How to DIY Blake Lively's $500 Cherry Blossom Boyfriend Jeans for a Fraction of the Price

By Kelly Bryden

Update: Our DIY muse is at it again. Blake recently posted aphoto rocking some Rialto Cherry Blossom Boyfriend Jeans fromPreserve and we were in awe! For those of you who aren’t familiar with the Rialto jean project, it started when founder Erin Feniger came down with an autoimmune disease, which caused her to leave her office career. She spent some time at her friend’s art studio and noticed how she would wipe excess paint on her pants, turning them into a canvas. Erin decided to re-create the look for others and now each pair of jeans she makes is its own piece of art.

However, Rialto jeans are a little pricey – about $495 a pop. Since each pair benefits art therapy programs at the Children’s Presbyterian Hospital in both Los Angeles and New York, we are in FULL support of dropping those dollar bills if you have ‘em. But, not everyone has an extra $500 to spare, so here’s a way to DIY a pair yourself. Then you can donate a more comfortable amount to the programs Rialto supports.

Materials:
– Boyfriend jeans
– white acrylic paint
– pink fabric paint
– black fabric paint

Tools:
– brushes

Instructions:

1. Lather the large paintbrush with white acrylic paint and splatter it all over the jeans. Get messy! Don’t be afraid to make large brush strokes too.

2. Paint a tree skeleton onto the pants using the black paint.

3. Add cherry blossoms with different shades of pink paint.

Scoop up that white paint and splatter it on. A good way to get a good splatter is to hit the top edge of your paintbrush. We used acrylic paint because it has more water in it than fabric paint – this makes it easier to splatter. It might chip off over time, so don’t be shy. Also, the paint will go everywhere so make sure you have a drop cloth underneath your jeans.

Get messy and add brush strokes. Don’t be afraid to get crazy!

Draw the branches in first using the black fabric paint.

Use a stencil brush to add in the cherry blossoms. We recommend starting with a lighter pink for the base of the flower.

Add in other shades of pink for flower dimension.

Give your back pocket some blossoming details.

We also decided to add a branch on the lower leg.

These are the cutest boyfriend jeans we’ve ever made.

In love with cherry blossoms? So are we! Match your floral pants with a handmade cherry blossom crown.

If you’re nervous about throwing paint all over your nice jeans try visiting a thrift store for a cheaper pair. Splattered paint looks great on vintage denim.

Don’t forget to make a donation!

(inspiration photo via @blakelively)

Click here for the full tutorial.