Let's get creative!

I'm back! Summer is in full swing here and the temperatures are rising. I'm not a person that handles heat well so I live in shorts and tank tops in the summer unless I'm working or it's below 65, then I throw on a t-shirt. I don't like to wear the same tanks all the time and like to layer something light over them occasionally, so I change it up.

How do I change it up, you might ask? I either get another tank top that needs a layer under it (such as a sheer one or a baggy, low-cut one) or a take a pair of scissors to an old shirt.

I've been on Pinterest for a couple of years now and have seen many awesome ideas to spice up or change up a shirt, but hadn't actually tried any of the ideas that I had found for several months. I tried this one out first, but I didn't buy a large enough shirt so it was more of a crop top. My second one I just made a mess of. I didn't follow any pattern or direction and cut the neck line way too low. I've only ever worn it to sleep in because it came out that bad. My third one, I only cut slashes in the sides to open it up a little. The first three I made in the same day and tried another technique on them that I found in Pinterest.

I tried spray painting the shirts instead of tie dying them. The designs came out pretty cool, especially because I didn't use white shirts. Using spray paint is quicker and easier than using tie dye, but it definitely needs to be done outside or in another well ventilated area. I spread one shirt at a time out on newspaper on the deck at my mom's house, scrunched up the shirt in random places, and sprayed the paint. I was wearing gloves while doing this in case I touched the paint while it was still wet. Once that color was dry, I scrunched it up in other places and sprayed another color. I repeated the process until I was satisfied with the product. Spray paint can also be used to paint around a stencil. A shirt that has been spray painted can be washed and worn normally with minimal fading and the shirt is not stiff as it would be if fabric or craft paint was on it.

I made this tank for my best friend for her birthday last year and spray painted it as well. It was pretty simple and didn't require any sewing. The next shirt that I made was using this pattern, but I used fabric paint on it and it's very crazy looking. I have yet to wear it, but I probably should. That same day, I took the shirt that I got (for free!) at UMF's 2013 Spring Fling and hacked it up. Well, I didn't really hack it up. I cut up the sides, cut the hems off the sleeves, and widened up the neckline.

The next round of shirts I did a couple of weeks ago. The first one is a Beatles tee that I picked up at a local thrift store for $4 and started life looking like this:

and ended up like this:

 Pinterest led me to this tutorial on weaving a shirt and it looked easy enough. It is very easy. The only differences are that I didn't start cutting at the very top and go all the way to the bottom and I weaved another row into the back of the shirt. No the bottom layer is not attached, I just put a tank top on the hanger underneath the shirt so the pattern would be more visible.

I used this same concept on a different shirt, but I did it on the sides instead of the back. Here's the beginning (front and back):

and the ending (only one side because I didn't feel like taking a picture of the other side):

The third shirt that I cut started out life as a distressed men's shirt with Captain America's shield on it. I didn't follow a pattern with this one either. I just cut the neckline, the bottom hem, and the sleeves. Here's the end result:

I cut enough material so that the splits in the sides reach my waist. At least now I will feel super awesome while running and I can say "on your left" to anyone I encounter (sorry, that's a Captain America: The Winter Soldier reference). I wore this to a concert last week and someone had a mini freak out because they were wearing a Captain America shirt and someone else was too (me). Today I wore it running for the first time and I really liked wearing it except there was a bit of a breeze and it kept blowing my shirt over to the side.

I tie dyed some shirts too, but I don't feel like taking pictures of them right now because I'm not sure if I'm done with them yet or not.

Lately I've been working on a birthday present for my best friend. I've gotten a lot of work done on it over the last week because I'm on vacation until Wednesday and I can bring everything out into the living room or kitchen to work during the day. You see, we're roommates and she usually doesn't get back from work until shortly before 6 in the evening. Her birthday isn't until the 30th of this month so I have plenty of time to finish her gift. 

Yesterday I told her that I was using a hot glue gun and she started to get annoyed with me because she knew it was for her present and I wouldn't tell her what I was doing. If she had waited two more seconds for me to tell her that I managed to only get glue on myself three times she would have been impressed rather than annoyed (she did let me finish my tale after she expressed her annoyance and this is a feat for me because I have a tendency of accidentally hurting myself when I'm using something sharp or hot).

I also told her that she would need her phone and she gave me a very untrusting look. I should mention that I have a tendency to wrap presents and gifts in layers upon layers upon layers or tape (scotch, electrical, and duct), newspaper, wrapping paper, boxes, and gift bags. I also once gave her a sock monkey that our friend and I had glued yarn to in order for it to look like a clown (because she is afraid of sock monkeys and clowns). I had to pinky promise her that she would like it and it would not kill her (because that shit is legit).

Don'y worry folks, I will post her reaction to her gift after her birthday.

Stay shiny!