Friday, August 31, 2012

Spiked look

Pictures: Andrea Feldman-Grossman

Tie dye effect top: Asos
Spiked shorts: DIY
Necklace: DIY
Shoes: Sam Edelman
Envelope clutch bag: DIY
Here's the outfit I wore for my MA farewell dinner. I decided to wear my beloved Sam Edelman spiked shoes with my new DIY spiked shorts. I was about to wear one of my favorite bags, which is all studded, but maybe it would have been too much metal.

Even though I love spikes, I have never done a DIY with them (everybody has already done that, so... what's the point?). However, I'm doing a post in order to clear up all the points about this kind of hardware, which is not always as simple as it seems. 

Have you guys ever used spikes or studs? If so, where did you applied them?

Friday, August 24, 2012

DIY Project: Can't stop weaving

Here's one of the projects I've done with weaving technique. But this dress is actually made of two DIY's: it has a cut off on the waist and weaving on the back. Let's get started!
SUPPLIES: Basic cotton dress (mine is from H&M), scissors and optionally thread and needle.
WEAVING / Braiding
Simple technique: Start off taking the second strap under the first strap, then turn it over. Grab the third strap, take it under the second, and turn it over. Repeat this process until you get to the end.
Twisted technique: Do the same steps than in the other technique, but twist the strap before introducing the next one. 

To close the weaving: There are a few options, what I did was cutting and tying the strings with a double knot. You can also stitch it or use a safety pin.

We can't talk about weaving without mentioning Adam Saaks, a fashion designer or a "scissor master", as he defines himself. Saaks is a kind of fashion version of Edward Scissorhands who travels around the world doing snipping shows. I still don't understand the reason why he has reached that celebrity status. I don't if he is the one who invented this technique or he is just a brand ambassador for Ed Hardy. Anyway, he leaves his audience totally fascinated just doing something that everybody could do. If you see the videos, you'll notice that the most "difficult" part is to cut the straps. Weaving takes just a few seconds.



Do you guys remember my DIY bikini?
I discovered weaving one night, watching Youtube videos, and I just couldn't wait. I had to try it just in that moment. In less than 20 minutes I had a brand new top. Weaving is an amazing DIY technique, you can try combining different shapes and widths of straps, combining techniques... It's so easy and simple that you can do it everywhere, even in the pool!

Do you guys dare to start cutting off and weaving your t-shirts and dresses? Try it and send me your pictures!!

Thursday, August 23, 2012

DIY Inspiration: Cut OUT!!

Here are some beautiful DIY ideas to start cutting out mercilessly all those abandoned shirts and dresses in your closet. Cut Off is probably one of the most popular DIY trends, because it doesn't require much time or special skills. And what about supplies? Scissors are more than enough, but depending on the fabric you work on (mainly, anything but cotton) you'll have to sew the edges...
1 and 2. Urban Outfitters 3. Asos Salon 4. Urban Outfitters 5. Sparkle & Fade 6. Urban Outfitters 7. Asos 8. Sparkle & Fade 9. Asos (petite)

Tuesday, August 21, 2012

Welcome to the Fiesta of Gràcia: the DIY super party

The Fiesta of Gràcia quarter, in Barcelona, is an inspiration overdose, an incredible color burst and a geniality flood. Each year, the people who live in this neighborhood get involved in a competition and cover their streets with beautiful crafts they do themselves. It is a great display of the amazing things that can be done with enthusiasm and recycled materials, such as plastic bottles, beer cans or balls of newspaper. It is so exciting to walk through Gràcia's streets during this week and see that these traditions are so alive and that they keep people so committed year after year.

Despite I live in Barcelona since I was a child, I had never attended to this fiesta until today. That's totally unforgivable! I usually go out for the whole summer, but this year my vacation period has had to wait. However, having the chance of seeing this awesome creativity show totally pays off the unbearable heat of the summer in the city. 
And here's one of the DIY's I've done during these last few days. I just discovered how to make these beautiful weaves thanks to Trash to Couture.  I was so surprised when I tried it, it's super easy and fast! I'll make the DIY tutorial in just a few days; I think you guys are going to love this technique as much as I do!

