A hello and a "metal" necklace how-to

Happy Saturday to you!




Try not to faint as you see there's a new post. A lot has been going on and this poor blog has been so, so neglected. I had some people recently tell me they missed my posts and then I got a message via Etsy (Hi, Mary!) saying she'd read my whole blog and I thought...holy cow I haven't written anything in a long time! So you all can thank Mary for making me post something.
I admit a lot of my lackadaisical approach to blogging has to do with all the changes to blogger. I worked so hard to learn all the tricks and now everything is different and it gets exhausting; I am no computer genius.

Halloween has come and gone and I thought I would share his year's "costume." I don't care how old I get, I will absolutely grasp at any opportunity to "dress up," however, I work in an office and my costumes have to be fairly subtle.

Last year I was the Doctor from Doctor Who and this year I decided to be Sherlock. So two years in a row I've dressed as a British man. I'm not sure what to say about that.

For Christmas last year a friend bought me a "detective hat" and I bought myself a blue Pashmina style scarf which I believed was essential to the BBC Sherlock look but I knew the two elements together wouldn't necessarily scream Sherlock (I did look a bit Dickensian to be honest) so I decided to make a necklace to try and pull the look together.




Here was the final outcome. My coworkers exclaimed over the fact that I'd made it and that it looked like "real metal" which I'm taking as a good thing?

What you'll need:



Black paper (a sizeable scrap will do)
Metallic letter stickers
Small, sharp scissors
Tweezers
Two pair pliers
Chain
Metal jewelry frame (not shown)

The metal frame comes as the metal edging with two slides of glass. It has a hinge of sorts and you open it to removed the glass slides and can place whatever you like inside. I first cut my paper to fit the slides and then made sure I had enough room for my stickers. I would almost suggest waiting to cut the paper after you've placed the stickers on it, and then you can use the slides as a guide and make sure your design is centered. I ended up having to cut mine and placing a secondary piece of paper behind to frame it.

Cut your letter stickers out with the scissors and make sure you have enough room for them all. The frames come in a variety of shapes and metallic finishes so pick what will work best for your project.

I then peeled the stickers from their paper using the tweezers and was able to line them up and lay them down easily using the fine point.

Trim your paper as necessary, and place between the two glass slides and put back into the frame and close the hinge.

If you don't have unsoldered chain you will need wire cutters and some jump rings to connect the chain, but my chain was unsoldered so I was able to simply open the links and attach directly to the frame loop. My biggest pet peeve about "gold" jewelry supplies is that none of it matches which is why it is so rare to see anything of gold tones in my Etsy shop. I don't think it was too noticeable but I knew it didn't match perfectly.

And you're done! Talk about a simple project!

I did have a person ask me if there was significance to the numbers on my necklace. It was almost as depressing as the time I asked a library assistant for help and she didn't know who or what Jane Eyre was. Argh.

If you haven't seen BBC's Sherlock I highly recommend it. I believe they are on Netflix...
The Basil Rathbone films of Sherlock Holmes are also good.
I liked the Robert Downey Jr. version, but the sequel I did not enjoy as much.
And of course there's The Great Mouse Detective, an animated feature that is one of my favorites as well.

I've been reading the stories but am only 3 or 4 in so far. Have you read/watched any? What are your favorites?


 

Hair don't

I have gotten ridiculously lazy about my hair. Today I actually thought 'can't my hair just look nice and sit on my head all week and not require my attention every day?' Too much to ask?
I've been trying all kinds of no-heat curling methods. Don't you think it's interesting how, that used to be just the normal way and now we have all these expensive gadgets and we are fascinated with how we can do it for free and without electricity? Ah commercialism. But I digress.

I've done the sock one and it worked...but not that great. Mostly I just think I'm inept at curling the sock into my hair.
Then I tried this one and when I had long hair it worked fantastic. Since then I've cut my hair and I decided to try it again. And this happened.

