Born This Way shirt- A Glee DIY

So I blogged yesterday about my Glee Live goodies, but then I started thinking.  Yeah I can't sing but that really isn't my insecurity I would post on my own shirt. Then I figured, why not have some fun and make my own shirt?! Thus this DIY was born this way. :)

 Supplies
Plain white t-shirt-I got mine at Walmart for 3.00
Black acrylic paint
Fabric paint medium-It turns acrylic paint into fabric paint and is available in the paint section at craft stores.
Piece of cardboard to put in between the shirt layers
Printed outline of the word you want on the shirt
Tracing paper-found in the notions sections in craft stores

First I traced an outline of my word onto the shirt using tracing paper. I googled around for a font I liked and ultimately I went with Franklin Gothic Demi Compressed.

Then I mixed my fabric medium and the paint. It's a 2:1 mix so make sure you have enough black paint to mix it properly. I used about a whole regular sized bottle of black. After that I slowly began painting in the letters. It was an easy day project to do while watching an epic marathon of Glee or Sex and the City.

Once the word is all painted in, it needs to dry 24-48 hours before you can set it.

The next day when it was all dry, I set it with a medium/hot dry iron for 3-5 minutes on the inside of the shirt. The directions say that after setting it, the shirt is able to be washed inside out like normal. I haven't washed mine yet so I'm not sure how well they will hold up in the wash so I would be very careful about how I cleaned it.

Honestly I wasn't sure how well this project would turn out, but now that it's done I'm really pleased with it. It's funny and in my opinion looks really similar to the original shirts. Now I just have to wait until Glee returns to initiate it into my Tuesday night ritual.

xoxo,
Amanda

My Glee Live goodies!

I remembered I blogged about what I bought at Glee Live in my original post but that I never posted pictures. So here ya go!

Honestly I wasn't really into the typical concert shirts, I just didn't like the styles, but I saw they had "Born this Way" shirts and I was so excited. I decided to get "CAN'T SING", cause well I can't and since I love Glee so much I really wish I could.

What I think is really cool about these shirts is even though they aren't normal tour shirts, they put this on the sleeve. I think it's awesome.

First I bought my shirt and then after walking around to get a beer I decided I wanted the tote too. It was too cute and I knew it would become my new fav purse.

Me and the tote have become fast friends, lol. I love it, I'm really glad I went back and bought it.

Now I'm gonna go listen to Glee Live youtube songs from the concert. I still can't get over how amazing it was!!!!!!!!!

xoxo,
Amanda

Rachel's Bad Reputation skirt-Not a Glee DIY

Remember the bright pink skirt Rachel wore at the beginning of Bad Reputation?

Remember the bright pink fabric I bought to make summer skirts with?

Yep, it's the same color, and looks identical to most of the skirts I make, lol. I made the skirt the other day but I didn't put pockets on. I might put some on later, I'm not sure. The original is a knit and mine is a cotton but you really can't tell the difference.

I didn't even plan to make this skirt, but I love coincidences like this.


xoxo,
Amanda

Glitter heels part deux

Once I finished my gold glitter heels, I knew I wanted to make another pair. After cleaning out my closet I found a great pair of heels to use. I bought them but had never worn them so I knew I wasn't going to miss the original pair. Since I went bright for the last pair, this time I wanted to go for a more subtle glitter shade. Martha Stewart's Hematite was perfect. The combination of steely gray and night blue is just fabulous on a pair of killer heels.

I made them the same way as the other pair, but this time I painted the heel and platform part a similar gunmetal shade.

I love this shade. The gold pair are fun but this pair is sexy.

xoxo,
Amanda

Getting fabulous beachy waves

During the summer I lived in Paris I kept my hair wavy about the entire time. Firstly because my guy friend complemented me on how nice it looked, then because it was easy. I could shower at night, scrunch my hair up into a bun to sleep and in the morning it was dry and cute.

I can still do that now but if I'm not going anywhere important I hate putting product in my hair to keep the waves set. With an easy sea salt spray, I can give my hair the waves without using expensive products.