I hope you guys liked the pictures of the Fiesta, had you ever heard about it? And what do you think about the dress? Have you ever tried weaving?

Sunday, August 19, 2012

DIY Project: shorts makeover

Without a doubt, textile paint is one of my favorite DIY techniques. It's so versatile and has that magical power of waking up your creativity. Not everybody has a steady hand or can draw, but textile paint can bring excellent results whether you are a great artist, or haven't ever held a paintbrush.

Do you guys remember my "Pollock impulse dress"? Who wouldn't be able to make random splatters of paint? And do you remember my green leaves dress? That DIY required a little bit more patience, but it was a quite simple pattern.

So today I'm bringing a short makeover using bleach and textile paint. That's all!! Here's the DIY process, I hope you guys enjoy :)
More DIY inspiration for shorts here

Tuesday, August 14, 2012

Igers who dare to DIY: 50 inspiring projects

Hello DIYers!
How's everything going? Summer is almost over and I'm so sad about that! So today I'm bringing a big DIY inspiration binge. We all have to squeeze these last days of summer, as we probably won't have much time for DIYs during the winter! You might have already seen similar projects, but these are my picks from Instagram! Hope you guys like them.
What do you guys think? Which one is your favourite? I am seriously considering doing these lovely cat booties, I've had a crush on them.

Sunday, August 12, 2012

Total Ivory look

Dress: Asos
Sandals: Uterqüe

This is my humble tribute to all the (good) street art that has ended up covered by an even layer of gray paint.

I'm a big street art fan, and this is why we thought of taking these outfit pictures in a colorful place, crammed with amazing graffitis. However, when we arrived here, we found out that the whole wall had been covered up with gray paint. In the end I also liked the effect of the plants, but today I wanted to make a different post. And so I added my illustrations.

To focus on the outfit: I had a crush on this dress. I think it's so elegant and I love the crochet detail on the waist. The pop of color just comes from my fuchsia bracelet and my make up: I absolutely adore bright nail polishes and fuchsia lipsticks: MAC's Girl About Town is a must have. I chose the transparent version of my chameleon clutch, although it wasn't easy to make a decision... Having a bag that changes its color is not for indecisive people!

What do you guys think about my mix of illustration an photography? I hope you like it, I spent a great time making this post, I think it's noticeable :)

xxx

Sylvia

Thursday, August 9, 2012

Ballet nail art

(I don't want you to get fed up with ballet, this is going to be the last post about it, I promise!! :P )

Let's think about something really really weird to paint on the nails: What about Ness Lake Monster? Lobsters? An Egyptian mummy? Well, these days I've noticed that no matter how freak a nail art idea is, someone somewhere in the world has already done it and uploaded pictures to the Internet.

I thought about some nail art ideas that were supposed to be different but when I started googling... My hopes were dashed! However I searched ballet inspired nail art and I didn't find any similar design to the one I had in my head. So finally I'm closing ballet topic with this nail art tutorial. I hope you guys like it!
I've been thinking of buying nail art brushes for a while, and in the end I found them at Kiko (make-up stores in Europe). It's amazing how accurate your drawings can be with these brushes, much better than using toothpicks or needles.
Actually, the red stroke is not necessary. You can go without it and the result is also very nice. If you skip this last step, this nail art can be so easy to do. There's no need to have nail art brushes, you can achieve the same result with the nail polish brush. In fact, I only used my nail art brush for that red stroke.
Nail art doesn't usually come out well at the first attempt. However, it is so addictive and funny and not as difficult as it seems. It's perfect for when you're bored at home!!

Monday, August 6, 2012

Dare to wear: Nail art

Vía Instagram
Since a few months ago I've been obsessed with nailart. It's actually not as difficult as it seems, if you go step by step and layer by layer you can achieve awesome results. I haven't done a nail art tutorial since a long time ago: do you guys remember my Snow White nail tutorial? see here

Summer is the perfect time to wear colorful nails and daring designs, so now I'm definitely making another nail tutorial. Stay tuned!