Flowy Flower Top

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I had some lovely flowers in pink and black and I had a vision of puffy sleeves! This is what I came up with!
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First I used my newly posted technique on how to transform a tight t-shirt into a flowy one. Once the shirt had the appearance that I wanted, I cut out strips of my flowers and arranged them in a formation I liked, pinned them down and then hand stitched them on. I'm really happy with the final outcome! Now I want to see what else I can stitch onto my shirt sleeves! Any suggestions?

 

Boho Bag

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I am very, very sad. So deeply sad, and I will tell you why: One of my oldest, dearest, and bestest friends is leaving on a plane this friday for a three month stint in South Korea. In honor of her exciting trip, we had a going away / birthday party at the Olive Garden (YUM!) last saturday. While plotting the perfect bithday / please-don't-leave-me-i'll-miss-you-too-much gift, I found this lovely, tribal-y looking fabric and decided to make a boho bag for my friend! This is the how-to for the funky bag (which I am so HAPPY with!). I might have to make myself one!
 
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For those of you who know me well, you know that one of my favorite stores of all time is Sal Val's! I love the idea of taking a piece of "junk" or "trash" and turning it into a gem! most of the time I don't edit the clothing I buy because I find just the right piece looking just the way I want it, but every once in a while I come accross a piece which needs some total TLC! Such was the case when I stopped off a the ole' Army and bought myself some new wardrobe pieces.
While I was digging throigh the racks of  jewels I came a ccross a black, long-sleeved, maxi dress with some lace detailing. I instantly loved the detailing and tried it on to discover that it FIT! Alas, the long sleeves gave the appearance of a nightgown, but I was not dismayed, I decided to take the garment home and give it a little TLC!
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I took the dress home and snipped off the sleeves, but I loved the lace detailing so I pulled off the lace at the ends and re-stitched it back on to the dress, leaving the top looking like this:
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I'm really happy with how it turned out and it is more appropriate for summer weather (although summer is almost over!) If you have any thrift store TLCs I would LOVE to see them!
 
My lack of posting does not mean there has been any lack of crafting in my life over the past few weeks, I just haven't had time to post anything. I promise to make the effort to post at least once a week with some craft or project I have done!

Aside from posting laziness, I have been doing crafty little projects with the girl I nanny (mentioned in the previous tie-dye post) and currently we are having a great time recycling a crap-ton of old magazines I have. I think that has to be one of my all time favorite things about DIY: the opportunity to repurpose anything! So in the fashion of recycling and magazines I decided to share some of my favorite magazine projects, all of which I've tried, in the hopes that you will find a new purpose for the stacks and stacks of People and Star you most likely have lying around. Without further ado...

MAGAZINE MADNESS

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Decoupage!

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Probably the easiest thing you can do with magazines. Just grab a plain looking item (it can, literally, be anything) a pair of scissors, some Modge-Podge and an array of your favorite magazines. Snip, arrange, and seal and you have turned a blah looking bowl (or table, or mirror, or anything) into a fabulous and one of a kind piece of art. I've decoupaged vases, mirrors, and a copious amount of picture frames. Plus you are recycling two things at once!

Magazine Bracelet

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we've all seen these done with starburst wrappers, but why not do the same with some magazine pages. This is the same technique I used to make my news paper belt

Magazine Beads

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I spent an entire day making a fair amount of these babies. I keep them in my craft drawer (one of many I have in my room) to utilize in any project that may pop into my mind. I love these because no two are alike!

Magazine Bowls

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Probably one of my favorite things to do with magazines. I have made a couple of these and they are super easy and super durable. They also require alot of time and alot of magazing pages, so if you have some time on your hands and a butt-load of magazines you want to recycle, this is a perfect project to try!

Magazine Bag

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I tried making one of these - once upon a time - and it definitely did not come out as nice as this one -> which Milan I. shared on Cut Out + Keep. This project requires alot of patience (something I was running out of by the end of mine). I would love to attempt this again, which should be reasonable considering how many magazines I posses!

Magazine Trash Can

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this is the project I am currently working on, and boy is it tedious, but that doesn't mean it isn't a blast to work on. I wouldn't start this project unless you have alot of time and a ton of magazines! I've been working on it while nannying for the past 3 days and I'm a little under 1/2 way done. The only question I have is about its durability. Once the project is done I will share it and let you all know how it works!