What I wore on .... Thursday, November 11, 2010

What I wore on .... Wednesday, November 10, 2010

What to do with ... bottle caps

Just saw the cutest necklace on Ecouterre, they called it a trashion statement. How cool of a word is that?! I'm really inspired to do something with my pile of bottle caps now, especially now that I have a friend at work saving them for me.

This necklace is part of a collection created by Vicki Sarge, and is made from recycled bottle caps on leather cord. You can get yours here.

Outfit of the day ... on November 9, 2010

What I wore .... Monday, November 8

What I wore ... the week of November 1

I've been trying to weed through my clutter lately, and my clothes clutter is one of the mountains that I need to tackle. I have this bad habit of hanging onto things, and my clothes are no different. I will keep an item of clothing, even after it has well outlived its usefulness if it has a memory attached to it. I still have a pair of shorts that I wore in high school, and that was a LONG time ago. I don't buy a whole lot of new clothes, but since I don't get rid of that many, they tend to accumulate until now I am a bit overwhelmed by them.

I've heard a lot of tips for getting rid of clothes -- cutting them up and making them into quilts (yep, check, although I have to say that it's really hard to make that initial cut -- have to do something to get rid of the shaking and hyperventilating first). Another idea is to get rid of everything that you haven't worn in a year (I say NOOOOOO to that!). A twist on this is to pull everything out of your closet, and as you wear something, hang it back up. Then get rid of anything that you haven't worn in a year. I like that idea! I think that it would inspire me to try and wear something so I wouldn't have to get rid of it. 

Finally, I thought that if I started taking pictures of me wearing my clothes, it would help me decide what looked good on me and what I liked wearing. I also thought that taking pictures would also help me gain some confidence in having my picture taken -- there's a lot to be said for knowing how to pose for a picture. So here goes ...

Tuesday, November 2, 2010

sweater, thrifted

pants, London Jean -- the Kate Fit (Victoria Secrets)

boots, thrifted

I got a lot of compliments on this sweater, which makes me think that I should keep it. It's hand knit, and very warm. However, I think it's more practical to wear when I'm working outside instead of to work. It's a bit bulky to wear in the office. I was sweating! I tucked my pants into my boots, which I don;

Wednesday, November 3

sweater, L.L. Bean

pants, London Jean -- the Kate Fit (Victoria Secrets)

black clogs, Davona by Thom McAn (Kmart)

This sweater is an old faithful, and super comfortable. I could also probably dress it up with a black skirt. Wow, two days, and I'm already getting some new ideas.

Thursday, November 4

sweater, LLBean

dress, Express

necklace, thrifted

black clogs, Davona by Thom McAn (Kmart)

Wow, don't I look professional? I think the picture makes me look kind of matronly -- not sure why I think that, because everybody told me that I looked nice. But just give me a pair of glasses with chains, and I could be your school marm -- it's just not the image that I had of myself when I wore that dress. This complete outfit is another old faithful -- I've had it for years and years ...Maybe it's time to retire it?

Friday, November 5

sweater, Aeropostale

jeans, Morgan by Delias

black clogs, Davona by Thom McAn (Kmart)

bracelets, thrifted

earrings, Village Imports

I had a hard time feeling "on" before I left for work, so I was really worried about how my picture was going to come out. But wow -- I ended up liking it a lot. I straightened my hair with a flat iron (first time ever!), and I was really happy about the way it came out. And it was actually kind of fun to play with it. It made a huge difference in how I felt!

So those are my outfits for the week. Which one is your favorite? 

How to ... wear a skirt.

Ok. Everybody knows how to wear a skirt, right? But do you know how to style a skirt? Already Pretty did a fabulous job of showing how you can wear one pencil skirt in SEVEN different ways -- all with completely different looks. This look was my favorite, and I'd love to try and duplicate it.

 

Now, I just have to find the boots and a shirt ... easier said than done, I think. 

Fashion sense ... Pencil Skirts and Tights

As a writer/editor/proofreader, I think I need to own a nice selection of pencil skirts :-). Here's one that I saw at the Limited.

