Master strokes - DIY brush stroke effects with fabric paint

You will need...

A pale coloured garment
Pebeo Setasilk silk fabric paint (for drizzling)
Dylon fabric paint
A thick brush (I used an old blusher brush)

Difficulty

Very easy

In principle, it couldn't be simpler, however there are two caveats: results may vary depending on your technique; and, the not-so-easy challenge here is to keep your work surfaces clean. Prepare to get messy!

Time

Mine took about 10 minutes.

Throw it on...

A video posted by Charley H (@chiccheatcharley) on Jun 9, 2016 at 2:25pm PDT

Thunder boots - How to customise ankle boots with glitter designs

Inspiration

glitter platform boots by chiccheat featuring ankle boots

After fashion recently took a golden leaf out of the David Bowie book of fabulous footwear with the glitter ankle boot trend, I thought it only right to follow suit with a DIY tribute of my own.

You will need...

Not Pictured

Ankle boots. Don't forget them, they're pretty important.

Difficulty

Quite easy

As long as you're reasonably careful and dexterous with stencils and spray glue, there's no real challenge here - except for keeping your work area clean, expect things to get messy!

Time

1-2 hours.

Get some glamour to boot

Clip a sheet of adhesive paper to the side of a boot and cut it away along the centre back, across the top and along the sole. Draw out a design and cut it out, discarding the bit of adhesive paper inside the design and keeping the bit outside the design - you need to use this to mask the area where you don't want the craft mount and glitter to go. Don't peel the back of the adhesive paper yet.

Lay the templates of each of your designs flat (and adhesive-side-up), on top of the 'wrong' side of another piece of adhesive paper (adhesive-side-down), trace the design and cut it out as before. Repeat this process for designs you want to copy four times, i.e. those that go along both sides of each boot.

Once you have cut out all your templates peel away the backing, stick them in place, spray the stencilled area with craft mount and sprinkle glitter all over it. Wait briefly for the craft mount to dry and then remove  the adhesive paper.

I used face wipes and a dash of white spirit to clean stray glitter off the boots, before applying a thin layer of clear lacquer to hold the glitter in place and keep it from dropping everywhere.

New year's eve-angelic - How to DIY Sophia Webster Evangeline sandals

Spot the difference

Designer

DIY

All set to party for new year's eve? Got plans in place? (Like, had them since April, duh!) And yet completely stumped on what to wear for the big night? I here at Chic Cheat can help assuage your last-minute wardrobe worries a straightforward statement shoe refashion that can give an old pair of black evening shoes a lift or - one might even say - wings!

You will need...

Black high-heeled sandals (unless, of course, you want yours to be in another colour to the original. This is, after all, a free country!)

Gold leather or faux leather (I'd recommend the latter in terms of affordability)

Scalpel

Stick 'n' Stay craft mount

Glue gun

Gold fabric paint

Black pen

Printer (optional but recommended)

Difficulty

Quite easy

In principle, it's very straightforward in a what-you-see-is-what-you-get kind of a way; you cut out a design and stick it in place. On a practical level, however, it does help to be dexterous with a scalpel on leather (faux or otherwise - I'd say both were the same difficulty) and therein lies the challenge, if any (if that makes sense).

Time

A few hours; cutting shapes can be painstaking!

Taking flight

This is a template for the design I used. To save yourself the hassle of tracing or copying, I'd recommend printing the design, which measures roughly 18cm x 10cm, and cutting it out.

On the back of the gold material, trace around the template twice, then turn the template over and trace around it twice again, so that the last two shapes mirror the first two shapes.

Using a sharp scalpel (I'd recommend one with a fresh blade) cut all the shapes out.

Use craft mount to stick the shapes along the sides of the shoes and a glue gun to stick the four points down at the back of each shoe. Finally, paint the backs of the wing shapes gold to match the front sides.

Brooch the subject - How to DIY a Prada floral crystal brooch

Blooming brilliance to brighten up any outfit.

brooch the subject by chiccheat on Polyvore

You will need...

