Are your gumboots dull and boring? Let's face it, gumboots have never been a fashion must-have but more a must-need accessory. This got us thinking about how to glamorise a pair to finish Helena's cute detective outfit for a recent video that we made for our part in the Kidspot Ford Kuga Challenge (she embarks on a search of Sydney's Luna Park to find her 'lost' car).

See the diy instructions and video on how to glam your gumboots after the break....

Summer is fading here in Australia but the weather is still so beautiful with many days spent swimming at the Sydney harbourside pool. You lucky folks in the northern hemisphere have Summer around the corner and soon it will be time to forage for your bathers and bare the body to the sun. Scary thought, I know!

Prepare for the season by creating a colourful ombre sun hat. You can add a stylish fabric flower too, diy here





Ombre dying is so addictive and unpredictable, although that's half the fun. I purchased several $5 straw hats on Ebay last year and played around with dip dying to change the intensity of colour. I'm in love with the results and it's super easy to do

How to Dip Dye an Ombre Sun Hat
You will need
A sun hat
Dye (I used Rit Liquid Dye)
2 large eyelets (optional)
String and 4 safety pins
A pot slightly larger and deeper than the crown of the hat but not too large for the brim
A cook top

Step 1 (optional): I wanted to thread a scarf through the hat so it can be secured under the chin or behind the hair when a breeze whips up. Use large eyelets (for yacht sails) purchased from the hardware store

Step 2: My solution for controlling the level of exposure to the dye was to use 4 safety pins positioned around the base of the brim with 4 lengths of string attached to the pins. Luckily I have a cupboard above my stove so I could hang the string from the cupboard knob. It's important to keep the hat level 

Step 3: Nearly fill the saucepan to the top with water and have the cook top on the lowest heat setting. Heat the water but not a full rapid boil. Add 100mL of dye and fully immerse the hat crown into the pot stopping at the brim. I only had the hat immersed for 8 minutes as the dye worked very well with the fibres

Step 4: To get the ombre look, lift the hat up an inch by the strings so only half the crown is now immersed. The colour should deepen with time in the colour

Step 5: Carefully remove the hat and rinse in cold water. Hang to dry

Step 6: Thread a scarf through the eyelets

I hope you get to make this fun hat! What colour would you use? I made a pink and teal hat in under an hour and a half. You could also colour a swim suit to match or an overshirt to take to the beach. I would love to know what you do

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You might like these diy projects too

Ombre DIY

Flower Headband

Rolled Fabric Flower

Lavender Sachets

If you're like me, old airline eye masks breed behind the bead head collecting lint and dust resembling more Cousin It than something that should ever touch your face. And who said eye masks need to be black and boring? Throw them away and get some new ones! Have fun with drawing on glamorous eyes that hopefully won't freak out your partner in the middle of the night from the vacant stare coming from the other side of the bed. Not that I'm speaking from experience, of course

The satiny white and pink eye masks photographed were purchased from a cheapy shop for only $2. They are perfectly fine to use but if I was to do this again, I would probably sew the eye masks from scratch using a soft, luxe cotton fabric and cotton padding with silk against the eyes

Thanks also to my lovely daughter for modeling the masks and putting up with such a crazy mother

How to make a fun eye mask

All you need are some eye masks, fabric markers, fabric pastels, sequins (or similar) and needle & thread (or fabric glue). Here's the template to use as reference for the eyes. Download Mask.pdf

Wash the eye mask first. Then simply draw on the eyes with a black marker and use the pastels to add definition. Iron to seal colours. Then sew or glue sequins