by VioletLeBeaux | Oct 28, 2012 | Craft, Other-Tutorials, Tutorial
A few weeks ago I did a tutorial on how to make headphone jack accessories, this is kind of a companion piece to that because now I’m seeing power cord jack accessories everywhere! The most popular ones I’ve seen have been little fur tails that clip in, again quite expensive but extremely easy to make if you have an old broken power cord. I had a first gen ipod so I have quite a few broken power cords XD
The end result!
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What you need:
- Old broken power jack
- Faux fur
- Hot glue
- Pliers
Cut the cord off the power cord. While I was working the case cracked off my power cord, not a big deal because it will be covered but it would have been cleaner if it had stayed on.
Cut out a a triangle of faux fur twice as wide as you want the tail to be.
Fold it in half and glue the edges together. Keep the glued part on the inside so the fur strands hide it.
Now glue the power cord into the end of the tail.
Make sure it’s secure and not going anywhere.
Wait until it’s dry and then you’re done! You can add some strings of pearls or a cute bow for extra decoration.
It looks a bit less OTT on James’ phone XD
I personally probably wouldn’t use one because I am always strapped for handbag space as it is but it was a fun project to do and very easy! I like this kind of thing because you can dress up your phone easily and remove it if you need to go somewhere it’s not as appropriate! |
by VioletLeBeaux | Oct 24, 2012 | Clothing-Tutorials, Craft, Tutorial
The wardrobe recycling continues!
Today I’m showing you guys how I made a basic top…
Out of an old skirt!
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It’s a surprisingly easy modification to do with any nice skirt you want to make a change with!
You need:
- A skirt
- Elastic or ribbon which is the same or smaller width than the waist band
- Needle and thread
My skirt had a zip up the back so the first thing I did was lay it flat and make sure to measure so it was directly in the middle. It will end up going down the back of the shirt.
To make arm holes cut two lines down the side of the skirt starting just below the waist band. Measure and make sure your arm can actually fit through the holes. Fold the edges of the fabric in and stitch around in a circle so they are edged with a nice smooth seam.
Next is the neck. The neckline is gathered using the waistband and a piece of elastic.
Make a small cut on either side of the zip. This is where you can poke through the elastic to thread it around the whole waistband. I was lucky, my waistband was made hollow, you may need to unpick some stitches.
Thread the elastic all way through and out the other side. Stitch it place so it can’t move around and then stitch up the holes again. Again make sure you measure so you know it will fit around your neck comfortably without choking you. Oxygen = good.
That’s it… seriously.
Depending on the skirt and the fabric you used the new shirt will drape in different ways. My skirt was very clingy so it worked with and without a belt.
Though I always prefer with a belt for more shape.
 
Such an easy way to give an old skirt a new lease on life! What do you guys think?
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by VioletLeBeaux | Oct 21, 2012 | Craft, Other-Tutorials, Tutorial
For my birthday earlier in the year my Dad gave me his old laptop. Very happy because it was was a big step up from my old laptop, Sophie! I named this one Turnip 😀 Aaanyway I decided not to make the same mistakes I did with my old laptop (not putting on a protector and never actually get around to decoing it). First step was to make the keyboard pink with a keyboard cover! I ordered mine from ebay for $1.50 but it didn’t quite fit, but for $1.50 I didn’t expect much XD
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The cover: And how it bubbled in the middle:
It fit when smooshed down but not just sitting on top like it was supposed to. Thin double sided tape to the rescue!  Step #1. Wipe it down so there’s no dust.  Step 2. Cut out small pieces and stick them down to the keys. You could do all of them but I just picked strategic keys.  Step 3. Peel off the tape backing and then place the silicone cover over the top.  Press each key into place.  Done!!  Cuter and also more protected! Now I just need to actually finish the deco around the lid >_< I swear I’ll finish it soon! Soooooooooooon!
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by VioletLeBeaux | Oct 18, 2012 | Clothing-Tutorials, Craft, Tutorial
I’ve been doing a lot of remakes from my old clothes lately. It’s more fun turning something old into something new!
This is the story of how I made this suit vest…
…out of this ill-fitting suit jacket! My Mum was throwing it away so I figured I might as well have a play with it and see what I could come up with!
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I used:
- A suit jacket
- Sewing machine/needle and thread
- Scissors
First thing I did was cut off the sleeves. I cut them very close to the collar so the shape was more vest-ish than just jacket-with-no-sleeves 😉
See what I mean?
Next I tried it on and pinned so it was fitted under the arm holes. I also started playing with the shape at the bottom to make the edges a lot more pointed.
The back started off plain like this:
But as the waist was far too loose I pinned it in a box pleat.
After trying it on and adjusting the fit I started securing it all together. I stitched the box pleat first.
Then the dart under the arm hole.
Then I stitched the pointed ends at the front. While doing this I folded so far that the bottom button was off to the side to open it more up.
Lastly I re-hemmed the arm holes.
The result was much more fitted!
I didn’t like the top of the box pleat sitting slightly bunched so I stitched it down a little more. I left the bottom to flare out so it created a slight bussle effect.
And there you have it!
The back puffes out and looks great with a ruffly skirt but I’m thinking of adding some snap closures so I can decide if I want it to be puffy or not depending on outfit.
It’s not something that I would wear every day but I like the shape and it fills a gap in my wardrobe!
 
