BFI Disney Diaries: Outfit of the Day

Disneyland (as I have probably mentioned before) is one of my favorite places and deserves it's own special wardrobe. Here's what I wore today to Disneyland.  

Apparel Breakdown

• Black Levi Strauss denim pants (Kohl's) $30
• Forever 21 Disney sweater $24
• Diesel leather belt (thrift store) $10
• Vintage Military boots (thrift store) $3
• Disney Mickey ears $14
• Skull bracelet (street fair) $5
• Buffalo leather wrist wrap (street fair) $5     

Final Tally= $91.00

Bloody Valentine Heart Tutorial

 

So as I'm sure most of you are aware, it's once again that time of the year to remember that you have been completely single on the 14th of February for the last 3 years.....celebrate the love between yourself and your significant other.

YES, Valentine's day is coming up in just a few short days.  If you're like me and you can't really get into the gushy, sappy-love stuff, here's a little anti-Valentine for people who live in the real world-type Valentine's day project. 

This simple DIY project could make a great Valentine's day gift for the hip man or woman in your life.

...I mean, how many boxes of chocolate can one person eat anyway? 

(answer: if they are like me, as many as they are given)

umm....Let's do this!

So here's what you'll need:

Step 1:
Start with a white shirt. Be sure that your shirt is 100% cotton or a high cotton blend to ensure the brightest, most vibrant colors.

Using a black Tulip fabric marker from iLovetoCreate, draw an anatomical heart onto the front of your shirt.

Step 2:

Outline the top half of the heart with Tulip's Tie-Dye Resist.  This will aid in preventing the dye from spreading outside the line. Because the resist is clear, you may want to go over the outline 2 or 3 times just to ensure that you don't miss any spots ( like I did ).  

 

Step 3:

Next, mix together your Tulip One Step Dye.  To achieve the desired crimson color, I mixd red with a bit of black and purple dye. Then in a separate bottle, I created a slightly darker shade to add some dimension to the heart.  Once the colors are all mixed together, spray your heart with some water. Try and keep the water within the lines of your heart where you added the resist. On the lower half of your heart, where you didn't add resist,  you may be more liberal with the water because we want the dye to "bleed" in that area.  

Now using your paintbrush, paint in your heart with the dye then shade with darker color.

Step 4:
Using a finer tipped paint brush, add "blood drips" to the bottom of your heart. For best result on the drips, paint onto DRY fabric. This will ensure that the drips remain crisp and don't spread.
Lastly, let your shirt dry for about 5 hours or overnight so that your colors remain vibrant for many washes.

The final product

DIY Ombré Painted Jeans

When I had the chance to head up north and visit iLovetoCreate's HQ in Northern Cali with Maya in the Moment, I knew I'd have markers and paint and glitter and beads and tie dye at my fingertips.

You know I had to do a lil somethin' somethin'. 

I had pair of these white jeans I bought from H&M that looked so plain and sad and whatnot. I had to give it some life with a little ombré.
Check out my ombré tutorial:Make sure you follow @Boifromipanema and @iLovetoCreate on Twitter Instagram and Tumblr!

DIY Stenciled Frida Kahlo Tank

So lately, I have been on a big tank top kick.

 Being that I live in "sunny SoCal" the temperature is still in the 80's and 90's well into the beginning of October. 

Meaning??

Summer is still in full throttle mode.  

...le sigh....when will it be scarf, boot, hot cider weather yo?!!

I figured that the opportunity was still ripe and ready for just one more Summa-time Shenanigan post. Just to really seal up the deal. Although you can use this method on any fabric surface of your choice,  I decided to create a stencil of the beloved Frida Kahlo on a tank using DecoArt's SoSoft acrylic fabric paint.

Um, bewbs.

Frida was so butch.

Step 1: I started by printing out a few images of La Friducha that I liked from the interwebz. I was partial to these two, for obvious reasons. I found a really cool tutorial by Kathy, The Crafty Chica on how to cut graffiti-styled stencils which you can peep below.

Step 2: Make the stencil. I didn't have that cool little knife that Kathy had in her video, so I used a #11 X-acto blade. Try not to cut, stab, or dismember yourself like I always seem to do.

My stencil in progress.

All cut out and ready for some paint.

Kathy used spray paint, but I decided to apply the SoSoft fabric paint with stippling brushes.

Making sure the paint goes on nice and smooth.

SoSoft fabric Paints by DecoArt.

I can't rave enough about DecoArt's SoSoft fabric paint. The stuff is hashtag totes amaze. Since it comes in so many colors as well as glitter colors, I decided to make a few tanks for the ladies. Yeh, that's right, I said it...for the ladies. ;)

Step 3: Final step...bask in your the glory of your handiwork. My tanks came out bad ass, just like Frida herself.

Even the stencils turned out pretty dope at the end. I think I may frame these bad boys.

And there you have it, your own stenciled Frida Kahlo tank. Go forth and embrace your inner bad ass.

DIY Graphic Tee with SoSoft Fabric Acrylics from DecoArt

Have you ever been out shopping, when you see an article of clothing that makes you say, "I could totally do that myself"?

Well, that's me....most of the time.

One thing I've seen everywhere are hand-painted graphic shirts. The simple designs and sleek lines really make for an interesting piece.
So instead of just thinking hey I can do that--I actually decided to do it!

___________________

Let me show you how you can create your own cool, modern graphic tee so you can rock it out for the last days of summer and into the fall!

Step 1: Stretch the shirt over the cardboard so that you have a smooth, taut surface to work with. 100% cotton is always the best choice. And remember, if you choose a dark colored tee, the colors you choose may not show up as brightly as you'd like. I decided to stick with white.

