****Touch of Vintage - T-shirt DIY****

If you are like me, there is a concerningly large amount of t-shirts tucked away in your closets and drawers.  Plain ones, screen tees, ones that belong to a friend that you borrowed back in middle school and possibly even a couple a from a past relationship that have long out stayed there welcome.  Now although you should really nip this problem in the butt now and purge, do remember to hold on to a few good ones because I've been up to no good DIY fun with a few shirts and you may want to try some out.

First project up takes on a staple within any grandmother's linen closet.  Although I know I have tons lying around from my own grandma's collection as usual I couldn't dig up any in my keepsake boxes so I did in fact have to purchase one.  I will take a moment to express my outrage at the cost of such a simple product that my local craft store charged me.  At $9 I felt slightly cheated but luckily I did have a coupon for half off.  Hopefully you will either have a spare lying around that you wouldn't mind reconstructing or you may just have better luck at a thrift store. Moving on....

USE THESE:

• Doiley (actual size is up to you as they come in varying widths)
• T-shirt
• Scissors
• Needle
• Transparent thread
• Large piece of card board
• Pins
• Pen

DO THIS

•  Start off by grabbing a large piece of cardboard or sturdy material to slide the t-shirt over
• Now decide on how large you want the see thru area to be.  Just because your doily is so large does not necessarily mean your opening has to be that large as well.  I used a pen to mark the area and then cut but you could also use chalk or free hand it

 

• Once your opening size has been determined go ahead and cut it out

• Now lay your doily back over the opening and pin in place

• To sew it on I first started with the small spaces inbetween the scalloped hem them went back over the whole edge.  I though it would be best to use transparent or invisible thread because of the two different colors and the fact that I'm not the most precise with a needle and thread....LOL

 Securely sewn on?  All that's left is to wear it out

With the Music Festival Season just getting started and a huge push towards clothing suited for all the fun, this top will definitely find a nice home within your closet.

****Denim Days - DIY****

I love a good pair of distressed denim...shorts or jeans.  So when I saw this plain denim shirt on the rack at a thrift store it basically jumped in my hand begging for some sanding.  Plus, with the double denim looks popping up everywhere and a few of Rihanna's latest looks it was pretty much fate.  Luckily the shirt was a men's size 14 1/2 so it wouldn't be too oversized but for this DIY you could always use a women's shirt.

WHAT YOU NEED:

• Denim shirt
• Bleach
• Sandpaper or sanding sponge

***One thing to mention is this will get messy.  You will be inhaling denim fibers so you may want a mask and with the bleach it may be best to save this project for a day when its nice and you can either work outside or open up all the windows so there is a lot of ventilation....I don't want you passing out before you get a chance to wear what you made***

WHAT TO DO:

• First step is to get knees deep into sanding.  Now I did not go into this DIY with a plan or pattern for the distressing so it was a complete organic process. If you prefer you can map it all out but that doesn't sound like to much fun..lol.  You can use either the traditional sandpaper or opt for the easier sanding block which is quite similar to the ones we use for our nails.  I chose the block only because it truly is easier.
• Working in small sections, you just want to delicately sand the area until you begin to see the underlying white fibers.
• Once the fibers are exposed, gently begin to tug at them in order to separate them and create the typical distressed strands we are so familiar with.
• Now this will take some time but just continue on until you get the perfect amount of distressing for your taste.

• Now we move on to the bleaching.  There is a couple ways to do this depending on the intended outcome.  I chose to put the shirt into the sink with a bit of water and slowly pour the bleach over it. Personally the simple denim coloring of the shirt wasn't really my thing and I knew I wanted a lighter wash. The areas of first contact with the bleach will end up being the lightest but as the sink began to fill with up, I began to dunk the shirt so that it was completely saturated.  
• Watch the shirt carefully and as soon the minute the shirt begins to lighten up immediately rinse with cold water.

• I then put the shirt through a quick wash cycle with only Oxiclean (only because I just couldn't put it through a cycle without something...a bit of neuroticism I think...lol)
• Throw it in the dryer
• Now wear it out 

I'm seriously itching to wear this with some leather and chunky chain necklace...

Stay tuned and see ya next

****Set It And Forget It - DIY****

Its Monday afternoon, I got out of work at 5AM this morning and I'm still trying to wrap my head around the fact that even with four items on a shelf, an associate can still manage to count it wrong.  

MIND BOGGLING

So with that, I can't be bothered with to much mind usage today meaning a very simple DIY post that I'm in love with.  Its as easy as the title suggests and similar to that infamous infomercial.  Shall we..

YOUR LIST:

• Stones (various sizes will look best I think and I used dyed howlite)
• Plain cuff
• E-6000
• Thin gauge gold wire

DO THIS:

• Add a dab of glue on to the stones and position on cuff
• Let this sit overnight
• Once dry wrap with wire and tuck end underneath stones(wrapping it around itself) or inside bead holes
• Wear out and accept compliments like a pro

I told you it was simple. Now I'm probably gonna go back to sleep for a bit before I have to go back to work.  

P.S. I'm offering FREE SHIPPING on Etsy purchases shipping within the US if you like Naughty Baubles on Facebook!!!!