Every now and again I get "Pin-spired", but it's extremely rare that I actually make anything that I pin. But this DIY project is so ridiculously easy (and cheap) that I just HAD to craft it!
You'll only need three things:
A canvas (the one I used was about 16x20")
A pencil
Flat top thumb tacks (I found some pretty gold ones at Dollar Tree. They came in packs of 300, I used 2 1/2 packs)
Draw your design onto the canvas with pencil. I chose this ampersand/arrow design. I drew the "stick figure" first (a rough sketch), to get a feel of how big I wanted the design and to make sure I had enough room on the canvas.
After I sketched the "stick figure", I filled it out more, kind of like how you learned to make bubble letters way back in elementary school.
Once you've got everything sketched out, time for the thumb tacks. You just push them right into the canvas (overlapping them will keep them more stable and less likely to fall out or loosen). To keep everything neat and somewhat uniform I put the tacks into the canvas in rows. Depending on how big your canvas and design is will determine how long it takes to complete the project (and whether or not you run out of tacks, like I did).
Beware of pencil smudges! If it does happen (like to me, lol), no biggie! Nothing an eraser can't handle.
In total, the project took me about an hour (plus my fifteen minute trip back to the Dollar Tree because I ran out of tacks just before I was finished. You'll probably want to get three boxes of the tacks to be safe). And price wise I only spent $3! My sister already had a canvas I was able to use. If you don't have a spare lying around, craft stores like Michael's always have coupons (like 50% off one regular priced item) in the paper (that's the best time to stock up).
This project is super easy and is a great way to add some quick decor to a room or even as a gift (hint, hint: holidays are just around the corner)!
It's the week of Halloween, and while I have my work costume picked out ( Mary Poppins ), I've picked a second costume for the night out on the town with friends. This time, the total opposite of sweet Mary Poppins. I chose, Avengers' Black Widow (a strong independent woman who don't need no man and looks good doing it).
One of the perks of this costume? Not only do you look like a smokin' femme fatale, but it's actually WARM, unlike a lot of other costumes. It's the best of both worlds really. Plus, you can wear the pieces you buy over and over or you can use what you have in your closet (I know I'm not the only one with a closet that has a lot of black). Because who doesn't want to save a buck and avoid frostbite at the same time?
Here's what you'll need:
Black leggings/jeggings
Black boots (mine are knee-high with a heel, but in the movie she's wearing something closer to a combat boot--it's your call depending on where you're going to be)
2 belts (one to go around your waist--also gives you Black Widow's awesome hourglass figure, hooray! And another that you can sling around your hips--I this SWAT belt belt from Amazon, which is also perfect if you're going out, plenty of places to put your phone, money, etc so you don't even need a purse!)
Toy gun (I got mine at a dollar store and spray painted it black)
Fingerless gloves (I used a pair of old lacrosse gloves and spray painted them black)
S.H.I.E.L.D. patch (a small foam circle that I drew on with Sharpie)
Black Widow's belt buckle (I DIY'ed one with some foam)
Red hair spray or red wig
The belt:
Sheet of thick black foam
Sheet of thin red foam
1. To avoid having to redo this multiple times, I made templates for each piece out of paper first and then traced on to the foam (measure twice, cut once as my eighth grade tech teacher used to tell us). I made the bigger template first according to how big I wanted it simple by making an hourglass shape.
2. Hot glue the smaller red hourglass on the bigger black hourglass, then hot glue two safety pins on the back and voila! A Black Widow belt buckle in less than five minutes.
The S.H.I.E.L.D. patch:
Sheet of gray foam
black, fine-tip Sharpie
I literally cut a small circle from the foam (maybe an inch or so in diameter, its up to you) and then copied the SHIELD logo onto the circle. And the last step? Hot glue a safety pin to the back. Done.
And now you're ready to kick some alien butt (or at least look good pretending).
