Books and Cold Shoulders

I have been loving the trend of the off the shoulder tops and dresses, so I decided to make my own! I saw this diy and tried it out on this vintage fabric I got at an estate sale. This was a very simple pattern with elastic and only took an afternoon to complete. Can I just say, books are amazing? And book stores. Where else can you go to a thousand different places and live so many lives just by living through a character in a book? I went to this charming book shop with some friends the other day wearing this outfit and it was just wonderful. What's on your reading list? 

Just Peachy + DIY

So to celebrate the end of my school year, Rose, Sabrina, and I went thrift hunting, and yes it was more of hunting for thrift shops than hunting in thrift shops. I found this gem in the Haight-and-Ashbury-neighborhood Goodwill. Upon bringing it home, my sister April (pictured below) asked me, "Aren't you supposed to be making yourself for sophisticated??" To which I claimed, it is summer and it is very me. I mean, it's fruit...come on! 

I felt it needed a little makeover before I wore it out, so see how I re-designed this short sleeve button-down to a racer-back, tie-front. 

Before! 

Here's how I made it! 

I Colored Grunge with a Pink Highlighter

Lips: Milani - Black Cherry, Skirt: thrifted, Top: Urban Outfitters, Sweater: (around waist) Delia's, Boots: Target, Jacket: (old) the Gap

So I dyed my hair pink. It was wonderful! When I was about half way through, with gloves smothered in dye and my hair soaked, my dad came into the bathroom to ask me to pick up my sister from practice. 

"Well," I said, "I have to let my hair set for 30 minutes and then take a shower." 

"Well", he said, "It will take about 30 minutes to get there and come back, so can you go and then take a shower when you get back?" 

Oh logic. 

I put my pink-chemical-soaked hair in a bun and wrapped a plastic shower cap around it a couple times. Also it was cold, so I was wearing an oversize corduroy button down and sweatpants, oh and no makeup. Ridiculous. It was dark, so you know, whatever. But it was all worth it in the end, because my sister laughed along with me when she got in the car, and the tips of hair hair are fuchsia. All in a day's work.

First Cut is the Deepest Sweatshirt

   

      

    

 

Since starting college, I've had to wake up at (before) the crack of dawn to commute to school, so I have grown fond of comfort. I would be more than happy to get on the train wearing my pajama set with the donuts on them. Yet, the fact that I am majoring in Fashion Design and that my classmates are always so put together, has inspired me to not completely give up. I got this basic gray Hanes sweatshirt at a thrift shop and decided it needed a cut. Opportunity grasped! For the overlaying fabrics, I chose prints that were different in scale (large on the top arrow, medium, for the pink and white fabric, and small in the center triangle) but all had the same tone, or vibrancy of color. I cut out the sweatshirt and used the pieces as my patterns for the printed fabrics; leaving a 1/2 seam allowance. Once everything was cut out, I topstitched the prints to the original sweatshirt pieces. Finally, I sewed the puzzle back together on the printed seam allowance. This way I could have the impact of the prints and maintain the coziness of the sweatshirt. I love the way it turned out and can't wait to create another one! May the cozy be with you friends.

DIY Novelty Mini-Terrarium

 

You'll need: Decorative Moss (similar here), novelty figurines or objects (I used Lego Princess Leia and Indiana Jones, the "is that what I think it is?" element is cute), Beads and/or glass pebbles,

A glass jar or lidded dish.

1) Begin filling the bottom of your jar with larger beads.

Add a layer of glass pebbles on top, covering the beads.

2) Add moss until you fill about 2/3 of the jar. It's mainly your own preference on how you place your moss, but I think it looks better with the greener pieces on top. 

3) Place figurines inside the jar. I had Leia and Indiana laying around, and I thought it would be a cute love story...kind of Han and Leia chilling on Endor...

4) For a pop of color, last minute I found some flowers that I dropped in along with some extra glass pebbles and some tiny mirrors to reflect different angles inside. Be creative and add different items to enhance your theme or look.

5) Finish off by topping your jar with a lid...or not!

 

Here are some other, larger, ideas my mom has put together with the same moss, but different figurines (butterflies and birds).

Have fun!

Paint Your TOMS!

I've been wanting to paint my old faded TOMS for a while now, and I finally got around to it. Yesterday it was warm and sunny, and there was fantastic shade underneath the apricot tree in the backyard. So I thought, today is the day!  I was really inspired by tribal prints and drew from the design on a scarf I have. To re-vamp your own, you need:

 1) Draw out your design on scratch paper. You may need a couple drafts to see what you like.

 2) Paint your scratch paper to decide what colors to use. As you can see, I made a few changes.

 3) Use a highlighter to draw the design onto the shoes. Pay attention to the direction of the fabric in relevance to your design.

 4) Paint the large portions of your design onto the shoe. I found for most spots it was either easier to hold the shoe with your hand inside like on the left or laying on a table.

 5) Go back in a paint in the details, for me it was the black and white outlines, and smaller portions of design (like the dots).

 6) Once the shoes are painted and dried, use a water repellant or sealer and spray both shoes. Let dry. 

There you go! Your spiffy new TOMS!