Hippie Crap: Tie-Dyeing With Indigo

Two weekends ago I did something I haven't done since I was a Girl Scout; I tie-dyed stuff! Now, this wasn't your typical tie-dye, this was indigo done the old fashioned way. No bottles of Rit Dye this time, everything would be a beautiful deep blue, a little more sophisticated than your run-of-the-mill, Grateful Dead-esque tie-dye. Indigo dye doesn't turn blue until it hits the air, the lime-green mixture oxidizes and turns a deep blue. Because it's a natural dye it take a lot of dipping and re-dipping to get a deeper shade of blue. I dipped each of my pieces four times, waiting 30 minutes between each dipping to let the color develop. To be honest, I wish I had dipped it at least three more times because some of the pieces didn't get as blue as I wanted them,but everything came out really nice! I did four tea towels, one t-shirt, and two scarves and the kit I bought from Amazon came with everything you need (other than a 5 gallon bucket) to dye. It even came with rubber bands and a booklet with design ideas/how-to's that helped me create some cool stuff!

Dyeing with indigo (known traditionally as "Shibori") is super fun, but VERY VERY MESSY! I recommend wearing an outfit you don't mind getting messy, doing the dying on something you don't mind being blue forever, with big rubber dish-gloves, outside where it's alright if things get splattered. It can be a fun thing to do on your fire escape or balcony, just make sure you put down a drop cloth or something. This stuff went everywhere. It also stained my sink when I pour the dye out when I was finished, but It came out with about an hour of hardcore bleaching (flush it down the toilet!). 

Even though the process is a bit time-consuming and messy, it was totally worth it. I'm planning on doing this again to make Christmas presents and any white cotton fabric will do.You can make pillow cases, shirts, scarves, even bedspreads with cool shibori patterns, all with a little $14 kit! I highly recommend it for a lazy weekend! Dye away, everyone!

Get The Kit HERE!

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Outfit Inspiration: Beach Evenings

Beach Evenings by elbonner featuring t-bar shoes

I have given the whole "maxi" trend a lot of grief that it really doesn't deserve. When I first started seeing people out and about in maxi dresses, it was usually followed by some sort of snide comment along the lines of "who thought prom was at Walgreens? AmIright?!". I can now honestly admit that I was a jerk and have jumped on the maxi bandwagon, especially with the maxi skirts that have been surfacing recently. The fold-over ones are my favorites, combining the comfort and laziness of yoga pants with something that looks better than going out in pajamas. Like the title insinuates, this is a great llok for maybe evening bonfires on the beach or sunset boardwalk strolls. Pair with a flowy tank, a bandeau and two thing that will never go out of style: hoop earrings, and gladiator sandals. They've been around for 2000+ years, they are not going away any time soon. My favorite are Ancient Greek Sandals. Though they are on the pricey side, they are simple, elegant and very unique. I bought myself a pair as a graduation present last year and though they have the hardest soles of any shoe I've ever owned, I love them to death and always get a lot of compliments. Thrown on a fringe bag and a beachy fragrance and you're good to go for a carefree summer. Hell, you could even wear this to something like oh, I don't know, Coachella maybe? Or is it too feather-free? Either way, I think the way to go with most outfits is to keep it simple and not overthink things and this outfit makes you look cool without even really trying. Get comfortable Y'all!

Get On Your Feet: Stance Socks

Stance Socks by elbonner on Polyvore

Can I get a moment of silence for Stance Socks?! These socks are friggin' awesome if you couldn't already tell from the photo above. They have socks with fringe, socks with beaded detail, socks with crazy print on them. They are so much fun; I want all of them! The only problem with Stance Socks is that everyone else likes them too which means they sell out really quickly, so if you're in the market for some new socks or you have an unhealthy and uncontrollable spending habit then go to their website and stimulate that economy! I know it's getting out of sock weather, but these would still be fun to wear with cutoffs and simple low-top Converses. My boyfriend decided a few years ago that he wanted to be "that guy with the cool socks" and bought the brightest argyle socks you could find and whenever he sat down people saw his cool socks and told him how clever and stylish he was. Guess what happened, HE'S THE COOL SOCK GUY NOW. So be the cool sock person in your group of friends and hit up Stance Socks!