Simple refashion tutorial: Add some personality to your dull clothes with some fabric liner

Today I would like to share this simple refashion project that requires only a relatively steady hand and maybe some drawing skills (not necessarily).

Ready? Here we go!

You will need:

• A plain shirt or some other piece of clothes
• Fabric liner in desired color
• Stencil (optional)
• Old newspaper

I refashioned this shirt for my friend after she saw what I did with my old black dress (you can see the photo at the end of this post). She chose the design – I guess mustaches are "in" these days, right?

What you need to have in mind when drawing on clothes, is that you won't be able to fix any big mistakes – fabric paint does not go off! So be careful, work slowly and patiently, and use a stencil if necessary. I used a stencil that I made myself – I drew a design on a piece of paper, folded it along the vertical line and cut it out; this way, after I unfolded it, I had a symmetric face – yeah, I'm not able to draw symmetric characters, one side always looks better. :)

Step 1: Put some newspaper inside the shirt to prevent the paint from leaking through to the other side of the shirt.

Step 2: Place stencil on the desired spot and pin it to the fabric.

Step 3: Draw the outline with the fabric liner.

Step 4: Let the paint dry and then carefully remove the stencil.

Step 5: Fill in the character with fabric paint.

Step 6: Let it dry and iron over a piece of cloth or baking paper.

Step 7: Wear it proudly ;)

I am really satisfied how it turned out and my friend was thrilled. So, woohoo! :)

(not really a good photo, sorry)

And here is the dress that inspired the mustache shirt – well, in a way ;)

The story behind it is really simple – I had a plain black cotton dress that I got in H&M, wore it for about a year and then concluded that it is too black. After considering several designs, I decided to write down one of my favorite songs on the skirt (yes, it's the actual song, not just random notes). 

I also added the ribbon with the bow around the neckline.

And if you think this is too complicated, you can always go with something much more simple – for an example, you can write down a favorite quote.

I hope you'll try this. It is a relatively simple way to add some personality to your clothes and make a statement.

These shoes were made for...

Do you have a pair (or two) of shoes that you can't throw away, even though they already look completely worn out? Well, I know how you feel. Meet one of my favorite pairs of shoes. They are comfortable, they have red laces and we've been walking around together for about two years. :)

Naturally, all that walking left a trace on the soles and heels, so I've decided to do something about it.

I had this project on my mind for some time now. I've seen similar projects on Pinterest and other DIY blogs and here is my version.

For this project I used:

Rice paper with text pattern

Art Potch Decoupage Glue and Lacquer (matt and glossy)

Paintbrush

... and, of course, old shoes

Step 1: Prepare your shoes – clean the area you want to decoupage. I also sanded the most damaged parts of the heels a little bit.

Step 2: Prepare the rice paper. Measure how much paper you need and rip it into smaller pieces.

Step 3: Use a paintbrush to cover heels with decoupage glue (I used Art Potch matt), and stick the pieces of the rice paper onto it. Cover them with another layer of Art Potch and let dry completely.

Step 4: Carefully cut off any excess of the paper (I used the exacto knife and nail scissors to do that.)

Step 5: Seal your work with another layer of Art Potch. I used Art Potch glossy for this step to make my heels more resistant to water and dirt (I mean, we don't want to see them ruined by rain, don't we).

Let it dry...

... and you've got yourself a „new“ pair of shoes! :)