Inspiration Nation//Transfer images on fabric!

So I've been on this crazy wild chase to get the newest designs from my collection printed on fabric. All was grand and lush till I realized I've never done fabric printing before (painting, sure but printing? Whoa, hold up right there!). So here's your basic tut for printing out those cutesy images you own or have designed like me onto fabric. All you need is a glob of modpodge, wax paper (optional),foam brushes, your fabric and the printed paper the design of which you want to print on your fabric.

Easy enough? Let's get started!

MATERIALS:

Modpodge (matte and gloss)

Printed image (I used Inkjet)

Fabric (any will do. I used white cotton)

Paintbrushes/foam brushes for the modpodge

Sponge

A bowl of water

Wax Paper, optional

INSTRUCTIONS:

1. Begin by laying out the wax paper to protect your work surface from the gooey sticky mess of the modpodge. For the first round, I'm using the matte version of modpodge. Have the image side of the paper facing you and dunk it in a whole lotta modpodge. Do nice, even strokes and you need to put a "thick" layer. When you're done, the colors of the original image should hardly peek through.

2.When you're done, gently lift the paper off the wax paper and put the image side down facing the fabric. The blank side should face you know. Leave this to dry a day.

3. 24 hours later, you should find the whole fabric-image combo stiff because the glue has dried. You'll now wet the sponge with some of the water and gently press down onto the blank side of the image which faces you. Keep dabbing on the water gently until you see the pattern and colors coming through again.

4.Slowly scrub the paper which will come off like shreds and leave a vibrant print behind. Scrape of the entire image (gentle is key, scrape too much and you'll rip off the print from the fabric too!). If you need to, dab the image with water again to make sure it is wet during the whole process.

5.This step is so important and I want you to pay extra effort and attention here. You'll want to make sure that you completely remove off all the tiny bits of paper sticking in there. Rub it all off because if you don't and it dries, it won't be a pretty sight. I overlooked this a bit while printing on mine and I was left with tiny white flecks in some part of my fabric print :(

6.Do a light layer of modpodge (gloss version) to seal it all in, bring out the vibrancy and add a pretty shine. This last step goes that extra length to perk your image up!

And that's it! You can use modpodge meant for fabric and waterproof modpodge if you wish to wash your fabric in the future.

Yes, the color did turn out that vivacious!

(PS: If you can't judge if you removed all the paper, wait until the fabric dries and if it shows off the tiny white specks, wet it again and gently rub them off. Don't apply the modpodge until you do this step because removing them after the modpodge dries clear is pretty much impossible. A lesson learnt!)

This is how it looks from the back. ^

I'll be using this fabric for a very special purpose which I'll share on the blog soon ;) You can check out Craft A Doodle Doo's new hip online shop where you purchase the entire collection of these super chic prints!

Have any queries? Drop a comment below!

In the meantime, share a lil blog love and pin/share if you liked this trick!

You can also subscribe to Craft A Doodle Doo (in the sidebar) for more clever DIYs. You can find me mostly on Pinterest and occasionally on good ol' Facebook!

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I bid you goodbye for now with tons of more inspiration at my DIY gallery.

Love, Nash!

The Decorista Chronicles//DIY Wall Decals!

It's been a while since I did a sassy wall art tut here at Craft A Doodle Doo but this was invented at the request of a very special friend who said she wants some decorspiration for her room. This is so easy, looks as in vogue as they come and is made with one basic material. On top of that, it's removable so you can change 'em up anytime and you see why we are not doing stencils here? I'd love doings stencils on my walls, but then the paranoia drops in that the future me would probably indulge in some other design. This one's a no-mess peel off and that makes it all the more cooler!

This of course doesn't mean you have to make a jewelry niche too, headboard decals are the thing I say but I have a pretty su-weet headboard already. The best bet would be doing this under a shelf (or on the top of it). Also consider hanging a grand oval mirror over your vanity and having the decal as the frame of the mirror. Endless options I tell ya.

Start away already you tell me. buuuuuut I can never start without this brilliant piece of inspiration.

Materials:

1.Adhesve sheet in any color you'd like and in any texture (You know, the peel-off back ones. I'm using my trusty velvet textured adhesive sheet in deep red)

2.Masking/scotch tape,X-acto (craft knife) and a pair of large and small scissors

3.A ruler to level the decal onto the wall.

4.A cutting mat or any surface as such

5. One whoppin' pattern you'd like to decal. Look around for lots of inspiration. My friend loves damask so that is what I chose.

