It's time for a straw hat DIY reveal!
I started with this basic straw hat (this one is from Old Navy!), a pair of white and yellow Martha Stewart paints, and a paintbrush. (Sidenote - as I'm not a paintbrush connoisseur, I just picked the one that looked like it would be the easiest to work with when I was at Joann's! It kind of reminds me of a concealer brush.)
After leaving the beachfront setting in Lembongan, I headed up to Ubud which has quite a different backdrop. Instead of ocean, you've got rice paddies. It's dreamy.
I was lucky enough to be in town for the Balinese New Year called Nyepi, which was the happiest of accidents. The festivities begin with villages creating "ogoh-ogoh" demonic creatures out of paper mache and bamboo, parading them through town, and then burning them at the end of the festivities. People are in the streets singing, dancing, cheering, drinking, and just celebrating.
This ritual is meant to purge the negative elements to bring about a clarity with nature, with God, and with the rest of your fellow neighbors.
After the festivities are complete, comes a day of silence where everyone stays inside and enjoys a day of self-reflection. You're not allowed to use fire (no cooking!), work, travel, and lights have to be kept dimmed. This means every store, restaurant, shop, market, and even the airport is closed and you're not allowed in the streets. Police patrol to make sure everyone is abiding by the rules. For the tourists, we could roam our hotel grounds but were unable to leave. For me, it turned out to be the best day to get in some meditation as well as some crafting!
I set up shop in a little hut right nearby the pool...
...and got painting!
Ubud has such a green and botanical/jungle vibe going on. While I let my hat dry, I explored the grounds in my new favorite Thai pants that wrap and tie at the waist...
...and met new BFFs that I didn't know I had.
After my bit of art therapy (painting is the most therapeutic activity!) was complete, I had a new hat with that extra bit of flair that I was looking for.
I've been seeing daisies everywhere lately and knew that's what I wanted to top my hat with.
There were also similar flowers on site which opened each morning with the sun and closed each night at dusk. (I think they're smaller versions of a water lily, but if anyone knows for sure, I'd love to hear!)
I wore my hat with an easy jeans and T-shirt ensemble to stay as cool as possible...
...and then matched it up with my new daisy leotard (I got this at Forever 21 right before I left) for some daisy on daisy action. Because I was planning to totally Bob Ross those daisies on my hat, I knew this cotton piece would be the perfect complement.
I love the idea of a using fabric paint on a basic piece like this straw hat. It would have looked adorable with some polka dots, stars, stripes, hearts, or arrows too!
Yeah, I just might need to pick up another one for round two!
