Jul 25, 2011 | DIY
So it’s been two weeks since my last roundup, and it’s that time again! I’ve been busy wrapping up my last week in Japan, packing, and then arriving back in the States and wrangling with jetlag for the last 5 days or so. There’s nothing like getting up at 2 AM every day, primed and ready to go as if it’s morning (well, I guess it technically is), puttering about on HIGH for a few hours, and then falling back into bed around 10 AM, and sleeping until 4 in the afternoon. And then the day’s over. Well, that’s been my week so far – let’s see what loveliness other, more productive people have been up to lately:
Susie from StyleBubble created the most professional-looking DIY painted skirt, inspired by Balenciaga’s S/S ’11 Collection. I never thought orange and blue when paired together could be so attractive!!
Honestly, WTF posted their take on the popular Chan Luu wrap bracelet – and I have to admit, using ball-chain for this normally time-consuming DIY sounds like a lifesaver!
From The Illustrated Nail, Maison Martin Margiela-Inspired Nail Art takes those anonymous numbers to a whole new level. I love witty things like this that are akin to an “in-joke” that only the people INto fashion will really get! (source: StyleList)
Maya from Soccer Mom Style made the most beautiful feather-trimmed metal cuff, inspired by Givenchy. Total saved doing it herself? Oh, only about $731.50!!
Hate creating yards and yards of ruffles? Ruffle Fabric is a wonderful site that provides already-ruffled fabric by the yard – perfect for so many projects – and Suzannah from Adventures in Dressmaking has created an easy-to-follow tutorial for sweet little flower girl dresses using this fabric. (Easily adaptable for larger sizes!)
The Style Projects posted a great and simple tute for an OBEY inspired DIY necklace. If you use a chunky nail necklace as the base, no jewelry-making ability is required for this rocker-style dupe!
I’m loving the chic DIY cut-out blouse featured on Freshly Given. All you need is a structured blouse with a collar since you’ll be cutting off the sleeves: a brilliant solution for those hot summer days when you still want to look chic and put-together.
Have a boring, kind of creepy mannequin lying around your house? Decoupage it with vintage sewing patterns like Stacie from Stars for Streetlights did! (Hint: you can do this with any piece of hard furniture or any object around your house…maybe some customized sewing room decor?)
If your project was featured above, feel free to grab a button and share the DIY!
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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 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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Jul 11, 2011 | DIY
Another week, another round of inspiring DIY’s, projects, and food for thought. Even though we draw inspiration from so many source, make, re-make, and re-appropriate, we all put a little bit of a different spin on it each time. I love it!
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Now onto the links!
Cheap Chic Obsession made a pair of DIY NastyGal-Inspired Cut-Off Shorts. Her rips look so “professional” and the finished product is so excellent could be sold on the NastyGal website!
Inspiration & Realisation created some lovely DIY Alexander McQueen-inspired shoes with some old sandals and some rosary necklaces.
Will the secondhand and thrift store clothing business go OUT of business within our lifetimes? Outsapop re-blogs about its demise due to our current mass-made clothing and its inherent cheapness. (photo source)
I love this! How to Make the Historic Pillowcase Dress at XO Jane – reminds me so much of my DIY Skirt from a Pillowcase…except better!
Inspired by Prada’s S/S 2011 collection, Atlantis Home created a beautiful faux fur DIY stole. What I would recommend, though – is when cutting faux fur do it not with scissors but with a box cutter or X-acto knife from the wrong side of the fur. Otherwise you’ll be chopping the fur “hairs” too short (especially with the longer-haired furs!!).
Simple Leather Earrings DIY by freshlygiven makes me want to whip out all my scraps from all my past leather projects. I think this would also look great with any stiff (or stiffened) fabric!
Speaking of leather projects, Squiggles & Scribbles made a DIY Tribal Print Clutch using some masking tape and acrylic paint. It looks so lovely – and the perfect accessory for summer music festivals!
Bleach Black DIY’d that scarf-print pajama-like Celine Blouse seen on Kanye West at Coachella. Honestly, I can’t tell the difference between the original and the DIY!!
If your project was featured above, feel free to grab a button and share the DIY!
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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 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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Jul 5, 2011 | DIY
While I’ve been getting used to the mugginess and heat (and time-change) here in Tokyo, the internet has offered up a ton of great DIY and projects over the last 2 weeks.
BurdaStyle goes behind the scenes into the making of a couture jacket and I am riveted!! Though this project is probably beyond my abilities, it’s still amazing to see the process explained in such detail. I’d love to locate a copy of that Threads Magazine where this article first appeared!
Another DIY pair of galaxy-painted shoes! This time, canvas slip-ons for a more casual look. Is this a mini-trend in the making?? (source: Goth Reform School)
First Craft Magazine, now ReadyMade Magazine folds. Are DIY’ers not a market that spends money on books, magazines, and resources? Are advertisers finding their products aren’t being purchased by readers and there’s not enough ROI to keep buying advertising space? Who’s at fault here? Discussion is needed!!
Learn how to tie your tee into a skirt courtesy of this video from Love Aesthetics. Simple, modern, and chic.
Wholeport is running a Creativity Expo – a crafting contest where you receive your materials free of charge and create a craft, upload a photo of it to Wholeport’s Facebook page, where you are entered to win a $50 gift certificate to their online shop! Hurry to get your request for supplies in before July 9th!
Make some bolt rings via A Pair and a Spare – only a trip to the hardware store is needed.
Angela Osborn provides instructions for turning into a long-sleeved blouse into a vintage-inspired frilly top. I love the little bow made of piping at the neck – it’s such a cute addition!
