DIY Earring Repurpose: Three of Three

This is the last post starring ~these~awkward heavy earrings:

I chopped it into three, and have already created two new pairs with the top and middle segments.

This last pair has really been giving me inspiration block, I just couldn’t find the right thing(s) to pair it with.  I’ve been to every bead store in a 50 mile radius, trying to find juuuust the right bead or finding.  This segment has only a top connector, so this means that it ~has~ to be at the bottom. I finally found the perfect thing after pouring over every bead in the store at Chicago Beads: a lovely carved jade(?) rose. 

I really love how the texture of the green bead looks contrasted with the silver flower.

I’ve switched up the earring finding on this pair: #1 was a post, #2 was a leverback, and for #3 I decided to go with a hook. 

So~ Not too shabby, three new very different and completely unique earrings instead of one clunky heavy awkward thing I never wore.  Go DIY!  ~ Here’s the complete set, for comparison~

 

Holiday DIY: Last Minute Gift

If you are still searching for that perfect present,(the holidays are HERE NOW, so if you are you really procrastinated!) here’s an easy DIY for any maker.   (Also?  DIY means never having to go to the Mall!  Which is good because the Malls are packed full of frantic crazy people this time of year…)

I found a beautiful plaid flannel fabric, perfect for a scarf (and you all know how much I love scarves.  Hint~ it’s a lot!).   This project cost about $2 and took 40 minutes to make.

Both sides are identical

The key to picking a scarf fabric is to pick something that’s not printed, so it looks the same on both sides, and to get a fabric that’s a midweight, too heavy is no good.  You’ll need about half a yard for this.  When you get your fabric home, wash it first!  It may shrink and stretch; you want to know this before you stitch it up.  Pull your fabric out of the dryer and trim the raveled ends.  Plaid makes this easy because you can just cut along the stripes.  (Don’t trim the selvedge) Now fold the edges over and iron, you’ll want about 1/4 inch of fold over. 

When you are picking a thread for sewing plaid, I recommend going with something close to one of the darker stripes.

I assume you have a sewing machine, if not this project is going to take a lot longer!  If you do, (and I have a nice HuskyStar that I love) set your machine to a zigzag (or satinstitch) That’s the one that looks like this: /\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

Set the stitch to the widest and shortest setting, placing the needle right where the fold end begins.  Hem both sides, making sure to knot or secure the end of the threads, and snip the extra.

Nice tight stitches /\/\/\/\/

Your seam should look something like this.

And voila!  You have a wonderful handmade gift(s) that didn’t involve braving the Mall crowds~

Colorfree Friday: Inspiring Minds Want To Know!

We’re all kind of getting used to the colorfree angst at work (although I miss my green!)  so here’s a little shot of inspirational monochromatism (totally made this word up~) to celebrate the b/w/g!

Photo by District of Chic

Some advanced pattern mixing from one of my favorite bloggers!

Photo from the Met Museum

A little something sleek and sassy from our friends at the Metropolitan Museum of art (who have a very cool searchable archive, btw)

On the accessories list is this gorgeous piece~

Alexander. McQueen!

Damn!  I don’t care if it is $250, I ~want~ it!

Favorite Things: Winter Edition

Well, it’s cold and the snow is just around the corner here in Chicagoland; you’d think it was winter or something~!  So I’m celebrating all my favorite things of winter, my cold weather must-haves.

Clothes:  Sonoma thermal tee in grey paisley: holy crap this thing is warm and soft~  Unfortunately, this isn’t available  in an x-small, and the small is just swimming on me, so I had to take it in.  Worth it!  I bought it in another color,  that’s how much I love it~

Tiny pic is tiny~

Food:  Garam Masala Spice, I have been making this recipe non-stop (but with chicken), it’s great with naan (or latkes~)

Accessories:  Blue Sodalite Ring: this was a gift from my Momma!  I love how simple and sleek the design is, nothing to catch on, I can even wear it to work.

The cobalt blue of the sodalite is stunning IRL

Music: Red Ribbon Foxes and Winter Song these are the only holiday songs I ~want~ to listen to right now (I’m a little done with all the in-store holiday musak)

DIY Monday: Paper Ornaments Edition

DIY Monday is now brought to you by Tuesday!  And the letter Y! (Actually this post is brought to you by a lovely lady at the store who spontaneously offered me her spare coupon~ so there’s your story of holiday generosity!)

This year I decided to make my own ornaments.  Long story short: I don’t have any of my own; and the ones you make are always the best anyway, right? (Also, they make great gifts~)  So I went to the craft store and bought some pretty paper, star stickers, some cardstock, and gluesticks.  I also used one of the paper bags from Trader Joe’s and some ribbon I had.  Total cost for this project was about $10.