Wowie wow! Uh...what do I do with this? Other than take a photo and share it to the entire internet as a warning to others. I suppose there is a way to tame this but I don't know what way that is. I have plans to try again and see if I can't make this work for me, but with the time constraints I had getting ready for work I ended up taking the flat iron to my hair. Thankfully I have a nice friend who bought me a nice flat iron and I went from above to:

It's a little dull after that bounce in the above photo (which admittedly was pretty awesome) but it wasn't quite so.....SO. Knowwhatimean?

Also I stopped by the store the other night and perused the makeup aisle, not expecting to find anything but looking anyway. What do we call that? Crazy? Anyway. I did find something. I found L'Oreal Paris' Infallible 24 hour eyeshadow.

I usually scoff at this sort of thing but secretly dream and wish they will work. I have hooded eyes and I have given up wearing eyeshadow altogether. But this looked so pretty and hey it PROMISED.
I put it on and checked 3 hours later and it was totally melted into my crease. Noooooo! So sad. :(

If you try the hair thing I expect to see photos of you as well. ;)

The year of the scarf

I love scarves and I'm not sure I've said it so much to the people around me as they've just noticed I wear one....every single day.
I actually keep a coat rack next to my dresser for scarves, hats and handbags that are in a regular rotation. Today I cleaned it off and put on all the new scarves I got for Christmas.

And guess what? They are all handmade!

The pink stripey one was made by my mom, the purple ruffled, and gray ruffled made by sariejune.

The pink ruffled was made by my cousin Judy.

And this neat red one my mom picked up at a local bazaar. I wish I could link to her shop but she's only got phone numbers on her card.

So the big question is...which one am I going to wear first? :)

By hook or by crook

It's Jill's fault but I suddenly decided I wanted this cowl and to get it I must learn how to crochet. Thankfully there was a crochet-along for it and I was actually able to complete this project despite deciding to change quite a bit about the pattern. Why do I do that to myself when I'm trying to learn something?!

I've been wanting to learn crochet for about two years but it took something like wanting a new accessory and not wanting to spend any money on it to really motivate me.

The pattern for this is actually free on the Lion Brand website and once I started looking around, discovered they have tons of awesome free patterns. Most of my yarn is Lion Brand (I'm kindof in love with their Wool-Ease and Homespun yarns since way back in my knitting days). I also spent two whole days on Ravelry favoriting free patterns for items I will spend considerable frustration on while trying to learn.

Thankfully the internet is full of bloggers and youtubers with all kinds of help. Maybe Matilda, Crochet Spot, Crafty Minx and Bethintk1 were all superbly helpful.

So far I've really only managed to crochet this cowl. Everything else I've ripped out several times to start over. In fact I decided I need to maybe start smaller and am working on some spa cloths. But soon, all those patterns lovingly filed away with dreams and stars in my eyes will soon be easy to make. I hope.

P.S. Can I complain a moment about new crochet hooks? Up until now I've only used vintage and they have a completely different weight, finish and feel to them. It's the same company too; so disappointing. Am now really sad garage sale season is over.

Darling Girl cosmetics

This is a link heavy post. Right click on links and "open in new tab" or "open in new window" so you can check them out and stay on this page.

I follow some makeup bloggers on twitter and there is where I first heard about Darling Girl Cosmetics. Grey also did a post and then Mandy posted a look (and later a swatch post) wearing one of DG's lip colors and I HAD to try it.

Susan, DG's owner occasionally closes her site's cart to catch up on orders and it was one of those times when I was wanting to order my own goodies. I haunted her shop every day just waiting for the second I saw it was up again. It paid off and I even spotted it as up and running before it was announced. Well I was house-sitting so it wasn't like I had a lot going on. I see that look you're giving me.

DG has plans to discontinue sales of sample sizes (as she announced on facebook, twitter or her blog. I've actually forgotten which.) but I got in before that with a sample of Moves Like Mick Jagger and Tragic Romance - both pink shades. I'm trying to see if I can wear a pink shadow and not look like I've been crying. I'll let you know how that goes.

With my order I also received a sample of Polaris and one of Red Butler (from her new Rainbow Brite collection - squee!)

I also ordered a couple petit jars (a great alternative to sample sizes if you're just wanting to try a color). They are gifts so I can't reveal what those looked like or were named, sorry. These mini jars are perfectly sized for someone like me who only wears eye shadow occasionally.

