Another week – and that much closer to Halloween!! How many of you have figured out your costumes for this year yet? (I’m still undecided…but there’s still 4 days left, right?!) I’m swamped with projects for school and getting all the Halloween decor and activities done before the big day…so I may just go as myself! But I’m sure you guys are formulating some great ideas…
Meanwhile, the blogosphere has been a-buzz with Halloween costume ideas, contests, and a sudden spotlight shone on some DIY bloggers as of late…
MSNBC Today covered DIY Fashion in their article “Make It, Don’t Buy It,” citing a few DIY blogs you may know…like Honestly, WTF and P.S. I Made This. The consensus from the comments? This is old news! Seems most people are already quite aware of DIY as a crafty way to save money – which is no big surprise there.;-) Also check out their slideshow of a new project submitted by DIY bloggers daily this week.
Squiggles & Scribbles posted a FABULOUS DIY for that YSL Arty Oval Ring – using a pebble, nail polish, duct tape, and a glue gun. It looks so much like the real thing – and I can’t wait to hear how it holds up with wear. Major props!!
Chictopia is having an I DIE FOR DIY Halloween Costume contest with a $300 grand prize, judged by some guest judges you may already know…like Geneva of a pair & a spare, Jenni from I Spy DIY, and Syl and Sam from lipgloss and black. Upload a photo of your DIY costume creation, pair it with a creative write-up, encourage your friends to vote, and see if you win. Contest runs until November 4th.
Need some false eyelashes for your Halloween costume but don’t want to shell out the big bucks? Check out Chezlin‘s tutorial – where she uses the bristles from a makeup brush and some eyelash glue to make her own fabulous DIY version.
Behind the Seams shared a tutorial for creating a colorful faux fur clutch, inspired by Phillip Lim and Prada. Word of warning though: the blogger in this case got lucky with the color! Both RIT and iDye are formulated to work on natural fabrics – i.e., not synthetic faux fur, and color adhesion to synthetics is incomplete or not true-to-color. (I’ve had difficulties with RIT dye in the past not adhering to higher-end acrylic faux fur, especially kinds that have coated strands.) Acrylic fibers can only be dyed effectively using Disperse Dyes (for lighter colors – here’s an EHow on it), and Basic Dyes, like Aljo (for darker colors – these are possibly carcinogenic and very toxic dyes; and very difficult to get ahold of non-commercially). Everything else is non-permanent, so experiment at your own risk! (It’s still a pretty result nonetheless.)
How about some DIY studded Versace-inspired jeans? A Matter of Style made her own – and they look so chic. Love the architectural designs down the leg – tres Versace.
Inspiration & Realisation put together a tutorial for this sweet little DIY fishtail sweater, as inspired by Phillip Lim. What a chic makeover to the basic wardrobe staple!
If you crochet, here is the most awesome crochet pattern EVAH: a Crochet Skull Necklace from Shara Lambeth Designs. Now I’m dying to pick up a crochet hook and get crackin’! Found via Transient Expression.
If your project was featured above, feel free to grab a button and share the DIY!
If you have a DIY how-to or tutorial that you’d like to see featured on Chic Steals, please email me at carlyjcais at chic-steals dot com – and I’ll try to squeeze it in to one of my Links of the Week posts! (Tutorials/how-to’s with steps and photos included please! So everyone can share in the DIY goodness:-)
xoxox
Carly
-all photos copyright their respective authors; photo array by me-
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what a wonderful surprise, Carly!! thanks so much for the feature !
donatella recently posted…got fishtail?
thanks for featuring me Carly!!
matter of style recently posted…Man shirt makeover
Hey Carly, while you’re right about RIT being made for natural fabrics, iDye has a line of dyes made for synthetic fabrics. There are fewer colors, but I’ve successfully used the dye on synthetics. Here’s a link: http://www.fineartstore.com/Catalog/tabid/365/List/1/CategoryID/22229/Level/a/Default.aspx?SortField=unitcost%2Cunitcost
Might be good to know for future projects 🙂
Rachel recently posted…Outfit Post: Like a Brick
Thanks so much for the link, Rachel! That’s a great option for synthetics like polyester and nylon – I’m so glad to know that iDye makes those dyes! The problem is, acrylic is different from both polyester and nylon structurally and apparently the dyes that can be used on synthetics will only produce temporary results with acrylic fabrics (and by extension, faux fur). There’s a good explanation here of what dyes to choose for your project. Though I have gotten some results with RIT on acrylic faux fur, it took 9+ hours of soaking in the dyebath to only produce a light pink (on white faux fur), when I was using black RIT!! (I was going for deep, dark black.) Some people have had success dyeing acrylic wigs (which aren’t faux fur, but close enough I figure) using a mixture of acrylic ink (like Speedball) and rubbing alcohol, sprayed onto the wig. There are numerous tutorials out there (here’s one). Perhaps this could be adapted for faux fur? Thanks so much for the link!
xoxo
Carly