{DIY Madness} Game of Thrones T Shirt

Admittedly, I do watch a lot of tv series. I cannot help it, I get sucked in by twisted plots very easily. With the new season of Game of Thrones it was also time for a new sleepy tee for one of my best friends who is a big GoT-fan and incidentally had her birthday two weeks ago. 

  

Before we begin with the instructions. This is an idea I got via browsing the good old pinterest. Anyone thinking I came up with this myself, please be disappointed now.

  

What we’ll need:

• a t-shirt (bought mine from the basic section at H&M)
• fabric paint
• stiff brush
• cutter

Also

• computer
• printer
• adhesive foil (clear tape might also work)
• old newspaper

  

1. Download a free Game of Thrones font online and add it to your font library. (Using Mac you can just drag it from your downloads into the folder “fonts” which should be found under the “library” section)
2. Write and print out your desired GoT quote using any office program you like to use for this sort of thing. (Boring as I am I used Word)
3. Stick the adhesive clear foil (the one your mum used to cover all your school books way back when) onto your printed paper. Make sure you don’t get bubbles.
4. Use the cutter to carefully cut out the letters. Make sure you leave tiny spaces out when cutting letters like “o” or “R” or “P” or “d” etc.
5. Insert newspaper between your two t-shirt layers.
6. Pin your quote to the tee using pin needles.
7. Carefully start tipping the brush into the fabric paint and stipple over your cut-outs.
8. You might want to do another layer.
9. Remove your stencil. (Trust me when I say to dothis before it dries, because I made the mistake and had to peel tiny scraps of paper from a lot of the characters edges)
10. Let dry for 24h. (Do according to your fabric paints’ instructions)
11. Iron (or not – shame on me) and put in the washer.

Finished. Now go make yourself some queso and nachos and start watching!

{In my ears} Take me to Church – Hozier

Tags

Art, David LaChapelle, Hozier, in my ears, lovely link, music, Sergei Polunin, video, watch it

When you not only get to have a second music video for your Grammy-nominated worldwide hit but have it directed by David LaChapelle and moreover get Sergei Polunin to dance for you, I guess you’ve made it.

And Hozier totally deserves it. His songs are full of raw emotions and self-doubt while having a powerfulness to them that doesn’t leave you in your misery, but feels encouraging. Like someone who knows and acknowledges that we are all humans, which can be challenging at times, but also the best thing in the world because we get to live and feel all of it.

He wrote “Take Me to Church” out of frustration with the catholic church and its stance on homosexuality. This seems to be perfectly captured by David LaChapelle using the scaffold-like church as scenery and a strong ballet dancer like Sergei Polunin whose movements epitomise so many of the lyric’s and music’s issues.

More on former principal dancer of the British Royal Ballet Sergei Polunin: watch this.
More on David LaChapelle: watch this and read this on how he was the last one to take a picture of Andy Warhol, one of his main influences.

Fun fact: Andrew Hozier-Byrne was in the same orchestra as one of my very close irish friends and he did attest to Hozier’s awesomeness outside of the musical context too.

{DIY Madness} Book Clutch

Tags

book clutch, books, DIY, DIY Madness, sewing

Finally I challenged myself and made the book clutch project!!

This is not a tutorial, because all the props go to SeeKateSew and her amazing tutorial. However, I wanted to give you a little inspirations and a few pointers along the way. In the end I did not only make one for my friend, but even one for myself! Love it so much!! Though I should warn you: The project is still on the more challenging side of the doability-of-DIY-scale 🙂

What you will need:

• old, leather-spine hardcover book (I got mine from a wonderful project here in my university town, where people can donate their books by just putting them in a glas-fronted bookshelf outside the townhall so that everybody has access any time of the day)
• approx. 50cm long zipper (length depends on the size of your book. it should go around three sides of the book)
• half a meter of fabric (preferably in a colour found in the spine)
• a cutter
• sewing machine (unless you want to do it by hand which is fine too)
• yarn in your fabric’s colour
• fabric glue (or E6000 if you have it on hand)
• half a meter heat-n-bond (known in Germany as Vliesofix)
• iron

When you are following Kate’s instructions, be aware that you might want to use clothespins as glue clamps and use heat induced glue for your fabric insides as well.

