DIY Embellished High Waisted Shorts

High waisted shorts are very 'in' this summer so I decided to make my own. They are quick to make and have a edgy look to them. To make them more my style, I embellished them with cheetah print and iron-on gems. Sorry about the photo quality. I made these on the floor in my dorm room and took the picture with a basic point-and-shoot camera.

What I used:

• One pair of high waisted jeans. I got these black Levi's at a thrift store for about $5.
• Ruler
• Scissors 
• For embellishments, I used gold fabric paint, a cheetah print stencil, masking tape, and iron-on gems, but you can use whatever you would like.

1. Lay the pants out on a flat surface. I made these in my dorm room so I used an ironing board on the floor as my surface. Cut the jeans to a workable length leaving about a 6 inch inseam. Next, use the ruler to measure how long you want the final inseam. I decided on about an inch at this point. Use the ruler or a marker to mark where to cut. Cut at somewhat of an angle going down towards the inseam to keep the shorts straight across when you wear them. You can exaggerate the angle for a high cut on the thighs, which is also 'in'. Don't get too carried away though, you want to keep your buns in the shorts! Also, make sure your keeping your cuts even on both legs.
2. Try the shorts on an make sure they are the length and cut you want. When I tried mine on, they were still took long so I cut them down to a half inch inseam. This is also a good time to again make sure you cuts are even on both legs and that they are straight. You can either stop here and skip to step 4 or embellish them.
3. Embellishments! For stenciling, tape any edges so you don't accidentally get paint where you don't want it. Then tape the stencil down to the shorts. I had to move mine around a bit to get the look I wanted. Squeeze out the fabric paint on to a pallet or throw away plate and use a foam brush to pounce it on the shorts. This is the same technique you would use if you were stenciling a wall. I only painted one layer to create a distressed look in the paint, but you can do more for a more solid look. Next, just move the stencil over and keep filling in your desired area. For iron ons, I pulled each gem off the sticky paper, placed them where I wanted on the shorts, and placed the sticky back over the gems to keep them in place. Then, just follow the ironing instructions on the packing.
4. Finally, use your fingers to pull some threads at the leg openings to create the worn fringe look. You can also use the scissors to create some frays in the shorts themselves. Just open the scissors and run them like a knife in the desired area. Sandpaper works well for this step, too.

Now it's time to rock them! I paired mine with a red J. Crew belt, black tank and red leather jacket from Forever 21, and my Lady Gaga shoes also from Forever 21. Enjoy!

-Sky ♥