How to.. give a second life to old jeans

I was looking for a good pair of deep blue skinny jeans the other day... but after looking for hours in stores, I gave up.  Either they didn't have my size (XXL has become the new S), or the style (I only need ONE zipper in my jeans thank you), or the colour (I'm not sure flashy blue suits my skin tone).  So I decided to make my own skinny jeans.

I already had a lot of jeans that I wasn't wearing anymore.  They fit me perfectly but they were bootcut style.  Following this method, I transformed three of my favourite old jeans:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IIX3PAJDRQ8&feature=related

into skinny jeans :)  Now I get to wear my favourite old jeans again.

From bootcut (left) to skinny (right)

CAUTION: Sewing can be dangerous both physically (needle pricks) and mentally (those darn threads keep knotting up!!!) and requires a LOT of patience.

How to.. curl hair with straightener

Since my hair got quite long, I have been considering purchasing a curling iron in order to vary my hairstyle... I always wear my hair down and straight.  I was looking for some reviews on curling tongs on youtube when I stumbled upon some videos showing how to curl hair with a straightener.  I did try this once before, as I had seen a video by one famous youtuber, but it hadn't worked for me.  I guess her technique wasn't that good.  So I had given up hope of curling hair using a straightener.  But some days ago I saw this video and decided to try it out and it worked!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pF1e-mEhwzE&feature=feedlik

Using her technique I achieved this look:

I took thinner sections of hair to make it more curly.  I like the fact that it keeps the length of the hair, it's not so curly as to make all my hair spring up and become half its original length.  This type of curl looks young and modern and it's exactly what I wanted to achieve :)

It took me 30 mins max to do my whole head, which is a miracle as I have used my sister's curling tong before and it took me at least an HOUR.  I find this technique easier to do than with traditional curling tongs especially for my long thick hair.  Since you slide the straightener down through the whole length of hair, instead of holding the hair around the tong (as with curling iron), it heats the whole length of hair evenly.  So it makes the curls stay on for a pretty long time too.

For a more curly look, check out this video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fpl9KYzmJ6s

Amazing all the different looks you can achieve with a straightener!  And I thought it was meant for straightening :p

How to fix pump shoes that are too big

So about this is-shoe I was having, the pump shoes that were too big (bought them from the internet).  Went to the shop and they still hadn't restocked the insoles (the ones that you glued at the back of the shoe).  Went to several pharmacies and they didn't sell the product.  So I came back home frustrated and impatient.  I get very impatient sometimes when I want something fixed.  I needed it fixed right now!

So I remembered having saved some foam that had come with new shoes a couple of years ago.  So happy I kept them.  I knew they would come in handy one day!

I placed them at the back of my shoes and tried to walk, and my foot didn't slip out of the shoe!  Plus if you add the ordinary insoles that cover the whole sole of the foot, or just the front half (as in the picture below), the shoe now totally fits!

So I cut them out nicely to fit the shape of the back of the shoe and glued them on with powerglue.  It took me 30 mins.  Gosh I wish I had thought of that earlier! 

When I put them on, no one can see I glued the foam inside the shoe.  The shoe (which was probably a size too big) now fits perfectly. 

Isn't that genius? :p

How to.. shorten a (too) high heel

Got my shoes today!  The cobbler did a pretty awesome job.  I'm very satisfied.  The heel is visibly shorter.  When I measured it, it was shortened by only 1cm, but it makes a huge difference!

1) The heel looks much less daunting

2) The balls of my feet don't burn as before.  Much more comfortable and I'm more confident in them now.

3) I'll be able to wear these more often and even to dance!



Before



After

Shortening the heel didn't affect the balance or the shape of the shoe.  That's because the cobbler took off only 1cm.  So if you have super high heels that are just sitting in the closet, go to the cobbler and ask him if he can shorten it!