That black stuff was a previous design I did with black that stuck to the cardboard backing.

Step 2: Choose a quality fabric paint in varying colors.  I have a set of RAD fabric paints from the cool people at DecoArt. Their SoSoft Fabric Acrylics paint line is the bomb dizzle. A lot of paints claim to be made for fabric, but end up feeling hard and thick once they dry. Nobody wants crunchy paint on their clothes. The SoSoft paints really do feel so...soft.....yeah. Just like the name implies.

look at all the pretty colorssssssssss

I even got a few bottle of the fine glitter finish.

Step 3: This next step is when you can really flex your creative muscle. Choose your color palette. You can then paint a design you may already have, you can incorporate a stencil, you can use a brush to give it a painterly effect or you can use your fingers. I decided to use a silkscreen technique of "squeegeeing" the paint onto the tee.

I choose these four colors.

I placed four very generous blobs of the fabric paint on my tee. It's okay if they touch. You decide where you want them on  your tee. I chose right under my v-neck tee so it could be positioned on my chest.

Here is where the squeegee comes in. I used a thick piece of watercolor paper folded in half as my squeegee, but you could also use a plastic one from a hardware store. Press down on the paint and with a fluid motion, spread the paint in the direction of your choosing, once, using even pressure.

I like how the paint faded toward the bottom of the design. And the tee is super soft and so is the painted design. Simple and modern and most of all, SUPER COMFORTABLE!!!

I really dig the abstract vibe of the design. I'll definitely be making more of these! 

DIY Studded Men's Gladiator Sandals

It's time for another installment of Summa-time Shenanigans, yo.

Anyone who knows me knows that I have an unhealthy obsession  extreme love for boots. Military boots, riding boots...pretty much any boot possible. I legitimately own enough boots to wear a different pair every day of the week.


However, it's summer and conventional wisdom says it's far too hot to wear boots.

Can you imagine trekking through the sand with your cooler, towels, surfboard, girlfriends beach bag (A.K.A triple sized purse) and a shopping bag full of Capri Suns and Salsa Verde Doritos while trying to INSTAGRAM [@boifromipanema] and live tweet your beach trip on TWITTER [@boifromipanema] ...IN COMBAT BOOTS? Not so fun, or practical for that matter.

You see what I did there?

So my obsession for the last two summers has been the studded Givenchy Gladiator Sandals for men by Riccardo Tisci. They are really comfortable and safer than flip flops and they look soo cool. D&G also came out with a line of sandals, some styles even come in mid-calf straps!

CRAY CRAY.

Now if you are like me and you can't afford to drop a minor fortune to invest in the Maison de Givenchy, ALDO sells some great sandals for men that are relatively inexpensive and with a little TLC and elbow grease, you can achieve a similar effect to the $600.00 counterparts.

I started off with these men's gladiator sandals from Aldo.

I then purchased a pack of 100 pyramid studs off Ebay for $3.00 (there are tons of sellers offering metal studs on Ebay).

With a bit of planning, I mapped out where I wanted the studs to go. Then, using a rubber hammer, I pounded the studs through and bent the sharp prongs back with a screw driver.

Once all of the prongs were flush with the leather, I polished up the studs and I was done. Super simple and the effect turned out pretty dope. DIY studded gladiator sandals and all for under $100!

DIY Wave-Inspired Tie Dye Tank

While surfing last week, I was knocked off my board by a huge wave and while under water I opened my eyes in time to see the beautifully rad swirls of sand and color being stirred up by the force of the crashing water. I was inspired to create a cool tank that is as bold and flowing as the waves themselves as part of my Summa-time Shenanigans series. I can help you create your own Wave-Inspired Tie Dye Tank in five easy steps!  

What you'll need:

 

I used Tulip's One Step Dye from iLovetoCreate in black and teal. The dye comes included with rubber bands and with a pair of gloves which, trust me, you are going to need. Seriously... unless you like zombie-looking fingers, then by all means omit the gloves...I guess.

Do yourself a favor and choose a white t-shirt that is 100% cotton. Anything less will produce less than stellar results and  you want stellar results, right?  I grabbed a tee in a few sizes larger than I normally wear to give it that easy, bohemian look. Then I used an old tank I had as a template. Oh, be sure to cover your work surface with a plastic cover as the dye is...well, dye and dye may dye your surface.  

So yeh....

Step One:

Turn your white tee inside out so you don't see your tracing marks after you draw your template with the marker.

Cut with a pair of sharp scissors. Make sure your lines aren't jacked up.

Step Two:

Using your spray bottle generously spray your tank until the fabric is thoroughly soaked all the way trough. Then pinch the fabric in the middle of the tank and twist until the tank has spiraled into a small tight bundle thinggy, as shown in the pic below. Aren't I so very descriptive!?

Bravo private school education... bravo  -_-

For sharper lines and more crisp color separation, you can secure your bundle "thinggy" with the rubber bands but this part is completely optional.

Step Three:

Next, add water to your Tulip dye bottles (which conveniently come with the dye powder already pre-measured inside the bottle) and shake until the powered dye is completely mixed, then simply add the colors to the fabric in an alternating spiral pattern. Go crazy. Alternate your colors, have fun--it doesn't have to be perfect. 

Step Four:

 Once you've thoroughly added the colors to the tank in the desired places, wrap it in plastic like a ninja and let the tank sit and absorb the dyes for at least 6 hours or overnight. This ensures that your fabric will retain as much dye as possible.

Step Five: 

When the resting time has finished, follow washing instructions as directed on Tulip dye box, dry and...VOILA!!