There are tons of directions on sprays but the best one I found was on Glamour.com. It only takes a few thrifty ingredients and smells fantastic.

The essential oils are optional, but I liked the coconut scent so I left the oils out.

Fill the bottle with 8 oz of water, a tsp of sea salt (I got mine for 2 bucks at CVS), 1/2 a tsp of conditioner, and a dab of hair gel. Shake well to mix the ingredients and voila! The ingredients will never fully incorporate so you will have to shake it well each time before you use it.

For all the supplies I think I only spend about 4-5 dollars. I only used a little bit of each ingredient so I still have a bunch of conditioner, salt and hair gel left over to make more if I like it.

I just made it today so once I use it a few times, I let you know how well it works.

xoxo,
Amanda



*Recipe from Glamour.com*

Tights galore

Not that I really need them in this weather but I scored an awesome deal on tights at Kohl's this week. Since it's summer they put all their tights on massive sale so I got like 6 pairs for around $8.00.

The gray and the black pair have a sort of chevron pattern to them.

I'm pretty sure the crimson and raspberry colored tights have been worn on Glee before. It looks like Rachel wore the crimson ones in Comeback, Silly Love Songs, The Sue Sylvester Bowl Shuffle, and in New York. She wore the raspberry ones in Night of Neglect. I've only gone through a few episodes of season 2 so they may have been worn in other episodes too.

As hot as it's been lately I am happily thinking about the time of year when I can wear these again.

xoxo,
Amanda

What I'm loving right now

Whenever summer comes around, I start really cutting back on how much make-up I wear. I'm usually jumping in the pool or sweating so my make-up never stays on for too long. For summer I really only stick to mascara and some shimmer blush.

My favorite blush for summer is E.L.F's All Over Color Stick. Pink Lemonade is my perfect shade.

I found this brand over the net a few years ago and just recently Target started selling it as well. This color stick is amazing for so many reasons. First it's only $1.00! Second, it has the best hint of summer color.  This peachy-pink shade looks great on my skin tone and give me a gorgeous summer glow. It has some shimmer in it too, which is perfect. Because it's an all over color stick I can use it as a lip gloss too, so when I'm packing a bag for a trip I can just throw this in my purse and I'm good to go.

Just a couple swipes across my cheeks and lips and I'm ready to go, it's perfect for a summer day.

xoxo,
Amanda

New Shirt Alert!

I love that title, it's fun to say.

My Forever 21 got another strike in the plus column today because they had the blouse that Rachel wore during "Go Your Own Way".

I've been teetering back and forth on whether or not to buy it, but I had some extra money and the shirt started calling my name. My store only had a medium left and it actually fits great. This kind of shirt is really forgiving.

It's really flattering on, which makes me love it even more.

As I was trying it on, I started thinking about this scene and how much I love it. Finn and Rachel have such amazing chemistry during this song. You can see how much he loves performing with her, and just how well they connect through music.  Plus she is totally flirting with him hardcore.

xoxo,
Amanda

Glee Live 2011!!!

Tuesday was amazing. I'm gonna give a run-down of my whole day, cause it was just awesome.

We left around 11:30 and the drive really wasn't that bad. We had like 5 Glee cd's so we listened to Glee the whole way there getting psyched for the concert. Once we got close to Cleveland we got a bit lost but we got to drive through the really upper class suburbs and looking at all the expensive houses was so much fun.

First we decided to visit the Cleveland Museum of Art. I can't believe what a great museum it was. It has such a great collection and the plan of museum makes the visit really enthralling. Once we were finished at the museum we walked around the gorgeous pond because it was such a pretty day.

After that we were hungry, so we made our way downtown and just found a restaurant close to the arena. By the time we were done we walked over to the arena, and walked inside right as the doors were opening. Perfect timing! Then we decided to look at the shirts and stuff. I really didn't like the typical tour shirts, but they had the "Born This Way" shirts and I decided to get the Can't Sing shirt cause I can't but I really wish I could. I also got the "Free Your Glee" tote, it's super cute.