The kicker in this order was the Poison Plum kiss me off tinted lip balm. This was really hard for me to photograph - at sunset - and get the color right so I tried manipulating it to look right and I'm not sure I succeeded. It is a deep purple looking color in the tube and is a perfect plum shade on. It also has a nice golden shimmer to it. It was part of the Halloween collection but it will be perfect for winter holidays too.

I was sent a Halloween package of goodies even though I only ordered one thing from the collection - I thought that was so nice!

And I also got a "gift with purchase" for my order being over a certain amount. Being unfamiliar with Darling Girl I didn't know the requirements for getting it but I met them and was oh so pleasantly surprised to see a petit jar of a pretty eye shadow in my order.

What I really like about Darling Girl is how Susan tries out all her formulas and shades and posts photos of her wearing them so you can really see them in action. However, she has gorgeous, perfect skin and you will hate her but just get over it and order something and maybe it will look that good on you too.

It's obvious she packages her items with care (mine was wrapped in candy corn tissue paper and my candy goods were in a Halloween print cellophane bag.) and she includes an invoice with a nicely written note. As a former teacher I appreciate nice handwriting, what can I say?

When ordering be sure to note the current Turn Around Time (TAT) in her shop header and plan accordingly. Meaning if you want to order gifts, jump on that wagon likerightnow.

Favorite Accessories inspiration

So here's pretty much what I'll be wearing all fall. Dark teal, purple, denim, black, gray. That purse is similar in color to my actual purse. I just picked this one because it also has my initials dangling off the handle. (Hee!) My actual purse was eight bucks from Goodwill. I love the purple. Here's my actual purse and it is one of my favorite accessories.

Here are a few of my others!

Come fall I get completely obsessed with grays and metallics.

(source)

Vera Wang jeweled flats (I think these are lavender and not gray but it's the perfect shade.)

This scarf is lovely. And I can't read anything on her website but beauty transcends language!

(source)

I can't deny the quality of OPI polish and this color - Lucerne-tainly Look Marvelous is fantastic, I'm wearing it on my toes right now.

(source)

At the risk of sounding like a total cheeseball these are some of my new favorite earrings. And I made them. Eep. Occasionally I make something I can't resist myself and I've been wearing them a ton. The combination of metal tones and the shine of the pyrite. Love.

(source)

And also at the risk of sounding like a brown noser I am obsessed with this headband of Gussy's. I have it in strawberry dot and love that one too.

(source)

Industrial gray, metallics, soft lace, and sparkles - these are my favorite accessories.

Vintage adornments

The song for today is here - just open in a new tab/window to enjoy while reading. I have to say I don't particularly care for the movie, but since I'm talking about jewelry and I do like Henry Mancini, I thought it would be acceptable. :)

Vintage sparkle - oh how fun it is! From hairpins to sunglasses to bracelets and pendants - I've been known to wear these "lost" treasures on occasion. Some have been found at flea markets and others were passed down to me - and what I'm showing are just a few.

 *****

Here's a topic that needs brooching - ha! Okay I just misspelled for the sake of a joke and for an English nerd that is a big deal. ;)

I was recently given a box full of vintage jewelry and there were several brooches and some of them very interesting!

 I'm actually quite glad to see that brooches are making a comeback. Have you noticed a resurgence in their popularity? New ones tend to be flowers made of fabric but I'm liking it.

*****

We actually need a new song for this section. Right click here and open in a new tab/window.

In with some of the vintage jewelry I was recently given was what looks like a high school pin and matching number (or do you think it might be a "lodge" sort of thing?) anyway I love it and already have a collection of school pride (and work pride) items.

 Those two Mack pins belonged to my grandpa who drove a Mack log truck.

And oddly enough the gold pin and the ring behind it are from a grade school. I went to the same grade school my mom and her siblings attended so I get to hang onto these. :)

The keychain is from my dad's high school.

Thanks for coming along with me on vintage week!