Supplies!

If you are going to try this at home, I would recommend you buy a template for your oraments.  Because trying to freehand draw a star took the longest time!  (For the circle ornaments, I traced a jar lid)

Once you have your template, trace and cut out a shape in cardstock, while leavig a triangular tab at the top.  Also cut out a shape in the paper of your choice (no tab) and glue the two together.  (protip: put your paper facedown on a piece of scrap paper when you apply the gluestick, and make sure you get all the edge bits)  You can trim the edges if your cardstock is a little bigger than your paper or vice versa. 

Now add the little decorative details, like some transparent paper or star stickers!  Or you could use lace, dried flowers or even glitter, if you don’t mind having glitter stuck to everything for the next year or so…

Remember the little tab you cut out of the cardstock?  This part is for the hanging ribbon.  Cut a small rectangle out of the top.  Then fold back around leaving enough room to insert a ribbon.  Glue the back tab down.  I used a light weight to hold the tab as the glue dried, this prevents it from popping apart.

You can see where I’ve glued on layers of different decorative papers

Tie your ribbon into a loop and thread the long portion through the hole.  The knot in the ribbon is what keeps it together.

The finished product!

After letting the glue dry, hang your ornaments and enjoy!

Happy Merry all Holidays for everyone!  Some examples include, but are not limited to: Hanukkah, Christmas, Kwanzaa, Diwali, the Japanese New Year, Boxing Day, Las Posadas, Hogmanay, Bodhi Day, Eid-al-Adha and Winter Solstice!

Cute Thing of the Week

I really need a new purse.  It’s difficult to find juuuuust the right one.  However.

 This fabulous green one caught my eye.

 

I love the wooden button detailing! 

It’s so cute, and those birds?  The puns practically write themselves ~

DIY Earring Repurpose: 2 of 3

Remember these clunky earrings?

 

Long story short: I snipped them into three parts, and am making three new awesome pairs of earrings instead of having one heavy pair I don’t wear.

For the middle segment, I wanted something dangly but delicate:

 

I put new jump rings in the top and bottom of the silver flower piece.  Pair #1 is a post backed earring, so for #2 I’ve put in a leverback earwire.  This will give me some much-needed stability ~ and also: I just really like leverbacks!  The headpins are all cut to slightly different lengths and I’ve put tiny white pearls on the bottom two with a rectangular moonstone on the shortest. 

I think these turned our really great: a little bit of texture, some variation in the shape; and these are light and delightful to wear!

Next time on DIY Earrings… the wonders of the bottom section!

Blog Love!

Wow, I haven’t had a blog love post in a long time!  But this blog is awesome-sauce!  Fashion From Old People is brought to you by a truely talented and exceptional artist! 

This just makes me happy everytime I see it!

The artist gets inspiration from actual historical costumes.  

Five Best: Fall Thrift Store Finds

Ah, vintage, my not-so-secret passion~  Chicagoland has great vintage and thrift shops!  They key to great thrifiting is to a)have some idea of what you want and b) if it thrills you, buy it!  So here are my five fall favorite thrift purchases:

1) Leather Trench: I was looking for something with a little 9th doctor flavor, and I found this awesome leather trench last year, whilst shopping with the always awesome Ll.  She is, of course, the guru of thrifting, and had a coupon too!  I discovered that the lining was ripped when I got it home (always a risk with thrifting) but I sewed up the tears and haven’t regretted it!

2. Banana Republic Cardigan: a basic black Silk/Cashmere blend of perfection!  I don’t know who donated this item, but bless you!  It went to a good home~

3. Tommy Hilfiger Knotical Print Button Up: This was perfectly tailored, fit me right off the rack with no alterations.  I can’t tell you how rare that is.  And such a cute print!

4. Grey Loft Trousers:  comfortable, versatile, and a size smaller than I usually wear: perfect~  This is one of the pieces I purchased for my new-dress-code wardrobe, and I probably wear them twice a week.

5. American Eagle Pointelle Sweater: an unusual a-line sweater, this is thin enough to work really well as a layering piece.  I loved it so much I bought it in two different colors: grey and purple! I love the subtle texture of the pointelle knit.

Some notes for thrifting: keep in mind what can be fixed and what can’t.  For example, mild pilling can be removed with a pill comb, major pilling is a pain, so decide how much time you want to spend “fixing” something before you buy.  Simple alterations can really make your secondhand treasures shine!  But if it needs too much work it will just languish in the fix-it pile.