Our seats were amazing. We were the level right after the floor and were right in front of the center separate stage. It was awesome being that close. I ended up wearing Rachel's dress from "Born This Way" to the concert :)

When it started I seriously couldn't believe it, it was all surreal. Don't Stop Believing started and it became a dream. It's where it all started and it was amazing hearing it live. It's the song you most associate with Glee and it's infectious, so right when it began I started getting giddy and freaking out I was so excited. Plus having it be such a fabulous Finn and Rachel song made my day!

Sing was epic, it's such a strong song, and I loved it even more than I did when it was on the show.  Pretty Young Thing was so much fun, I was dancing so much. Kevin was in such a great mood during the show so he sounded amazing.

Firework was fantastic. Lea Michele killed it and the effects were crazy awesome. I love that song.

People went crazy for the Warblers. I was so happy they did Teenage Dream, its my favorite song of theirs. I was dancing soooo much. I never realized how handsome Darren Criss is. They performed on the separate stage so I saw him up close and woah!

Happy Days was beautiful, Lea and Chris sound amazing live.

Then Jesse's Girl. Seriously blew-me-away. Cory was amazing and he was gorgeous in that letterman jacket. I was mesmerized. My eyes were just huge hearts. Then they went right into Valerie. I was such a happy Gleek! I was rocking out to Valerie hardcore, I love that song.

Empire State of Mind was awesome. Cory rapped and I was so drooling over him. It was a great song performed live.

Ending with Somebody to Love was perfect. It's such a showstopper and everyone was having such a great time it looked like. At the beginning when Lea starts to sing Cory just gave her the biggest smile and watched her walk around him, it was so cute.

Once it was over I felt like I got yanked out of a dream.

We made our way home, belting out Glee songs along the way.

Zach already said we need to start saving for next year!!!

xoxo,
Amanda

Hello Summer

I usually buy at least one new bikini every summer. Starting the summer with a new suit has become a ritual with me. This year though I was on the fence about buying a new bikini because the prices have seemed to skyrocket and stores like Marshall's and Ross didn't have many options.

I was browsing the Victoria's Secret website and I fell in love with this new swimsuit immediately.

Isn't it fantastic?! The gold and hot pink stars sucked me in. I really liked the fun design and the cut of the swimsuit really works best on my figure.

What really did it for me though was how very Rachel Berry it was. I can totally imagine this being her favorite bikini this summer. I can't wait to wear it!

Ok for the rest of the day I need to prep for Glee Live. There is so much to do!

xoxo,
Amanda

Rachel's gray skirt in Audition-A Glee DIY

The weather finally cooled down a bit so I was able to work on the gray skirt I previewed a few days ago.

I think the original is made out of linen but I couldn't find any in the right shade so I decided to go with a light suiting material instead.

First I created a paper bag type waist to achieve the pleated top look. I didn't want a full skirt so I only used 3/4 of a yard of fabric so it would fit closer to my body. Finally I added 4 belt loops and used some nylon webbing for the belt.

It's not exactly the same but I really like the style of the skirt. This is my first paper-bag waist skirt, and I like the way it turned out.

Since the skirt is finished I am in full on planning mode for the Glee concert on Tuesday. I have 8 clothing options planned out and those are only the dresses. This is gonna get crazy, lol!

xoxo,
Amanda

I'm still buying stuff.

Finally my Forever 21 had something I was looking for. I swear, every time I want something from that store they don't have it so I'm forced to order online. This time I was in luck though.

I was wanting the floral dress Rachel wore at the end of "Funeral".

I was just gonna order it online but luckily my F21 had it in stock and in my size, which practically never happens.

In the show it looks more beige but it's actually a warm dusty pink color. It fits great and just like Rachel it's long enough for me to wear as a dress.

I also bought something else cute last night, but I have to wait for it to be delivered, so I'll post about it later on.

xoxo,
Amanda

Future DIY preview

I seriously love when Fashion of Glee ID's cute clothes from past episodes. The only problem is when the items are no longer available. Recently though they found a skirt Rachel wore in Audition and when they posted it I was sooo bummed that it was no longer available. I stared at it for a while, sketched out some ideas, and then figured out I could totally try and recreate it.

