Gray No More

So, remember that pair of sneakers that I told you all I was going to rough up a little?? Well they FINALLY came in the mail yesterday right before I left for work, so this morning I had a little fun with some bleach out on the back deck, these being the results. =] What do you think? I gotta say that I was actually planning on the bleached areas turning white, although I don't know why because they are marketed as overdyed. Nevertheless, I like how fun and interesting they turned out. Now all I have to figure out is what to wear them with, right? Haha. Here's how I went about this quick little D.I.Y. :

TOOLS OF THE TRADE: bleach slightly diluted with water, latex gloves, paint brush, bleach pen, paper towels to control the damage.

Really all it took after I mixed the bleach was a little creativity and some nerve. I must admit, this being my first D.I.Y. I was a bit nervous I might ruin them. But, barring any sudden disasters that involve completely dunking the sneakers in bleach, I don't know how anyone might ruin this kind of project. After the first couple timid flicks of the brush, I experimented it with directional casting, overhead drops and even flicking the bleach off my gloves. Really, just have at it. The best part about this was that less than fifteen minutes later, I had a pair of lovely one-of-a-kind sneakers on my hands. Definitely worth the wait.

DIY or die??

As I spoke of in my introductory post, one of the things I've realized as a void in my closet is the presence of DIY projects. I don't have the slightest idea how to sew or dye things or add embellishments, but I do have a fierce creative desire to create some pieces of my own, especially with the recent buzz generated in the blog world about the UO DIY or DIE event held in NYC. And how could ANY self-respecting fashionista pass up the chance to be able to smile sweetly at a compliment and say, "Oh, this? I just made it myself!" =] So, without much guidance or instruction, I've decided to make it a mission to plunge forward into the world of DIY, with these sneakers from Urban Outfitters as the preliminary project. They look like a perfect blank canvas to start with. Also on my mind:

• Destroying/Shredding/Embellishing an oversize V-neck tee shirt. The ideas I have for this are endless. Where to begin?? Paint? Rips? Bleach? Beading?
• Cropping an oversize tee shirt. After being inspired by The Glamouri on Blogger, although I have no idea how to sew, I'd love to learn so I can make myself a slouchy grey version.
• Overdye/Dyeing some old clothes. Jessica Schroeder is a fabulous example of dyeing projects that turned out amazingly.
• And of course, these DIY grey sneakers. I plan to use bleach to turn them into some super cool 80's inspired acid wash kicks.

Going into this alone is admittedly a bit daunting... I can't say that I'm 100 percent confident I won't ruin my clothes completely, but I'm too smitten with the potential results not to give it a go. If anyone has an ideas or tips or even book recommendations that might teach me how to sew, I'd love to hear from you. Pictures promised once I get my hands dirty. What do you think of my DIY plans??