Uninsightful Fashion Tip!

I read a lot of fashion magazines, and one thing I tend not to enjoy is when there is an article on "remixing your wardrobe" or "shopping your closet" or "get more out of your outfits!" because usually all the tips are the same and most are, for lack of a better word, like DUH. Yeah yeah, wear a blazer "for night" instead of for day. Wear a t-shirt for a fancy thing. Wear a scarf as a belt. Groundbreaking! (Actually, irrelevant - like, all those tips are from 2003 but I still see them in these articles - and condescending.)

I find it is usually tips from fashion designers that are the most condescending. I'm pretty sure I once read Tory Burch recommend wearing things inside out - if you're such a poor plebeian that you can't afford her $800 tunics in order to mix things up, well, jeeze, I dunno, maybe show off all the seams and tags of that Old Navy t-shirt, that will be so tasteful!

(On second thought, it might've been Isabel Marant, but I could see her actually doing that so it's not as condescending. Or it might have been Kelly Wearstler and that is pretty much the same as Tory Burch.)

Anyway...

I do have one of those tips that I just needlessly ranted about. I found this 90's dress at work and thought it was just so almost cute, but not quite what I'm looking for... until I turned it around! The front is just a little too My So-Called Life, but the back is kind of dreamy fifties, no?

 Could it work? Well, let's take that Dalmy's tag off first and find out...

Verdict: yes, it works. A lot dressier than wearing it the conventional way - as Pete says, good for a wedding reception!

I love the high boat-neck neckline and the 1/2 sleeves, and even the little shoulder pads. Plus, the back is now a deep-v with lace, and it buttons all the way down. Kind of blah as a front, but quite pretty as a back! 

And finish it off with a little belt (found at Ardene) 

Remixing is fun! Looking forward to an occasion to wear this dress!

Playing around with Sea Glass

I've been enjoying making jewellery for myself a lot lately, and naturally I have begun to look for new tools and materials for such exploits. As I have noted before, I am a huge fan of Dreamboat Lucy's sea glass jewellery, and I will totally buy some, when I am ready to decide which pair to get! To tide myself over until then, I tried making some very low-rent versions, and for all intents and purposes, they're kinda pretty.

Like I said, low-rent, but the effect (green, shiny, glowy, natural) is there. Might make a few more... and before I know it, I can buy the real ones! Even better, I'm using up this huge bag of sea glass I've been collecting for no reason. Win win!

Off to more crafting! xo

Upcycled m&a earrings on Etsy!

Added four new items to Etsy today: my handmade upcycled vintage earrings. Check 'em out!

Mint-grey silk, coral, pearl

Gold & turquoise

Silver, coral, turquoise

Antique gold, turquoise, antique faux-pearl

I can always make different permutations of what you see here too, as long as the bits and pieces are around! Get in touch if you're interested in any of them, or something similar!

Etsy Shop You Need to See: The Sparkling Sparrow

Oh man, guys. I know as much as anybody that there is a lot of awesome stuff for sale on Etsy, but sometimes I get pretty excited about it. This is one of those times. The Sparkling Sparrow, in Appleton, Wisconsin, offers these amazing hair clips, hair combs, and more fashioned out of vintage and reclaimed jewellery. I feel like I stumbled into a diamond mine.

I always pictured I would have a hairpiece like this for my eventual wedding, made out of all the sentimental (but maybe broken or mismatched) jewellery I've been saving. Looking at these lets me know that it is very much possible, and will look stunning. Yay!

Here are some favourites, but check out the shop yourself - I'm drawn to a particular look but there are more varied, interesting pieces too.



The first one I found - stunning!



Pale blues and gold, fave combo

White & gold botanical, beautiful

A little bit mid-century, a little bit Grecian, a little Edwardian. Love it!

White, ivory, cream, blush, rose, gold. So pretty and feminine.

Something blue :)

I might just need to stop drooling and buy one of these!

I made some earrings 2: The Reckoning

Here's a bunch of earrings I made. Some were posted last time, some are new. Thinkin' real hard about putting a few of these suckers on Etsy (the nice ones, naturally).





The three pairs at the top are using recycled vintage silk, pearls from a damaged tank top bound for the garbage at work, and pink plastic beads from a thrifted vintage necklace.

 

Lots of broken and antique things here... and leather! Lots of leather.

Lots of vintage leather and suede up in here, drawn on with gold and copper Sharpies. The dangly gold pair have antique gold-plated bracelet links and chains from a broken vintage necklace.

(Pictured throughout, a thrifted embroidery circle with vintage bed sheet fabric.)

The mess!

Vintage wallpaper on Etsy

So, I just posted all dem new Etsy additions, but I thought I'd save these two awesome new items for a whole different post. I'm so excited about these!

I'll be selling these awesome vintage wallpapers by the meter and think they would look so amazing - the pink bows in a girly powder room, the psychedelic Gerber daisies as an accent wall, don'tcha think?

Girly! Twee! Cute!

Retro! Psychedelic! Loud!

I would love to see these used on walls, but there are also so many things you can do with wallpaper samples & scraps. For instance, I've seen some very cool wallpapered drawers in dressers, like such:

Or this table top:

I also love this wallpaper bunting!

So here's hoping my vintage wallpaper finds a good home (and a good crafter!)

