Remake: Tan Ankle Boots

I've been wearing this pair of tan booties for a few years now. We've been really good pals, but they've just been getting dirtier and dirtier and dirtier.

Here's the thing - I got them on super sale from Cotton On. I'm talking like $10 on sale, ya feel?!

So having to pass them along isn't the worst of times knowing they weren't an investment piece of any kind. However I broke them in to perfection.

And that's the part that I don't want to move on from!!

I know I can do it, but I just can't right now ;) SO, that's when I thought I could make them really fab one more time! Hello dye!

I thought that Rit's Evening Blue would be just the color to hide "Dirty Tan" (self named!)

I grabbed a foam brush and created a dye bath with boiling water and a few tablespoons of dye. (I used a plastic cup to dip!)

It was amazing to see how the shoes were taking to the dye! They're not leather, but just a textured cotton, so the dye absorption was on point!

After a few more coats, we were good to go!

I LOVE that the dye hides all the dirt now! So sneaky, yet SO good.

Magic hour + new boots = a v happy Marisa!

But I don't think we're done just yet...the wheels started turning to come up with another DIY on top of this DIY. Yeah, it's like Inception, but just go with it for the time being. 😂

Stay tuned!

Remake: Ice Dyed Top

I love to dye. We all know this! But, today's piece is getting dyed in a way that I've never tried before! (Cue the super excited feels rn.)

I had an ivory silk top that was going to be perfect for today's DIY.

I love the fluttery neck, but this color isn't the best with my skintone.

I couldn't wait to give this top a makeover!

I said this top was getting dyed in a brand new way I've never tried before...I'm ICE DYEING, using powder dye!

I picked my colors and then set up my dye station. Because I've never done this before, I wanted to make sure I wasn't going to stain everything. (**not an overstatement - I'm totally clumsy!)

I lined an old pan with a garbage bag to catch all the water and added a pantry shelf I snagged at the Container Store (Amazon has a bunch of options too!) to keep the top out of the pool of water that'll form after it melts. ❄️

I love the DIY setup! I took the top and wet it completely - this is just typical fare for dyeing. Always saturate your piece with water to make the dye work evenly!

Next came the ice!

I drizzled the powder dye all over the ice next and just waited for the cubes to melt!

Eeeeeeee! It's so close!

 (It actually took longer to melt than I had planned, which might have worked out for the best in regard to color saturation.)

How cool did this turn out?? 

I'm obsessed with ice dyeing and can't wait to test it out again!

The outfit was perfect for low-key dinner when paired with my favorite grey sweater coat and my thrifted Halston boots! I also paired it with this ivory vintage clutch that's currently in the NDAD shop!

The ivory helped make the fall colors pop!

For my first go at ice dyeing, it was a total success! I love the pattern ❤️.

DIY: Tie Dye Embellished Sweatshirt (á la Beyonce)

OK, I'm part of the Bey-hive.

Amazing Bey art by GNODPop

I love me some Beyonce. 🐝🐝🐝 I got a little inspired when I was in Paris over the summer and was peeping all of Queen Bey's Formation posters littered across the city promoting the tour.

I said to myself, I want to slay too!! So, a Beyonce-worthy top is what's getting crafted! I was feeling the French spirit while singing "I Slay" over and over and over on my trip that I thought, what if I found out the French translation for that phrase and embellished my hoodie?

Je domine means "I dominate" so  it looks like we've got our saying! I began with a thin cotton H&M sweatshirt and some sequin trim for lettering! I was inspired by a post on A Beautiful Mess using sequins...

...and wanted to create something similar!

I pinned the sequins to the shirt to hold them in place while forming the lettering and then used Aleen's Fabric Fusion to actually affix the sequins to the shirt!

But then what happens when you wear your new shirt out to dinner and you spill what you ordered on it? You get that bottle of tie dye ready to go. 

I grabbed a bottle of Tulip One-Step dye in blue (I wanted to match the navy sequins I used) and began the process by getting the top completely wet!

Whenever I dye clothes I try to keep a pair of rubber gloves on hand just to avoid dyeing of the hands as well!

Once the piece was totally wet, I folded the top in an accordion shape and added rubber bands. (These areas underneath the bands will be the portions of the top that won't change color!)

When the bands were all added, it was time to dye! I took an old baking pan and covered it in plastic wrap. (The things you do when you have to dye inside!)

With the Tulip dye, all you have to do is fill up the bottle with water and shake it to disperse the powder coloring. Once the dye is mixed it's time to squeeze onto the garment!

Love the blue! 💙

We're so close!

Once the shirt was saturated with dye, I let it marinate for 8 hours before cutting the bands and rinsing the piece out with water until the dye ran clear. Once it was dry, it was time to wear it again!! (Fingers crossed I don't spill something metallic on it next!)

Dye success!

I'm totally rocking out to Beyonce right here! (Hello yard dance party!) 

Spot be gone! Can't even see it anymore.

Such a fun way to give a simple shirt some flair!

I might need to add sequined lettering to more things now...stay tuned!