one more – the blog of Evie Kemp

So, first I wanted THOSE glitter MiuMiu’s, then I got a bit more realistic and started lusting after the Topshop Ambush glitter boots however I was too slow, they’d already sold out and were up on ebay for double their original cost. I decided I wasn’t going to let a shopping failure stand between me and sparkly feet so I got creative.

1. Gather supplies.
• Shoes (I had these boots in the back of my closet, comfy and solid enough to be worth the effort but no longer seeing the light of day. I used leather shoes but I’m sure it would work just as well on non-leather shoes).
• PVA glue
• Masking tape
• Sand paper
• Cup or container for mixing
• Paint brush
• GLITTER (I ended up using almost 5 vials)
• Spray fixative

2. First mask off anything you don’t want glittered or worse, sanded. Then sand the shoe as best as you can. The better sand you manage, the better the glitter will hold. When you’ve finished sanding give the shoes a good wipe with a damp, clean cloth, then wipe dry.

3. Mix your glitter glue mixture. I used about 1/2 cup of straight PVA glue which turned out to be more than enough. Mix in 3 vials of glitter.

4. Using your paintbrush, fully cover the shoe with the glue mixture. (Remember that PVA glue goes on white but dries clear). You want to make sure you have good, even coverage but don’t load the glue on so thick it drips or might dry in lumps.

5. When both your shoes have been painted liberally shake as much glitter on to them as you can while the glue is still tacky. I used a vial of loose glitter on each boot. Again, aim for evenness.

6. When the glue has dried give them a tap and shake to get rid of any excess glitter. (Excess Glitter? Oxymoron surely?). Spray with your fixative (hairspray might even work here). Leave them over night and give them a couple of subsequent excess glitter shakes, and protecting sprays.

Remove the masking tape and wear them out!
Tip: avoid white carpets for the first couple of wears as you will be leaving little trails of fairy dust.

A well fitting camel trench, jacket or coat is one of those items that never goes out of style. Always featured on lists of investment pieces to take you through from age 24 to 84, the camel coat is undeniably chic. Sometimes though even a classic enjoys a twist. Studded jackets in timeless camel and tan are just genius, bringing an unexpected edge to that grown-up favourite.

Unless you’re in the budget for some Burberry, a studded tan jacket is a bit hard to come by on a low budget. However, a tan jacket and some studs (separately) are very affordable. Here in NZ, Kmart has ladies trenches for $35 or go thrifting for your preferred style. Studs are available at all sorts of places (for example here) depending on what size and shape you prefer.

The main thing is to give yourself plenty of time to make sure you are putting the studs in evenly and use a reference picture to help you with placement. When buying your studs check that they are those with a pronged back that you simply push through the fabric and close.

from streettonic.blogspot.com

from They all hate us

Acetone transfer is a design school technique that has got me out of many tricky situations. Namely, how to print text on to something that can’t go through a printer. The constraints of a printer come down a lot to cost, size and the weight of the paper or card you would like to print on. Acetone transferring is also a great way to add type to original artworks, I’ve used it to put text on A1 illustration boards with great success. Besides the practical advantages to using this method, I personally love the effect it creates – a worn, printed look.

If you’ve never tried it before, here’s a quick ‘How to’.

I’m using a small, simple design. Your design should be black and white (as dark as you can get it) and then flipped so that the image is back to front (I use photoshop for this but most photocopiers also have this function). Then, print your design to the size you like using a photocopier if you have access or a lazer printer (set to black & white only, no colour). This is the most important step, an inkjet printer will not work as you need the acetone to loosen the dry ink particles from the print and transfer them on to your new piece of paper. Generally a photocopied image will transfer more easily.

Tape your backwards b&w print on to a piece of card or paper using masking tape to hold it in place. I’ve used a heavy duty pre-cut postcard that I wouldn’t be able to print on conventionally. The smoother the paper the better the transfer will be. Watercolour and other textured papers can be hard to get a good print on to.

Now, here I use pure acetone which you can buy from any art shop. It is a bit pricey, though should last a long time. It’s worth testing the technique with cheap nail polish remover (so long as it contains acetone) as sometimes this can work just fine and saves you investing in a can of acetone. Wet your cloth with acetone and rub the image with it, be careful to not let the paper move but you will need to put some muscle in to it. Acetone evaporates quickly so you will need to repeat this a few times.

If you have a roller or rolling pin, give it a firm roll while the top paper is still damp with acetone.

Peel up an edge and have a peek. Go back over the areas that haven’t taken as well. Remove the top paper, grab your next set and try something else.