DIY: Girls' Lizard T-Shirt

I'm a big ole fan of Girls and since the season finale was on HBO last night, I felt inclined to make something to tie into it. For those of you super-Girls fans, head on over  here to HelloGiggles for the entire TV rundown. I kind of freaked out when I saw today’s remake on the fifth episode of this season. Lena Dunham in a crop top covered with little plastic lizards? Sign. Me. Up. Seriously. The original shirt is by Toy Syndrome and I couldn't wait to make my own version!

This is something that can easily be done with a white shirt that’s already in your collection (or your boyfriend or girlfriend or roomie’s) or a basic Hanes tee from Amazon!

Here’s a rundown of the supplies you’ll need:

1. Fabric Dye in tan

2. Plastic lizards (these are from Party City!?! Grab some plates and balloons while snagging a package of these guys!)

3. Lime green thread and a needle

4. White t-shirt (I have a stash of basic Hanes tees that I wear all the time)

I began with my plain white tee and set up a dye bath on the stove. I boiled water, added tan dye to the pot, and turned off the flame. I dipped my already wet tee into the dye bath (wetting it in advance helps evenly distribute the dye), and submerged the tee completely in the pot for about 30 minutes to absorb the color.

Once the tee was dry, it was time to place my reptile friends! I found thread in the same lime green shade of the lizards, made pencil mark placeholders in the areas to match the placement of the lizards on Lena Dunham’s shirt, and began to stitch the lizards to the shirt.

Three rows of five lizards had to be completed to match the original piece.

And after some quick hand stitching, the lizards were all attached.

To match the crop style of the shirt, a quick cut along the bottom of tee was all that was needed to complete the replica.

Straight from the small screen, my new crop top is ready to wear.

I feel just like Lena Dunham.

And it's a piece that is so easy to DIY.

Because of the hand stitching, this is something that would just be heading to my sink for some hand washing. Woolite City, USA!

I feel like I should be in Florida with this shirt on!! (Oh the lizards...)

DIY: Revenge Infinity Box

Because I'm obsessed with Revenge (well less obsessed now than I was first season, but I'm invested so I still watch) I was super excited to craft what might be the most important piece from the show. For those fans, you know what I'm talking about - Emily Thorne’s all-important infinity box that holds all her revengeful secrets. (For those Revenge obsessed, you can head over here to HelloGiggles to read the post with the full TV tie in! For those non-fans, we're going to get to some woodworking for the very first time!!

Here’s a rundown of the supplies you’ll need:

1. Wood soldering kit (The Darice kit I used is a steal at $14!)

2. Wooden box (I used a 8-1/4 x 5-5/8 chest)

3. Wood stain (I went with a lovely Golden Pecan shade)

I started off by looking online for an infinity symbol template that matched the one from the actual box.

Once I found my template, I printed it out and tested out the location on the top of the box.

Next I trimmed the template to make it easy to trace on the top of the box…

…and then prepped my wood burning tool by finding the right tip, screwing it in, and putting it on the stand that it came with.

(*Be SUPER careful with this puppy because it’s hot. Like 900 degrees Celsius hot in certain areas. I burned my finger and immediately doused it with apple cider vinegar to minimize the after effects. So far, so non-blistery good.)

I plugged in the tool and started tracing the lines on the wood with the tip. It's really amazing how quickly the wood burns!

After tracing my lines, the box turned out looking like this...

This is a fine spot to end, however I wanted a pretty lacquered finish, so I coated the box with a layer of the Golden Pecan stain.

A paintbrush or cloth will do the trick and just make sure to wipe the excess stain off when you're finished, if there is any.

I let the box dry for a few hours...

...and then was ready to use!!

Pretty successful for my first attempt! With one project under my belt, I'm looking forward to keeping this up, sans any injuries! Pretty cute lookalike, eh?

Have any of you worked with this kind of tool or with wood in general? Would love to hear your thoughts on what kinds of projects you've done or what has been successful!

Copycat: Tommy Hilfiger Belt Print Skirt

Today's project comes about after finding a tear sheet tucked away of Tommy Hilfiger's fall 2012 collection!

I was always so drawn to the fabulous belt print of these pieces...

...that I wanted to create my own version!  This town and country vibe had to come to life and I finally had the pieces to make this myself!  Time to DIY!

I started with a thrifted skirt...

...and then paired it with the most fabulous belt/chain/charm print from an old scarf.  The puzzle pieces are complete!

To make this work, I used some fusible webbing and ironed it to the back (wrong side) of the scarf material.

Once the backing was attached, I trimmed around the outlines of the belts, chains, and cording...

...to make individual little strips to attach to the skirt.

I peeled the backing off of the strips and placed them onto the skirt.

Once they were in place, I ironed them down, using a damp piece of cotton in-between the iron and the fabric.

Post-ironing, my skirt was complete!

I paired my belted/chained/charmed skirt with a vintage golden blouse, Calvin Klein heels, and a Trina Turk clutch to complete the look!

This project couldn't be easier!

I love taking something from the runway and bringing it to life!

All in all, old skirt + old scarf = new Tommy Hilfiger lookalike!

DIY Tommy Hilfiger silk belt print skirt, success!