DIY: Meat Fabric!

Meat Tablecloth for the win?

Today's DIY project is obviously inspired by Lady Gaga and the iconic "Meat Dress". I am going to the Born This Way Ball Tour in February (DYING WITH EXCITEMENT!) so I have been randomly working on my outfit in preparation for the big day. Today I am going to share with you the technique I used to make my "Meat Fabric" which I made into a t-shirt. I'm also going to include some ideas for other methods that I think will work. You can also use this technique on ready-made shirts etc. or use the fabric to make your own fabric meat dress!

Materials-

-Red garment or fabric (I used a red jersey material)

-Bleach

-Old or very cheap paint brushes

-Spray bottle 

-A bucket of clean water for rinsing

-Long cleaning gloves 

-A tarp, old sheets, or old towels (something you won't mind also getting slightly bleached

I forgot to take a picture of my materials set up before I started….. as well as photograph during. Smart! I know, so sadly we're going to have to just go with an explanation… it's really simple and easy, trust me!

Before I even started using the bleach I put on my long yellow cleaning gloves, you don't really want to cover yourself in bleach! I began by laying out my surface for bleaching outside, it's always a good idea to do any bleaching projects outside as well as on top of a surface. I used a bunch of old and messed up beach towels so the bleach didn't get on the ground and harm any animals or anything. Then I laid down my pre-washed fabric on the "tarp". 

I had already poured some bleach into a spray bottle, as well as into a disposable container for use with brushes. Then randomly spraying, bunching up the fabric a little bit and spray again. Taking the old brushes and smearing the bleach on in tissue and fat-like ways to mimic meat. Then splattering some bleach in the most random places to hopefully achieve a meat-ish appearance. After awhile you have to take a leap of faith and walk away for a few minutes at a time to really let the bleach sit and kind of develop. It was colder the day I did mine so it took a bit longer, bleach seams to react faster in warmth. 

Once your "meat" reaches a state you are happy with grab your fabric and rinse it out in your bucket of clean water. Clean up your supplies and take it to the washing machine. Once dry you get to really see your outcome and final product (or in my case final product of the fabric… not what it has been made into).

I did remember to take one picture of the bleach process!

Meat Tablecloth anybody?

Tag I made for my "MEAT SHIRT"

You could also do the same thing I did with ready made garments, you could go to thrift stores and find red pieces you think would like to try and give it a whirl…. or you can possible try a tie dye method using white fabric or ready-made garment(s) and kind of do the same with spraying and whatnot. Another method I think would probably work is fabric paint, maybe thinning it out a little bit with water and painting the white-ish color tissues and fats onto red fabric? 

After seeing how the fabric came out you probably want to know how my actual "Meat Shirt" came out…… but I am going to save that for an OOTD for my date of the Born This Way Ball!

Now back to my Rhinestoned Dreams,

Zane Walker

For the LOVE of Sweaters!

I personally LOVE the Fall/Winter time! The weather gets colder, the holidays come around, and of course FALL FASHION!

I prefer wearing darker colors, layers, textures galore, and of course.... Sweaters! Here are a few of the sweaters and sweatshirts I am dying for, including some; vintage Betsey Johnson, Jeremy Scott, and of course Givenchy! Just a pinch of some DIY projects I see in the near future, stay tuned!

ARCHIVE DIY: Fashion Inspired Ornaments!

….and Rhinestoned Dreams is back! With another "ARCHIVE DIY" project from the original website, as always the previous DIY posts from there will and are randomly re-posted to the updated version of Rhinestoned Dreams! Yay! Wooo! And applause! Yay! With the Winter Holidays coming I thought this would be the perfect time to post this "ARCHIVE DIY" or …. Fashion Inspired Ornaments! This is a super easy and fun project,  but it can be quite time consuming based on how many beads, rhinestones, and sequins you use!

Materials: 

-Polymer clay (Oven bake clay, Sculpey etc.)

