Make It So: Yarn and ribbon-wrapped bracelets

Yesterday my friend Jennie and I broke out the glue guns, some old plastic bracelets, and an enormous pile of yarn and got to work! First, I made a ribbon-wrapped version because I wanted to use up a particularly cute piece of Kate Spade ribbon I'd been holding onto. 

With ribbon, you have to wrap it around just right so you don't get wrinkles, but it goes way quicker than the yarn! Add a drop of glue to the back to start, then you're ok just adding a drop every two or three times around. 

Next up was the yarn-wrapped bracelet. I decided to do some red, white, and blue, and added a few sailor buttons Jennie had on hand to lessen the Fourth-of-July vibe. 

The inside is less-than-perfect, but the outside turned out pretty good! Don't worry about getting thin yarn - the standard stuff works fine, once you stretch it over the bracelet it looks much thinner anyway. 

It's a good craft to do with a friend so you have someone to chat with while you wind and wind and wind all that yarn! I want to track down a few more plastic bracelets and do some other colors  too. I'm thinking an armful of colorful yarn bangles would look good!

Maybe I need to do a few more ribbon-bracelets too? Loving these from Pinterest. 

http://pinterest.com/pin/51861833181838327

http://pinterest.com/pin/51861833181838331

Loving Right Now: Chambray

This really shouldn't be a "Loving Right Now" post. It should be a "Loving for All Time" post.

I love chambray. It's soft, comfortable, and matches just about everything in my closet. It manages to be both chic and casual at the same time. I've been doing a major closet purge over the past few weeks, and taking a ton of stuff to the consignment shop, and I'm realizing my entire wardrobe could be paired down to a few chambray shirts and colored pants and I'd be super happy! 

Stay tuned for a DIY chambray lace shirt post over the next few days, but for today, here's some chambray inspiration to get you started!

BTW, I tried to do the proper Embed-pin thing but I couldn't get it to work in HTML or otherwise, so if someone knows the trick to doing this properly, please let me know! I would be much obliged. I pasted the embed code like it said but just kept getting an error message. Oh, well, old school post and link it is! 

In case you had any doubts on the versatility of this humble fabric...

(http://pinterest.com/pin/51861833181567064)

Casual with skinnies. 

(http://pinterest.com/pin/51861833181570024)

Add a touch of lace. 

(http://pinterest.com/pin/51861833181567062)

Work-worthy proper.

(http://pinterest.com/pin/51861833181567059)

And weekend-worthy casual. 

(http://pinterest.com/pin/51861833181578624)

Under a floral shift. 

(http://pinterest.com/pin/51861833181585798)

And with a shocking pop of neon!

There will be a post dedicated just to the glories of neon in the future. For now, what's your favorite way to wear chambray, or do you tend to stay away?

Make It So: fridge magnets

A few days ago I had the itch to do some crafting, but only about 15 minutes to spare. So what do to? Whip out the hot glue gun! 

I've had a ton of blank round magnets hanging out on my fridge for months, so I thought I'd pull together a few things to liven them up a bit. 

First came these cute Valentine's buttons I've had since a Valentine's trip to Disney World years ago. They were so cute I couldn't throw them away, so they've just been hanging out in my paper clip container in the office. I took the tiny safety pins out with a pair of pliers and mashed the point things down flat (I have no idea what those are called...tines? Fasteners? I'll go with pointy things)

Next came some cute clothes pins I got out of the dollar bin at Target. I glued the magnet to the very middle in hopes it would stay flat against the fridge. 

I also had a few extra Euro coins lying around so I glued those on, too! I'm sure I have some more foreign coins hiding out in junk boxes around the house - this is a great way to use them!

I forgot to take a picture of these in the making, but the last set you see here is some rock-like beads I had. I still have more blank magnets and plenty of odds and ends to glue to them, but my 15 minutes was about up so I called it a day. 

It's quite an eclectic mix. 

What random things do you have around the house that would work well made into magnets? I'm seeing lots of possibilities...sea shells, old/broken jewelry, small toys - so many possibilities! 

Loving Right Now: Printed Sweaters

Guess, what, folks? I'm writing a book! I've always wanted to write a mystery novel, so in a surge of optimistic new year's goal setting I decided there was no time like the present and set to work. It may never see the light of day, but I'll have satisfaction of having something down on paper, and at least I'll have a chance to solidify some of the mysteries and murders always floating around in my head (wait, that sounds...bad).

What does that have to do with all these super cute printed sweaters? Absolutely nothing. I decided in lieu of more involved, crafty posts, I would start a shorter post series, since most of my creative energies are flowing in another direction right now (did I mention I'm also learning French and running a successful Arbonne business? Yeah, I've always been a bit overambitious).

So what am I digging right now, fashion-wise? I love the printed sweater trend.

Source: forever21.com via Rachel on Pinterest

Source: forever21.com via Rachel on Pinterest

I also like cute designs on sweatshirts. The whole trend is very preppy-chic with a dash of Bill Cosby.

Source: stylezen.net via Rachel on Pinterest

I could totally sew some sequins on like that. Not that I'll take the time, but wouldn't it be cute?

Source: Uploaded by user via Rachel on Pinterest

Isn't she the cutest in that horse-print sweater?

Source: forever21.com via Rachel on Pinterest

Hearts!

Source: chicnova.com via Rachel on Pinterest

Would you rock the printed sweater trend? Forever 21 seems to have a ton of inexpensive options if you're looking for somewhere to start - the hardest problem might be narrowing down your options!

