Flashback Craft: DIY Headbands

When I first really started crafting things (and I mean really started crafting), and by crafting I do mean crafting, not sewing (since I have been able to sew just about anything since I was 10)…

One of the first things I made was a three-bow headband. Grosgrain ribbon, satin ribbon, and elastic. Together?

A pretty sweet headband.

Satin ribbon is really hard to work with, so here’s to hoping you have nimble fingers. I use about 3 inches of elastic on the back part, so the headband has enough stretch to go over your head & stay in place. If you plan on wearing this with a ponytail, I’d suggest black ribbon and black elastic.

Here’s a close up. I stacked the bows a little bit, so they have more of a clustered effect rather than three in a row.

You can also make them with flowers.

It helps to have a mom with a pretty intense sewing closet. The flower on this one is made out of some kind of linen silk, which I snagged in a half-dozen colors. You need the fabric to have enough stiffness that the flower holds up.

Here is what it looks like in action, and you can find an easy-to-follow tutorial here.

(Mental note to self: do not EVER have a bob again. EVER.)

Or you can do other bows, like this.

These are super easy to make – and no two are alike, so it really just fuels my obsession with one-of-a-kind stuff.

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Friday Find: Sole Society

Okay, so this isn’t exactly a new find…but its something I’ve meant to post up for a while.

We all know how I feel about shoes – pretty much have never met a pair that I didn’t like.

(Except for kitten heels. Those are just wrong. Everything from the heel height to the name has “wrong” written all over it.)

Which is why Sole Society is great.

Here’s what I like about it:

1. Variety: They have everything from sky-high platforms (love!) to everyday flats – and the collections are updated each week. Right now I’m really into all the neons they feature.
   
2. It’s non-subscription based: Unlike ShoeMint, Sole Society doesn’t require you to have a subscription where you are auto-charged each month.
3. Affordability: Most shoes on the site are either $50 or $60. Which, given the way I wear my heels (which is til death do us part and through the snow), is a pretty good deal. Plus, I like to change up my style based off what’s trending, but I never usually don’t have the cash to drop on a pair of Manolos.

What I don’t like about Sole Society:

1. Shipping & Returns: There is free shipping to you, but only free return shipping if you take store credit. If you want a refund, they charge you an $8 “restocking” fee.
2. Heel height: I can’t believe I’m saying this…but sometimes their pumps have heels that are a bit too high, even for me. Since when is “five inches” a professional height heel, unless you’re a “dancer”?
3. No personalized recommendations: There isn’t any system to provide shoe recommendations based of what I’ve previously purchased, or what shoe I’m looking at currently. There is a “you may also like” feature, but I feel that every time I’m on the site it just shows me a random assortment of shoes.

Overall, I’ve been happy with Sole Society so far – although I ended up sending one pair of shoes I ordered back, I did find a super cute pair of black suede boots that I love (and hence have been wearing to death) and have gotten a ton of compliments on. Even if you don’t purchase a pair, the site is worth checking out.

Happy shoe shopping!

Coffee Anyone?

So a few months ago I sold my soul helped out a friend on a charity photo shoot.

Said friend happened to by John Myers of Myers Creative Imaging.

He takes beautiful photos. His thing is portraits. And characters.

And every year he makes a really cool book of all his character portraits.

Simple, right?

Well, I’m pretty sure I’m owed some residuals off this favor.

I did the book.

And then ended up in the homepage slideshow.

As the main image for the portraits section.

And in an e-blast.

But in all seriousness, this was pretty much the coolest thing that happened to me all week…or quite possibly maybe ever. John takes beautiful photography and he is a blast to work with. Except I’m not sure I like all the getting bossed around that comes with being a model.

The more amusing part of this story is the day after the e-blast went out, John and I were freezing our asses off in a 30 degree horse barn, traipsing through dirt, straw, sawdust, and everything else that comes with a horse farm, because our lives are just that glamorous. Of course, I brought coffee.

And no, I do not look like this in real life.

I look better.

Friday Find: Timex Weekender, a.k.a. the J.Crew watch

I have a serious affinity for J.Crew’s Timex watch series. Straight love.

What I don’t love is the price point. I’m working hard to stay on a budget and save, so $150 is a bit steep for what would be my second/additional/unnecessary watch.

Which is why I’m enthralled with my new Timex Weekender watch.

I first saw the weekender in a J.C. Penny ad, and thought “wow, that looks a lot like the J.Crew watch. And it’s only $32???”

Here’s a side by side view.

Timex Weekender watch on the right. J. Crew watch on the left.

Sure, the J.Crew watch has more detailing in the face, but are those additional details worth $120? I think not.

(And if right now you are thinking that you’re “too good” to shop at JCP and are shuddering at the thought, check yo’ self. It’s not what you wear but how you wear it.)

Did I mention that since I’ve started wearing my less expensive ohmygodsheboughtitatTarget watch, about a half-dozen people have complimented me on my ‘J.Crew Timex’ watch?

Pretty much exactly the same.

And considering that they are both made by Timex…I’m pretty sure they are.

September Birchbox: The Good, The Bad, and the Disappointing

For the most part, I’m never disappointed with my Birchbox. It’s always filled with cool stuff and nifty new products I want to try. There have been, of course, one or two misses (sunless tanning wipes? ick.) but who can know me perfectly well all the time?

