Do-Inspire-Yourself #1

in need of ideas to get your weekend rolling on DIY style?

here some inspiration!

one piece of felt, one shoelace x 2 = lovely slippers

found on http://khooll.com/

made by Toyal College of Art graduate Gaspard Tiné-Berès

...I'll try to make a pair experimenting with paper to get the exact shape... if I'm lucky I'll have these ready for the fall!

I was looking for cool mid-century inspired light fixtures and...

nothing better than finding a round up of 

 20 diy modern lighting projects

Really like this site, curbly 

And, of course: some clothes related DIYnspiration..

spiral design tutorial by Alabama Chanin over at Ecouterre

embellish a t-shirt tutorial by Alabama Chanin over at Jezebel

I'm digging these Alabama Chanin books

you know...just for some crafting DIY week-end reading...

xox, d.

open knit summer sweaters

open knits sweaters are hot hot hot this summer!

Don't want to buy one? 

DIY an open knit, mesh looking sweater isn't that hard.

image via: fashion gone rogue

images: polyvore

You can pick, whether you prefer 
to knit or crochet, with similar results.

stitch pattern for knit version:

Row 1 and all wrong side rows: Purl.
Row 2: *K2tog, yo, rep from * across; end k1.
Row 4: K1, *yo, ssk, rep from * to end of row.

found via: subversive knitting

stitch pattern for crochet version:

1st row: chain 3 - skip 1 st - 1 double crochet - chain 1 - skip one st - 1 double crochet - till the end of the row 

2nd row: chain 2 - 1 double crochet (not into the chain st, but into the 'bridge') - chain 1 - 1 double crochet - till the end of the row - the last double crochet will be onto the stitch of the previous row

3rd row: chain 3 -  skip 1 st - 1 double crochet into the 'bridge' - chain 1 - skip one st - 1 double crochet into the 'bridge' - till the end of the row 

4th row: repeat from 2nd row

diy Jason Wu crocheted sweater

xox, d.

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DIY cool for dad: polo shirt

transform a marketing/logo polo shirt into dad's favorite

Another quick project, suitable for beginners, 

that requires only few minutes for a big improvement.

These logo polo shirts that get piled up and never been used?

The quality is often very good and I can't stand a good quality garment locked up at the bottom of the closet or used only for a "I-don't-care-if-I mess-it-up" reasons.

Taking the inspiration from designers' as Dolce & Gabbana and Galliano polo shirts with contrast pockets, I'm going to use one of the denim pockets I removed from my D&G inspired refashion and hide the logo.

top pics: polyvore - collage by moi

I had the pocket already, but it's an easy enough task to do with a small piece of fabric in contrast color.

(how cool is the one with the bandana fabric??)

I don't have my sewing machine here, 

therefore I'll show you a cheat-stitch 

to make a "look alike" machine stitch 

that will look neat also on the wrong side of the garment.

* PIN the pocket onto the shirt, making sure that the pocket is well aligned and parallel to the button opening of the shirt

* I'm using the denim thick thread and will do a SMALL BASTING STITCH. 

It will look like this:  _  _  _  _ 

* Once you get to the end of the seam, repeat the SMALL BASTING STITCH by filling the blank spots.

* the wrong side of the shirt will look neat, sure better than a running stitch.

Perfect for father's day!!

 xox, d. 

inspiration

where do you take your inspiration from?

Here is where I land:

the name of this blog is, in fact, inspiration&realisation. 

pic from: quotes160

Before switching to "make-mode" for a new project, the brain needs to be fed with stimulant ideas and images to make that switch moving from OFF to ON position.

These are the sources where I check daily to keep my brain running and well fed ;)

My cheat-sheet for inspiration: 

True Blue Me and You 

if it's on the WWW somewhere... she'll find it.

For inspiration about runway, looks, new collections... the bible: 

Vogue and the latest addition: voguepedia

Editorials inspiration: fashion gone rogue

for crochet and other cool things: pinterest boards: 

Elisabeth Andrée &  Katia Corrado

Window-Web-shopping inspiration: 

shopstyle

Design, home décor and and everything home... 

ikeahackers - apartment therapy - how about orange

And of course, my bloglovin is my blog-pedia, where I keep organized by 'genres' something like 250 blogs  (adding more every day!)

