Art idea: USE TACKS!

 I found some tacks the other day--> (http://www.staples.com/Staples-Nickel-Plated-Thumb-Tacks/product_480119) (I am employing the southern usage of that term, "the other day", meaning I probably found them MONTHS ago....) They inspired me and I thought they'd look cool in art projects. They add a 3D element and they hold things in place without using glue, and I will take ANY excuse to NOT use glue!!

        

 Now in my attempt to be clever, I decided to paint them. BRILLIANT! wait uh.... I mean CLEVER! Anyways... I can now match my tacks to any projects I do(examples of what I mean are at the end of this post).

Here's the "How To" folks:

                                                                                

              -Stick the tacks into small pieces of card board to dip the tacks into the paint.


(Painting the tacks with a brush wouldn't work as well because it would be too streaky and take several coats and I'm all for ways to minimize the necessity of multiple coats.)

-After the paint dries, paint Modge
 Podge on top so the paint doesn't chip.

Fun fact: I hardly EVER 
wash my paint trays~

*For sparkly tacks: 

    Dust any kind of glitter over the wet, already "dipped-in-paint" tack before you paint on the Modge Podge. (I chose to match the paint with the glitter when I did my sparkly tacks, but you could always have a yellow tack with blue glitter or some such combination. Be creative with it!)  

...and that ladies and gentlemen is the most simple 

instructions I will probably ever give... Have fun yall!  

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~Here are the tacks I did~

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These are some of the projects I did using tacks.

(Canvas art collage)

(Card stock, feather, and quote are mounted on a wooden plaque, held in place with tacks.) 

(Quote: "Awake My Soul", Mumford and Sons)

....and it's all "For the Love of Clever" :)

Skirt hemming/Waist band removal tutorial: BEFORE and AFTER

The Story: Thrift store shopping!

 I found this skirt at Goodwill. The length made me want to cringe! But I saw potential in this interesting-or awful- fashion item. All I needed to do was chop off the length, remove the elastic waist, and fit it to my natural waist= easy fix!
After that, this $4 dollar skirt turned into an adorable,  and non-awful skirt. ;)

  The Alteration: 

-FIRST find out the measurement from your natural
 waist to your knees (or where ever you want it to end) and then add
 2" inches to that length.
-NEXT mark your length measurement down the front, all the way around the skirt so you end up with a "line" of pins(see picture). 

Once you've pinned all the way around the skirt,
cut at the pinned line all the way around.

TO HEM: Turn down a half an inch, then iron.
Next turn down 1 and 1/2" inches all the way around, iron and pin.

Since the circumference gets smaller as it gets to the waist, you have to do some
 of these "tucks" in the hem about every 8 inches or so. 
(Don't worry you can't see them from the outside.)

If you happen to have buttons down the front, make sure the hem lines up with each other.
(One side being longer then the other is not cool, hipster, or unique in any way.
 It's dorky :) .... fix asap! haha)


Now how to fix the offensive elastic 
waist band in the back... 

Rip all the seams surrounding the elastic waistband leaving the front
 waistband intact.

The elastic is now gone.

YAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAY!

To cut out the new "back-of-the-skirt-waistband", I used a piece of the hem that I had cut off. Since the hem already has a finished edge, use that edge for the top of the waistband.

(To find what the measurement is, simply measure the empty space where your old waist band used to be and add a 1/2" for seam allowance. SUPER simple.)

***Now make sure you sew the bottom of the waistband on first, and then the sides.

(Right side to right side of course)

Don't forget to put the finished edge at the top! ;)

(If you'd like to keep the belt loops, pin them onto the waist band before you sew the band to your skirt, then hand sew the top of the belt loops on.)

After that YOU'RE DONE!!!!!

Belt: Goodies, undershirt: Francesca's, jacket: Ross, necklace: Garage sale, 
Pendant: created by Elennna Flautt. :) (see tutorial for pendant:

 http://fortheloveofclever.blogspot.com/2012/03/copper-tape-necklaces.html)

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I SPY: the photographer and her model. :) 

***Thank you Susannah Flautt Photography 

for letting me drag you to down town Franklin for the
 photoshoot of my newly altered skirt! <3 

... and it's all "For the Love Of Clever" :)