It's from the scene where Rachel sang "Telephone" with Sunshine, and the skirt is just adorable. Today I went and picked up the fabric and belt material, so maybe if the weather lightens up (it's supposed to be 90 tomorrow) I'll be able to start on it.

I'll get back to you guys when it's done!

xoxo,
Amanda





Image credit-Leamicheleweb

Lea Michele's tour skirt- A Glee Tour DIY

I posted a while back about wanting to make a version of the Urban Outfitters skirt the Lea Michele wears while singing Happy Days are Here Again/ Get Happy on the Glee Tour.

It's been so hot that I really haven't been in the mood to hunch over my sewing machine. The weather seemed to give me a break the past few days so I was finally able to get the skirt complete and I am so pleased with the results.

Overall the skirt really wasn't that difficult to construct. I planned out how wide I wanted each section and then it just became a project of sewing the strips together. Instead of shirring the waistband which I have no idea how to do, I just did an elastic waist. The original skirt costs $44.00, my version only cost around $5.00 and I think it looks a lot more expensive than that.


I was a little bit hesitant of doing the skirt just because at first it seemed like a pretty detail intensive project, but I am just so happy at how wonderfully it turned out.  I honestly might make similar skirts in different colors like this.

xoxo,
Amanda

Cute stuff alert!

I loved the coral Milly dress Rachel wore during the final scene of the Glee finale.

Like most of the clothes in the episode it's way expensive, $375.00 and in most places sold-out. I loved the ruffles and coral color so I started trying to find something similar. This turned out to be a much harder task than I thought. This dress has a lot of details like the chiffon texture, double ruffles, and cascading side ruffles that are hard to find in one dress. 

I have been searching for a new dress for the Glee concert and I decided I wanted a dress like this. Forever 21 has something pretty similar that I liked and it got delivered today and it's so cute.

It's a nice light chiffon dress and the waist is elasticized. This is perfect for the concert cause it's gonna be cool and not constricting so I'll be able to dance! I also love the neck and back ruffles, very reminiscent of the Rachel dress. Also the back is open which I love but it's not so open that my bra shows, which is great.

Although it's not the same, I still really do like the dress. The color, dramatic ruffles, v-neck cut, and material are very similar. At least enough that I'm satisfied, especially for a fraction of the price of the original.

I also bought something else but it's not really Glee related.

How adorable are these elephant socks?! I love elephants so I kinda had to have these socks. The colors are a bit more vibrant than the picture shows though.

That's all for now, it's rainy today so I have a bunch of craft ideas to work on, so stay tuned for those!

xoxo,
Amanda





Image credit- Leamichele web,  Forever21

Rachel's striped belt- A Glee DIY

For this Glee DIY we are gonna go way back to the beginning of season two, Britney/Brittany. I loved this Zara dress Rachel wore, but there are no stores in my area so I was out of luck. I knew I couldn't find the dress but after staring at screen caps, I figured I could re-create a similar belt, which would go with a lot of different outfits.

After googling pictures of the dress in real life, I've realized that when Rachel wears the dress on Glee the belt is all wrinkled up. The belt is supposed to be a flat bow but here it's bunched up and folded over. I imagine since the Britney/Brittany episode was so huge they were probably in a hurry to film this scene so they didn't worry about fixing this tiny detail. For some reason it bugs me, like didn't one of the make-up artists or on set stylists realize it was messed up?

Anywho it was a pretty simple DIY.

Supplies-
1 1/2 inch Navy grosgrain ribbon
1 1/2 inch White and Navy striped grosgrain ribbon
Tacky glue
1 set of a hook and an eye
Lighter

First measure around your waist where you want to wear the belt, for mine I measured right under my chest. Then cut the navy ribbon the same length with a few inches extra to be safe. Singe the ends with the lighter to make sure it won't fray.

Sew the hook onto one end of the ribbon. Once it is attached wrap the ribbon back around your waist and mark a point on the other end of the ribbon for the eye. Make sure it is not too tight because then it will be uncomfortable to wear and you won't be able to breathe in it. Sew on eye.

