DIY Tshirt Scarves

If you know me at all, you know I have a scarf fetish. And today, while looking on Pinterest for some interesting new scarf tying ideas, I came across a bunch of DIY t-shirt-to-scarf ideas. So since fall is upon us, I decided to try one out for myself. I read a bunch of different articles on the topic, and here is what worked the best for me!

What you will need: 

Plain Tshirt (The bigger the shirt, the longer the scarf, keep that in mind!)
Scissors
Hands!

Step One:

Lay out your t-shirt and decide on how thick you are going to cut your stripes. You could cut them very small, for a more stringy scarf, or you could go thicker, for more substance. I'm going to be doing some of both, for a mixture of textures. The shirt I used for this scarf was 100% cotton, but don't be afraid to use sheer or silky fabric, be adventurous!

 I cut the edges rough on purpose, but you can use a ruler and cut them perfect if that's what you're looking for. (The sun was actually shining today, sorry about the lighting!) Make sure to leave the cut strips in a circle, because that is the point of an infinity scarf!

 Step Two: 

The best part of this scarf was that there was no sewing required! Just twisting and knotting. So basically, if you have hands and know how to tie your shoes, you'll be good to go! For this step, start by tying some of pieces together at what will become the back of your scarf. You don't have to tie them all together, but it'll make it more durable if you do.
TIP: If you tie the circle stripes at different lengths, it gives the scarf a fuller look, so try some different stuff out until you like the way it is laying.

 Step Three:

Make sure to keep one of your strips aside until this point. To cover the knotted part where all the pieces are tied together (as seen above) use one of the stripes to cover it,  this not only hides your knots, but it gives it another unique touch. You could also decorate this piece using lace, buttons, or a different coloured fabric. After you're done wrapping, just tuck the end in (sort of like wrapping a twisted ankle).

And you're done!

Thank for reading, and good luck with your scarf making! Happy Autumn everyone!

Much love,

Sierra

Stuck in the Moment - Concept Photography

Before you read any of this and think that I'm incredibly creative because of this, don't! This idea was inspired by Dear Photograph, and not my own idea. I take no credit for the concept, But I take full credit for the pictures taken. That being said, please read on!

  Today I decided to do my own 'Dear Photographs" My mom is a photographer, so shortage of photos is not a problem in my house. After looking through multiple photo albums, and picking my favourite photos from around my house, I went outside to do some shooting. The idea of 'Dear Photograph' is to find memory filled photos from long ago, and to bring them to the exact location of where they were taken, years and years before. The result is something amazingly nostalgic and beautiful.

See, the special thing about photography is represented perfect for me in this project. Memories caught on film never, ever change. The same smile you had on your face the first time you went to the fair, the bloody knees from falling off your two-wheeled bike, your childhood friends that had long moved away, they are all saved in print. No matter how much the world around us changes, whether it be deaths or disaster, photos will alway be able to bring us back to the exact moment when we were so incredibly happy. This thought is what inspires me to be a photographer, knowing that I can capture moments for people, and save those memories for the future them to look back on. Just thinking that I have the power to do that for someone makes me giddy. Remembering moments in time is so special. No matter how long ago, or how far away it may have happened, the moments can be brought back with a single glimpse of a photo. 

Words cannot express how passionate I am about this. I encourage you to go out and make memories! Document these memories and put them in a book. Share your experiences with others. Make yourself as happy as the people in the photos are from years ago. Never forget even the little things in life. Those are the things that make us who we are. 

Have a wonderful week everyone!

Sierra Nickel

DIY Perfectly Pressed Petals

Today I decided to press some flowers! My backyard is full of all different leaves and flowers to pick, so it was a good place to start. The surprise of taking the flowers out of the press reminds me of my childhood, and pressing petals and leaves with my Grandma. Here is a step-by-step guide in pressing your own flowers.

