Last Minute Halloween T-Shirt

I love flexing my art skills (or lack off should I say) especially at this time of year. 

Plus if I can do it on a very limited budget even better!

With Halloween just a day away I bet there is still many of you sitting there panicking not sure what to wear. Have no fear this hallow's eve and follow this tutorial for making a very simple DIY Halloween top. If your feeling brave why not spook out a pair of black legging/jeans too? 

But don't just use this for Halloween but keep it for all year around and modify your life and make bright and personalised tops. I might just hear that little tinkle of Xmas calling my name for a Christmas print t-shirt....

For this mini project you will need:

• An item of clothing
• Craft Knife of scissors
• Your Pattern on card (either printed or drawn)
• Acrylic Paint
• Sponge
• Iron 
• Masking Tape (optional) 
• Tailors chalk/fabric marker (optional)

For the top I made I did a google search for 'outline ribcage' and came out with a pattern I liked. If you are feeling particularly arty then draw your pattern onto a bit of card, so you can skip this first bit. 

Freeware editing software Gimp

I took the pattern onto my editing software and played about with the proportions of the pattern. I knew that my picture have to be stretched in length to fit the t-shirt of my 6ft6 wearer. So tweak the proportions until you are happy with what you would like. Then time to hit print.

It might take a few tries untill you land up with the perfect size pattern for your garment. This is when marking the fabric really helps to help you gauge what size you need. For the length of the t-shirt my pattern have to cover at least one and a half bits of A4. A mark is also very useful for making sure when you wear your clothing that the pattern will land up in the right place.

Tip - One thing to bare in mind is that if you have a symmetrical pattern that will take quite a bit of cutting out, only do a half pattern then flip the template over for the other side. 

Now for the more boring of bits - cutting out. This is where you will be glad for a larger pattern you have only printed half of it. I used a craft knife to make sure I got into the more fiddly bits. Not much I can say here other than the sharper the knife the better, less cutting and 'going over' if you have thick card. For reference I printed on 200gsm - it was a bit weak when wet with paint but it did hold up well. I wouldn't go for anything much thinner. 

Time to get the acrylic paints out that's stored in a cupboard somewhere and a sponge from the kitchen; sorry dishes. Stick that pattern down on your garment with a bit of masking tape to hold it in place if its a big pattern. If its something really small and simple just hold with your fingers and delicately sponge the design, this worked well on my previous paint art ankh leggings.

Now take a bit of paint on your sponge and dab away.

Make sure the paint is dry on your pattern before you flip it over like in the image above. Keep going all the way aligning or moving your pattern until you are happy with how its turned out. I chose to make it look a bit more 'grungy' because it is Halloween after all. If I had thought in advance I would 

 have bought some glow in the dark fabric paint; but there's always next time.

Once you are sure its completely dry, time to go over the image with a hot iron. Put a tea towel or something in between the paint and the iron just to make sure it doesn't burn. The heating of the iron will help the paint set into the fabric and help ensure the pattern will be there for a good few washes.

Now you can bask in the glory of your newly made specially designed t-shirt.

There is so much things that can be done from lots of colour layering, glitter, glow in the dark, spray bottles etc the only limit is you. Are you going to give this idea a go? Id love to see how you get on if you do.

Its also a great little idea for doing with any little ones, and if my toddler was a bit older I would defiantly be doing the painting bit with her.  Did I mention its also a very, very cheap project with most of the things used in this already found around the house. 

What are you doing for Halloween? Tag me on Instagram (@umber_phoenix) or leave a comment down below.

Much Love,

Umber x

Go To Make Up

Hello Lovelies

Today I wanted to do a little blog post about my everyday makeup using my go to products and brands.
When I say every day I mean when I have the chance, quite often its a bair face day unless going outside.

Foundation

The lightest and best coverage foundation I have found so far has to be Mac's Studio Fix in Nw10. It is a bit dark used on its own for my skin however and I have been using it very sparingly with a touch of white powder over the top especially in winter. I find it does break me out a little though. 

I did splash out on a white foundation for Halloween and today has been the first use of it and I can see it quickly becoming a firm favourite. The white foundation I have is Manic Panic Dreamtone. 

When im not however looking for a full coverage I love using Make-up Revolutions Ultra Face base with a dusting of powder otherwise it looks a bit oily on my skin.

