Category Archives: DIY

DIY: Floral Fascinator

Although Melbourne Cup day and the racing season has now been and gone, I thought I would share a DIY for a floral fascinator as a part of Fizzle Out’s summer DIY series, as you never know when you might need piece of new headwear.

We recently attended Kris’ brother’s wedding, and the dress code stated ‘hats encouraged’, so of course I couldn’t miss out on the opportunity to don some fancy headwear.

I scoured my local op shops and markets for something unique and vintage (that wouldn’t break the bank), yet I came away empty handed and realised the only way I was going to get what I had in mind was to make my own.

I headed to Spotlight (fabric shop) to get my supplies, and being the day before Melbourne Cup they were practically cleaned out, but thankfully what was left was on special, so I gathered up a bundle of supplies and hoped that I would be able to put them together into something worth wearing. Making a fascinator is nothing new, and many women were doing exactly the same thing, but I personally am not a fan of anything too feathered, so decided to go down the floral and netting route. I am super fussy with faux flowers, and after digging through a massive collection of them I finally found some that didn’t look cheap or too fake.

I was pretty impressed with the results, especially considering the cost and the small amount of time I put into it. What do you think?

What you need:

Plain headband – I bought a silver one for $3.95
Something to cover the headband, either to match your hair or contrast – i chose to contrast with some cream finishing tape – $0.99 a metre
Hot glue gun (or some thread and good knotting skills)
Floral wire (I chose a colour to match my hair so that it would be hidden) – $3
Netting (I chose a cream colour, similar to my flowers) – I think it was $6.95 a metre, I used 0.5m
Faux flowers of your choice – my stem was $7.95 (which is quite a lot for flowers but SO much cheaper than any store bought fascinator)

How to:

Cover your headband with ribbon/material (if desired).

Starting at one end of the headband, glue the end piece of material to the inside of the band, once dry, wind it around and around, moving along the length of the headband until you reach the other end. My hot glue gun had run out of glue so I ended up tying the material to the headband using thread – I ran a matching thread around each end approx 10 times before tying a few tight knots. It seems to be pretty solid so far.

Place the headband on your head and sort out the netting and flowers. I stood in front of the mirror and played around with different combinations and arrangements of netting and flowers, keeping in mind that I didn’t want to look like I was trying to out-shadow the bride or bridal party (eg. I didn’t bring the netting over my face at all, and tried to keep the flowers close to my head rather than making a huge headpiece).

Play around until you get something that looks like what you had imagined, that will sit the way you want it to. You can cut the flowers off their original stem and arrange them on the floral wire if that works better (don’t use good scissors to cut faux flowers as they tend to have wire in the middle that will destroy your blade). Trim the excess netting and any parts of the flowers that you don’t require.

When you have what you want, secure it together with more floral wire, while trying to keep the wire flat rather than in a big mound.

Now, mark or hold your flower/netting combo where you need to secure it to the headband, using another piece of floral wire.

Try it on and make sure everything is sitting right, adjusting as required. Now, take more of your material or ribbon and go over the top of the floral wire, making it look tidy and well finished.

I tied my finishing tape in a neat bow so that it looked intentional, rather than something I was trying to cover up.

Now you are finished! Try your new fascinator out with different hairstyles to see what works best!

Have you ever made your own headpiece for the races or a special event?

Photos from: my camera

DIY: Neon Macrame Plant Hanger

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Neon colours are perfect for summertime, and a small splash of neon in your house can brighten the whole place up and make it feel fun.

The second DIY in Fizzle Out’s summertime DIY series shows you how to make a macrame plant hanger. Macrame is showing up all over blogs and pinterest, and has always fascinated me, so when I came across a tutorial by the people blogging for Element Eden I thought it was the perfect opportunity to give it a try.

At high school we had to learn how to tie knots, and to be honest, it has never really come in handy until now.

Since it has been 10 years since I graduated from grade 12 (eeeeeekkkkk time goes so fast) there is no way I could still remember how to do it, but thankfully the only knot that this tutorial requires is the standard knot that we all probably do every day.

I came across the tutorial on pinterest and knew that it would be perfect for summer as it takes a little time and a bit of patience, but is so satisfying to hang it up when you finish.

Unfortunately I just could not figure it out when I was following the instructions from Element Eden, so I browsed a few other tutorials and combined them all to make it perfect for the rope I was using. Please see my instructions below and feel free to alter them if you find a way that works better for you.

What you need:

Neon rope – I used ‘brickies twine’ from Bunnings – $5.95. If you can find something thicker I think that will work even better!

A plant of your choice – succulents or cacti work perfectly – $3.95 from Bunnings

A bowl or pot to repot your plant from its original container (I used a shallow cereal type bowl that I originally got from Ikea (I think it was around $2)

A little gravel or potting soil

optional: a ring for hanging – I just tied it in a big loop/knot but I have no idea how long it will last (will not be surprised to hear a big crash if it hits the ground).

How to:

Re-pot your plant from its original container into a new bowl or pot, adding a little gravel or potting soil if required (succulents and cacti prefer gravel and rocks instead of too much soil).

Cut 8 equal lengths from your rope - I made mine 1.5m long but it really depends where you are planning to hang it from and how big your pot is. You can always trim it later so I think it is better to go too long than too short.

Tie them together in a large loop at the top (or follow the amazing tutorial on Skinny Laminx to connect your ring)

Separate the 8 ropes into 4 pairs, tie a knot in each pair (I used a standard overhand knot, but if you know any fancy knots feel free to use them!)

Grab one rope from underneath the knot, grab one rope from the adjacent pair, and tie them in a knot, about 5cm below the first one. Repeat this with the remaining ropes from the pair, until all your ropes are paired up again.

Do this again, another 5cm below the 2nd knot – this will make a fun pattern in the top hanging area of your rope.

Hang your rope from its loop or ring in its final position, so that you can figure out how long you want it to be and can see how gravity is affecting your design. Figure out the level that you want your plant to sit, and with it still hanging (or transfer it to a door handle or other hanging spot) tie the ropes into pairs again.

About 5cm below those knots, grab one knot from each pair and tie together, continuing as you did earlier for the top of the rope.

About 5cm below the second set of knots, tie the remaining lengths in a big knot below where the pot will sit.

Take your rope off from where it is hanging and place your pot or bowl in within the knots, checking to see that it is sturdy and won’t fall out. If it’s not fitting perfectly or feeling stable now is the time to tweak it. I had to add tiny lengths of rope pulling some of the long lengths closer together until I felt that it was safe from falling – it added some fun extra neon rope to the design too!

Hang it up as is or add some beads to get the hippy vibe going!

For just over $10 you can add this fun little piece to your house – I just wish I had more places to hang plants from!

What do you think – are you going to give it a go? I would love to see the results if you do!

Photos from: my camera

DIY instructions adapted from:

Element Eden blog

Skinny Laminx

Walk in Love (with an awesome way to recycle a t-shirt instead of using rope)

DIY: Simple Summer Skirt

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Want to learn how to make a fun summer skirt at little expense and using only basic sewing skills?

Welcome to the first of my new summer DIY series. Summertime feels like it is made for DIY, the long days, minimal responsibilities and amazing summer energy gets my creativity going. If you are looking for fun little projects to make over summer, keep an eye on Fizzle Out over the next few months.

It sure has been a while since I have spent any time on this little blog of mine. Apologies for the absence – I have been super busy finishing off the academic year, and, believe it or not, making the half way mark in my medical degree.

This idea came to me when I found a blouse with a fabulous floral pattern, in a cut that I knew I would never ever wear. I bought it for $1 from the op shop because I just couldn’t let it go, and thought I could maybe make it into a cushion.

I realised that we now have about 10 cushions on our couch (as it is the only thing that I have been really confident in sewing so far), so had a little think about what else I could make.

If you follow this tutorial, keep in mind that I am a super beginner sewer so the steps are quite vague and if you think of a way you can do things a little better, please do and let me know in the comments!

What you need:

Vintage blouse (with buttons) - Unless you are tiny, I would recommend that you ensure the blouse you buy is in a large size (or even go a large men’s shirt) as I was really pushing it to have enough material to go around my hips. If you are a beginner sewer try to choose a cotton or easy fabric to sew.

Elastic – enough to go around your waist (I would use a wider elastic if I was to make this again, probably a couple of cm wide will make the skirt sit better.

Basic sewing skills – I used a sewing machine (this would be quite hard to do by hand but not impossible)

Thread – to match the material and elastic

Pins

How to:

Ensure the blouse is sufficient width and length to be a skirt – I buttoned it up around me to check, to make sure that when I cut the shirt to remove the sleeves and collar it would still be long enough to wear on a day to day basis. If it is baggy around your waist don’t worry, the elastic will bring it in, but it will be a ‘puffy’ style skirt.

Wrap the elastic around your waist, stretch it around your waist, not so tight that it is uncomfortable but making sure there is a bit of tension on it. Pin or mark it, and then remove from your waist and sew the ends of the elastic together (use zigzag stitch).

Cut the blouse just below the arm holes straight across horizontally. If you have chosen the right blouse you will ideally be able to keep the buttons down the front and the seams down both sides, minimising the required sewing.

After all, this is meant to be a project you can do in a single summer afternoon.

I unpicked the blouse pocket but you can leave it on if you like the look of it.

Now sew the elastic on to the material:

Ensure that you fold under the raw edge of the fabric

Stretch the elastic out and pin the fabric to it – taking care to get it equal. I did it by folding the elastic in half twice, marking the 4 equal distances, and pinning it to 4 equal distances on the fabric (the two side seams, the front seam and the middle of the back panel. I then stretched the elastic out, pinning equally in between.

While you are sewing you will need to stretch the elastic, and ensure that you are sewing using an appropriate ‘stretch’ stitch (check your manual of your sewing machine – I used a zigzag for elastic).

H ere is a really good tutorial for how to sew an elasticised waistband – if you are still confused check youtube for some visuals. This one is great too – I think I know what my next sewing project will be!

Depending on the finish at the bottom of the blouse, you could leave the original hem as the hem of your skirt – mine was very uneven so I cut it off and just did a standard hem (folded under twice).

If you have never done a hem before, here is a tip – iron it down first, it makes the whole process much easier and is well worth the extra effort. I also moved one of the buttons from the collar (that was cut off) down to the bottom of the skirt, to minimise the potential for accidentally flashing on a windy day! I’ll leave it up to you if you think it is necessary on your skirt

Now – your skirt is done! Try it on and see how it fits. Mine was a little puffy as I had left a little too much give for the elastic, so it needed a little waist tie – I used scraps of the material to make an approx 3cm wide band that I can tie around in a bow.

This little addition made it so cute and much more wearable, and definitely a great skirt for heading down to the beach or ducking to the shops.

What do you think? Are you going to give it a try? I would love to hear all about your favourite summertime DIY projects, below in the comments.