DIY Bat-stache tank top

I told my friend that I had a moustache party coming up this weekend and she linked me to a YouTube tutorial for a DIY moustache pendant (Video here). These crafty things are definitely the type of things I want to do for the blog. 

After watching the video, other ideas started to form in my mind for what I could wear to the party. while I was googling moustaches, I came across a cool picture of Batman with a moustache.  

I had the day off work today, so I decided to head out the the craft store Spotlight so buy everything I needed to make both the necklace and my own DIY t-shirt. 

Spotlight is like the women's equivalent to Bunnings. Love it. 

I also stopped into a few other craft stores to buy fabric paint. 

I was so excited to make the t-shirt, that I didn't get time to make the moustache necklace, but I've still got a few more days until the party, so that will be up on the blog soon. 

So here is a very quick tutorial for my Bat-stache tank top. It took pretty much the whole day to paint so I'm a bit pushed for time to write my blog entry. Sorry if it seems rushed!

DIY Bat-stache tank top:

Equipment:

• Black and white (or grey) fabric paint
• Paint brushes
• T-shirt of your choice
• Stanley knife
• Ruler
• Newspaper
• thick piece of cardboard
• Paper clamps

I started off by printing the picture that I wanted and cut it out to make a stencil. 

I placed the thick piece of cardboard inside the shirt so that the paint wouldn't seep through to the other side. I  clamped the paper to the t-shirt and cardboard to keep it in place while I painted.

I used the white fabric paint to do the shadowing on Batman's face.

For the text, I went onto the website Dafont.com and used their Batman Forever font simulator. 

I printed out my text design and made it into a stencil using a Stanley knife and ruler. 

I then clamped the stencil onto the shirt and painted the text on (fabric spray paint would have been good here).

The instructions on the fabric paint says to let it dry for 24 hours, and then turn the shirt inside out and use a warm iron over the design to set the paint to make it permanent and resistant to water. 

I'm really happy with the result, given that this is the first time I've ever done something like this. Sometimes you don't know what you're capable of until you try it :) 

Even my mum likes the top. When I tried it on, she said I looked "sexy", in her Asian accent. I don't think she's ever called me sexy before. She cracks me up hahaha.

Homemade stud earrings

When I went to buy the digital photo frame for my sister yesterday, I popped into a cute little craft store as I was on my way out of the shopping centre complex. As i was browsing the isles for some crafty stuff to fill up my blog with, I came across a bag of stud earring posts and backings (i.e. the pointy bit that goes into the ear hole and the plug that keeps it from falling). I decided to buy these so that I could make earrings out of some cute buttons that I've had for years and years packed away in boxes under my bed. 

I used an adhesive product called Cyberbond adhesive. The stuff is like the mother of all super glue. It can be used on anything. Absolutely anything. It's industrial strength and it dries in seconds. A pain to get off skin though. Use it wisely if it should ever fall into your hands.

So the buttons were free and the bag of about 25 earring posts was $6. About 10 minutes later, four pairs of earrings have been added to my collection :) Homemade accessories: super cheap, stylish and make for great gift ideas. 

From the back you can see that they're buttons, but when they're worn, they just look like cute vintage earrings :)

Hand painted mug

Friends are amazing creatures. The type of friends I'm referring to are the ones that really know me. Not the ones that are there for the good times alone, but for the really challenging times too. The ones who see the worst and the best of me but choose to stick around anyways. 

My friend Cindy is exactly that type of friend. We were in pretty much every class together throughout our undergrad degree and she really helped me get through all the tough times. She was also my partner in crime for many many good memories too, and although we are doing different degrees now and don't see each other as often as we like, we're the kind of friends who can pick up right where we left off. That's a good friendship for you.

I like showing and telling people how important they are to me every chance I get. However, sometimes you have to make those chances happen. I'll be catching up with Cindz in the next couple of days. It'll be the first time I've seen her since last year and so I've decided to make this an opportunity to not just catch up, but do something nice for her too.

I came across this Mug Makeover craft kit in Bunnings. For all those people not from Australia, Bunnings is a giant home, garden and hardware store. When you walk in, the ratio of males to females is about 10:1. This place is any handy man's heaven. 

I've painted some of my favourite memories we've shared together onto one of the mugs from the craft kit. If you want to make your day a great day, try this at home! I couldn't stop smiling as I was writing all of the memories. There were times when I would laugh to myself so hard that my hands shook and I had to take a break to steady my hand before I could continue painting. 

Great friends are hard to come by, so please make sure they know how much they mean to you!

Yes, I'm aware that this is meant for kids...but that doesn't matter, it's good for all ages I reckon :)