It took such a long time to make an effort to embrace my creative side for a few reasons. I thought that being a creative meant quitting my 9-5 job to do what I love full time. It still scares me that I'm following through with passions that often times doesn't have a previously established, universal benchmark of success. How am I supposed to know if I'm doing things "right"? The truth is I'm a creative, because I actively create. It's weird the restrictions you can give yourself when there are no rules. I'm realizing now more than ever that there is beauty in choice.
A huge part of rediscovering myself is leaning into what I love, enjoying my journey regardless of the destination, and reclaiming the parts of myself that I lost. Yes, this time I’m just painting my jeans. I still f*cking love denim ! But it's a start. I need to learn, touch, research, deconstruct, and reconstruct denim for my own collection in the future. My mind is already reeling with other projects to dive into, so far I've learned all the fun is in trial and error.
This 'Crafting Things' revamps thrift-ed jeans from Goodwill that I wanted to keep simple but make different somehow. It's funny because I don't have patterned jeans for two reasons, I know I'll eventually get tired of the pattern and they can be hard to style for casual outfits. Delicately using white floral accents, I kept the design on the back of the legs so I can’t see it. This project is perfect for piece you don’t want to give away, but don’t get a lot of use out of...yet :)
Tools :
Fabric Paint - Joanne Fabric
Rubber Stamp - Joanne Fabric
Pencil/Pen *optional*
Jeans
Paint bush ( I used a makeup brush)
Newspaper ( I used a paper plate)
Instructions:
1. Pour a small amount of fabric paint on the paper plate, ensuring ensures excess paint won't be wasted or spilled.
2. Using your paint brush, lightly coat your stamp with fabric paint. It’s important to not be heavy handed, you want the print show up as detailed as possible.
3. Place the stamp wherever your heart desires! For more intricate designs I would try the pants on and mark placements with a pen or pencil before stamping. You can always add more, but you can't take back.
4. Firmly press on the outer edges of the stamp, make sure the stamp itself doesn't move.
5. Lift the stamp slowly from the bottom left corner and voila! New jeans!
*Read the instructions on your specific fabric paint for drying and washing instructions*
Comment below with a crafting project you’d like to see me take a crack at! Like and share this post with a person in need of a spark of creativity :)