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Hello! I'm Suzannah, a serious DIYer and mom of two little ones. Follow along with my DIY fixer upper house renovations, sewing and crafty projects, real food recipes, and de-stressing goals.
I believe you can love your home just the way it is, AND have the power to design and make big changes to make it better.
I'm also the author of DIY Wardrobe Makeovers!

Dye-crazy. Shoooes and a tee!

I've gone a little dye-crazy this spring, and I'm proud to admit it!

It started with my yellow jeans project, and now I've gone and dyed some shoes and done an ombre project on a tee.  I hope I have more chances to dye this spring!  Shorts, maybe? More ideas in the new FaveCrafts tie dye e-book...

Anyway, here's the befores.  I found these shoes at Ross on clearance for $11.99, I think, when I was looking for cute platforms and not seeing anything quite cool enough.  They're cotton and were sort of a natural color, so I wasn't sure how the dyeing would go, but I figured I'd give it a shot.  They were also already dirty on the side of the wedge part, so I washed off the dirt before dyeing.

The shirt I dyed is from Forever 21 but I got it at Grocery Outlet for $2.50 (local chain of discount stores).  It is SO random what they have there. My friend's friend once got some Jack Purcells there back in like 2001. We were so jealous.

Anyways...

I tried a new brand of dye this time--I've used Rit with very minimal success, and iDye Poly has worked great for me on polyester, but I thought I'd see how Dylon works.  I bought Tropical Green and Bahama Blue, and tried to make a minty color!

I started with all of the green and half of the blue, because I wanted to make a true mint instead of aqua.  But then I added all the blue, and I like how it worked out.  The ivory shoes dyed a little differently than the bright white tee, obvs, but that's okay.  Both are pretty minty!

For the ombre/dip dye, I sort of followed along the lines of this tutorial on the wit & whistle blog, and since have also seen this one on Cotton and Curls.  My suggestion if you use either of those is to put the tee on a hanger rather than just holding it with your arms. Tiring and sort of hard!

So here's the tee...

And.... SO excited for these... the shoes!!

I'm in love with how they turned out!  The perfect minty color.  I'm a little scared to wear them in case they get dirty... don't want the color to fade.  Eeek.

Now I'm all excited to do more a) dyeing and b) shoe makeovers.  Eh?!?

40 comments

  1. love both of the projects :-) they look really awesome

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  2. The shoes look great...but how did you apply the dye? Did you submerge teh shoes in a dye bath, sponge on the dye, or what???

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    1. Thanks! Just dipped them in the sink full of dye water!

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  3. the shoes is so pretty aftet being dyed.. love the color! it enhance the look..

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  4. Anonymous6/06/2012

    wonderful look from 'old' things
    I will copy it :)

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  5. Anonymous6/06/2012

    Whoa! Those shoes are fab!

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  6. i am in love with those shoes!!!

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  7. Those. Shoes. Are. GORGEOUS.

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  8. The shoes look awesome!!! Love the shirt too! I might have to try out this whole dye thing that's been going around. :)

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  9. Those shoes are so so HOT!

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  10. Interesting. I have used RIT before with success and I just bought some after seeing this post- http://myhandsmadeit.com/2012/05/07/mint-green-denim-tutorial/

    But I was at Joann's and I was struck by the colors that Dylon has, they are just so much more on trend and the packaging looks more updated. Do you like the quality more?

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    1. Yes, I think Dylon is probably better quality... dissolved better so no splotchy bits. Might actually be better than iDye in that regard, too. And yes, the colors and packaging are much better!

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  11. Awesome.. Love the result on t-shirt :)

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  12. Wow those shoes are amazing!! I'm curious how you applied the dye too.

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  13. Okay, you inspired me to do the jeans thing. I tried and tried to bleach my jeans. All I did was ruin them. Then I thought, "Why didn't I just use white jeans?! Duh!" I got the dye and can't wait to do it. Now the ombre shirts. SO cute!

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    1. Bleach doesn't work as well as something like RIT color remover. I water marked a dress by packing it next to a wet bathing suit and even though it was only grey bleach barely did anything. The color remover was much better, though you're right, white is the easier and bankable way to go.

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  14. Wow! The shoes turned out great! I am not brave enough to try the dye. It seems so hard!

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    1. Not hard!! Just give it a try on something you don't care too much about!

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  15. Anonymous6/06/2012

    It turned out so well. I haven't had a successful attempt at dyeing yet. Maybe I'll give your tutorials a try

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  16. My mom always used to waterproof our canvas shoes to keep them cleaner. I think she got it from the camping aisle. I've also seen people using plain old beeswax to waterproof. It changes the look a bit (it's a tiny bit shinier), but if you're worried about dirt ruining them, you could try that.

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    1. Great idea, I'll have to look for some waterproofing...

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  17. BRILLIANT! My spray painting neon DIY failed miserably. So I think I am going to look for a canvas pair like yours.

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  18. Wow those shoes look great! And I love the shirt. About to make some white pants into skiinies and I've been looking around for a dye color (all inspired by you, of course!)

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  19. Gorgeous, gorgeous results! I, too, am curious as to how you dyed the shoes. Did you submerge them...for how long?

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  20. Wow those shoes look awesome now! Don't be scared to wear them, you can always re-dye them if they get ruined plus the colour is cute. For ombre shirts I have heard wrapping the item round a broom handle works well as you can unroll it as much as you want then.

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    1. Thanks! That's a good idea to raise and lower the shirt...

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  21. those shoes are incredible! that color is just gorgeous! i never would have thought to die shoes but it looked like you found a pair made out of the perfect material to do so. love it.

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  22. Those came out great! I particularly love the shoes!

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  23. Great job! Dyeing can become addictive.
    blog.lulalouise.com

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  24. I'd try fabric Mod Podge or a spray paint sealer on the shoes to keep them cleaner. They look great!

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  25. I LOVE THE SHOES! :) Just had to say that.

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  26. Oh my, I thought those shoes are already quite pretty to start with, but you made them SUPER CUTE! <3

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  27. The shoes came out great! I love dying things. I especially love dying colored things with black dye -- I end up with such cool colors as a result!

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    1. Wow, that sounds crazy! I know it's hard to dye white things black, wonder what happens when you dye something colored!

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  28. Thanks, ladies!!! Dying is super fun and a cool adventure even if it doesn't come out great, so give it a shot!

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  29. The shoes turned out great! I love the shirt too and I've been wanting to get/make an ombre shirt. Great use of the mint trend!

    Meg
    http://megshandmadelife.blogspot.com

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  30. Whoa, I love both of them! They turned out so pretty. Your blog is one of my faves!
    Sarah @ www.prettyprovidence.com

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  31. Wow i love the shoes!!! I ll have to try that as well

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