N.B. You want the PVC to be as thick as possible.

Difficulty

Easy

While it helps to be dexterous with a scalpel on PVC, this is one of my quicker, more straightforward tutorials. Whoever said you can't get the look of vibrant opulence without keeping it simple?

Time

About 2 hours.

Badge it up

Use this template (simply copy, paste and print it)...

...to trace a flower shape into both pieces of PVC and cut them out with a scalpel.

Punch holes where you want the ends of your brooch clasp to go on the top layer. Decide where you want the bottom layer to go, place it underneath so that it overlaps but is not completely covered by the top layer, mark where the holes should go to match the top layer, remove the bottom layer and punch the holes.

Paint over the two flowers with clear nail polish or resin to harden and thicken the material.

Stick the two layers together with craft mount, making sure the holes are aligned. Undo the clasp on the brooch and put the two ends through each hole - you might need to widen the holes with the scalpel and coax the two ends through. Fasten the brooch.

Too haute to rock 'n' roll? - How to DIY Tommy Hilfiger Rock 'n' rollboots

MAMA WE ALL GO TO HELL: Stendhal: Starman (clipped to polyvore.com)

You will need...

Black velvet ankle boots
Red enamel paint

Dylon 3D pearl paint in gold and silver

Palette knife
Car body filler 
Sand paper

Difficulty

Moderately easy

The heels are a challenge but apart from that, if you can paint dots in star shapes, you can make these shoes.

Time

2-3 hours

 How to get the look

A photo posted by Charley H (@chiccheatcharley) on Jul 20, 2015 at 2:00pm PDT

Use your car body filler to sculpt the heel. I find that the best way of tackling it is to lie the shoe on its back, mix a generous dollop of body filler and slather it into a rounded shape the top of the heel, holding it in place about halfway down with the flat plastic applicator provided, until it dries. Then mix a second batch of body filler and repeat the process with the lower half of the heel. Mix a tiny bit more filler and apply it with your palette knife to smooth down the sides. You might need to use sandpaper to smooth the surfaces once the body filler has dried. Once you've made your wavy heels, paint them with red enamel paint. I'd recommend two coats so that it's completely opaque.

A photo posted by Charley H (@chiccheatcharley) on Aug 10, 2015 at 3:12pm PDT

Pin some paper to the side of one of the boots. draw a curved line. Cut along the edges and the curved line so that you have a stencil. Pin the stencil to each side of the boots and use it to draw a gold line, ensuring they're symmetrical and meet in the middle.

A photo posted by Charley H (@chiccheatcharley) on Aug 10, 2015 at 3:05pm PDT

Draw some star shapes in dots using metallic 3D pearl fabric paint.

A photo posted by Charley H (@chiccheatcharley) on Aug 10, 2015 at 3:04pm PDT

A photo posted by Charley H (@chiccheatcharley) on Aug 10, 2015 at 3:03pm PDT

A photo posted by Charley H (@chiccheatcharley) on Aug 10, 2015 at 3:01pm PDT

Nice twist - How to DIY twister ice lolly sandals

A pop of colour for the summer.2014 gave us normcore - from its obnoxious mission to try too hard to look like you're not trying to the brash faux-iconographic fast food motifs exemplified at Moschino - followed by the fleeting cartoon chic of 'lolcore.' Then 2015 came and presented us with a clean slate, though not necessarily a blank canvas, from which we are currently sampling a juicy trend of vibrant food motifs, from sweets to tropical fruit, in what is probably the most ample display or indeed mention of food fashion has ever seen. This year's food fashion trend brings a new vibe with a mix of coquettish kitsch with a saccharine sweet colour scheme, giving it just the right mix of pin-up prettiness and fashion-forward fun. The highlight for me has been the twister lolly sandals from the Asos and Walls collaboration.

You will need...

