DIY: Jil Sander Lunch Bag Clutch

Is this actually happening!? Ive been talking about this DIY forever and I finally did it!! I'm super happy with how it turned out! Ill obviously show you step by step below, but first, lets talk numbers!! For designers like Jil Sander and Marie Turnor this bag is a classic piece, its made its way to Zara and now is an item in Celine's SS2013 collection. Its a unique looking bag, not your typical clutch but retails for a little over $700 DAMN! Below I've posted a few photos that I used for some inspiration!

Marie Turnor $220- shop.marieturnor.com

Jil Sander $716-luisaviaroma.com

I might have put those of you that read or tried out my TOMS tutorial at a disadvantage, the zippers may have been too difficult to sew without a sewing machine! So I'll be using a hot glue gun for this instead, hollaa! FUN FOR EVERYONE!

Lets get started!

Things you will need:

• Leather- I used vegan leather and purchased one yard for $13 at Affordable Textiles in Toronto but you can choose a fabric store (here) 
• Scissors
• Pen
• Ruler and measuring tape
• Paper bag- I used a small ZARA shopping bag. (a great template if you're not really into math and measurements)
• Glue gun
• Glue sticks
• YOU CAN USE EPOXY GLUE as an alternative!

Step One: Using the paper bag dismantle it from the bottom, and cut off the handles!  Lay it flat on top of the sheet of leather....you should probably plug in your glue gun....now!

Step Two: Draw the exact measurement of the bag onto the leather and begin to cut. If you guys don't have a shopping bag my measurement of the whole sheet of leather was 13" by 25.1/4'' (in inches) 

Step Three: If you all are visual peeps like me you'll probably want to draw some lines inside the leather sheet so you can glue everything firmly and quick without getting it glunky and dry!

This photo pretty much displays all the lines I made on the leather sheet before I started gluing. I had to colour code them cause my writing was super tiny!

Whole sheet is 13'' X 25.1/4''
Yellow: 4''
Pink: 9''
Green: 5"
Purple: 13"
Brown (allowance, to glue the ends together) 2.1/4''

Step Four: Begin gluing the allowance over to the other end of the leather. DON'T GLUE ALL THE WAY DOWN (vertically) STOP AT THE PINK, GREEN AND BROWN LINE.  leaving room to fold the base down.

Step Five: Making sure there aren't any air bubbles and it isn't lumpy, glue the yellow 4'' piece up, towards the pink 9'' piece. (creating a right angle triangle) before doing that to the other side, pinch both ends and and bring ends to the pink 9" line. Then do that to the other side as well.

Step Six: Now, after doing that to both ends the clutch must have a base, that looks somewhat like this.

Step 7: Press firmly from the inside of the clutch to make sure the clutch is secure. After that feel free to jazz up the way you roll the top by adding ribbons on the side, little rips at the top, or bag snaps on the side for it to keep its structure.


For me the measurements it took some time so about 2 hours to complete the full project :)

I didn't add an outfit with this DIY, just nail polish for the clutch to POP! regardless of what outfit you wear it with.

Nailpolish: Essie- Mint Candy Apple. Click here for a swatch.

Let me know if you have questions and enjoy doing this DIY! I did :)

twitter: @sewitums


Sewit!
xo.

Breaking Bad DIY!

Breaking Bad will finally be back on TV this Sunday (August 11th 2013)! I'm so excited, so what better way to celebrate the season premiere then with a fun, easy and cheap DIY!!!

There are so many shirts online that range up to 25-30 dollars, which isn't bad, but I just found doing this DIY pretty easy, for the shirts online aren't perfect so your sketch of the infamous Mr. White, doesn't have to be perfect either.

This shirt WILL look a bit messy just because you will be tracing your picture onto your shirt, and it becomes quite difficult when dragging your marker against it.

So below, I have all the things you will need!

• Any search engine for inspiration by simply entering "Heisenberg Breaking Bad" in the search bar...I used BING, kiddddddding, google.
• Black
• Acrylic paint
• Sharpie for initial sketch onto the shirt
• Fabric Marker
• Foam Board or a hard cover

This is a closer look of the sketch that I made freehand that I will use as a tracing tool.

Begin tracing with a black marker (sharpie)

Once the tracing is complete, either continue coloring with a fabric marker or use the acrylic paint.

So this next photo is why I suggest to use a foam board: Some paint from the shirt soaked onto the foam and to my surprise it sorta looks like an abstract Walter White, which I will probably frame.

So when I took this photo,  my shirt was hanging to dry!

This is how my shirt turned out, and unlike my Celine Logo Tee I will press the shirt with low heat!

AUGUST 11TH 2013 @10 ON AMC YAAAY!

If you have any questions, let me know in the comment section of this post, or hit me up on twitter @sewitums!! Follow me on all the networking sites I have on the right side toolbar, so we can keep in touch!!

