easy breezy DIY beezies

I picked up this XL tank top at Old Navy a couple weekends ago at their 50% off clearance sale - purely for experimentation. It literally only cost $2 - pretty much cheaper than fabric at that point.

Anyways, 3 minutes & a pair of scissors later - I cut a circle hem and now I've got a crop top/ tunic hybrid on my hands -perfect for layering or as a breezy summer beach cover-up. Hooray for random DIY's and $2 tank tops!

metals

A new necklace that I picked up at a flea market and an XL men's t-shirt + hella safety pins + bored hands itching for a DIY while I watch Glee and Gossip Girl

Those of you who know me in real life probably know that I've been freaking out about how baller my younger sister is -she got into Cornell University! Anywho, they came out this past weekend to check out the campus so I bussed upstate to spend some time with the good ole' fam bam. Anybody would be in awe at how beautiful and lush Ithaca is although I think I especially appreciated it since it's been awhile since I've left this concrete jungle that is Manhattan...
some photos --

CdG inspired skirt

an unpolished version. This is what I had been working on back in California before I left, so it's rather rough around the edges (literally). I want to work on the concept and play w/ different materials and layers... I feel like it def has some potential. Love CdG's sheers and all the interesting different silhouettes Rei experiments with. Guess this is my poor man's ode to that?

It's basically several panels of grey chiffon overlapped sewed together to allow for a drawstring in between. I used thin ribbon since I wanted to keep it light and pretty - it wasn't my first choice but I was having trouble thinking of something else to use. Anyways, these drawstrings allow you to play with the lengths and amount of ruching in different areas of the skirt.


Hopefully it'll be a great layering piece (obviously... it's so sheer). I can see it paired with leather leggings and some killer black heels, no?
Thoughts?

without a wrinkle in today

self-made lace and chiffon skirt, lace tank and dotted tights: F21, Jessica Simpson riding boots, blazer and studded belt from Taiwan street markets

venice beach. i haven't been here in hella long.

walking on sunshine

a quick shot of the american apparel factory sale in downtown LA yesterday. i got there later than planned since i swung by the airport to pick up the boyfriend who's here for the weekend. consequently, we ended up waiting in a long-ass disneyland-eqsue line in the hot hot heat (come on LA, it's late december!!) the selection wasn't all that but i did picked up a pair of their velvet stir-up leggings for $6 (hah, which of course I'll never be able to wear down here even if it is late december)




DIY wool cape, F21 jeans, random tank, Penny loves Kenny oxfords

i need to learn how to coordinate my face/hair.

my life would suck without you

i realized that i never officially announced it here, but i'm moving in new york in less than a month!!
i feel like i've sort of known about it for the longest time, but it's taken a while to get everything all finalized, and i didn't want to jinx anything so i held off on telling most people. normally i'm nowhere near superstitious or nervous like this but i've honestly wanted to move to new york ever for the past 8 years, so i guess i was just holding my breath for a reallllyyy long time.
i just booked my flight though, and am almost done confirming all my apartment details.. so it's actually happening! i am so stoked =D


Forever 21 and DIY sequined cardigan, H&M pseudo-harem-aladdin pants, Madden girl floral pumps

so that's my weak excuse for not posting for 8 days... 8 days!! so sorry guys, i've been completely MIA from blog-land -spent the weekend up north and have mostly been working hard at meaningless jobs that suck all your creativity and energy out of you =(

...actually, not quite true, remember how i said i'd be writing fashion and style articles? those of you guys who follow me on twitter probably already know, but my examiner page is officially up and the articles are a-comin'. you can check them out HERE -i'd love to hear any feedback, advice, etc. you guys have. thanks!

oh yea, and i recently got into Glee (can't you tell from the title?) and with the help of megavideo, finished the entire half-season in the past 3 days. hm, that probably also had something to do with the brief blogging hiatus.

smooth criminal

i know bloggers complain a lot about daylight savings and losing light and time to go outdoors and take outfit pics. today tonight as i drove past a deserted parking lot i realized that 1. i should do an outfit post, 2. i didn't have a photo and the sun was gone, 3. the roof was completely deserted (well, except for this one couple in a random car off in the corner, hmhmm.. hehehe) and completely lit up.

so this was my attempt at a 'night shot' ooh i'm so artsy. semi fail though. these photos are B&W not because i am so so artsy, but more to get rid of the icky yellow lighting. mneh, oh well... let's go with artsy.

miss sixty flare jeans, lace body from Urban Outfitters, DIY YSL croptop, reworked F21 robe, Penny Loves Kenny oxfords, cuff bracelet from NOLA

anywho, i've been tagged by tink and kathleen for blog awards! 7 facts about myself? any excuse to babble - let's gooooo

1. my parents recently got a bag of dark chocolate covered pomegranates from Costco (read: Costco SIZED). mmnomnom... it's been the death of me
2. ditto for Cheez-it Party Mix. although there's a disproportionately large amount of pretzals in here.

3. i really am quite retarded when it comes to sewing and crafy stuff. really. despite all the projects/homemade stuff i've shown you guys here.. someone that spends that much time playing around with it all really should be more knowledgeable
4. despite my retardedness, i'm going to try to make a pair of velvet harem pants (tryyyyy). but how awesome does that sound??