 *You also need clear nail polish

Not pictured

Pink fabric paint (since I didn't use pink sandals)

Sand paper and nail files

Difficulty

Moderately challenging

As you'd expect with anything as unorthodox as sculpting ice lolly-shaped heels from car body filler, there's a certain art to it but it's easy when you know how.

Time

About 5 hours.

Can do candy...

If, like the ones I used, your sandals have narrow heels, bulk them up by slathering body filler on as thickly as possible. Mix the filler with the hardener and apply it using the palette knife.

Once it has dried, sandpaper it down.

Coat the heels with another layer of body filler. Make some horizontal grooves with the palette knife and, as the filler is setting, smooth the ridges into rounded, sausage-like shapes; it also helps to use nail files to smooth them down.

Paint your sandals pink if they aren't pink already. Then paint the heels with nail polish. Finally, coat them with clear nail polish.

Fall for biker chic - How to make a fallaway biker jacket without a pattern

As we transition into spring, I thought it only fitting that I should carry on my theme of lightweight jackets with a fluid flight of fancy from the biker chic vein.

You will need...

55 x 150cm of bouclé wool

35cm of hook and eye tape (available here and almost nowhere else; to my knowledge they're no longer available at any mainstream retailers, perhaps because the hooks and eyes are fashioned from the ivory of unicorns and there's a shortage. Either way, it's not like the old days and sadly you have to look online. And breathe.)

Mannequin

Jacket sleeves (ideally lined)

Sewing machine

Fabric scissors

Needle and thread in a contrasting colour to the fabric

Pins

Fray-stop glue

Difficulty

Quite easy

Straightforward in principle but it has its fiddly moments.

Time

A day. Mine took eight hours. I thought it would be more straightforward but a lot of that time was spent problem-solving and figuring out how to make certain things work - both of which have been taken care of in this tutorial, so it should take you significantly less time.

So, just to wrap it up...

Finish off any raw fabric edges with fray-stop glue.

NB: Make sure you pin the fabric to the mannequin with the wrong side facing outwards. Try to position your fabric as concentrically as possible so that the fallaway collar is symmetrical (if it isn't, you can just cut away the excess fabric on the relevant side and fix the edges with glue again).

NB: This hand stitching should be done - and the outer sleeves should be visible - with the right side of the fabric facing outwards.

NB: Attach the eyelets under the folds of the jacket opening and top stitch them in place.

The jacket

Very Meow - How to DIY a Roschterra cat face fur jacket

Animal Fun (clipped to polyvore.com)

Continuing with the faux fur trend, otherwise known as the DIY inspiration that keeps on giving, I decided to give the street style-friendly Roschterra cat face jacket a try. With its animal motif it namechecks not one but two fun fashion trends and it's super easy to make. I know, as a furry piece it is quintessentially wintery in its general theme, and yes, the clocks might have gone forward but in real terms, when it comes to braving the sort of elements you're likely to find at 50-or-more-degree latitudes, it simply means coming out from underneath the parka and jumpers and going lightweight on the outerwear - and in so doing, allowing for more creativity in the way of statement pieces.

You will need...

* I used white, yellow, blue, orange and peach.

Not pictured

Printer and A4 page (optional)

Gold paint pen

Pencil and A4 page (if you don't have a printer)

Difficulty

Very Easy

It's cutting and sticking without even needing to colour in.

Time

About an hour.

Tip: Using a printer would make the project quicker.

Get your fur on

Print out the following template over an A4 page and cut along the lines with a scalpel.

Alternatively, put your artistic skills to the test and draw the design - or whatever design you want to collage onto your jacket  - onto a sheet of A4 paper.

Place the template on the wrong side of each differently coloured piece of faux fur fabric and, using the gold paint pen, trace each shape twice - remember to turn the paper over between each one so that the shapes in each pair mirror each other.

Cut each piece out.

Place the template on the jacket and trace the outline as best you can. Trim the fur as far down as you possibly can. Turn the paper over and repeat the process on the other side.

Stick each piece in place using craft mount.