Every year I start thinking about what to be for Halloween in like, August/September. Extreme I know, but its my favorite part of the holiday. As a kid I was ready to get my costume as soon as they were put out in the stores (I was a bit over excited-- sorry mom). Now that I'm older (and paying for my own costumes), money really needs to go to other things (bills, gas--growing up kind of sucks doesn't it?) and now I'm slowly learning how to make a dollar stretch. And that means figuring out how to make a costume out of what I have, and buy the least amount as possible (or making things myself).
And so I began searching with some serious purpose through hundreds and hundreds of pins. Thank goodness for such a strong sense of D.I.Y on the web. Now because I work at a library, the costume obviously has to be family friendly (and of course easy to move in). And then I stumbled up it: Mary Poppins. I was "pinspired", if you will, by Lauren Conrad and Keiko Lynn. It was cute, it was easy, and best of all I was able to make about 90%o of the costumes from pieces I already had in my closet (or that my sister had in hers, lol)!
The hat was actually must easier than I thought it would be. Get out your glue guns y'all. It's time to get craftin'!
Here's what you'll need:
5 pieces of stiff black felt
2 branches of fake flowers (I got red & white. And they even sell them at pretty much any dollar store!)
red ribbon
hot glue
black thread and needle
1. The body of the hat I made by hot gluing (or if you have time you can just go straight to sewing it together) two of the sheets of felt together (I connected the two pieces with a strip of scrap felt along the seam of the two pieces). Then, I fit the whole thing around my head, trimmed accordingly and glued (I overlapped a bit).
2. Using the body of the hat I traced the top piece of the hat on another sheet of felt. I left about an inch around the traced circle (so that there's one circle inside the other). Cut tabs about an inch apart around the hat (from the outer circle's edge to the trace line of the inner circle) so that attaching it to the body of the hat was much easier. I then hot glued a few (like four) of the tabs to the inside of the hat to keep it in place as I sewed the top on (if you're pressed for time, hot glue the whole thing and trim the extra felt).
Left: hot glue // Right: Stitched around the edge where the top of the hat meets the body (also helps to hide any hot glue mess, and softens the harsh lines of the top of the hat).
3. To be honest, for the brim I eyeballed most of it. Again I used the body of the hat to trace a circle (that becomes the hole to allow you to put the hat on), and then I guesstimated how wide the brim should be. I eyeballed a couple of inches (maybe seven or so) off the traced circle (I overestimated, and then as I tried on the hat I trimmed accordingly). I then attached it to the rest of the hat with hot glue (after cutting out the center of course!)
4. For my own taste, the inside of the brim was too stiff (and a bit scratchy when I tried it on), so what I did was dampen a hand towel, turned the hat on its top and draped the damp towel over the hat brim and left over night (don't soak the towel, you don't want a soggy hat). The next morning it was softer and much less rough on my forehead.
5. A simple red ribbon was hot glued around the hat, and then a few fake flowers.
Ta-da! You've got yourself a hat (a total of about $7-$10) that Mary Poppins would be proud of! :)
If you don't have some of these pieces, shop these similar looks (that can be worn together or separate time and time again, long after Halloween is past):
Both skirt are from Charlotte Russe (and they're both on sale now!):
For a little fashion-forward edginess, this faux leather midi skirt is a steal at only $15!! (Plus, how awesome would this skirt look for day or night wear?!)
They also have a more high waisted midi (also on sale, $20!!) that could be paired with a cute cropped top!
This tuxedo-pleat shirt is perfect for Mary Poppins, and when Halloween is through, can be paired with jeans and flats, or dressed up with a blazer (and also, another sale find!)
Mary Poppins' lace up boots can also double as a cold weather staple!
Black stockings, also a wardrobe essential. Need I say more?
Her red bow tie? I used this cheerleader bow from Michael's. $3, easy-peasey! (Just hot glue a safety pin or two to secure to your top)
Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious--say that ten time fast ;)