Next part is making the bow which we are going to use the striped ribbon for. I'm gonna give you the lengths for the bow I made but you can definitely make the bow smaller of bigger if you want. First cut a length of ribbon 8 inches and singe the ends. This is going to be the base of the bow. Next make a ribbon roll 7 inches long.

Once the roll is done you can glue the center of it to the center of the 8 inch piece of striped ribbon. When the two pieces are glued together you can cut a short piece of striped ribbon for the bow center. Make sure when you glue the center on that you only put glue on the back of the 8 inch piece to attach it. If you put it on the front it will seep through and stain the striped ribbon.

Now that the bow is made we can attach it to the belt portion. To attach it glue the center of the bow right to the edge of the navy ribbon so that half the bow hangs off, like the picture below.

Once the bow is attached, you're done! With the popularity of mixing prints and colors this season this belt really does go with everything. Even if you're not that comfortable with mixing prints in a dramatic way you can start out with just trying the belt before moving on to bolder statements. It's really versatile.

xoxo,
Amanda




Image credit-Glee cap from Leamicheleweb

Nationals Headband- A Glee DIY

I think the outfits for Nationals this year were adorable. After the mess that was the Regionals outfits, these were a huge improvement. I really loved the headbands and after looking at them I realized how DIY-able they were.

Supplies-
1 inch black satin headband
Tacky Glue
1 1/2 inch black satin ribbon-1 yard

I started off by making two ribbon rolls/tubes, one 5 1/2 inches long and one 4 1/2 inches long.

After they were glued I pinched the ends flat to make sure the loops weren't too puffy.

Then I glued the smaller one on top of the bigger one. I cut a smaller piece of ribbon for the center and glued it around the loops.

Once the glue was all dry I glued the bow off-centered to the headband. On the headband though, the bow was standing up a little too much from the band so I just put a few dots of glue on the headband to hold the loops down.

Because they had such a big budget for this episode a lot of the clothes are expensive and way out of my budget so making this headband was a fun way to sorta have something from the episode.

xoxo,
Amanda

Glee-wind "New York"

I have been mulling over my thoughts on the finale for awhile. There were just so many moments I wanted to talk about. I have been waiting for an episode this good for a long time now. It was just such a wonderful episode even if New Directions lost in the end. This is gonna be a long one so get ready!

Seeing Rachel beaming as she looked around Times Square just made my heart swell, this is her dream. I honestly felt the same way when I arrived in Paris. That feeling just filled me up again when the episode started. The New York mash-up was fantastic.  I really loved the montages of them around NYC, it was great. Rachel even did the Mary Tyler Moore beret toss-I was so hoping she would do it once I saw pictures of Lea wearing the beret on set. I was also so glad Santana put Quinn in her place; Santana someone who didn't even like Glee at first! So much character development for her. I just can't believe Quinn was gonna ruin it for everyone, she needs to be alone for a very long time cause she has a lot of work to do on herself. I do think there was some foreshadowing of a possible return to the Cheerios for the three of them though.

As much as I enjoyed the other aspects of the episode, what did it for me was really the Finn
and Rachel of it all. This episode was basically just one big love letter to us Finchel fans, and I couldn't have been happier about how it ended this season and set up next season.

Right off the beginning the first Finchel talk Finn is all smiles. He's finally realized what he needed to fix in his life and he is finally back to the Finn we all fell in love with.

The date....oh the date. My heart was seriously exploding inside me, I was so happy. First off we got Cory Monteith in a suit! Swoon. Knowing that Finn planned this whole amazing date for Rachel with bow bridge, flowers, and Sardi's just makes me weepy, seriously. All he could do was complain about going to Prom with Quinn cause he knew he would mess something up, with Rachel however he is willing to go above and beyond, and he knows exactly what would be her dream date. The way he was looking at her walking up the bridge was just heart-stopping. The look of love if I ever saw it. When they got to Sardi's, it was adorable. Finn tells her how pretty she is and he is seriously in la-la love land. He is beaming just as much as she is. I love that Finn was with her when she met Patti Lupone, it was such an amazing moment for her and I love Finn was able to share that with her.  You could see how happy he was for her. It just kept getting better from that moment on. Once they are walking down the street and Bella Notte starts she rests his head on his arm and you can just see her melting into him, like she had missed him for so long and finally in that moment everything was right again.

