Life is Beautiful

Motherhood, Sewing, Family

DIY: waypoint ponte dress by Anthropologie.

~ DIY DREAM HOUSE

Inspiration: waypoint ponte dress by Anthropologie $168.
My version:
Before:

and with the extra fabric from the sleeves and the bottom I cut out, I made the bow.  It’s detachable so I can wear it with or without the bow. 
After:
{Dress: Purchased in Korea, Shoes: Oasap}
Project cost: FREE(since I already had the dress)
Skill level: a confident beginner
Estimated time: 40 mins.
I saved over $170!
Photos by the talented Jessica Peterson.

DIY: perfect mint color jeans

~ DIY DREAM HOUSE

DIY mint jeans

I think I am quoting many girls when I say, “I’ve been looking for mint jeans for spring!”  I am very specific and picky about the color of mint I want, not too blue, not too green, not too dark, or not too light, more blue with a tint of green. I finally thought I found the color I was looking for(within my price range) and ordered two pairs of mint pants just to make sure I got the right color, but unfortunately one was a tad darker than I wanted(and too big), and the other one was too green for me.  I’ve learned that in the pictures(in stores and in other blogs), the color always shows up more blue than it actually is.

So I’ve been on the hunt for mint jeans ever since and thought about dyeing my white jeans mint, but I’ve never dyed anything before so I was hesitant to try.  Then I came across this, this, and this tutorial on dyeing your own mint jeans and after seeing others do it, I had the courage to try it.  I decided to follow along the second tutorial since I liked the color her jeans turned out, but from the comments from the post, many people said they tried it and it turned out lime green(hers turned out super cute though:).  So I decided to mix two colors together, green vert and aqua, 1/2 package each.  And it was a FAIL.  It turned out dark green, even though I soaked it for about 2 minutes.  I was so disappointed!  But I was determined to make the perfect mint color jeans, so I took the pants out, ran it in hot water, then soaked it in bleached water, then soaked it in straight up bleach, and the dark green came off and I was left with this light lime green color.

Then I ran a cycle in the washer with hot water + bleach and it got a little lighter.

The color wasn’t bad, but I already own yellow/lime green pants, so I made the dye again but this time using the rest of the package of aqua and about 1/2 tsp. of green vert.
I soaked the lime green pants in it along with a white top I had.  After seeing the color of the white top, I was satisfied with the color so after I took out the lime green pants and the white top, I put in a pair of white jeans.  It looked too blue so I added 1/2 tsp. more of green vert and I ended up with a perfect mint color jeans the second time around!  Not too blue, not too green, not too light, not too dark. 
The jeans on the left is the one I dyed the first try(the lime green ones), and the right one is the one I dyed the second try.  I wish I had gotten it right the first time, now I need to go shopping for some white jeans! 
Mint jeans are so versatile, here are some outfits I put together.
c/o: bird print top, hot pink blazer, peterpan collar, denim shirt, blue flared coat
(enter code: sarah20 for a 20% off from sheinside)
I also like these styles I found online,
1, 2, 3
What you’ll need:

-a pair of white jeans/pants
-1 pkg. of aqua dye and 1 pkg. of green vert dye
-a clean bucket
-1/4 c. salt
-1 gallon of steamy hot water
Directions:

1. Pour 1 gallon of steamy hot water into the bucket.  Pour 1/4 c. salt, 1/2 pkg. of aqua dye, 1/2-1 tsp. green vert dye.  
2. Put the white jeans into the bucket.  Make sure the jeans submerges into the dye water completely.  Mix continuously while checking the color.  Pour more aqua dye or the green vert dye to make it the color you’d like(make sure the dye powder doesn’t touch the clothes directly).  If it’s too dark, then add more water.  
3. Leave it for approximately 45 minutes.  (little or more depending on the color you want)
4. Put the clothes into the washer and run a cycle in cold water.  
5. Let it air dry.
Estimated time: 2 hours
Budget: Low (mine was only $5 since I already had white jeans)
Skill level: Beginner
p.s.  my next dye project? a mint jacket!  I tried to dye it with the dye water that was left overnight from the mint jeans but it only turned it to a very light blue(go figure, it wasn’t hot and the dye probably absorbed into the mint jeans already?)  so I’ll be dyeing it again to make it into a perfect mint jacket. 😉

Made by you- Pleated skirt to dress

~ DIY DREAM HOUSE


Here’s my diy made by YOU!

Whitney from the Becoming blog.

Christina from Refashion Statement blog
Jodi from Life and Oh-La-Dee-Dah blog

ReFashionista blog
Pragati from Simple Medicine blog

Didn’t they do an amazing job? 
See the previous made by YOU post.
To submit your own DIY’s inspired by this blog,  please send the following information to:  sarahmchoi{at}gmail.com
1. Your first name and where you’re from.
2. A picture/video of your DIY.  Send me as many as you want!
3. A link to your blog/website(if you want me to link to your site).

DIY: ted baker contrast bow swimsuit

~ DIY DREAM HOUSE

inspiration: contrast bow swimsuit by ted baker $116

i love this swimsuit.  but the only size they had in stock was a size 34DD, and this might come as a  total shock to you, but i’m not a 34DD.  it’s hard to believe, i know, I told you its a shocker! 😉  so my next best option was to make it myself.
before/after:

i made a white bow waist-tie using extra fabric from my white swimsuit top that was a tad too long.  then i put it on my black one-piece swimsuit i already own.  i put snaps on the waist-tie so that i can attach it on any swimsuit i want!  so simple and easy but makes a big difference!
i am looking for a black one-piece similar to the original one but haven’t found one yet.  this is the closest i could find within my budget, but i love the clean lines of the ted baker swimsuit.  so if you see something closer, let me know, will ya? 🙂

have you tried any of my DIY’s?

~ DIY DREAM HOUSE

remember when i showcased my talented readers who sent me their DIY projects using my DIY tutorials?  well, i want to start doing that again!  so if you’ve tried any of my DIY’s and would like to be featured, please send me your projects to sarahmchoi{at}gmail.com with the following:

1. your name
2. the picture/video of your copy of my DIY.  send me as many as you want!
3. link to your blog/website(if you want me to link to your site).

i can’t wait to see what you have done!

and i have a question for you…

remember when i had a giveaway for doing a DIY for the winner using their old/outdated item of clothing?  well, the winner never contacted me back after countless tries.  then i chose another winner and i never got a reply from the second winner either.  so i guess they didn’t trust me after all?  haha, so i’m wondering, if i had the same giveaway again, would you enter?  and most importantly, would you go through with it and trust me to transform your item of clothing?