'Tis the season to be jolly busy with work commitments and last minute holiday arrangements, as we all well know. However, in the lead up to Christmas/ "Winterval" / Saturnalia/ *insert miscellaneous P.C-approved term* we acknowledge that it's a time for giving - well, I do anyway. The great preparatory run-around has to be worth something, surely? So, I thought I'd treat you, my readers, with 5 super-easy, super-quick, super-low-budget DIY gift ideas to help with your last minute present idea panic. True, they're in tutorial rather than tangible object form. I can less easily buy presents than bestow pearls of wisdom at this point but, as it's said: "It's the thought that counts!"
You will need
For the Bag:
Black grab or clutch bag (this one's all about the size - and arguably the verbs!)
Paper
Pencil
Scalpel
Craft mount (okay, I haven't factored in the fact that I already had one when I number crunched. I'll say it again, it's not just an investment for a DIY regular, it's an essential)
Gold foil (I think it's about £2.50 from Hobbycraft)
For the Bangle:
About 5 x 20cm of lace, preferably chunky and ornate
Fabric scissors
Gold acrylic paint
Fimo metallic gold powder
Lots and lots of cling film
Cylindrical object that's slightly wider than your wrist
Polyester resin kit
For the talon ring:
Pale coloured Fimo clay
Fimo metallic gold powder
A ring
Black nail polish
For the Steampunk-Inspired Boots:
Black suede or faux suede ankle boots (Mine were about £7 from a charity shop)
Red snake patterned material (I wound up cutting up a mock-crocodile bag - priced at £6 from a charity shop - and
painting it red)
Pattern paper
Pins
All-purpose scissors
Pencil
Metallic gel pen
For the Fallaway Cardigan:
Black faux leather jacket (I say faux, but if you don't mind desecrating - nay, dissecting - a real leather one, it's up to you. Mine cost about £8 second hand)
Black and/or red blanket (I could only find a poncho, which works as a last resort but I'd say something rectangular like a blanket works best)
Mannequin
Pins
Sewing machine
Belt (optional - mine was £1, second-hand)
Black or red thread
Needle
Fabric scissors
Seam ripper
Fray check
Time
Ring: 45 minutes, not including clay baking time
Bangle: 30 minutes, not including resin setting or paint drying time
Clutch: 30 minutes
Boots: 1-2 hours, depending on how quick you are at cutting and tracing pattern pieces
Fallaway jacket: 2-3 hours
Difficulty
Medium Easy
I'm going to give a general rating for these. They're intended to be easy and were certainly a breeze for me but one or two items had their moments, especially the fallaway jacket.
Image: Polyvore
Pin your pattern paper to your boots and trace out the pattern for the pieces you need. Cut them out.
Cut out all your pieces in red faux snakeskin. Remember to make sure you cut the right number of each piece.
Craft mount all your pieces to your boots. I found it helped to make the surfaces less porous first, so that the craft mount didn't just soak in. I used Pritt Stick to smooth the surface before applying the craft mount.
Confession: I used a glue gun for the bows because the amount of layers they had and strength they needed.
For the talon ring
Image: Polyvore
Cover a ring with Fimo clay (I'd recommend a thin, wiry one like the one I used but we don't tend to discriminate on weight issues here!) then sculpt a juicy, curvaceous claw shape at the centre.
Paint it with Fimo gold powder and bake it in the oven. Follow directions closely and, for the love of all things holy, don't absent-mindedly mistake fahrenheit for centigrade readings like I once did on another of my projects. My point is, don't take this part of the process lightly. Fimo tends to require about half an hour at 110 °C but don't just take my word for it, rather do exactly what it says on the proverbial tin!
Paint your black sections with nail polish.
For the Gold Lace Cuff
Cut an area of floral lace about 5 x 20cm (depending on your wrist size) and cover both your workspace and your cylindrical "mould." I used a spray can.
Now it's time to mix your resin. If you buy the kit I hyperlinked, you won't need the plastic mesh, just the resin and hardener. I used the cut-off bottom of a plastic bottle to mix my resin and a battered ruler I didn't mind ruining to measure out my hardener. Again, you'll just need to follow the instructions and pay special attention to measurements and quantities.
Douse your lace in resin and place it so that the 2 ends overlap but don't touch each other.
Leave to dry, ideally overnight.
When your cuff's completely dry, carefully peel it off and tear away the excess cling film. Paint it gold and cover it with powder to get an antique, textured effect.
For the Lippy Lulu Guinness Clutch Bag
Draw out the lip shape you wish to create, making sure the base follows the edge of the flap of your clutch bag. I find it also helps to fold your pattern paper in half to get your shape perfectly symmetrical. Cut it out with a scalpel.
Trace your lip shape onto your foil and cut it out.
Use your foil to trace out your lip shape on the flap of your bag with a scalpel, before craft mounting it in place.
Use your scalpel to tuck the surrounding material under the edges of your foil so that it looks like the fabric has been tucked under a layer of gold sheet metal.
For the Fallaway Jacket
Image: Polyvore
Turn your blanket/ poncho inside-out and put it on your mannequin. If you're using a poncho, slash it along the centre front and cut away any polo necklines or collars (so you might even be left with a free snood!)
Make sure you have a generous amount of fabric overlap at the front, then pin together any excess fabric along the sides, shoulders and where your darts are, giving your jacket a close fit.
Cut out your armholes, leaving a generous amount of fabric, simply because it's better to be safe than sorry when attaching your sleeves...
...on that happy note, once you've sewn your darts and seams together, it's time to attach your sleeves. Detach some sleeves from a black leather/ PVC jacket. I say detach, I mean don't cut the seams but unpick the top seams with a seam ripper so that you've got some seam allowance to work with. Sew the lining to your armholes, right-side-to-right-side, then tuck your top fabric under and
slip-stitch it in place.
I also added a belt at the waist by sewing it down at the centre back and cutting some small slits for it behind the front darts so that it fastened on the inside, but that's optional. I'd strongly recommend finishing the edges off with some fray-check.
