How to Fix Permanent Stains on a Garment

My sis took me to a new thrift store where everything in the store is $.25 on Wednesdays. I bought this neon yellow hoodie there. I almost didn't because if you look closely, there are permanent black ink stains on it, but then I was like, "You know what? For $.25, I can fix it!"

Here is a closeup of the problem. Because I couldn't take the stains out, I would have to cover them up.

I got some lace and threw it on top.

Then, I cut around the patterns in the lace so that it covered all the spots and pinned it down as I cut.

Then I zig-zag stitched all around the outside of the lace.

Then I sewed back and forth over top of the lace to make sure it didn't pull away from the shirt.

This is what the back of my stitching looks like (in case my explanations didn't make sense).

The finished shirt. To me, it looks really modern as "Athleisure" wear and mixing prints and textures are popular these days. I could also have embroidered something on it, but that would require taking the shirt apart so I could get it up under my embroidery machine. 

This was way easier. 

The End!

How to Fix an Ink Stain on Your Coach Purse....or...Dying a Coach Purse

I bought this beige Coach purse at a yard sale. It had lots of ink stains on it. "No problem!" I thought.

...Yeah...It ended up being a problem.

I searched the internet for ways to remove leather stains. I tried soap. Nothing. Rubbing alcohol. Nothing. Vinegar. Nothing.

So then I got into the harder stuff--and like drugs--the deeper I got, the more of a mess I was in. I tried nail polish remover...and...bleach! (WHAT??) So now I had an ink stained purse...that had all the shiny factory protective coating removed. Great.

Then I got the bright idea to buy Guardsman Leather Ink Stain Remover sticks. It's in the name, right? How could I go wrong? Yeah. After using them, I now had a waxy, sticky...yet infuriatingly STILL ink stained, protective coating-less mess.

I was going to give up, and it was making me mad, because it was a really nice purse. No holes or tears. I was mad because I had spent money. I was mad because I couldn't fix it. I was mad because the stuff that was supposed to fix it, didn't--plus costing more money! I was mostly mad because I thought I could make the purse better and had only made things even worse. Not acceptable!

Then I remembered that I still had half a jar of silver leather paint from the previous project that nearly gave me a heart attack: dying a pair of Chanel shoes.

I literally had nothing to lose, so I spent the next two or three hours painting my beige purse silver...and now it looks almost new. Yay for having a new warm weather purse! I am actually glad it's silver, because I don't like beige anyway! So there, Universe!

(The pictures are of this process, and I'm writing this from my phone, so it won't let me narrate them. You will just have to use your imagination.)

The End!