All of these items can be made in under an hour; Personalize your wardrobe!
Cillit Bang Drip (not for kids!)
Take a hard wearing cotton T-shirt or some jeans. Hang on a clothesline or a drying rack, being careful to cover the floor. Dilute some generic cleaner that contains bleach (not pure bleach - it's too strong!). Half and half will make it thin enough without being too weak. Wearing rubber gloves, use anything from an old toothbrush to the end of a hangar to flick the liquid at your item of clothing. Leave to dry for twenty minutes or so, then put in the washing machine if you can see a two-tone effect.
Instant Flares
If you would like more flattering or dramatic jeans, just open up the outside seem up to the knee and sew in a triangle of fabric. You can use a bright or patterned fabric for a great contrast!
Unique Wristbands
Most craft shops will sell ribbons for scrap booking. Try to find the wider ones, which may have words or little pictures or motifs on them. Sew a press-stud, one half at each end, and you have a pretty and functional wristband for very little money.
Different Tie Dye
Tie Dye doesn't just have to be circles. Try doing some simple origami folds before you put the bands on for some really different geometric designs. For example, if you fold in the corners of an item until they meet or even just zigzag diagonally you'll have a design no one else has. When you have done the first dye, you can remove some bands and add others to get lots of different tones (ie if you dyed with red then blue on a white t-shirt you would have red, white, blue and varying shades of purple).
Quick Spray Paint Slogan
Take a set of those letter shaped magnets. Place them on the t-shirt to make sure you have the positioning right, then glue them down with a washable glue (not too much or it will dribble out!). Make sure the whole of the edge is attached or your lines will bleed. If you don't have washable glue you could use blue tack or sticky tape if you can be neat enough. Make sure you spray the spray paint straight on, or the force may push the letters to one side. Wait until the paint is nearly dry then remove the letters. You will see your slogan in the original color of the T-shirt.
Reclaimed Mix And Match Earrings
Claire's Accessories are a wonderful source of kitsch jewelery. You may find heavily reduced earrings that have some great beads or a pretty focal point. If you like the design but the wire is tarnished you have a number of options. Firstly, you can replace the wire with a new one, which can be bought cheaply from craft shops. Secondly, you can take off the wire and soak it in cola until the stains are removed. Thirdly, you can just take the focal point off and use it as a pendant or combined with a selection of other designs for a scrambled dangly earring.
Dead Glow Sticks
Even if your glow stick has died, it will still be a bright color. You can use the connectors that came with it and wear it as a choker. Alternatively, you can take a selection of glow sticks and connectors and either place a connector at one end, and drill holes into each connector. Put a keyring through each of the holes so you have a dangling bunch. Alternatively, keep them in a round shape and just put them through the ring in a bag strap.
Uses For Old T-shirts
If you have a t-shirt that is past its best, but still has an intact design you have a number of options. Firstly, you can cut off the motif and loosely stitch it onto another top, for a DIY look. If there is s split in the side then slit both sides, and hold them together with safety pins for a punky look. You can always remove one sleeve, or both, for a retro look. You can even take the main body of the t-shirt and turn it into a bag, with only minimal sewing.
