DIY Goodness: DVF Inspired Floral Hair Pins

I'm a sucker for hair candy. So falling for these ultra femme Diane Von Furstenberg hair pins was a no brainer. Von Furstenberg's hair candy gives off a regal Grecian vibe mixed with a playful punch that's right up my alley! - With a few basic supplies on hand, I decided to take the concept and put my spin on it. 

The project took about an hour to complete and came out pretty nice. They weren't DVF, but they were amazing nonetheless. Floral hair-pins are extremely versatile in that they can spruce up a bad hair day or add the perfect touch to a TWA!

DVF Inspired Floral Hair-Pins

You Will Need:

• 3 Different colors of scrap fabric
• Scissors
• Glue Gun
• Blank Snap-On Hair Clips [purchased these at Joann's in the jewelry supply isle]
• Needle/Thread
• Hand drawn flower pattern [or I am sure you can locate a pattern like this one]

Prep your materials:

 I just drew a basic flower, nothing fancy!

1] Draw your "floral stencil" on a sturdy sheet of paper [I used an old manila file folder]

Here is my stencil pinned to the fabric

cut out 8 of each color

2] Cut out stencil. Pin your stencil to the fabric and cut out 8 flowers in each color 

I used the base of a glass to make this circle

3] Make a circle about 1 inch wide on a sturdy sheet of paper 

4] Pin your stencil to the fabric and cut out 8 individual circles in two of the three colors 

Assemble the floral hair pins [each cluster uses 4 of each color]:

1] Stagger 8 [use four of each color] flowers on top of each other so that they slightly overlap 

2] Fold the entire floral group in half, and secure with a few stitches

3] Fold that same floral group in half once more, then secure it with a few more stitches. Make sure to use sharp scissors, I used my daughter's craft scissors and the ends weren't as crisp as I would have liked.

4] Repeat the same instructions for the second set of floral headpins 

Assemble the second set of floral hair pins [each cluster uses 4 of each color]:

To make the rosette clusters, follow the instructions given in my previous tutorial {here}

Assemble the entire group: 

1] Glue each group on a separate hair pin with a hot glue gun

2] Pin them on your hair!

That's it! Here is the finished product! 

[photo source]

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DIY Goodness: The Rosette Pillow Tutorial

If you haven't already noticed, I am a big fan of rosettes. However these aren't your ordinary run-of-the-mill rosettes, as the wool felt lends a structural feel to this ultra femme pillow. I came across this tutorial on one of my favorite hangouts, and I just had to do it! It actually reminds me of this lamp I made several months ago! 

I've seen pillows with similar elements in high-end catalogs for more money than I can dream of shelling out for one pillow, so the fact that I could create a pillow like this for less than $10 in about an hour was pretty appealing. I used exactly one yard of wool felt from Joann's Fabric [make sure you get the wool felt, not the regular flimsy felt], and one small pillow form.  If you aren't big on hand sewing, you can actually use a glue gun to form your rosettes and even glue them to your pillowcase.

You Will Need:

1 yard of felt [this was enough to cover a pillow that measured 10x16]

matching thread

needle

scissors

pillow form [you can even use an old pillow] 

fabric pencil 

ruler

glue gun [optional]

sewing machine [optional]

(1) Place your pillow form on your fabric to use as a guide for your pillowcase. You should have about a 1/2inch seam allowance around the entire pillow, I used a fabric pencil to draw a guideline. Cut two pieces of fabric for your pillowcase [each having a 1/2 inch seam allowance], one piece is for the front, the second piece is for the back.

(2) Pin the two pieces of felt right side together, and prepare to sew along the white lines [the guidelines you drew with your fabric pencil]. Leave one of the sides open so that you can insert your pillowcase, we will close the last opening at the end of the project.  

 (3) This is what it should look like before you turn the pillowcase right side out

(4) Cut each corner in a slanted fashion [except the corners you left open], as this will help make sharper points for the edges of your pillowcase.  

(5) Turn your pillowcase right side out; this is what the corners should look like [except for the corner you left open] 

(6) Now it's time to make your circles, they should be about 3 inches wide. I used a glass as a template. Cut out about 40-60 circles, it actually depends on the measurements of your pillow. I used about 45 pieces of felt on my project. 

(7) As you can see, the circles don't have to be perfect! And don't worry about the white marks if you used a fabric pencil, you can easily wipe them off with your finger.

(8) To make the rosettes/ruffles, take one piece and fold it in half

(9) Fold the piece in half again!