How-to:

1.Start by printing out a template of your design. Make sure you print it out the right size. My damask corner patterns are about half of an A4 sheet (just so that you get the idea). 

Cut out the adhesive sheet to be double the area of your template and slightly larger and fold it in half. 

2.Tape all the edges of your pattern onto the folded adhesive sheet so everything is tightly secure in place and won't more when you're cutting out the pattern.

3.Using a craft knife and the different sized scissors, cut the pattern out. A good tip is to not start out with a too complicated pattern.

Here's the two damask corners for each side of my "shelf" decal.

I then cut out a long strip and two smaller ones (for the damask corners) measuring the width of the wall/space I wanted to put my decal on. This long strip was supposed to go on top of the damask corners.

4.Use a ruler (or probably the leveling app on your Iphone,lol) to make sure you have the alignment right when you place the decal. Peel off and smooth it onto the surface. Since it comes off mess free, even if you have those annoying 'wrinkles' you can peel back off and smooth it over again.

And that's it!

As you see mine is fashioned liked a little jewelry alcove. So I used transparent command hooks to hang in pretty jewelry.

If you're wondering where the jewelry from my faux Vintage China wall display went (I took it out so that it shouldn't compete with the jewelry under the decal in the photographs :D )

This looks so much more stunning in real life than in the pictures (one of those see to believe pretty kinda things!). A showstopping impact ladies!

So are your walls bare? Dying for a classy makeover, maybe lookin' for a pop of elegant color? Or maybe you've just been on the plain and straight quest for the easiest way to do homemade decals.

Now you know ;)

If you liked this nifty idea, pin and share it with other people you know. You can also be pals with me on Pinterest, Facebook and follow for some glamorous new decorhacks!

Meanwhile, if you'd like to lay those pretty eyes on more of my DIYs, you can drop in to tour my DIY gallery here!

Have a great day,

Nash

INSPIRATION COLLAGE PHOTO CREDITS:

http://www.houzz.com/photos/6617422/Chandelier-Wall-Decal-modern-decals-

http://www.houzz.com/photos/6616204/Riviera-Giant-Peel---Stick-Applique-modern-decals-http://www.houzz.com/photos/6617239/Cherry-Blossoms-Wall-Decals-modern-decals-

Beauty In A Nutshell//DIY Face Primer!

First it was DIY concealer and now it's DIY Primer! I've been hearing about people going gaga on primers for ages now and so far I've only tried the Loreal Studio Secrets one which I quite fancied (until the sample got over that is) and have been on the fence about investing money to get one. I mean they do work wonders, right?

In case you are new on the bandwagon, a primer is a face product base that helps the foundation go on smoother, makes your skin look more even (prior to foundation usage), takes away shine thus mattifying that pretty face and most importantly helps your look stay on longer taking away the risk of melting. There are primers developed to solve special skin problems too, but today we are going to make a potion for the basic primer that does the above mentioned tasks.

DIY Face Primer:

Ingredients:
1.Store bought Aloe vera gel   >> Mattifies
2.Water based moisturizer >> To help your foundation go on smoother
3. A couple of drops of foundation >> For light coverage
4. Sunblock (optional)
5.Face Powder >> Prevents shine
6. A jar to blend in the contents and a tiny spoon

Instructions:
1.Begin by pouring in a blob of the aloevera gel (I'm using a combination of aloe and cucumber because that's what I had). If you have normal skin, add the same amount of moisturizer. My skin
is combination during most of the year and dry during winters which is why I added slightly more gel compared to moisturizer.
So basically:
Normal skin         >> Equal parts gel & moisturizer
Dry skin               >> Less gel, more moisturizer
Oily/Combo Skin >>More gel, less moisturizer

2.Next add in the foundation. Add this as per the coverage you wish to achieve. I you want this to function like a tinted moisturizer, add a tiny amount. For more of a bb cream thingy, add more.

3.Add in the sunblock and loose powder.

4.Swirl in everything together till it's nice and even. Your finished result shouldn't be too dense or too runny, somewhere in between is perfect.

And we're done! Try it on! I was quite impressed with the results. I wore just primer on for most of the first day that I used it and people did notice the difference. exactly like a mlbb (my skin but better) look!

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Pin this on and share it with all the girls out there to give this a go!
You can check out my DIY gallery and/or subscribe here for tons more inspiration! :D
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PS: I've seen a bunch of variations now and then of this recipe. I suggest you make a sample first (a week's worth) and test it out. If you''re satisfied, you can go ahead and make a larger amount.

For now, sweet hugs and Adieu.
Nash