DIY Yarn Bombing hits the streets of NY. What on earth is yarn-bombing?? Find out here! (source: Times Union)
If your project was featured above, feel free to grab a button and share the DIY!
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If you have a DIY project, tutorial, or creation 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!
xoxox
Carly
-all photos copyright their respective authors; photo array by me-
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Jun 21, 2011 | DIY
I had so much material and great sites bookmarked from last week, last Links of the Week was threatening to become a gigantic 2-chapter installment. So I split it up so I could include many more wonderful DIYs and extraordinary ideas this week!
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Flowers made from tights by K.I.S.S. is a great project if you have pretty tights with runs in them. (Reminds me of my Rolled Tights Rose Tutorial, which I shared last year on Cut Out + Keep.) But hers are much prettier and more whimsical!!
Or how about jewelry made from plants? Living jewelry, that is! Though it’s not a tutorial, I’m feeling inspired by Viola Living Jewels, a line that uses tillandsia (air plants) in pieces.
Thera Joyce shared a video tutorial on how to make a tube top from a T-shirt you already have in your closet. Add this to your summer wardrobe, too! Watch it here.
If you like Glee, you’ll love this Emma Pillsbury T-Shirt Refashion project by iCandy Handmade! A prim and perfect refashion.
Brittany shared with me her new DIY blog: Opposite of War. She’s just starting out in the blogosphere and shared her great idea for a pair of Ballerina-Inspired Flip-Flops. Lovely!
Livlig Online is a new site I’ve discovered, featuring TONS of DIY roundups (like One Pretty Thing, except different) with Home, Jewelry, and Clothing DIYs…it could keep me busy for HOURS!
Nichelle not Michelle posted her tutorial for creating a dress from a shirt and a pair of leggings. What a sexy makeover – Meow!
Featured on Chictopia as a “DIY Bikini,” this 3D-printed nylon piece by Contiuum apparently arrives at your door flat, and you have to snap it together. And when I write “printed” I don’t mean that it has a printed pattern on it…I mean that it’s literally printed with a printer that creates 3D objects from scratch!! However, I’m much more interested in Continuum’s D Dress App, an online application that converts any dress you draw with it into dress pattern made up of tiny triangles, available for you to print on your home printer. I’ll have to try this out and make my own avant-garde wearable piece!
Inspired by a piece by NastyGal, Cheap Chic Obsession created a DIY Fringe T-shirt. Easy and chic and perfect for summer!
I love this idea for reuse and recycling! Rather than dump the 400 yards of non-biodegradable fabric from an old balloon into a landfill, Turk + Taylor designed their Spring Collection of clothing using the ripstop nylon from the balloon. How amazing is that??! (Source)
If your project was featured above, feel free to grab a button and share the DIY!
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If you have a DIY project, tutorial, or creation 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!
xoxox
Carly
-all photos copyright their respective authors; photo array by me-
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Jun 14, 2011 | DIY
Again, schoolwork and life has just body-slammed me into submission the last couple weeks, so this latest LOTW is again combining 3 weeks into one.
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Who’s with me, right??!
You guys have been great with sending me your projects and tutorials, so I’ve been able to check out all your creativity and now share it en masse. Thanks so much!
Honestly, WTF‘s DIY Pompon Necklace infuses a bright pop of colored fun into any outfit. Perfect for summer!
Megan Nielsen did a tute on how to make scallop-hem shorts from a pair of old shorts. Check it here and try it on something you already have in your closet!
Violent Lips is a new line of temporary Lip Tattoos. What’s your verdict: Chic or cheap?
The Style Projects has a number of quick n easy DIY projects on her blog (like a Sweat-skirt, Big Curly Hair, No-Sew Scarf, and Backless Zippered White Tee), but I think I like her DIY Bee-Buttoned Cuff the best. It looks just like something from Lanvin’s S/S 11 collection!
Manolo Blahnik Limited-Edition Shoe Earring DIY by Fabric Strips and Ruby Lips is so inventive! (And perfect if you happen to have Barbie stuff leftover from your childhood.;-) Also check out her other projects like her Placemat Tablet Case and Chanel-style Earrings.
Teresa does it made crochet shorts from an old thrifted crochet sweater. Pure genius (and it looks so RTW)! Also check: DIY Zipper Jeans, Victoria’s Secret Buckle Sweater, and Crochet Bag. Can’t miss!
Urban Outfitters constantly rips off other independent artists’ designs. Or is it just coincidence? Read the discussion here and here on the Village Voice Blog.
It will be Father’s Day this Sunday – so if you’re feeling crafty, Michael’s has a ton of projects to make for dear ol’ Dad. Try a decorated wood photo frame, a ceramic mug covered in drawings, an artful ceramic plate, or a can-hugger…maybe these are projects more appropo for the kiddos, but still fun and creative. 
And if your Dad or hubby is into fashion at all, these Giles and Brother cufflinks are pretty awesome (and manly) and only $60.
And if you’re thinking of stealing something out of Dad’s closet – nab yourself a tie, and make this Upcycled Statement Necklace from a Tie, courtesy of Green Eggs and Ham. A lovely – and slightly steampunk! – reiteration of the menswear accessory.
Wardrobe Recycle (a Greek blog – use Google translate if you don’t read Greek) shared her upcycle of a t-shirt to a Princess-Sleeve Shirt, which is actually based on this (in English) video by Fashion Enemy. I love how feminine and pretty her new shirt is!!
If your project was featured above, feel free to grab a button and share the DIY!
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And since I’m not doing my DIY Roundups anymore, if you have a DIY project, tutorial, or creation 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!
xoxox
Carly
-all photos copyright their respective authors; photo array by me-
~If you liked this post, please share it!~
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