Sewit!

xo!

My wall/life is so BORING!!

This DIY is super cheap like actually costs a dollar. Last year, I did this hand painted wallpaper on only one of my walls which now makes my other walls look super boring!!! So, I decided to continue with the look I already have going on in my room, boutique-ey (sorta...) I love how my wall turned out but I'm definitely going to play around with this area of my wall just cause its small and versatile and if I decide to do a dramatic change and regret it after, it won't be that bad to start all over!! Sooooooo all you need is the following


1. A boring wall
2. Multi-purpose hooks
3. Bags!!!!!!!!!!
4. A level (optional)

Super easy I don't know why I keep talking about it!!

YAY! Boring wall, check!

Multi-purpose hooks

Although, these are dollar store hooks the adhesive is pretty strong so be sure to come up with a vision maybe even measure where the bags fall before sticking the hooks on the wall. Keep the left over hooks if you want to do more than 3.


This is what the finished product looks like, giving my room that boutique feel, that I really, really, really, really want it to have!

Tory Burch 'Feed'- Holt Renfrew
Michael Kors, Large Jet Set Bag
Longchamp in Black

Homies, New York -Urban Outfitters

Bib Necklace and Jewellery Display.

I absolutely love this DIY, what I love most is how simple and fast it was to complete. The only challenging part I faced was having the necklaces dangle unevenly making it incredibly difficult to take a photo. My inspiration was- believe it or not, my mannequin and the thought of a free form retail space. So many boutiques have such a simple atmosphere, which I love cause it makes the store that much more shoppable and looks so much cleaner..anyways I just really wanted to incorporate it in my room so I have a super quick tutorial to show you guys how I did, just that.


So things you will need:
1.Frame
2.Foam board
3.Acrylic/Poster paint
4.Mounting squares
5.Hot glue gun
6.Paint brush
7.Thumb tacks
8.Pencil
9.Wooden skewers (optional)
10.Exacto knife or scissors.

Step 1: Take your foam board and frame and trace the inside of the frame.

Feel free to cut this out as soon as you trace it or at the end.


Step 2: As you can see the frame I found laying in my house was grey and that colour doesn't really mesh well with my room so I took a few minutes just to paint over the frame with some orange and white poster paint.

Step 3: With your foam piece you cut out begin to glue the inner part of the frame and quickly add pressure to the foam board to secure both the foam board and frame together.

Step 4:

Step 5: Take your frame with the foam board attached and begin to add the mounting squares on the back of the frame I used 4 squares....DUHH!

ADD some pressure when putting it on your wall.

Step 6: This part is easy, you simple take your necklace by the lobster claw and your thumb tack and stick your necklace on the foam board in any fashion you like.

My Jewellery Display looks like this:

The wooden skewer is optional if you decide to add earrings. I took mine off after discovering how clutter-ey it looks.

How easy was that?!?! Let me know if you have any questions, leave them in the comments below, or ask me on twitter (@sewitums)

Sewit!

xo.

DIY: Vintage Night Table!

First let me just say I havent updated my blog in a very long time, and for that I am very sorry! But im back to warn you that if you have old dressers or night tables that you really want to throw away... DON'T! I have a step by step tutorial below to show you how to fix up old furniture pieces and have them mesh beautifully in your home.

So my inspiration wasn't actually something I saw on pinterest or online somewhere, it was from a sander that was on sale at Canadian Tire, I thought I'd buy it and force myself to make use of it at home. This is the model I purchased.

This is what the night table looked like.

To achieve that Anthropologie/Upscale/Vintage look you will need the following:

1.Sander or Sand Paper (I used 3M paint stripping sand paper. This is good for more stained surfaces cause the paper is more coarser.)
2.Screwdriver
3.Bowl and 1/2 a Lime
5. Primer sealer (I used ultra white)
6. BEHR Interior Semi-Gloss Enamel (Pure White 3050)
7. A mini paint roller w. tray and paint brushes

Total time with dry time: 3 hours to complete and 5 hours to dry.

Step 1: Take a screwdriver and unscrew the handles. Filling up either a bowl or container with water and lime juice have the handles sit in there while completing this project. (this is done to create a polished look)

Step 2: After loading your sander or using the sandpaper, add some pressure and go in a circular motion until you see the actual bare wood or until the surface is dull. Keep the same motion for the drawers as well. *be careful, when using a motor sander its crucial that you still keep the grooves and design that was made originally and not to sand all the way down* 

Circular motion with an electronic sander is seen below.

the 'swivel' motion 

And the finished product of what the sander should have done to your table is seen below:

*The sanding alone took me about an hour.

