Friday, June 29, 2012

T-shirt Tutorial

 This is going to be a tutorial for this shirt:
You will need: A shirt (preferably a size larger), scissors, and a mirror. 
I bought this shirt online and I really like it!
The only problem?
 Yeah, that wasn't going to fit me anytime soon. So I did what I usually do, I altered it! Take your shirt and lay it out with the back facing up.
On the shoulders, there should be two seams going from the neck to the sleeves. Take those two seams and line them up at the neck so they're touching, like this.
 Now, there should be two seams running down the sides of the shirt from your armpit to your hips. Locate them, and put them so they're touching, like this.
 So now, with these two seams at the top and at the bottom touching, your shirt should look like this.
 We just created a fold going straight down the back of your shirt.
 Now, starting about three inches down or so (where my scissors are, just eyeball it), start making a lot of cuts.
When you are finished, the back of your shirt should look like this (I just put that wooden stick there so you can see what I did). 
 After you make all these cuts, cut off the ribbed fabric that covers the neck hole (where your head comes out). So if you put your shirt on, your back will look like this.
 I know, that top part of the shirt without cuts in it looks odd. Just believe me that we'll fix that soon.
So now, make a little cut on the bottom of that top section on the bottom on the middle. Just about where I pushed the fabric up in this photo.  
 Cut straight up, then cut a "V" so you go from the center cut to each shoulder like this.
 Now comes the tedious part. Cut every other strip in the center going straight down the back. It doesn't have to be perfect. Just eyeball it. The reason why we cut every other strip is so that when your put on your t-shirt to start knotting it, the uncut strips actually keep the shirt together. And, they also show you if you missed a strip. So if you were to take a strip from either side and they didn't line up, you can tell by tugging on the uncut strip and seeing if they're both just above or just below it.
 Now, with your back facing a mirror, start tying each of the strips together. Take one strip from each side, pull it taunt, then tie it in a knot in the center. Leave the very top one for last.
 Go all the way down. It's okay if you pull the strips pretty tight, the shirt will eventually stretch out a little, so tying these pretty tight is okay.
 Tie the top section now. Reason why we leave it for last is because you want your shirt to lie comfortably on your torso, then tie off the top so it sits comfortably against your shoulder blades. Then, cut off the dangly pieces so you are left with clean knots like this.
Your back should look like this. 

This is where you can alter your neck line. You can keep it as it came when we cut the ribbed fabric off the neckline, or you can cut it into a "V" neck, or a sweetheart neck, or whatever. For this tutorial, I'm cutting it into a sweetheart neckline.
Basically, put on a bra. Start at your cleavage (in the middle of your boobs) and determine how much of your boobs you want to show. If you want lots of boob-age, cut the neckline lower. If you want to cover it up, start a little higher. It's safer to start higher and cut lower as you go on. Cut from that center following along the top of your bra cup (towards your armpits) till you get to your bra strap, then cut going straight up to your shoulder. Do the same to the other side.
 So your neck should look like this.
 You can keep your sleeves if you like, but I prefer to cut them off. Then, I take a bit of black ribbon and tie the sides off like this into a pretty little bow. :3
 And there you have it!
I like this shirt because it's feminine, the ribbons are girly, the sweetheart neckline flatters my boobs, and the ties down the back are sexy without showing off too much. Plus, this means I can buy men's band shirts for cheap and personalize them as I see fit. :D

I hope you liked this tutorial! Happy cutting! <3!

Thursday, June 28, 2012

Goth Hike (and spiritual realizations)

What have I gotten myself into this time?
 Today, a male friend and I would be going on a hiking trip. Nothing else says romance like sunscreen, bug spray, and sweat. Panting is acceptable too. :P
 I got this new Evanescence shirt in the mail yesterday and chopped it up. If you like it, I will be posting a tutorial on how I made it. Also, new razor blade belt buckle! :3
This was the place we went to explore!
 It was beauuutiful. As you can see, the sun was at a low angle of burning, so it was pretty pleasant. Lots of dark shadows to hide in. :3
 This is a park that is hidden away, so only "rich" people really know about it.
 But with privilege comes "Holy fuck it's a snake!!!"
 Mountain Lions too.
 Yeah, I suck at maps. But this place was huuuuge.
 It was gorgeous, I'm afraid my camera can't quite capture the emerald green that surrounded us.
 It was quiet. Peaceful. Calm. Something I have needed for a looong time now.
 This place had trails upon trails leading everywhere.
 Even a staircase leading clear up the freggin' hill! Yeah, nooo thank you.
 In this photo, you can somewhat see the green I was talking about. The light was yellow, and it light up every tree with this emerald green color that was infused with life. It was gorgeous.
  He took me to the highest point in town. Look at all that smog. 
 He said that, on clear days after it has rained and the smog has been washed away, you can see clear to the ocean.
 This photo captures the colors of the evening sun best.
It was so liberating. Just being able to look down at everything. Suddenly, everything that had been clogging my brain was washed away.
You know when something really gets you down? It engulfs your entire being.
But being here, looking down on people, pets, and everything, it suddenly seemed so small.
I was not being locked in a practice room.
I was not being ridiculed for being different.
I was not being hidden away so no one could see us together.
I was... free.
Utterly free....
I breathed, and for the first time, I felt safe.
Teetering on the cliff of what seemed to be the world, I was free.
Nothing can hold me down.
No one can hold me back.
Not even a stupid, ignorant person who was undeserving of my kindness.
Nothing.
I sighed. I let it all go, and we moved on.
We came down the cliff. Coming down from that high (pun intended) was great. I felt weightless. We walked through this orchard filled with grapefruits and oranges and lemons, the air was sweet and cool. This man, this stranger by my side, he opened my eyes. He was not ashamed to know me. He would not abuse my heart as others had. He showed me something that others could not- beautiful freedom.
My camera battery was dying, so I didn't get to capture too many other photos of us here. We went back to his place, ate, then had some time in the pool. It had gotten quite late (as you can see), but the night was sultry. The water felt cool, and once again in that clear quiet blue, I was weightless. I washed away any traces of the drama at school, and I emerged a sparkling, beautiful creature of the night. I was a goddess. A siren. A bringer of beauty and song. So far, my summer is off to a great, FRESH start. I love it! <3!

Monday, June 25, 2012

Disneyland! [VERY IMG HVY]

I went to Disneyland with my cousin Lorena! 



There are a LOT of photos, so I'll keep my words to a minimum. 







SOOOO full of derp! XD











































We all look SOOOO FREGGIN' AWKWARD TOGETHER!!!!!!
































I bought this hat, isn't it lovely?! :D


Jessica Rabbit happened to pop out when we took this photo. She totally walked into my hand, I swear!





The castle was soooo beautiful with the fireworks. I made many wishes this night.


Dumbo!


Tinkerbell!!! They were shooting fireworks VERY near her too.




All of these are instagram'ed by my cousin. Thank you, 'Lo!