 

Also I regret I didn’t sew a credit card and mobile phone pouch to each sides of my insides, but you can think about that now!

And please open your windows when working with the glue! The fumes are just unbearable for your body.

Happy DIYing!!

 

 

{In my ears} Royal Losers – Lorde Mashup

Tags

in my ears, Lorde, mashup, music, Royal, Royal Losers

I’m not much a fan of Lorde I have to admit (even though everyone of my friends expect me to be). However, this version is both funny and good!

Head over to soundcloud to hear it!

https://soundcloud.com/djtripp/royal-losers-a-dj-tripp-joint

{In my ears} Waiting Game by Banks

Tags

Banks, calm, in my ears, music, Waiting Game

Los Angeles based Banks is currently topping my playlist with “Waiting Game”. Her voice is deep and fragile at the same time. Some call it electronic soul, I call it “why-is-it-still-winter-and-why-do-I-have-to-play-melancholic-music-all-the-time”.

Carrie’s Poem – A wedding reading {thoughtful}

Tags

Aachen, Carrie Bradshaw, literally, poem, SATC, thoughtful, wedding, wedding poem, wedding reading

Isn’t it weird that Carrie Bradshaw wrote one of the most beautiful wedding poems I have ever read for a couple she barely knows and likes in the series?! Anyhow here it is:

P.S.: The background is a photograph of the magnificent ceiling of the cathedral in Aachen where King Karl was crowned. It’s just a mere 1,5 hrs via train from Brussels, so if you have time, definitely go and see it in all its glory yourself!

 

Monsters by Abby {In my ears}

Tags

Abby, Again, concerts, electronic, Evelyn, Hunger Games, in my ears, Like Kings, live, music, self-made, soundtracks

Probably the best concert I have been to in years!

Abby rocked the stage and impressed all of my friends with their instrumental skills, their passion and most of all with the fact that EVERYTHING is self-made. YES, he just played the flute to create this sound; YES, he just played a 3 minute cello solo and YES, he is barefoot and switches all the keys with his toes. Tilly is absolutely incredible on stage and you can see in his movements and strokes just how absorbed and passionate he is for the music they make.

You might know their hit single Evelyn already, but I’d love for you to listen to the whole album Friends&Enemies. But first we start with Monsters:

Just a couple of days after the concert I found out that they are going to be BIG this year as their single Again is going to be on the Hunger Games: Catching Fire soundtrack! How unbelievable is that?! Five German guys practically in an American blockbuster! So glad I saw them in such an intimate setting!!

Buying art online: The Tappan Collective

Tags

Art, art online, buying art, Gia Coppola, Heather Day, Stevie Howell, The Tappan Collective

As I grow older and wiser I start craving art more and more, also the possessing it myself part grows bigger itself. Not being able to afford well-known pieces yet I turn to artist’s own websites and shops, etsy OR well curated online galleries such as The Tappan Collective.

They present the pieces in a wonderful manner and you get to know the artists by browsing through articles and blog posts. They have large paintings, small drawings, photographs… some very affordable, some a little less affordable.

Loving right now:

Against the Odds by Heather Day

Hemlock by Stevie Howell

Nathalie by Gia Coppola

 

 

Londinium {literally}

Tags

city life, Londinium, London, Museum of London, poem, Roman times

I’ve been to the Museum of London again recently and for the first time ever (and I’ve been MANY times because it is one of my favourites) I noticed poems about London at the end of the Roman era exhibition. The poems were written by young people from the Coborn Centre for Adolescent Mental Health and they all tried to draw a reference between Roman life and modern city life. I loved the one below particularly.

Witches by Steaming Satellites {In my ears}

Tags

avantgarde rock, concerts, electro, in my ears, live, music, rock, Salzburg, Steaming Satellites, synthie, witches

Who would have thought that this small university town of mine could bring so much joy to my musical heart?!

Last month I saw Steaming Satellites  live and was so bummed afterwards that I didn’t bring enough money to buy their album!!

From their sound you wouldn’t guess that these guys are from Salzburg in Austria. They make fantastic electric, synthie rock. Listen to “The Sea” too!