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

ARCHIVE DIY: Alexander McQueen Inspired Shirt

This is the first "Archive" post, which simply means it is a post from the original (previous) website for Rhinestoned Dreams. Every now and then I will post one of these previously unreleased (to this website) DIY's… enjoy!

MATERIALS: 

-T-shirt of garment (color of you choice, I chose white!), 

-Fabric spray paint (I used Tulip brand but any should work), 

-Poster board/stencil sheet, tape (depending on poster board or not), 

-Foam board or cardboard, 

-Trash bags, and patience! 

The first thing you are going to want to do is sketch or draw out you design or idea. If you are making a shirt you can draw a simple t-shirt, and if you are making something like a dress or jacket simply draw out the basic shape and design of the garment! Design away! I made an Alexander McQueen inspired shirt for my trip to New York and the MET for the Alexander McQueen: Savage Beauty exhibit!

Once you have a clear idea of what you want to do it's time to start sketch the stencils. Unless you have pre-made stencil you purchased or already made your own! I made a full Union Jack that was really a full bleed application! On mine it goes from the collar to hem, all the way around the shirt, and the sleeves! This made my specific design and shirt rather expensive because I wanted it to also have full bold coverage! As long as your design isn't too intricate it shouldn't take you too long and it should stay inexpensive!

You want to sketch out your design on poster board or stencil sheet(s), if you don't mind occasional bleeding and messiness go for the poster board it gave mine a real DIY look! But if you want straight clean lines I would go for the stencil sheets because you can cut them into your own and most of them have adhesive backs! 

Now that you have your stencils drawn it's time to cut all of them out! For me it took awhile because I wanted things like fonts to come out the best they could! I used and suggest an x-acto blade for cutting out the pieces with a little help from scissors, and a ruler close-by for any straight edges!

It's time to prep your shirt, make sure you follow the directions for your specific brand of fabric spray paint! Insert a pieces or foam board or cardboard cut to fit your garment so the paint does not bleed through to the other side! I used an old sheet and a trash bag I cut open as a workspace on my carpet floor for protection from over-spray! Apply your stencils and spray! 

For the brand I used (Tulip) I allowed the layer to almost (if not all the way) completely dry before spraying another coat. It's easier to apply multiple light coats to achieve full coverage and boldness! Allow to completely dry before removing the stencil and applying the next (especially if the next stencil overlaps the area recently sprayed!). Spray your stencil pieces one by one!

TIPS!: 

1. I happened to mess up when spray part of the Union Jack on my shirt and had to spray ever the mistake with multiple coats of white in the correct area, then other colors etc. got sprayed over it…. everything sprayed on top of the white came off so I recommend being smart and thinking before placing stencils in the wrong area as well as not spraying over a heavy application of the white fabric spay paint! Other colors sprayed nicely over each other just not over the white in a thick application!

2. Really follow your manufacturers instructions on when and how to wash you don't want to destroy all the work and design you put into it!

3. Take your time and think out the design and make sure you have correct placement before spraying!

4. Be creative, make it your own! You were Born This Way!

5. Have an artistic friend come over to help with the stencils! Mine was able to help with pieces I couldn't get to look right! It may also help if they are an aspiring architect! lol

Now back to my Rhinestoned Dreams,

Zane Walker

The Perfection that is Plato's Atlantis

A post-apocalyptic water world where humans have adapted back into the sea… Plato's Atlantis….

One of my all time favorite collections and reason for my OBSESSION with Alexander McQueen, Plato's Atlantis the 2010 Spring/Summer Collection that has inspired me so.

In the future I plan on making a very difficult DIY pair of Armadillo shoes from the collection… Until then we can drool over the perfection that is Plato's Atlantis…

Now back off to my Rhinestoned Dreams,

Zane Walker