5. my birthday is at the end of this month and i am really pretty terrified to turn 22 (but let's save that for another post). anyways, you know how anthropologie gives you 15% off your birthday month? they send you this little card -- and this year it came with a "candle necklace". how cute! ... and how useless

6. green is one of my favorite colors, but i don't really find myself wearing it much anymore...
7. i just found out today that i'll be writing the "style and fashion" section for the examiner in my local area! should be fun and maybe i'll make some pocket change too while i'm at it! i'll give you guys more deets once it's up and running.

i am tagging christen, lexy, jasna, kristy, amy, carrie, and anyone else that wants to do the tag! thank you guys for trotting over to this little corner of the www. =)
goodniiiiiight.

crocheted hooded scarf

the hooded scarf. there's something strangely satisfying about putting a hood on different pieces of clothing, even though you could easily just drape and wrap a regular scarf around your head to make a hood.
i wanted one that was a bit chunkier, and wool, perfect as a huge bundle to hide your head and neck in. here's a semi-tutorial on how to make one --although the photos really aren't that great/non-existent since most of the time i crocheted while watching movies in the dark.
i'm sure you could totally knit this too. i just forgot how to =(

what you'll need: hook and yarn
obviously the size hook depends on what yarn you end up choosing. and how much yarn depends on how long/wide you want your scarf (and how big your head is too i suppose). mine ended up being a mix of 3 different yarns (random ones i had lying around). i'd say starting off w/ two skeins would be a safe bet.

1. crochet a single chain stitch as long (high) as your want your hood to be
2. go back around and double stitch the length on both sides, doubling up (per stitch) at the end in order to round out the top.

3. continue crocheting - keep doubling up at the ends in order to get hood effect. keep doing this until you're satisfied w/ the width of the hood.
(i sort of just winged this part... trying it on as i went)

4. after you've finished crocheting the hood cut the yarn. determine how wide you want the scarf portion to be and then start on the two ends of the hood...

one side done.

(i was originally going to just make an attachable hood and crochet the scarf separately, with the option of buttoning the two together if desired. but my hood accidentally turned out to be too long so i just included it as part of the scarf. in hindsight, i also think it probably would have been too bulky had i done as an attachable... but it's an idea worth playing around with)




(tell me if this makes no sense at all... i suck at explaining these things)

that universal mind control

Jessica Simpson riding boots, DIY zipper fringe necklace, top from Urban Outfitters, F21 floral skirt and fence tights, fur-trimmed coat from my ancient wardrobe

forgot where i found these editorial pics (i think they're from L'Officiel?) anyways, great inspiration for adding pattern and color to the standard black+grey winter outfits...

vote wonder woman

(sorry the right pic is kind of blurry) bf's old 'vote' tee, homemade wonderwoman skirt, target sweater tights, Shiek shoes, F21 belt
oh, and that silver heart is part of my keys... not a fancy ring or anything, unfortunately

my closet door is stuck. completely stuck. i've banged and wiggled and kicked and cursed and it's still freaking stuck! so now i can't access the mountains of crap i've got inside unless i send my little sister in.
oh yea, and i made this skirt w/ this great tutorial from girl with the bow tie (seriously, some tutorials use too much fancy tailor vocab and it just confuses me). but this one makes sense!! =) (thanks lexy!)

reworked wool cape

first off - thank you all so much for leaving such supportive comments on my last post. i really appreciate it and love that this blogger community offers more than great fashion and outfit posts.

speaking of which ---- i am so excited to show you guys my newest project! my black and blue wool cape. i thrifted a grey/blue wool knee-length skirt that cut up and made into a cape. being a complete dufus, i forgot to take a proper photo of the skirt pre-destruction. in fact i forgot to take any photos at all of the process. all i've got to offer you is this one:


and you can't even tell what i'm doing. psh, sorry guys, i fail at documenting. oh well. i'll try to describe in words.

i basically cut the skirt down the middle (i left the front part w/ its button and zipper so that you can still sort of tell it came from a skirt). i added two panels of some black wool i had on the two sides of the skirt so it would be a fuller cape, leaving the top waistband/neckline intact. i also added two arm holes to allow for movement and dexterity.
(does that make any sense???)

the project was inspired by outsapop trashion, and would have been much easier if i had started off with an A-line skirt. but i really wanted it to be wool, couldn't find a cheap enough wool A-line, and didn't feel like waiting anymore.


frontview

side to side

from behind

worn with an old, reworked GAP dress

DIY zipper belt

i don't think i was alone when miss stylish wanderer posted this outfit a couple weeks ago and i gasped at how chic and clever her homemade belt was! a simple idea well-executed.
and that is how this DIY was inspired. here is my little tutorial if anyone is interested. excuse the sickly yellow lighting of my bedroom.

what you'll need:

• several zippers, depending on how much hardware you want (i used 3 double ended 26" black zippers)
• a band of 2-3" wide elastic measured around your waist
• wide hook&eye closures or some other way of fastening the belt... snap buttons would probably work well too

arrange the zippers along the elastic band and pin to hold


sew 'em down. as you can see the foot on my sewing machine fixs EXACTLY between the space between two zippers... but sometimes (when you hit the ends of the zippers, where the metal pieces are a bit wider) it helps to keep the foot up as you sew through.


hand sew on your fasteners


DONE!
oh, i also used a few pieces of scrap fabric to line the edge of the elastic to keep it from looking too sloppy.

cutoffs: Old Navy, random flowy top, sandals Urban Outfitters, handmade belt