently! The method for dieing is in the previous blog post, which you can access here, so have a look if you fancy doing the same to some of your old clothes!

Top: DIY// Shorts: DIY// Shoes: River Island// Bracelets: Vintage// Necklace: present// Watch: Next

Here's my second DIY outfit. What do you think? I love my new shorts and top and have worn them out already! I think they'll be really versatile for uni and they were so cheap to make!

Do you like DIY's? What's been your most successful DIY?

(P.S Apologies for the indoor pics - it has been peeing it down in Cheshire this week, so whenever I've decided to try and take some outdoor pics for you, the rain has stopped me!) Also look out for my next giveaway in association with Nicky Oliver hair, Oldham Street, Manchester!

Maoohsive D.I.Y post!

So I've been busy with dieing and shizz and put together a lovely post for you all about my little D.I.Y adventures!

Recently, I've been preparing myself and my overflowing wardrobe for uni by having a massive clearout. I filled nearly two bin bags with clothes that either didn't fit me, or that I just didn't want anymore. As you know, I'm a bit of a charity shop lover so loads of my clothes were bought on a few hauls, which meant they were pretty cheap, so I wasn't bothered about sending them back to charity. However, there were a few bits in my wardrobe that I liked but really didn't suit me, so I turned to my dye sachets and slight alterations to them up.

I had two different tops that I wanted to dye. One jumper, a particularly fetching mustard yellow colour and another cream lovely which, with my yellowy skin tone looked awful on. So, after buying some Navy Blue dye, I dyed the jumper all over, whilst I thought I'd try a tie dye for other top.

To create the tie dye effect I squashed the top into a ball and layered elastic bands across the top at different angles - the more bands you add, the more patterns that will appear on the top!

I then got busy with my dye. If you wanna see the method have a look at my last post on dieing, here, but remember to keep the pieces in the dye for the effect that I've achieved on the tops below! After about an hour, take the tops out of the dye and wash thoroughly with cold water. When the water starts to run clear you know your dye has been successful! I then popped the bands off my tie-dye top and hung it, along with my jumper out to dry!

As an add on I thought I'd popp some spikes onto my green jumper, which I found browsing Ebay the other week. They were around £2.99 for 100 and I felt that, by adding them to the jumper, I'd create a jumper that was bang-on trend for the Military look which is big for A/W 12.



The studs were really easy to add to the jumper, I just folded the sharp tips underneath themselves when attached to the material. For extra security, I superglued each stud to the top too!

As I had some extra studs left, I cut up some old bootcut Levi jeans and added studs to create some grunge, 90's style shorts!

Have a look at my post above for the finished pieces!

Lots'a love



D.I.Y Dip Dye shirt

So, dip-dye is all the rage and can be seen in so many high street stores at the mo, it's basically a term for clothes which have been dyed gradually, creating different shades of the same colour, from dark to light, or light to dark.

I popped into my local Topshop the other day and saw so many dip-dyed items that I wanted! Unfortunately, as a student I can't afford everything I want even with my 10% discount so, using Rosie Glow's awesome Dip-Dye DIY, for Boohoo.com, as inspiration, I thought I'd try my own. 

Here are my five steps for dip-dye virgins:

                                                                       

Find a top that you want to dye, this dipped hem beauty which I dug out of my wardrobe a few weeks ago, recently got a horrendous pen mark on it, so I thought a dip-dype would be a great way to cover the stain. I popped my top onto a metal-topped hanger and pegged it, so it kept secure. 

                                                           

To dye the top I needed salt, a pack of dye (I used black), a bucket, some rubber gloves and something to stir the mix! 

Once I'd followed the instructions on the back of the dye, I submerged my top to the level which I wanted my dip-dye to start from.

Then, as the dye began to stain the fabric, I gently dripped water down the front of the top to create a rippled effect, so that the dip-dye looked more professional. Then after 10 minutes I lifted a small portion of the top out of the dye so that I could create a gradient effect with the colour. I then added two minutes to each period of time e.g. 12,14,16 to help the colour stain intensify and create my dip-dye. The pegs came in handy here and helped me to hold the top out of the dye. 

After the allocated time my top was finished! I lifted it out of the dye, rinsed it thoroughly in cold water and then left it to dry for a couple of hours. I then popped my top into the wash on it's own so that any excess dye would be washed away. (After this you need to clean your washing machine through by setting it to wash when empty, so that dye doesn't sit in the drum and stain your washing!)

Here's the finished top!

The colour took really well and I'm planning to try another dip-dye very soon! 

What do you think? Do you like the new dip-dye trend?