-Paint (optional)

-Embellishments (sequins, beads, glitter, rhinestones, anything really!!) 

-Glue 

-Knife 

-Cutting surface

First think of what you want to make ornaments of. I sketched them down in the shape and size I wanted them to be, I then simply cut them out to use as a template. Now roll out your Sculpey or any oven bake clay. This can be a little difficult, I find rubbing my hands together to heat them up, then kneading the clay works best. Now roll out the clay to your desired thickness.

Lay the templates of your ornaments down on the clay. I chose to make fashion inspired ornaments. In the end I noticed I really only made shoes! With the knife carefully cut out the shape based on the template on your cutting surface. Once the ornaments are cut out you can punch a hole to hang or insert a loop. 

Bake them! Simply bake them, following your clay's directions until they are mostly hardened. Take them out of the oven, they will finish setting up once they are out of the heat. Allow them to cool.

Once they are cooled down we can embellish! You can paint them first, but I decided not to. I chose various beads, sequins, and rhinestones to complete the look I was going for. Embellishing time! Using any type of glue you see fit, I used a rhinestone/sequin glue, begin applying anything and everything. I made two Alexander McQueen Armadillo's, a Noritaka Tatehana Heeless Shoe, a McQ inspired head, and an ornament inspired by the fragrance "Angel" by Thierry Mugler. 

Allow them all to dry, once dry you can hang them and admire your work!

Now back to my Rhinestoned Dreams,

Zane Walker

Random Fashion Inspirations.... thanks to the Internet!

Random AMAZING fashion inspirations found on the internet. Thought you might like to get inspired too....

Now back to my Rhinestoned Dreams,
Zane Walker

And..... We're Back!

After quite some time without any posts Rhinestoned Dreams is returning! Coming back with posts on Wednesday's and Saturday's, Rhinestoned Dreams will now also be posting reviews! That's right fashion and beauty reviews will be posted along with, tutorials, inspiration posts, and tips!

So look forward to a new post THIS Saturday!...... And I actually mean it this time!

Now back to my Rhinestoned Dreams,
Zane Walker

CHANEL: Appreciation & Inspiration

ARCHIVE DIY: Symmetrical Print Shirt

This project is super easy, and it also happens to be SUPER cheap!

MATERIALS: 

-Shirt (color of your choice)

-Dimensional fabric paint (multiple colors of your choice)

Once you have your "dimensional fabric paint" which you can find just about anywhere it's time to find your shirt! I first started with an old black black t-shirt that I NEVER wear. I has the color scheme in mind so I go to making it!

I used fabric paint pens because that is what I found at my local Wal-Mart, so (for me at least) open up the package and pop the seals of the pens you are using right now. I chose blues, pinks, purples, and silver… I was going to use white but actually picked the silver accidentally… still looks great! 

Start to squirt blobs of paint in any type of design but stay on one side of the shirt leaving the other empty. Once you have the colors and designs (or blobs) on half of the shirt it is time to make it symmetrical! Fold the black empty side over onto the side with paint. Take your time, I went too fast and my shirt is a little crooked! Once it is folded in half press the sides together. Go around and press down anywhere you think there is paint… or just everywhere!

Now it is time for the great reveal! Unfold and carefully peel the two sides apart. You should have an amazing and unique symmetrical print on your shirt (or other garment that looks like no other!

I also picked up some "blank bandanas" while at Wal-Mart. They are basically hemmed 22'' squares that you can draw, paint, and embellish! I started to draw on one with fabric markers and fabric pens and haven't got around to finish it but the it already looks amazing worn! So I decided to try to make a symmetrical McQueen inspired print bandana following the same method! Sadly the paint was too thick for the thin bandana and when it dried it became hard to wear.

I also made an apron for my nephew! My mommom says it looks like a frog wearing a dress!

72 hours after applying the paint I washed the pieces following my fabric paint brand's directions, and after many, many, MANY washes later the print is still on and looking good! I hope you all enjoyed this "ARCHIVE DIY", and there will be a NEW DIY next Saturday!