Then there was September.

You know its a rough month when my one of favorite things in the Birchbox is the teal tissue paper. (Seriously, the color is a-may-zing.)

I received face scrub, gray-black nail polish, one twistband hair tie (yes, one lonely, lonesome hair tie), aromatherapy drops, a few tea pouches, and Nexxus shampoo. There was also a coupon code and a postcard for Madewell.

I like the face scrub, and the nail polish color looks fun to try. And its cold here, so tea is good to have on hand. I’ll even forgive the aromatherapy drops. It’ll help me get in touch with my crunchy-granola side.

BUT THE NEXXUS SHAMPOO? First off, I can get these free from the Nexxus website at any time, so why am I paying to receive them in a Birchbox? Second, a beauty product that I can buy at Walmart is in no way something I would consider Birchbox-worthy. And pillow packs? Worst. Sample. Packaging. Ever. Too much shampoo for one use, but no good way to store it. Let’s not even get into how T-rex birchbox was with the one lonely hair tie. #Birchboxfail.

The saddest part? I fared better than most this month. My sister ended up with chartreuse nail polish in her Birchbox. Yuck.

I’m not writing Birchbox off quite yet – I have high hopes for October. As long as Birchbox doesn’t try to pass off candy corn as a ‘classic, luxury candy.’

Friday Find: Tieks

So I’m not so much into flat shoes. But when I find a pair I love…I just fall in love.

And I am falling in love with my Tieks.

Tieks are ballet flats. That fold up and fit in your purse. And have teal soles.

Um, amazing.

Given that I’m hesitant to try shoes without really trying them on, I read a few of the reviews other women had posted. Every review described them as the most amazing flats ever, so I decided to go for it. (hello, even Oprah likes them.) 

I did have some initial shock at the price point…but quickly got over it once the shoes arrived.

They come in a beautiful teal box.

And inside are the shoes, pant clips, and a fold-up bag meant for carrying your heels in.

Did I mention they are amazingly comfortable? Most flats I own look comfortable, but by the end of the day…not so much. Blisters, digging into the back of your heel…the list goes on.

With my Tieks though, I can wear them all day at work and they feel as great at the end of the day as they did at the beginning. Definitely. Worth. The investment.

When I have them on, I like to imagine myself as a big-city girl, dashing to the subway with flashes of Tiffany blue peeking out from the soles, and then slipping into my heels just before I walk in to where I’m going. Oh, and there would be a theme song for my entrance.

Tieks come in a variety of colors, but each pair has the signature teal sole. Adding these to my Christmas list? Check.

Closet Hack: Hangers

So one of my summer bucket list items is cleaning out my closet. And as we all know, I’ve been hard at work making it happen thinking about it.

Which is why I’m going to employ one of my favorite closet hacks to help me get the job done.

Like every good life hack, its inelegant but effective.

All I’m going to do is turn my hangers the opposite direction.

Seriously. That’s it.

I normally have my hangers in the closet like this.

Which is the normal way to do it.

Closet hack?

Turn all the hangers around. Work in progress below.

When you wear an item, put it back in the closet on the hanger the correct way. After a few months, you can see at a glance what you have and haven’t worn. Which can help with the “I really love this…I’m sure I’ll wear it soon” justification for keeping clothing.

Hopefully in the next few months I will have culled my closet of items I no longer wear.

Good luck!

Hand-Painted Onesies: Gifting on a Budget Part 2

My life is full of babies. No, not any baby of mine thank goodness…but I lead a baby-filled life. They are EVERYWHERE lately.

So I’m back to DIY-ing onesies. For other people’s babies.

These suckers beautiful items I made with fabric paint instead of felt–which is MUCH EASIER AND FASTER. Want to see my hand-crafted onesies with felt appliques? Check them out here. 

If you’ve never used fabric paint before, don’t be scared off. It’s easy to use and can be found at pretty much any craft store. Fabric paint comes in a lot of different colors and varieties–I bought pink”pearl” and silver “metallic.”

You’ll also need some paintbrushes. I like the foam-top kind, it makes distributing the paint easier than a traditional brush.

I made these stencils on the Cricut (yet another amazing use of the Cricut) but if you want to make your own sans Cricut/die-cutter, just be sure to make them out of cardstock. This way you have a good, clean edge when you paint. Alternatively, if you’d like to be even more lazy efficient than using a die-cutter like the Cricut, craft stores sell a variety of reuseable plastic stencils.

Place a piece of cardboard underneath the area to be painted and then tape the stencil on top. Then you’re ready to paint. I’m definitely not a pro at this–I use one hand to press the stencil down and then the other to paint. Which generally results in getting paint ALL OVER the not-brush hand. And in my case, a BRAND NEW MANICURE. You get three guesses as to what fabric paint doesn’t wash off of…and the first two don’t count.

One tip I can offer is to brush the paint in from the stencil edges–it helps keep the edges of the design crisper. And I should let you know that “pearl” apparently is code for with sparkley glitter and “metallic” just means…shiny.

I actually really enjoy the glitter-pearl paint. It has a nice sparkle but the glitter doesn’t rub off, so you don’t end up looking like you had a run in with Tinkerbell.

After you let the paint dry for a minute or two, remove the stencil and you’re done!

Hand-crafted, hand-painted onesie glory.