Up-Cycle Your Clothes

Hi everyone,

I was refolding some of my clothes in my closet, when I came across an old blouse that I had bought only for the beaded bib collar.  I remember thinking to myself: "I don't care for the shirt but that piece would be useful...one day."  Luckily, the blouse was cheap and I kept it in a special place in my closet until it was time to use it for a project... One year later... it was time to get down to business.

I went searching around for something to enhance with the beaded bib, with the ultimatum I had given myself: "find a use or say goodbye."  To be honest, I knew I would find a use. :)  As you can see I decided to put it on this pink little dress.  I had only worn the pink dress once and thought that: "although it was nice it was kind of plain and in need of a belt or something"... the rest was history.

I thought it would be fun to make a post out of it so here it is.  It is really easy to do and you can let your imagination go wild with all of the possibilities.  If sewing isn't your forte I included a step by step.

All you will need are...

Pins

Needle and thread

Scissors (if necessary)

And of course the the two pieces you will sew together.

Place the collar straight so that it is just right and pin all the way across.  If you are new to sewing, pins make sure that everything is in place and makes sure the fabric doesn't slip when you sew (but you probably already knew that).

Sew away... but make sure your stitches are straight.  Because I sewed so close to the neckline I had to take extra care in my stitching.  

That's the finish product! Now if only I had somewhere to wear it!

Where would you wear this dress?

Do you feel like modifying or up-cycling any of your clothes?

DIY Lipgloss

Hi guys,

Woohoo, this is the first post of the new year!

Have you ever wanted to make your own lip gloss? Not only is this a cheaper alternative to buying lip glosses/butters it is fun; and because you are making it yourself, it is completely customizable.

 I made my own lip gloss out of:

• bright eyeshadow (that I never used)
• Cocoa butter 
• Vaseline

Here are the steps I took:

• In a small bowl I mixed cocoa butter and Vaseline.  At this step you can choose just how glossy you want your lip gloss to be by using varying amounts of Vaseline.  If you do not want your lip gloss glossy at all you may want to skip Vaseline all together.  On the other-hand if you want a very glossy lip gloss I suggest leaving at least some cocoa butter in because it helps hold pigment
• Heat the mixture until melted.
• Pour in eyeshadow until the mixture is one uniform color.  Here you get to choose how pigmented your gloss is by choosing the amount of color you add. 
• Pour the mixture into an empty lip gloss pot (you can use and old one or purchase them).  If your mixture has solidified by this point, you may want to reheat it just a bit to make getting it into the container easier.
• Allow mixture to cool.  At this point you may want to name your lip gloss.  My friend came up with the name "Passion Fruit Spice", and I just went with it.  

If you do not have a bright eyeshadow to use as your pigment you may want to use:

•  lip stick (maybe one that is already broken)
• food coloring

Another idea: if you want your lip gloss to be flavored  you may want to add a bit of a food extract such as vanilla.

Have fun!