Lips

My go to lip colour which is becoming my staple colour is Endless Ruby which is a lip stain by Maybelline. I can fully believe that it is a 'super stay 10H Tint Gloss' as it really does stay like its meant too. If im not wearing this colour then my lips are usually just coated in a clear lip balm if im not rocking lilac lips.

Mascara

I am yet to find my 'dream' mascara, often just moving between a few iv randomly picked up. At the moment it is the Maybelline Great Lash and Estee Lauder Sumptuous Extreme. I do really enjoy the Estee Lauder mascara but at £24 a pop its not a luxury I can easily afford, only having tried it due to it being a sample, if I did have the money to throw at this product I probably would. It has a great lengthening effect and really makes my lashes have a Wow factor. 

Eyeliner

For eyeliner I also flit between two products. I really enjoy the Estee Lauder Double Wear gel eyeliner but on a very friendly budget price is the Primark pen eyeliner which I have to say is an item I have bought a few times - not because it runs out easily - but because its amazing. Both very different products but I do enjoy the ease of both to be used, the pen though is just a little bit crisper and darker plus easy to do on the go without taking brushes with me. 

Powder Products

Iv decided to pop all these together because they all seem to come down to one brand: Make-up Revolution. From eye shadows, eyebrows, blushes and bronzers this has to be the brand I am constantly looking at. Its the first thing I grab every day, plus is the brand I know I can trust for photo shoots which is a definite must. Iv taken to having to label each pallet because I land up with 5 or 6 black cases on my vanity and have to open them all up just to find that one perfect eye shade.

What are your go to products?

Do you use any of thoes mentioned above?

Much Love,

Umber x

Meet the Cats

All day in my head iv been thinking "as soon as Evie goes to bed Ill make a blog post". The minute shes down on goes the laptop and im sitting down to write, but I dont know what about!
Do you ever feel there is just so much to say about everything your brains just like "Nope, Na, no"

So sitting here typing away watching the cat being mesmerised by the fish tank. So today im going to write about my lovely animals as they are the fluffiness that makes up my life.

My cats are more than just 'pets' they are bed warming, cuddle monster, claw scratching balls of amazing.

The main cat in my life is Cerberus. A huge fluffy ginger kitty who is so laid back I often poke him to make sure hes still alive.

We brought him into our home last December after his previous owner's daughter being allergic to him. It was love at first sight, and since then me and Cerbie have been inseparable. He has been a purrrfect welcome into the cat world and I have fought to make sure we kept him even tho there was some issues of wall paper scratching (my poor walls only 3 months decorated destroyed in a few days). I could never imagine my life without his fluffy softness and big cuddles.

After my partner made the decision for financial reasons to rehome my two cats Kronos and Nyx, Cerberus was lonely. He didn't stop wondering the hall looking for the other two kitties. After much persuasion I was finally let to adopted another kitty.

Kronos and Cerberus

I should say at this point Nyxie Pixie and Kronos are living with my Brother-In-Law-To-Be. I should never have adopted them both in the first place however my heart wept for them and SSPCA (Scottish Society for Prevention of Cruelty to Animals) were called in after my visit to them. I would have forever been worried about Nyx who was a TINY cat, and I mean tiny to the point we worried about her and were constantly at the vets. She didn't eat, she didn't move, they were both covered in flees and matts. They both went to a very loving home and I still get to see them. 

The youngest of my cats is Ortherus who is 8/9 months old - also adopted. See a pattern here? Im completely for adopting all animals that can be. I could never buy a baby animal when there is so many amazing animals looking for a second chance.

Iv had this little man for a little over 2 months now. His mad half hours and running about in the middle of the night might not be a fantastic trait of him but the love he has for my daughter makes my heart melt. He acts like her little protector and is affectionately known as 'teddy' to her. They are adorable together. My daughter aside he is a wonderful cat companion to Cerberus and is really fitting into the family. He was re-homed to us as he was purchased along with his brother who didn't like Orthies clingie nature resulting in fights.

So here you go, here is some insite into the cats you will see on my instagram (@Umber_Phoenix) and in up and coming toutorials.

Do you have cats, or are you more of a dog person?

Much love,
Umber x

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