Bleached & Dyed Skirt: Fin!

At least there's one project finished: I've bleached and dyed this skirt to my satisfaction!
(I'm so happy it didn't come out looking like camouflage)


To dye it, I combined Dylon dyes "Jungle Green" and "China Blue", figuring I'd get that sort of bright green with blue undertones that seems to be all over the place right now.

And, success! The skirt is 100% cotton, so I knew it would soak up a lot of the dye. I'm really happy with it, especially since it was a $3 thrifted skirt, it may now become one of my favorites!

Next up, I still have the safari dress, and I think I'm going to try Dylon's "Intense Violet" again, and double up on the dye.

I really like the color that the "China Blue" is supposed to come out as, and I want to find something to dye that color, but what?

Next week!
The end of the safari dress! - will it come out Violet? Or will it look like a hot mess?

Resist dyeing with glue!
I've bookmarked several tutorials, if you'd like to give it a go, I'd love to hear your feedback/advice:
Gel Glue Resist Tutorial
Glue Resist Batik
DIY Fabric Prints

I have some skirts that probably need octopuses on them!

The Week I Wanted to Dye

I have a small stack of thrifted clothes that I've been meaning to *do* something with. Mostly, I like the way they feel or fit, but I hate the color. So, this week, I'm going to experiment with dyeing and bleaching techniques.



This dress, for example, is from the thrift store and so comfy! It fits me really well. But, uhh, I've already did the safari thing in junior high and I don't think I should revisit the jungles, so to speak. Also, it has rhinestones on it in matching animal-print colors. Jeez.

So, there's going to be a lot of before and after pictures this week! I love those! I've got a skirt, a couple of shirts, another dress. The dress pictured I'm probably going to bleach (to tone down the print) and then dye it either green or purple. I'm using Martha Stewart's "Encyclopedia of Sewing and Fabric Crafts" as a guide, so hopefully it will turn out great!

Let's just see if I can also manage not to dye half the house as well. Now, I'm gonna go break out the plastic drop cloths!

Thrift Store Finds: Fantasy Edition

Even though my studio is in disarray, and I'm lamenting how much stuff I own, I *still* go out to thrift stores and comb them for interesting things! That's just how I roll. Thriftily.

Here are two things I've found in thrift stores, each of them cost FIVE DOLLARS. Insane!

First off, here's my Dungeon Master cloak (Goodwill, Cary, NC - $5):


I have this idea for a D&D one-shot I've been meaning to run for over a year now, and now that I have this cloak, it's something I have to do!

Secondly, a Unicorn (Cause for Paws, Raleigh, NC, - $5):


I'm still situated almost entirely in a box-filled studio, so I better get to work on that, but how could I resist showing you that unicorn this morning? (It may still be there, I just saw it less than a week ago!)

Thrift Store Finds

I could update almost every week with thrift store finds, as I spend a *lot* of time in thrift stores. The randomness and potential in thrift stores is so exciting for me!

Michelle claims that I have some sort of thrift store luck, but I'm not sure if I do. My thrift store guru has always been my Mom (Hi Mom!). Every time I visit we go to the Mobile, AL thrift store and comb through the racks.

I'm going to try and make my thrift store finds a regular update, as they're fun and weird to post. Here's a couple of my recent finds to get us started:

Princess dress (America's Thrift, Mobile, AL) - $20


Velvet Kali/Kalika painting (Goodwill, Cary, NC) - did not purchase!


The skirt and underskirt for this costume (Goodwill, Cary, NC):


More to come - this is just the beginning!