Now back off to my Rhinstoned Dreams,

Zane Walker

ARCHIVE DIY: Galaxy Print Cardigan

Today's "ARCHIVE DIY" post is….

"Galaxy Print Cardigan/Garment of your choice!"

Materials: 

-Dark colored garment (grey cardigan in my case)

-Small bottles of fabric paint in your color choices

-Water

-Sponge paint brushes 

-Area to work on

Set up your workspace and (if you are working on some sort of top) place cardboard or foam board cut to fit between the layers to avoid the bleeding of paint. Start to mix your colors into nice blends varying from dark to light. While blending your colors cut in water to thin out the paint. Thinning out the paint allows you to use less at a time and give you better layering to create "gases" and "cosmos".

Start painting! I ripped the foam piece off of a foam paint brush, this gives you more power over the application. Starting with the dark variation of your first color paint it onto the garment kind of patchy and messy. Now go into the next variation of the color, a little lighter. Do the same over the dark spot just painted but apply it so you can still see through to the darker parts. Do this with your varying lighter shades until you have create this pieces of your galaxy garment.

Once you have done this in the areas wanted using varying colors and shades it's time for the stars. I used both a pencil and a plastic bristle paint brush to make the stars. You can use white and yellow straight from the bottle or cut with water, depending on your preferences. At first I dabbed the pencil in white and made dots throughout the designs, but I found it took too long and looked a bit artificial. So I dabbed my plastic bristle paint brush in the white and kind of flung it over and at the garment. This gives it a randomized dot and splatter that looks like natural stars. You can repeat this with a yellow or gold color for varying stars.

Once you are done painting allow to dry. Following your fabric paint brands instruction for washing. I used Tulip which states wait 72 hours before washing inside out. I did so and all of the paint stayed put and the final product looks amazing, if I say so myself! 

I hope this helps you make your own Galaxy Print Garment, I am going to make a galaxy print bandana (using blank bandanas), and maybe a pair of old shoes! I bought the smallest bottles of fabric paint they had at the store and still used less than half to make a full-bleed galaxy print cardigan!

I also made a mini tote bag for my nephew!

Now back off to my Rhinestoned Dreams,

Zane Walker

DIY: Embellished Collar Necklace

I'm sure you've all seen all of the amazing embellished collars and collar necklace pieces on the runways this past year… Well I also happened to long after many of those pieces, so I DIYed an embellished collar necklace!

Materials-

-Faux leather 

-Various beads

-Various rhinestones and faux pearls

-Any other embellishments you might want to use

-Beading wire

-E-6000

-Jewelry finishings (key rings, large jewelry connectors, jewelry connectors, lobster clasps, chain, etc…)

I began by folding a piece of paper in half and drawing a peter pan collar shape. Then I cut it out and tried on the paper version in front of a mirror. Once I was pleased with the shape and sizing (this took a few different versions) it was time to trace the template onto the back of faux leather. And cut…

Time to play! Play around with all of your embellishments, beads, buttons, rhinestones, faux pearls, etc. etc. Once you find out a placement begin stringing beads on wire (that is if you are using beads) and glueing it all down using the most amazing and SUPER strong E-600… Make sure to use in a well ventilated area!

Continue playing around with more embellishments once you have your base design. Each time I found a placement I kind of liked I took a picture for reference and tried another until I found what I liked best.

I finished off the collar with these mini black rhinestones I had lying around… sadly I used up all the ones I found. 

Next cutting off any excess fabric and trying on just to get an idea of your finished product. Then I finished off the ends of the wire used on the beads on the edges and reused some old key rings I had lying around as a large connector to the chains. I then connected a chain to each of the rings and attached a lobster clasp to the end of the shorter chain. And just like that I gained a new embellished collar necklace! 

Now back to my Rhinestoned Dreams,

Zane Walker