BTW... Am I in your bloglovin? ... this is the correct link, after I switched to the .com domain:

inspiration&realisation on bloglovin

One thing I know for sure: I would like to have more hours in a day to read carefully and check every single blog out there!

Where you get inspired from?... I can surely add more sources!!! 

xox, d.

DIY: from men's to Lanvin

from a men's basic t-shirt

to a Lanvin fabulosity

Just add grosgrain, a silk corsage and an hour of your time!

top right and bottom left: farfetch.com - collage by moi

step-by-step tutorials after the jump!

DIY corsage fabric flowers

a corsage is a flower or an arrangement of flowers 

worn as a fashion accessory 

... and accessories are items that will make the outfit "pop".
More often than usual, you'd heard the phrase 
"It's all about the accessories"

see how it can change the look of a basic tank top or a plain jacket!
(or a button down shirt, on the lapel of a suit jacket... 
anything where you can pin it!)

Soooo... let's not waste any more time!

I'm using:

* a piece of silk (about 20" x 20") (leftover from the colorblock pants)

* needle, thread and scissors

* two small pieces of matching color t-shirt fabric (I used the sleeves of a t-shirt)

* bonding iron on material

* two brooch pins with back base 

Ready? 

All these flowers are VERY easy to make.

most of the times is just fabric folded in half twice... but keep reading for all the photo-step-by-step tutorials (6 of them!!!)

Start by cutting out the silk fabric just like the picture, (click on the picture for a bigger image) and don't worry about having the perfect cut or shapes, since you'll have to fray the flower at the end, so this project is VERY forgiving!

The kind of silk I'm using is shiny on one side, and matte on the other, I'll be using either side randomly, to give more effect to the corsage.

DIY silly bobbin ring

with a ring base and a glue gun

you can turn anything into a ring in a matter of seconds

...but this one has a bit of a story to tell.

premise:

E. likes to sew. 

{guess who taught her ;) ?}

The bobbin comes from my grand-aunt sewing machine from the 40's.

What I love about these bobbins is that they have written "MADE IN ITALY" on one side.

Besides the fact that the bobbins are old, I loved the made in Italy 

(so unusual nowadays with everything coming from China!!).

So E's birthday was few days ago and the rule in the family is:

- something nice

- something handmade

- something silly

While husband is pretty good on the 'something nice' part, I'm in charge of the something handmade and something silly. (not a surprise, uh?)

This ring is the "something silly". But she loved it!

Quoting: 

"OMG, I love receiving Doni's originals, 

and this is so cool, nobody has anything like that!"

I winded up the bobbin with E's favorite color: LIGHT PURPLE (I used a heavy duty upholstery thread, since it's going to be a decorative item, and the thicker thread looks nicer on the bobbin).

Then left the thread long enough, and pass it with the needle through the bobbin few times, so that the thread wouldn't come un-do (and use a drop of fray-check on the un-winded part of the thread so it won't split)

Pour enough glue around the hole of the bobbin and press it on top of the ring base.

Silly, purple, handmade!

Plus: vintage, unique, and... a conversation piece... 

MISSION ACCOMPLISHED!

xox, d.

DIY easy rope bracelets

these bracelets are easy, fast to make
...and just lovely

I made these with silky satin ropes,
but sure the possibilities are endless:
cords of leather, cotton, jute, and ribbons, beads... and more.

Grab your supplies:

* 3mm satin twisted rope in color of your choice
 (1/2 yard in each color will give you plenty)

* scissors & fabric glue

* flat nose pliers 

*masking tape

* 2 ribbon crimp ends

* 2 jump rings

*1 clasp

I first saw these on Pinterest here. 

The process to make these is pretty straight forward, 

although there are few small tips to make things easier and neater:

* start by pouring a small amount of glue onto the silk ropes (every 6"-  my wrist size), let dry and when you'll cut it, it won't unravel
* lie together as many ropes as the ribbon crimp end can fit in (in this case, 5)
* wrap the flat nose pliers with some masking tape (so the ribs on the pliers won't leave a mark on the crimp ends)
* the ribbon crimp end is really tight compare to the diameter of the ropes
* with the pliers on either side of the ribbon crimp end, split it open
* insert the ropes and squeeze
... join the jump rings and the clasp ... and done!!

xox, d.

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