What are you loving right now, fashion-wise? Or, do you have any great mystery novel ideas you're itching to contribute? :)

Make it so: quick & easy Valentine's Day craft

Need a quick little gift for Valentine's Day? Head over to Michaels and dig through their dollar bins. They have some great little frames painted in bright colors!

The frames have stands on them, but you could easily rip those off and attach a few heavy-duty magnets if you wanted to hang them on the fridge!

I printed out several vintage pictures of Paris since I'm using the frames for a Paris-themed Arbonne meeting in February (We're working on earning a trip to Paris this year and I'm SO excited!). 

You could also print out a family picture or a place that's special to you and your sweetie! :)

I love all the details on the frames - the flur de lis are especially appropriate for my Paris pictures! 

Viola! A super quick and easy craft for your Valentine. :)

What would you use these cute frames for?

Make It So: spray paint holiday projects

Ok, back to my obsession with spray paint. I love the super easy, keep-your-hands-clean way a can of spray paint can give a hum drum object a whole new lease on life.

I've tackled a couple of different spray paint projects over the past few weeks. The first was a quick update on some Dollar Store Christmas village houses.

I just bought a can of semi-gloss white and went to town. Be sure to do several thin layers so it doesn't drip.

The finished product! I think they're just a bit more retro and fun when they're all white, don't you? You could use this same technique with vases, rabbits for easter (paint them a bright, funky color?), mismatching pottery, etc. The whole project cost about $13, and brightened up my kitchen windowsill all December.

My next project was turning a pair of scuffed up shoes into some NYE-worthy stunners! These are the most comfortable pair of heels I own, so I hated to toss them, but they were really sad-looking on the toes and no amount of shoe cleaner or polish was working. I saw this tutorial on Pinterest (where else?) and decided to give it a go.

I measured where I wanted my cap toe to stop and marked it with a pencil. 

Then, I carefully applied clear packing tape along the line I had drawn. Press it down firmly so  you get a clean line! Next, I cleaned the area to be painted with rubbing alcohol. 

Next, I taped off the soles of the shoes (under where I wanted to paint) to keep things clean, and wrapped the rest of the shoe in paper and taped that up to, just to avoid any accidental painting (spray paint doesn't always go exactly where you want).  

I had some Krylon metallic gold spray paint left over from another project, so I gave the shoes a couple coats of that first. Go ahead and get the name brand paint, don't even bother with the off-brand stuff. It's just not worth it. 

I don't have a picture of the next step, but I also had some gold glitter spray paint (I got it from Walmart...it's almost a clear paint with gold glitter flecks in it), so I added a few coats of that as well. After letting them dry for a while, I peeled off all the paper and tape. I was actually really surprised they turned out so well!

I love them! The paint line is so nice and crisp thanks to the packing tape. I'm really glad I didn't use painters' tape like some of the tutorials I read said to do - that stuff never seems to work. 

I've only worn them once, but the paint seems to be holding up well! You could also add a clear varnish or coat of modge podge or something to give it a little extra protection. 

What are some DIY projects you made over the holidays? 

The Cinque Terre and Monaco

More adventures! An excerpt from our trip from Rome to Paris, via Monaco.

"We have arrived in the city of lights, and it's "tres magnifique!" We arrived late this afternoon via high speed train from Monaco - the train was a fun adventure in and of itself, weaving its way through the French countryside (from the arid Mediterranean coast to the green apple orchards of Northern France) at up to 160mph! It took about six hours to cross the whole country. The Eiffel Tower is only a few blocks from our hotel, so we took a brisk walk over in time to see it illuminated with a dazzling light show at 6pm - tres belle! Dinner is later here in Europe, so we'll head to a Rick Steves's recommended cafe for dinner around 8pm."

(Side note - that cafe became our favorite. Duck and Potatoes!! Enough said.)

"A quick recap of the last few days - Vernazza was a picturesque, rather remote fishing villiage on the sea, part of whats called the "Cinque Terre," or Five Lands. Five tiny villiages perch onto the rocks above the Medeterranean, and while bustling with tourists and hikers in the summer, was quiet and pretty much only locals and their families while we were there. I came down with a cold while en route to cinque terre, so I spent most of our time there lazily strolling or watching the sea."

Vernazza. 

Monterosso, the next town over. 

"While it was beautiful, I was excited to head for civilization (and proper Kleenex) when we left for Monaco yesterday morning. Monaco is a teeny tiny, extremely wealthy microcountry nestled within France on the Mediterranean. It is the cleanest, shiniest safest place I have ever been - there are security cameras about every foot, and it is said you could win a million dollars at the casino, walk down the street with it in the middle of the night, and have nothing to worry about. We only stayed one night in Monaco, but the hotel was fancy and beautiful and we ate a ton of amazing food there. We even ordered room service - soup and french fries - and had the tastiest breakfast of our trip at the hotel before we left this morning. Coffee here is amazing - even the tiniest train stations have espresso machines and make a better coffee than you can get anywhere at home."

"We will be in Paris for the remainer of our trip, and there is still so much to enjoy! La Lovre, shopping, Notre Dame, and I plan to visit the Eiffel Tower at least once a day!"

(I did manage to see the Eiffel Tower almost every day we were there. :))

Monte Carlo, Monaco. 

The casino in Monte Carlo. 

Monte Carlo harbor view from our hotel. 

Eventually I'd like to do a few-more trip related posts, on eating gluten free in Europe and recommendations on where we stayed...if there's anything in particular you'd like to hear more about, leave a comment! :)