1. Get yourself a flower press! This certain one alternates cardboard and parchment paper. But don't worry if you don't have one, because you could also use a large book (dictionary, encyclopedia, Bible etc.) but I would suggest placing the flowers on white paper before pressing, so that you don't wreck the book with the pollen stains from the flowers.

2. Place your flowers around the page. You can fill it up as much as you like, or place one flower on each page, whatever you like! Try and find flowers that are at flat as possible, if it has a really long steam, make sure to cut it off. I flattened all the flowers with my hands before laying them down.

 

3. I always place my flowers face down, so I can get an idea of how the petals are going to press, and so I can make sure the petals are not overlapping (unless you want them too!)

4. The flowers should be finished pressing within 2-3 days, depending on the type of flower. I'll post a follow up DIY for what I am going to do with the petals once they are nicely flattened and dried. Stay tuned! 

-Sierra

Bamboo Capture

Wow! I haven't written on here for ages it's seemed. Nothing in my life is exciting enough to blog about these days, but I did receive a wonderful Bamboo Capture for my birthday, so maybe I'll talk about that for anyone who is interested.
For those of you who have no idea what I'm talking about, click here for the actual website.

This little guy makes photo editing a breeze! It's much easier to edit photos with the pen versus a mouse or the finger pad on my laptop. It takes a bit of time getting used to the pressure sensitivity, and the best way to hold the pen, but after a few hours of experimenting it got very easy to control. The tablet also comes with SketchBook (Express version), so if you're into digital sketching and drawing, this would be perfect for you! It has many different brush, pen and pencil effects, and the pressure sensitivity on the pad make it pretty close to the actual thing.

So obvisouly showing you pictures of what I editing with the pad wont do much, but I was also experimenting with writing quotes on photos (all them hipster blog are doing it, I hear) and I would forever hate myself if I actually drew sharpie on my prints, so this was a lovely alternative! Here is some I rather enjoyed:

Hope you are all having a lovely August!

Much love, Sierra

DIY Ombre Jean Shirt

Hey guys! So the weather was beautiful today, and it got me feeling creative. I've seen many DIY's like this, so I decided to try it out, and see what worked best for me. I took pictures of the process, and I'll give you a step by step on how I did it, if you keep reading!

Things You Will Need: 

-Regular bleach (Javex, Clorox etc.)
-A jean shirt/vest
-A bucket
-Water
-An elastic, to mark where you want the bleach to go up too
-Rubber gloves

Also! Just in case the bleach splashes around, you might want to wear older clothes you dont mind wrecking.

Step 1: Get yourself into a well ventilated area (you definitely don't want to be breathing this stuff in!), I chose to do it outside. Start out by pouring your bleach into your tub/bucket of choice. The ratio is about 1:1, water to bleach. You can use smaller ratios of water, or even 100% bleach, but you will have less control of the result the less water you add (adding water basically just slows down the process).

Step 2: Tie off (using the elastic) how high up you want the bleach to go. I chose to go up to about half way. Submerge the ends straight away, slowing working your way up to the elastic. Move the fabric around (with gloves!) in the bleach in order to get at every piece. 

Step 3: Slowly work your way up to the elastic, in order to make the bottom fade nicely to the top colour. Keep the shirt submerged in the bleach for as long as you want, until the colour is what you desire. It's super easy to see how light the fabric is getting, which allows you to pull it out whenever you want to.

Step 4: Ta-da! Once the colour is to your liking, take it out! Rinse off the initial bleach that is still soaked into the shirt (since I was outside, I used the hose, which made it really easy). The shirt will still smell like bleach at this point, and it may still have some soaked inside it. Be really careful the first time you wash the article of clothing in the washing machine, because it could very well run into other clothes! 

I hope you found this insightful and inspiring! It's really the easiest thing to do, and it give your clothes a whole new look about them. Leave a comment below if you have any tips you think I should add, or anything you have to say about this DIY. Thanks for reading, and happy bleaching!

-Sierra