You can see more details here. I like that the houndstooth pattern is black, but also has the color of the year in it -- camel. I like it paired with the tights and the slouch boots, but I don't care for the white shirt. Not sure how I would wear it though.

Here's another pencil skirt from The Limited.

The Limited also has the tights, but they're a bit on the pricey side.

You can't really see in the picture, but the tights have a tiny rib to them.

How to ... flatten bottlecaps

Once you've saved up a bunch of bottle caps, you need to flatten them. Squidoo has a tutorial showing how to do this with either a Sizzix machine (a what machine?) and a converter plate or a hammer. I don't have a Sizzix machine -- I don't even know what it is -- but I do have a hammer. And if I had a hammer (no, that's something else ...) Anyway, Squidoo also shows how to flatten bottle caps with a hammer here.

What to do with ... bottle caps

I've always saved bottle caps -- the metal ones that come on glass bottles. Who knows why I hung onto them -- I guess I thought they could be used for something. Lately, I've been coming across different things to use them for. Here's a few of my favorites.

Broke Ass Stuart has a number of ideas here. I love the idea of this mirror, which is what I'm saving mine for.

I found another picture of a bottle cap mirror here. Here's a light pull, featured on Natural Home.

 The light pull is similar to the wind chimes described here.

John T Unger makes mosaics, which are way cool. Unfortunately, I'm just not that talented.

I did find a tutorial on Instructables that showed how to make one of these kind of mosaics if you are so inclined.

Molly B Right makes bottle cap portraits. These are gorgeous!

This mosaic looks more like it's my speed, posted on Craftster here.

Or how about a set of castanets? Instructions are given here.

Knitting Iris has a really nice one here. I wonder if kids would get cut with it? I guess not if the caps were hammered flat first.

Finishing dot com shows pictures of table tops out of bottle caps!

They provide suggestions on how to make it. Instructables also has a step-by-step tutorial for making  a table top here. Beer Masters also has instructions here, which sound pretty simple. Kempa.com outlines his mosaic making strategy here, with instructions on how to work from the image (which does not do his work justice at all!).

For something cute, go to Craftideas.org to find out how to make these ladybugs.

And not to be outdone, Martha Stewart shows how to make bottle-cap magnets and thumbtacks here.

Lots of people make snakes. Here's a cute one on Craftster here. 

what to do with an .... old table

Mod Podge Rocks does this with an old table.

Quilting ...

Sew Dang Cute has inspired me with her rag quilt.

I love the colors in this. I think that the design would lend itself well to a scrappy quilt.

What to do with an ... old ladder

I always liked the idea of using an old ladder inside, ever since I saw how Martha Stewart put it to use in a bathroom as a towel rack.

Now, Funky Junk Interiors uses one in an even better way!

Fashion statement ... Tights

Modcloth has some great tights

They look like they would last forever and be warm, and they are pretty reasonably priced. You can find them here.

What to make with .... toilet paper rolls

I get so amazed to see how creative people are -- who would have thought that you could make this out of a toilet paper roll?

This would be really pretty as a Christmas ornament, or even to dress up a package. Michele Made Me shows you how to make one in her tutorial here.

how to make a ... What-Not shelf

Bee in our Bonnet gives a great tutorial for making what I would call a "what-not" shelf.

She makes it sound easy in this tutorial. I'm so jealous of women who are able to work with power tools -- I can do a lot of things, but for some reason, I have always been intimidated by power tools. I need to conquer that fear.

What to do with ... shoeboxes and meat trays

Wow -- If I hadn't of seen the title to this blog post, I would have never guessed that this was made of a shoebox and those ubiquitous foam meat trays! Look at what Michele Made Me Wow, this is incredible.

Thank you Michele Made Me for sharing your tutorial here!

How to make a .... Necklace

HoneyScrap shares her tutorial for making this “verveine necklace,” which she created for only $5!

I'm not too crazy about the bow, but that's just me, and you can leave it off.

What to do with ... old sweaters

Old stained sweaters -- what to do with them? They don't even have to be stained, they can be just out dated, but you hate to get rid of them, because they have such a pretty pattern. Well, now they don't have to just take up space in your closet. Thrillingly Thrifty shows us how to make these adorable slippers.