Homemade Gifts: Upcycled Sweater Hat

Every year for Christmas, I find myself over-buying for people, stressed out about whether I've gotten enough things for enough people - holiday performance anxiety! This year, I decided to get ahead of the game, starting early in November to plan gifts, and bought materials to even try making some presents. I made some candles (another post), some pocket warmers (on the right in this photo), and experimented making a hat for my sister.

It was really simple - simple enough for ME to make, after all. The best sweaters will be a little slouchy, and have a bit of stretch around the bottom (the ribbed hem on the sweater I chose is the perfect amount of snugness). Also, you want a fine knit - too loose and it'll get tricky to keep sewn together. I liked this one too because of the requisite trendy minty-blue colour, and the soft acrylic texture. Just lay the sweater flat, use a favourite hat with a fit you like as your stencil, cut out (with a little bit of extra room), sew up inside out, and voila, an upcycled sweater hat!

Obviously there are much fancier ways of doing this, but it's a beginner level craft that's easy to do and produces a fun, cute accessory. Enjoy!

Homey

Peter and I were hoping to host some visitors over the weekend, so the apartment is still unnaturally neat and tidy right now. So here are some pictures.

The living room (with my family's dog, Mia, for the afternoon)

Sniffing around. Conclusion: yes, I do in fact live here.

 

And the sun room (or, the laundry room, I guess) - the best hangout spot in the apartment.

Orange! The table was repainted orange; thrifted Navajo-patterned rug, pillow cases, Hudson Bay throw.

You need a wool blanket if you hang out in there!

 

The JR's sign - an old bar in Charlottetown until the 90's, I think - we found at the flea market. 

DIY slouchy vintage sweater

Usually when I DIY, and even worse, when I try to DIY something with my own idea, it is really not something I ought to do myself. I burn my DIY home scents on the stove, my DIY earrings fall apart, and let's not talk about cooking and baking.

HOWEVER, I must say, this particular DIY was not as doomed as its predecessors. All I want these days, thanks to Pinterest, is a perfect slouchy sweater. But a vintage/men's/oversize sweater does not necessarily a perfect slouchy sweater make. No, there must be something of an art to it. It needs to be cut a certain way, to hang a certain way, to be too big in just the right way. Furthermore, the less slender you are, the more the sweater can just look ...baggy. Or dumpy. Or some other word that no 'curvy' girl needs to describe her apparel with.

My efforts to find said slouchy sweater have brought me many-a vintage men's sweater, so, feeling bold, I decided to get choppy with the neckline (one of the big obstacles in achieving that perfect sexy-slouchy look, a too-high crew neck) of this thrifted vintage men's Aztec/Navajo-patterned knit sweater. And, who'da thought it, it worked! No disastrous DIY here! WOOOO.

Here are a few After pics. (I didn't bother with Befores because of my aforementioned history of DIY fails). 

Bricolage

Outfits can take tinkering (or bricolage, merci Jacques Derrida) to get right. I was going to wear this yesterday, but I just couldn't seem to get the whole look to come together. Taking pictures helped me decide against the jeans, and - sigh - the beret.  In the end, I threw on my dark indigo Rockstar jeans, as I often do, and went out the door. Those vintage Levi's and beret will have their day, they just need to wait for the right moment of bricolage to work them in.

+Thrifted vintage evergreen wool beret

+Thrifted vintage turquoise earrings

+ Mom's vintage brown scarf

+ Old Navy army jacket

+ Thrifted vintage waffle-knit thermal, made in Canada

+ Thrifted vintage men's Levi's

+ Payless grey almond-toe flats

Design-wise, you're also seeing

+ Huge gold sunburst mirror from How Bazaar

(one of a kind, I think, but they have lots of similar ones)

+My grandparents' vintage mid-century modern tweed couch

+Wicker Emporium orange throw pillow

+ Thrifted wicker "circle" table

+ Vintage pink & mint Hudson Bay Company mohair throw

(in the basket under the wicker table)

+ Upcycled wooden table, repainted in bright retro orange.

Cheers!

Repurposed: Kitchen Table Tray

I am one of those people who likes to have everything out in the open where I can see it. I am more likely to wear earrings I can see, or use makeup I own, or eat food we have, etc. So I decided to make a little tray for the table in our kitchen, with everything neatly corralled and visible. Plus, I just like to show off all my fun little thrift & vintage finds!

Thrifted basket-weave glass-topped tray

From left to right:

+ Vintage little milk-glass shaker with orange flower, cinnamon

+ Antique upcycled lamp from lime oil jug

+ White owl (pair from Attica in Halifax) sea salt

+ Black owl, cinnamon sugar

+ Metal shaker (old roommate's), powdered sugar

+ Vintage turquoise grinder, rock sugar and vanilla

+ Repurposed clear grinder, pepper

+ Vintage pottery, spoon holder

+ Vintage gold-rimmed abalone coasters

Cheers!

Cheers! Repurposed Bookshelf to Bar

Blame it on Mad Men, or maybe just reading too much Style at Home or House & Home, but I've been wanting a bar. A bar cart, or even just a tall table with all our booze corralled into one place. An old bookshelf didn't cross my mind. Peter suggested it in place of a table I'd been trying, and it's been working out great ever since. Needs a little more fine-tuning, but it makes for a neat set-up in an otherwise useless nook. Love it under my vintage clock, too. Cheers!