Have you guys done any fun modifications lately? |
by VioletLeBeaux | Oct 17, 2012 | Craft, Other-Tutorials, Tutorial
Let’s make some little fabric roses! I made these ones to decorate a top now it’s a bit warmer 😀 I’ll show you the top as soon as it’s finished too.
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You need:
- Fabric (gauze, chiffon or anything of a similar floaty texture)
- Needle and thread
Cut a long strip of fabric. It should be triangle shaped so it’s thin at one end and thick at the other.
For best results cut it on the bias, this means that all the threads in the fabric are diagonal to the edges not straight. You can kind of see what I mean below but here’s a better explanation.
Fold the strip of fabric in half along the length.
Start at the thin end and roll it into a spiral.
You want it to be pretty messy as you roll and you can gather the bottom slightly to make the top puff out more like petals. Stitch in place as you go.
As you roll the edges will become a little ragged so they will look like ruffled petals:
Once you reach the end of the fabric stitch it all in place and tie off. The fabric being cut on the bias means that the edges will frey a little but not so much that the fabric comes apart completely. The more the frey the prettier the roses get anyway.
And from the side:
You can make larger or smaller flowers depending on how big the original piece of fabric is. I like to group them in threes and put them on shirts or hair bands.
Pretty and great for trimming dresses too.
You can of course just buy these ready made but I prefer to do them by hand if I have time because you can completely colour match them to your individual project ^_^
I really like making them, what else do you think I could put them on? |
by VioletLeBeaux | Oct 14, 2012 | Clothing-Tutorials, Craft, Tutorial
Australia seems to have a love hate relationship with Ugg boots. Sometimes they’re acceptable fashion, sometimes they’re just for bogans. The rest of the world seems to have embraced them though and far be it from me to tall poppy them 😉
As an Australian I’m slightly embarassed to own ugg boots because they were so uncool when I grew up. Well not ugg boots but the $7 equivalent from Target. I honestly don’t know how these managed to be some kind of fashion statement or something that people wear in public? Growing up in North Queensland, uggs were the kind of thing that you wore around the house or farm, not what you wore to the shops. Maybe to the servo at like 2am or the McDonalds drive through… but definitely not as a fashion statement, it always seems to me like wearing pajamas out haha! Each to their own though ^_^
I ended up with this pair (my first ever) when my last slippers finally bit the dust as the rubber bottoms disintegrated all over the floor one day. It was the middle of Winter and there was nothing remotely boot-like in the store other than these.
This is pretty much sums up how I feel:
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But ignoring the whole debate over cool or not cool, comfortable or not comfortable I certainly didn’t want plain ones so I added some quick decorations to jazz them up a bit.
I used some nylon lace, ribbon flowers and a hot glue gun. You really should sew them but I’m not expecting mine to last for very long since the fluff is already half gone XD It’ll be Summer soon anyway so I can go back to Mario slippers!
 
First I glued a row of lace around the edge of the turned over part.
Easy.
A couple of flowers completes the job in around 10 minutes max!
Yep that’s it!
I still don’t know how I feel about them. They’re quite good for around the home but I don’t think I’ll be shopping in them any time soon 😉
All of this deep thinking about Australia’s export items makes me sleepy anyway….
What do you guys think?? Does your country have any exports which other countries think are cool when everyone at home thinks they’re a bit lame? |
