Rockin' {some cute flag shorts} in the USA

Ladies and gentlemen {imagine there's an echo, mmmkay?}...

today we have a very special guest...all the way from Oklahoma City...

home for the summer...my favorite girl, Sara.

She's sharing this patriotic DIY shorts makeover...

please give her a very warm welcome.

~~~

Hello everybody!

This summer my list of crafty DIY things is just about as long as my mom’s.

Since July 4^th is coming up soon this seemed like a good place to start.

So… here goes…

Find a favorite pair of shorts that you want to give an American face-lift.

I got mine at a thrift store. J

They can be high-waisted, regular in cut, denim,

white or whatever your heart desires.

The type of shorts don’t matter. 

I think choosing white in color is

easier for the design, but it’s up to you!

I had my mom make me some star stickers 1.5 inches

in diameter that I placed in a pattern on the fabric.

{These were cut on a Silhouette, but you can find star stickers just about anywhere}

Now that you have the shorts (white in this case) you need

a red and a blue color of paint that you like.

I made the mistake of using acrylic paint and hopefully once

I wash them now that the paint has dried they won’t be as stiff.

Paint made specifically for fabric is probably a better choice.

But hey, you use what you got, right?

Pour about 2 tablespoons of each color in separate containers

and add some water, but only enough to dilute the paint.

Perhaps the ratio should be 1.5:1 ; water:paint.

On the right leg I painted the blue with the stars so that the front would

have the same look as an actual flag. The backside however,

if you continue the stars the same on the left leg, you’ll be flipped

I then took a 1 inch foam brush to paint over them and the rest of the right leg.

Seem easy enough right?

Just make sure that you don’t use too much of the liquid around

the stickers or else you’ll have some bleeding where

you don’t want it and there’s extra work involved to fix the stars.

The left leg is easier and only requires frog tape or washi tape

{excuse me, you used my washi tape?}

to make straight lines horizontally across to keep the white stripes.

You decide how thick or thin the stripes turn out.

My warning is the same with this side though.

Don’t soak the fabric right next to the tape to avoid bleeding.

Brush the liquid off and away from the tape.

I would suggest letting one side dry, at least some,

before flipping to paint the other side.

Hang 'em up to dry completely!

~~~

Thanks, Sara!

Now everybody can R.O.C.K in the USA!

Make sure you follow the recommendations on the paint bottle for washing.

I want to see you all rockin' your flag shorts!

Whew...won't those fireworks be goin' off!

So let's have it...send me pics!

I'd love to see your patriotic refashions!

Did you enjoy this post from Sara?

I have a feeling she'll be back this summer.

Have a spectacular weekend!

Rockin' out here:

The 36th Avenue

Embracing Change
Saving 4 Six
Live.Laugh.Rowe
Stone Gable
I Heart Naptime
I Should Be Mopping The Floor
The Dedicated House
Serenity You
Dimples and Pigtails
Cedar Hill Ranch
Love Grows Wild
My Uncommon Slice of Suburbia
Clean and Scentsible
Lil' Luna
 Home Stories A to Z
Lolly Jane
Ivy and Elephants
Crafts A La Mode
Funky Junk Interiors

DIY Wonder Woman Costume

When I was a kid...I looooooved Wonder Woman.

I mean...who didn't? She was one kick butt chick!

And she had her own invisible jet.

Shut the front door!

So, last year when Sara wanted to be Wonder Woman...I was all over that!

And, yes, she still dresses up.

Sara has NEVER had a store bought costume.

That's not to say sometimes some parts of her costume weren't purchased.

But she's never worn a plastic mask with an annoying elastic string that

pullsyourhairandmakesithardtobreatheandhardertosee.

Keep in mind...I was not really blogging this time last year.

I think I had posted two whole things.

I had made this collage and posted it to my Facebook page...I'll break it down a bit.

As the picture above says:

1. $3 square toed boots from Salvation Army

spray painted with Krylon Cherry Red...then hand painted white stripe

2. A red cami ~ the Heat'n Bond worked great!

I found the eagle image through a Google search...

I just picked one I thought would be easy to cut out.

I attached the heat'n bond to the gold lamé first, then

pinned the print out on and cut it out and ironed it on the cami.

3. Blue leggings, also from the thrift store...cut into shorts and hemmed.

We used felt and the heat'n bond again for the stars...but

if you have iron-on vinyl...that would be easier - or paint.

Once the shorts were done...we sprayed them with glitter paint.

4. The headband and wrist cuffs were made from yellow foam sheets

Cut them out and painted gold, then glittered.

{After I made these, I found GLITTER foam sheets. Ugh.}

The wrist cuffs have snaps glued on.

5. Sara had a piece of stretchy gold sequined belt she wore...

but you could use any gold ribbon.

6. Don't forget the magic lasso!

We just used a length of inexpensive gold cord from Hobby Lobby. 

The invisible jet was the easy part!

{She IS wearing tan tights...but this is NOT a school appropriate costume}

She did get to wear it to a party...to hand out candy...and YES, for trick or treating.

A dad and his kids came to the door when she was handing out candy.

The dad said..."Oooh...look who that is!" 

His little girl was probably about 6.

She said "I don't know!"

He said, "it's Wonder Woman"

She just said, "oh."

Kids these days.

:)

Think you might need a Wonder Woman costume of your own?

Don't we all?

Do you/did you make your kid's/kids' costumes?

Do you have a favorite?

Sharing here:

Mop It Up Monday @ ISBMTF

Sundae Scoop @ I Heart Naptime

DebbieDoo's

My Uncommon Slice of Suburbia

2012 Eighteen25 Halloween Party

The 36th Avenue

Horrific Knits