(10) Hand sew the base of the rosette; you even secure the base with a drop of glue from a glue gun as well 

(11) Draw a few guidelines down the center of the front of your pillowcase, this will help keep the rosette placement nice and centered

(12) Sew the base of the rosettes to the front of the pillowcase, group them together as close as possible. Once you finished sewing the rosettes/ruffles on to your pillow, insert the pillow form

(13) Fold the seam allowance towards the wrong side of the fabric, and pin it to hold it steady while you hand sew. With short strokes, hand sew the two sides of the pillowcase together, removing pins as you go along. 

Here's the finished product!!

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DIY Goodness: Knotted & Braided Necklace

In an effort to use all of my jersey fabric [and provide more DIY's on the site], I have yet another necklace tutorial. This necklace can be constructed for under $10 [even less if you rip up a shirt or two], which is pretty good considering necklaces of these kind can run $50 +. 

To make the floral pom's that are featured on this necklace, you will need to view this tutorial. 

1. Cut (3) pieces of fabric 24 inches long, and 3 inches wide

2. Pin all three sections together, and begin to braid them

 3. The braid should be about ten inches long; make a knot at 10 inches
>>Continue knotting the necklace until you reach the end

>>Choose endcaps; these can be purchased at most Micheal's & JoAnn's Craft Stores in the jewelry section

4. In order to keep your knot from unraveling; apply a small bead of glue at the very end. - Also apply glue to the inside of your end-cap and stick the end of the necklace inside. 

 5. Attach your chain to the end of your end cap with open jump rings, then also attach your lobster clasp.

Make your fabric flowers following this tutorial, then sew or glue them on to your necklace. You can attach as little or as many as you like! You can even do the fabric flowers in a different color for an unexpected pop.

To get more inspiration, check out these cool necklaces from Anthropologie 

Pretty Pouf Necklace - $42 - Anthropologie

Set Ashore Necklace - $48 - Anthoropologie

Knotty And Nice Necklace - $168 - Anthropologie

Akela Necklace - $38 - Anthropologie

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DIY: The Ruffled Tee

Every time I see these overpriced shirts in stores I think; "I could do that", so I finally decided to break out some old fabric and get to work. This is definitely an instant gratification type project, as you can complete it from start to finish in about 30 minutes.

You Will Need:

1/4yd Fabric - [jersey works best]
Pins
Scissors
Needle/Thread [doesn't matter the color, you won't see the thread anyway]
T-Shirt - I picked up these tees from Forever 21, and they were only $3.80 a piece!
Sewing Machine [optional]
Fabric Glue [optional]

Cut (8) strips of fabric 10 inches long, and 3 inches wide. You will need about (4) strips of ruffles for each shoulder. - I find it easier to cut using a rotary cutter vs scissors! You can find rotary cutters in your local Michael's or JoAnn's.

Fold each strip in half, and sew a running stitch [long stitch] down the center - You can hand stitch or machine stitch

Pull the bobbin thread [the thread at the end of the strip], to ruche your fabric together, this will create your ruffle

Pin your ruffles on your shirt, and hand stitch them in place [you can also use fabric glue]
Place the ruffles as close together as possible to avoid a skimpy look.

Below is another alternative if the whole "wing look" isn't for you. This time I chose to place the ruffles along the neckline!

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You Pretty Little Things | DIY Fabric Wrapped Hangers

These totally remind me of some over-priced hangers I would find in a store like Anthropologie. They are giving me a very vintage feel that I am quite fond of. - This took about 15 minutes to cover all three hangers, which isn't half bad at all. The best part about this project is that you can watch tv while you are doing it, it isn't some meticulous project that demands all of your attention.

I love these even more because they hold silky fabrics much better than the wooden finish does. To give it more of a vintage feel, I rummaged through some of my scrap quilters fabric and picked delicate florals, and pretty paisley's. You can buy those fat quarters [pictured below] at all Joanns, as well as regular fabric stores. OR you can simply repurpose old clothing, or fabric that's lying around.

You Will Need:
Fat Quarters/Scrap Fabric - Each hanger uses about 5 medium size strips
Glue Gun
Wooden Hangers
Scissors

This was the pattern I chose. To speed up the process, I used a rotary cutter to cut out the strips. As you can see, the strips do not have to be perfect! No need for measuring here.

Start at the top of the hanger, and glue the first piece of fabric down. Begin wrapping the hanger with the fabric, adding glue as necessary to keep the fabric in place.

The hangers do not have to be "perfect". You can leave the frayed edges, or cut them! If you are not a fan of frayed edges, simply spray those areas with a product called Fray Check [a product that keeps unfinished edges from fraying], and let dry for at least an hour before use. Fray Check can also be purchased at your local Joanns or fabric store!

The end result: