Wednesday, 8 July 2015

DIY Wanderlust Phone Cover



Yow! How are y'all? Am so happy to post this DIY after a really long time (as usual)! I completed my postgraduation in Biotechnology and am back to Bombay for good. I have decided to take a year off in order to do all possible things that I have missed out on, because of my tedious lab hours during the last five years. Hence, this break year will be dedicated to food, travel, DIY and photography not necessarily in the order I mentioned. I assume it'll help me grow as a person and help me unwind a little. :)

Psst! I hope you haven't fallen asleep.

So since I have 365 days of absolute freedom, I will hopefully be inspirated to post more, craft more and share more with all you amazing people.


Today I decided to make something pretty rad. I saw something similar online and thought of making my own version of it. Phone covers generally have graphic designs on them so my idea was to replace those graphics with actual stamps. I present to you *ba dum tsss* the Wanderlust Phone Cover!





As always, run to your stationery work station and pick up the following. You may have to run to the mobile accessories store for one thing. :P




I've put an asterisk on stamps, as you must have noticed. I realize that not many of you are philatelists and hence, may not have interesting stamps to compile for this project. Feel free to send me a message in case you want some interesting stamps for your cover. You can give me a cupcake in return. That's all I ask for. *wink wink*

If you ARE a philatelist like me, congratulations! Go through all those stamps you had kept aside for trade and pick the most colorful and interesting stamps for this project. Try and avoid portraits or illustrations of people. 



Let's begin!

Step 1:
Start by taking a sheet of OHP. In case you are not able to get transparencies, use any card stock or card paper. It won't be as flexible as an OHP but will act as a good substitute.
According to the inner dimensions of the phone cover, outline a rough piece of paper. Later, use this as a stencil to correctly cut your transparency.


This is the rough piece of paper cut exactly according to the inner
dimensions of the phone cover.

Use the paper to cut the OHP sheet.

Yes, am good at multitasking. Cutting the OHP and
and taking a picture! Owwww SNAP! :D

Step 2:
Place the cut OHP inside the phone cover and mark the areas around the camera/flash/speaker. Cut them out, of course. :P


Don't worry about any stray marks on the OHP. They'll get covered eventually.


Step 3:
Decide an arrangement for your stamps. Place them strategically. This is important. No, really! Placing your stamps randomly v/s placing your stamps in an organized chaos does make a difference! Try it out for yourself!


Step 4:
Stare at the arrangement and doubt your sense of placement. 

Step 5:
Rearrange.

Step 6:
Repeat steps 4 to 6 till you're happy with the outcome. You may now paste the stamps! Haha.



The final product would make you want to doubt your crafting abilities. If you have stamps sticking out
from out sides, CONGRATULATIONS! You have done a good job!


Step 7:
Cut all the extra protruding stamp edges and make the OHP look neat. 



Step 8:
Cut out the stamps covering the camera/flash/speaker. Once that's done, push the ready OHP into the phone cover and place properly. Not that I need to tell you that, but I made a GIF for that. Gotta draw some attention towards it, okay? :P




VOILA!

Your phone cover is ready. Looks amazing, doesn't it? You can personalize it however you want! Use pictures, memes or even a to-do list. Okay, the last point was lame. Ignore.

Here is how mine looked.



Japan, USA, Iran, I have them all in here!

I hope you enjoy making this quirky phone cover. Go ahead, show it off! Post a picture of it on Instagram and tag it with #TheDIYFactory. I'll definitely keep an eye out for your posts!
Lastly, don't forget to follow me on Instagram @shivaniparasnis because you know am cool. JK. I post good stuff sometimes! :D

Sending lots of love your way! 


~ Shivani ~

Wednesday, 12 November 2014

Jot that thought!

નમસ્તે from the land of dhoklas and khaman!

I know, I was supposed to upload this eons ago. Sorry for the delay!
Here, have a cupcake. :*



Today's DIY is going to be something that you need every single day. At least I do.
A to-do booklet that fits practically anywhere in my bag. And what is better than making your own?





So go to your room, pick up these goods from your stationery work station and come back.





Let the crafting begin. *ta daaa*


Step 1:
Start by picking some pretty paper that you've been meaning to use for something amazing. Now's the time! Make sure it's thicker than the ruled paper you'll be using later.






Cut the paper according to the size of the booklet you want to make.




Fold the cut paper such that you get a little cover-like thing for your book.




Take a set of ruled papers and cut them according to the size of the outer cover you just prepped. Make sure that your ruled papers are around 0.5cm lesser in width than the cover of the booklet.




Now fold the cover and the ruled papers along the fold you had made earlier on the cover paper.

Wait, I was telling you everything in steps. I lost count. Teehee.




Step 2:
Binding the papers together using this simple trick is something I learnt when I was in grade 5, at a local art workshop. I realize its use now!

Pick up any eraser that you find lying around your house and place it under the opened booklet, along the spine. Also, pin up all your papers to keep them together!

Oh and open up the stapler like you do when you refill the pins!




Now place the stapler facing downwards on the point on the spine where you want to staple the pages together. One on the top and one at the bottom is generally 'nuff.

Punch punch punch!


Flip it over and take off the eraser. LOL. It's stuck to the pins now. Use a scale-like device to fold the pins inwards like a stapler would usually do.





And if you wish to add a little pocket to any of your booklets, just leave this additional flap while cutting your cover paper. See the picture below. Cut along the orange line and put some glue along the yellow line and simply fold it up!




Voila!


For some beautiful little add-ons, here are some self-explanatory images. Check check! You'll love them!


Beautiful, beautiful washi tape!





This little one is as small as my credit card!


So after all those miscounted steps, you finally have your adorable to-do notebook!

Check out the others I made.


Don't you love them?

Do you feel like making your own? Yes? Yes? Then yaaay! Make them and upload them on Instagram with the hashtag #theDIYfactory! Why? Because I love to see what you lovelies do!
Also, don't forget to follow me @shivaniparasnis. I post cool pictures, you know? ;)

Let me know what you think about this post! If there is anything you would like me to make, post it in the comments below! 


Sending lots of love your way!

Adios, mis amigos.


~ Shivani ~

Friday, 8 August 2014

DIY Heart Print Jeans


Hello lovelies.

I cannot believe that it's been 10 months since I updated my blog! Life in Baroda has been super hectic since I moved here a year ago because being a full-time scientist isn't easy, yo! But hey, no complaints!

So one fine Sunday when I decided to stay at home and detach myself from science for 24 hours, this happened! It's an amazing way to revamp your old pair of jeans that is probably hiding at the bottom of your wardrobe. ;)

Read further for step by step instructions!



What do you need? As usual, nothing more than 5-6 things!

Let's start.

You will need:

1. An old pair of jeans (Make sure you can still wear 'em)
2. Fabric paint and a brush (or even a piece of sponge)
3. Cardboard cutout
4. Cutter
5. Patience





1. Start by preparing a cardboard cutout of your favourite shape. I made a heart. Not because that's my favourite shape but because it is easy to cut! :P



2. Place the cutout on the jeans and roughly mark equidistant points on the jeans in order to print the hearts on them appropriately. I haven't done that since I am lazy. Don't be lazy like me. Go and mark those points now!




3. Carefully start painting the patch. Make sure you don't disturb the position of the cutout. If that happens, you might just end up with shapes that don't look like hearts. :D


Doesn't it look pretty?


4. Continue painting the hearts all over the jeans till it looks like this:


Some blotchy hearts are okay, I suppose. :P

5. Final step, get someone to model for you!! Hahaha.






My model is allowed to go mad for a while.

Aaaand you're now a proud owner of a superb-looking pair of jeans!

I am really sorry for the bad picture quality. I had to take pictures with my phone this time. :(

Anyway, try it out and let me know how you guys experiment with the patterns!
You can share your pictures on Instagram and tag them with #thediyfactory. I would love to see what you guys do!

So that's it for this post!
Hope you enjoyed it!

Lots of love,

~   Shivani ~