If you missed my previous posts I also showed off my vintage...
Scarves and sunglasses
Newspaper fashion article and fabric
Hats



Linking to:

Show and Tell Friday

Mosaic Monday

Vintage accessories - scarves & sunglasses

Did you enjoy having music to listen to while reading yesterday's post? Want another one? Open this link in a new window/tab.

Accessories are probably the easiest vintage items to find and to incorporate into your modern fashion. Well...mostly. I think people might notice that these are vintage...

My cat's eye rhinestone glasses I bought at a flea market (that is really a horrible name for a place to buy things, isn't it?) years ago. I have frequently worn these. My graduating class in high school decided to wear sunglasses while we were walking in and guess which sunglasses I chose to wear? :)

This pair used to belong to a relative and everyone knows I love old stuff so I ended up with them.

And they are even still in their original case!

*****

I bought this case at a garage sale and when I was going through a "phase" I decoupaged and antiqued it. Whatever I still like it.

Because I put funny little images like this on it. :)

But INSIDE resides my collection of scarves - not the winter wear kind but the nice weather kind.

Flimsy fabrics in bright colors.

Okay this one isn't vintage but it's meant to look vintage.

Tiny faux pearls on...

...super thin gauzy fabric.

Perfect for wearing like this:

Which I used to do all. the. time.

Ask anyone I went to high school with, they'll tell you I was different. :)

I occasionally still wear these and they are perfect for pulling out to wear to the car shows. Like this car show we were at in the photo below. That's 15 year old me on the left making a super intelligent face. See how I wear the scarf in the ponytail?

The back of my cousin's head. Also a way to wear a scarf in the hair. I have no idea how she did that.
And my friend Megan sporting the cute neck scarf.

I'm a little frustrated and saddened by the fact that I can't find any fun tutorials on how to tie scarves because I was expecting to link to a few. I'll ask my mom (since she lived it) and maybe I'll do a tutorial post of my own!

Come back tomorrow for more vintage goodness!

Fighting the Frumps: a diy fashion post

You know that line from My Big Fat Greek Wedding where she explains that she was "frump girl"?

That is how I am feeling lately; like frump girl. Blah.

To help me un-frump I actually first started reading the posts at Gothique - she talks about makeup and very occasionally fashion but it got me caring how I put my face together. I bought goodies from Shiro Cosmetics, Concrete Minerals and Alima Pure. I bought perfume from Latherati Soap Foundry and an infinity scarf from Brassy Apple.

Those things helped but you can't buy everything to brighten your mood, so what can you make? A lot of little accessories can add up to a snazzy (snazzy? really? how old am I?) wardrobe that looks cute and makes you feel cute.

I made plenty of hair accessories like the flowered headband, the vintage-inspired pin-up hair clip, and a fun new necklace and none of those projects cost me a dime since I already had the supplies on hand (I guess it cost me a dime at some point, but you know what I mean.)

There are plenty of other DIY cutesy things you can make to perk yourself up too. Like these pony holders by Along For The Ride (I made myself one and put three of these rosettes on a headband - love it!).



Or check out this amazing book page necklace by Mandipity! It speaks to my fashion sense and my bookish side.



I actually don't yet own flats as I'm having a horrible time finding some that fit (apparently you need a size up to fit your toes in? And I have wide feet so that makes things extra problematic) but I can't wait to make these adorable changeable bow shoes by Lemon Squeezy Home.


I decided not to post a photo - because I forgot to email first and ask - but also because there are so. many. projects. to make you feel pretty and it seems like she makes it all from nothing. And of course I'm talking about Disney of Ruffles and Stuff. I'm getting re-inspired to try clothing re-fashions from an old college housemate of mine over at Made it on Monday - check out her labels for "purses" and "clothes for me."

I'm also finding plenty of outfit ideas at The Pleated Poppy's "What I wore Wednesdays". I especially enjoy the WIWW's at Jod a la Mode (who I've known since high school) because she always manages to look super cute and has thrifted/saled all of her stuff.

Have you found any great fashion perk-me-up tutorials? I'd love to see them! Because there are still those days when I'm just wearing a baggy sweatshirt and slippers and think...yikes I need help.