These are child size, but she also shows how to make the pattern here, which can easily be adapted to any size.

She did what?

I was just browsing around on Clover Lane's blog, when I stumbled upon this post, "I caught up! 6 Years in 3 Weeks!" She was talking about scrapbooking her photos -- but as far as I'm concerned, it doesn't matter what she caught up with. That is an incredible accomplishment! She's got some good ideas.

Did you ever?

This has been a great fall so far -- the leaves are such vibrant colors of reds and yellows (hope the trees don't lost all their leaves with the rain today). Growing up, I always picked up leaves that were colorful and pressed them between the pages of a book. Of course, I didn't do too much else with them -- they pretty much where they stayed, and as they dried, they lost their colors.

Waxing leaves, a craft from yesteryear, would probably save that color. All you really need is a box of wax. (and the leaves, of course). Clover Lane has some great pictures, along with a tutorial on how to do it.

 

Now I just have to figure out how to display my waxed leaves or what to do with them when I'm done.

Whooo, hooo whooo ...

I've been on the lookout for owl crafts ever since my daughter started going to the Temple University of Pharmacy -- their mascot is an owl. Here's one from Purple Paisley Pinwheels.

Pretty easy, and very cute (I can also use all the yarn scraps from the pom pom pumpkin to stuff them). They can also be stuffed with lavender or other herbs for sachets, or beans for a paperweight. They can be made from Chrstmas prints, Halloween prints -- no limits here.

What to do with ... old t-shirts

Kim at College Fashion shows how to make cute scarves out of old t-shirts.

You can wear this another way as well, but I don't think it's half as cute.

I have another one that I have to locate where it braids the t-shirt material, which is really cute too.

Finding Time to ....

Here is a post by Lain Ehmann, an EzineArticles.com Expert Author, about making time for scrapbooking. I don't scrapbook (I just save everything in boxes), anyway -- you could substitute the word scrapbooking for almost anything -- sewing, exercise, cleaning (hah!).

She has some other good articles -- take a look at the one on conquering clutter by asking yourself four questions:

• Is it unique?
• Do I have a project in mind?
• Is it easy to store?
• What's the worst that would happen if I threw this away?

Rocking Tights from Refinery 29

I have always liked wearing black tights, but this year tights are in, and so I'm thinking of trying different styles and colors.

Refinery 29 has some suggestions on how to wear them. I love the textured tights on the right.

I can't find that sweater dress, but Urban Outfitters has some cute ones

And here are some colored tights

And here is a style that I don't care for, but I love the suit!

Halloween Crafts

Domestifluff shares how to make these really cute pom pom pumpkins. Great for Halloween or even into Thanksgiving.




I always loved doing crafts with my kids (okay, maybe love is kind of a strong word). Anyway, I did love the crafts that kids could make, and ended up looking great. The Mother Huddle shares this one, which I wish I could have made with my kids. Isn't this a cute spider?

Here's another spider craft by  Every Crafty Endeavor  -- probably not for the little ones though -- a thistle spider. This is great! Reminds me of all the ornaments at the Brandywine River Museum.

I'm going to have to post two entries today, because I was just too, too exhausted when I got home from work. Anyway, yesterday on 10/1, I spent my hard-earned money on a solenoid. On a what, you ask? A solenoid for the gear shift in my Subaru. My car had not been going into park, so $78 were spent on this item.

today, I had to use a LLBean $10 coupon before it expired. So, I bought a shirt ... it looks cute ... What do you think? So, it ended up costing me all of $2.99, including shipping.

no purchase today?

I should have taken a picture of a gas station -- I didn't spend any out-of-pocket money today, YAY! ... But I did go to work, and the gas I used to take me to work was probably my biggest expenditure today.

no park

Today, I get to spend $95 to have the gear shift mechanism in my car cleaned so that I could put my car in park. Oh boy, they thought I had a dog because of all the hair in there ... that is food for thought. Unfortunately, I still can't put my car in park.

My purchase for today -- a new shovel! I have been wanting to get one for awhile, and I have been needing to get one for awhile. Well, I finally splurged on one. Spent more money than I should have, but what do you think? I think it's pretty, and that it'll hold up for awhile.