As you can see I didn't completely sand it down. When it came down to the embellishments I sanded over them , quickly and gently for approx. 30 seconds

Step 3: Either taking a damp cloth or paint brush dust off the residue from the sander. After that, it's time to paint!

Step 4: First, take your Primer (I purchased mine from Home Depot click here for details.) and saturate your paint brush. Paint: drawers, tables and legs in one direction for best results. Once dry, use the BEHR Semi-Gloss enamel paint with the roller

*I used 1 coat of primer

*I used 2 coats of interior paint

Step 5: LET IT DRY, LET IT DRY, LET IT DRY!

Step 6: Drain your lime water, dry the handles with a paper towel and screw them back onto the dresser.

My side table looks like this!

Special thank you to my sister Segen for helping me take photos and paint!

Let me know what you guys think, and if you have any questions, feel free to leave a comment or tweet me (@sewitums)

Sewit!

xo.

Livid

Guys, you know I'm a social networking freak and when I came across what I'm about to share with you I was simply outraged!! Remember back in 2008 when Matthew Williamson did a Spring Summer collection of "Ethiopian Inspired Traditional Dresses?" well its back again! This time Urban Outfitters!! Not shedding a lick of recogintion they have this dress on their site titled "Vintage '90 Linen Dress" Im sorry what!? Last time I checked it was called a Zuria. I guess its cause im from Eritrea and a fashion enthusiast that this news rubbed me the wrong way! So anyways, I was on twitter when I heard the news and shared it with my followers, THUS! the power of social networking whisked me away to a page that looked like a petition (whoooop whooop!!) Im simply writing this post so members of this blog can show a little support and sign the petition too!! The link is righhhhht here:

https://www.change.org/petitions/urban-outfitters-stop-appropriating-traditional-cultural-designs-from-ethiopia-eritrea 

This is a traditional Zuria or Hager-Leb Dress worn by Eritrean and Ethiopian Ladies

And here are some photos from Matthew Williamson S/S 2008

And here is the photo of the Urban Outfitters dress:

I would like to S/O Lolla Mohammed Nur from St. Paul, United States for tweeting me her concern  and creating the petition! I wish her luck in bringing light to this fashion injustice!


If you have any questions hit me up on twitter (@sewitums), follow @lomonur or comment on this post! The petition takes a second to virtually sign!

Thanks,
Sewit xo!

DIY: Balmain on a Budget

PART I

Ahhh Balmain! So this blog post is another DIY shirt, something similar to the Celine Shirt from my last post! After looking at such a beautiful ready to wear spring 2013 collection designed by my hubby Olivier Rousteing, it made me look back at the other pieces before his beauty took over! So Christophe Decarnin did his thing at Balmain for like 9 years, and his last collection included this gem. The tank goes for like a gizzzilion dollars... close to $1500..So I decided to make my own, it's actually from SS11 if you wanna check it out!!


My Balmain Inspo...

So this is what you'll need:

Sorry y'all was super excited to use this new 3D filter app on my phone.  But thats the white tank top!

• White tank top! Mines an old one from American Eagle, racer back
• Paper (something a bit more stronger than regular paper but thinner than cardboard, like you know that kleenex tissue box type of cardboard? That!
• Sharpie Marker
• Some paint (navy blue and red)
• Paint brush
• Scissors  

Total Time: 2 hours to complete and a day or two to dry!

Step 1: Draw stars on your paper and cut them out (cut a few cause they'll eventually get soggy from all the paint.

Step 2: Either laying your shirt on the floor or have it hanging (like mine) visualize the center and tape it straight down and to the right *leave an allowance for the stripes at the bottom* I left 5 inches! 

Step 3: With the cut outs in hand plop some blue paint in a cup or paper plate and saturate your paint brush.

Step 4: This part is actually fun, you pretty much place the star anywhere in the area you decide to be your "50 states"and paint over the star, pretty much stenciling your shirt. When the stars are done it should look something like this:

Step 5: Now once the stars are complete, instead of having bright red stripes run across your shirt, mix it in with the blue giving it that deep red almost purple but still red colour. Mix that with some water for your first stroke to see if you like the shade. Your consistency should get thicker when you've got the right colour!

Step 6: Let it dry!

Alright. so the next two photos are just a closer look on the 'distressed' look I was going for! 

Alright, this is how I styled it!

The Details:

Balmain Inspired Tank

Ripped Boyfriend Jeans-Celebrity Pink

Wilfred Reusable Tote

Sand/Offwhite TOMS

Extras:

Matte Leopard Sunglasses- Le Chateau

Butler Please- Essie Nailpolish 

Rose Gold Mesh Watch (The Moment on Karmaloop) 

I hope you guys enjoyed this DIY and if you have any questions let me know in the comments below or hit me up on twitter (@sewitums)

Corny, I know! But I love me some Lana Del Rey...Enjoy!


xo!