As blissful as she is in that moment something inside her stops her from kissing him. He thinks it's because she's being cautious because of last time so he asks her to take a chance on him again. But that's not it, something bigger is causing turmoil inside of Rachel but Finn doesn't find this out until later. When he turns around you know he feels like he just lost everything in the world, and my heart broke.

The next morning is when everything going on inside Rachel's mind is laid out. For some reason she thinks being with Finn will interfere with her achieving her Broadway dreams. I think it's a mix of things, part of what Quinn said in "Original Song" must still be mulling around in her brain and also at Sardi's when Finn said he didn't know how to dream big. Rachel has always been a big dreamer and if she thinks Finn can't, then that definitely must make her wonder if they will still work after high school. Then Rachel says he won't move to New York with her, not that she doesn't want him too. After all this time and even after the date Rachel still doesn't realize just how much Finn loves her. She still thinks she will have to chose. Once Rachel gets to sing on the Wicked stage she's entranced by the magic of it all. There she thinks Broadway is her true love, and too some extent it may be but you can't be happy with just your career. Shelby thought a career was everything and in the end she regretted giving it all up, and Shelby is meant to caution Rachel against taking the same path, so Rachel needs to learn she can have both.

When Finn comes up to her before their performance, she still thinks she has to choose, and Broadway has never hurt her or meant so much to her as Finn has, so she tells Finn nothing is gonna change her mind. Finn knows better that that though because he knows they connect best through music, so he decides to let his song do the work of showing Rachel just how deeply he loves her and just how much she loves him and that neither one of them can continue pretending like they don't need one another. They both start the song defeated, he's feels like he's lost her and she knows she's not being honest with herself. As they continue singing however they both begin to shift. Rachel's realizing how much she loves Finn and needs him and he can see her walls breaking down. You can even see him start smiling cause he knows his song is working. Then towards the end they both start looking at each other completely mesmerized at just how much they love each other and how long they both have waited for this moment. I absolutely loved that when they kissed everyone in the theater disappeared. It made it so much more moving. Like all these pent up feelings were released and in that moment it was only them.

Afterwards Finn is on top of the world, he's even naming their kiss! Finally after Jesse put Finn down these past episodes, Finn tells him whats going on. He tells Jesse what that kiss meant and Rachel can't smile any bigger, she wholeheartedly agrees. We finally learn that Jesse was truly back for Rachel but it doesn't matter because Finn and Rachel are tethered, they are each others first and only choices.

As much as I loved the entire episode, I think the final scene in the library really set up the storyline for Finn and Rachel next season. She realizes Finn loves her enough to give up everything to kiss her, and you can see that it kinda blows her away. Then Rachel says it was worth it for her too. She was so focused on not letting anything get in her way before and here she is saying losing everything for the kiss was worth it. That is going to be Rachel's journey next season, realizing she doesn't need to choose between love and her career. Right here is a glimpse that deep down she knows that when it comes down to it, love is more important than a career. I think we are going to see her come to terms with this idea next season.

For Finn I think his journey is going to be about finding himself. Rachel has known who she is and what she wants to achieve her whole life. Finn is just now accessing his personal drive and determination. Next season I think we are going to see Finn grow into himself and show Rachel he can and will make it in New York. I kinda picture Finn grown-up as Marshall from How I Met Your Mother. We saw him be determined to show Rachel how much she loved her by writing Pretending, and we are going to see more of him using that determination.

Rachel however is still worried, so she tells Finn she is leaving after graduation, again we have Rachel dreaming big. Finn brings her back to the present and reminds her that they still have a year. As much as Rachel is a big dreamer, Finn brought her back to the present making sure she isn't so focused on the future that she misses her present. He knows they can be happy right now and worry about the future later. He's spent so much time these past few months being miserable without her and now he just wants to be together and happy and deal with the heavy stuff later. I love that Finn and Rachel are able to balance each other out like that. I think the season ended perfectly and set up for a wonderful season three.


xoxo,
Amanda