Welcome to the Fiesta of Gràcia: the DIY super party

Lee esto en Castellano

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?

DIY Project: shorts makeover

Lee esto en castellano

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

Igers who dare to DIY: 50 inspiring projects

Lee esto en Castellano

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.

Total Ivory look

Dress: Asos

Clutch: DIY 

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

Ballet nail art

Lee esto en castellano

(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!!

Dare to wear: Nail art

Vía Instagram

Lee esto en Castellano

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!

DIY Project: Dancing with sneakers

Lee esto en castellano

Hi everyone!

Here's the DIY process of the sneakers I showed you in the last post. As you might have seen, it's a very simple design that makes the process so easy and fast.

Pictures by Mariona Olmos from MW Photography

Zapatillas: Primark

Finally, I covered the red lines from the sole with a white permanent felt-tipped pen. Unfortunately. the white ink doesn't work well on many surfaces (same happens with metallics) and after a while it started to crack. So I recommend you using sneakers without colored lines or leaving the lines in their original color.

I have done a pattern of my design, and also one of an stiletto like the one on the sneakers I that inspired this project. You can download the pattern here.

I hope you guys got inspired!!

xxx

Sylvia

Start doing today what you never dared to do before

Lee esto en Castellano

Hi everyone!!

Yesterday I had the pleasure of making a photo shoot (again) with the awesomely talented photographer Mariona Olmos from MW Photography. Working with her is always an exciting experience: no matter how beautiful you imagine the pictures, they always go far beyond your expectations.

Pictures by Mariona Olmos

Maillot: Repetto

Sneakers: DIY (tutorial coming up soon)

And now you guys are probably wondering why I am making a post about ballet... Have you ever had a childhood frustrated dream? Such as playing the violin or being an athlete? Something similar happened to me with ballet, because for some reason I never attended to ballet lessons when I was little.

Nevertheless, this year I decided to enroll ballet classes for adults. This is something I recommend everyone doing: if there's something you always wanted to learn (but you think it's too late to start), do it now, as soon as possible. Obviously it will be kind of difficult to get to the Olympic Games, or to play your music in the Opera of Paris. I know I'm never going to dance at any place, and I'll keep on looking like a duck rather than a swan... Who cares?

Those who follow me will probably know, but the sneakers I'm wearing here are my DIY interpretation  of this inspiration. Do you remember my other ballet inspired DIY project?

xxx

DIY Project: customize your bikini with vintage fabrics

Lee esto en Castellano

Here we go with the second customized bikini. This is going to be a little bit simpler than the last one I did. I had this swimsuit since a long time ago, but I just couldn't throw it away: I love crochet on swimwear and I still haven't found another (white) bikini that I like better than this one. However, I thought it was time to give it a makeover.

I found some vintage fabrics in my grandfather's house and I instantly felt like I had to do something with them (they're truly vintage, they've been in the depths of a closet for at least 30 years!!). You can use any fabric you already have or buy some swimsuit lycra. Also, when you cut the strips, you can sew the edges to achieve a more polished finish. Nevertheless, I prefered a threadbare effect on this DIY, as the bikini I'm using is made of crochet.

What do you guys think? Have you ever done any DIY with vintage fabrics? Have you ever customized a swimsuit? I hope you liked it ;)
xxx
Sylvia