DIY Pendant Lamp

Hello blogging world! 

I am not dead.

And with that intro, let's move on. For Christmas, my husband found this amazing vanity at the D.I. We started redoing it almost immediately, so I didn't quite get a chance to snap a before picture.

Here it is in the process of repainting.

And here it is, finished! BEAUTIFUL.

However, in order to do my makeup, I needed a light source. We had an old pendant lamp from Ikea, but I didn't like the shape of it. Here's what I came up with instead:

To start, you need the basket from a hanging planter, spray paint, a wire crystal garland, and a pendant lamp kit { I think you can find them at home improvement stores}.

First, spray paint your basket. If you like.

Then, take your garland and just haphazardly wrap it around the basket however you like. You could use anything you wanted to wrap the basket- rope, pearls...get creative!

Then, we just zip-tied the light to the top of the basket. 

Amazingly simple.

I can't believe I get to do my makeup & jewelry in front of this!

DIY Spring Pencil Skirt

Springtime = bright colors! I love it!

Materials Needed

1 yard knit fabric

matching thread

fabric paint

elastic {for the waistband}

Go To It

First, fold your fabric so that it's doubled up. Then, grab a pencil skirt you like the shape of and lay it out on your fabric. Trace around your skirt, leaving about 1/4 to 1/2 an inch for seam allowance.

Take the width of your elastic {mine was 2"} and times it by two {4" for me}. Make the top of your outline a rectangle:  the length of your waist measurement  x your elastic times 2 {length x width}.

Your outline will look something like this:

See how the top of the outline is squared? That's so that when you fold the elastic down you'll get a nice, clean fold.

Next, cut out your two pieces. Sew them together using the seam allowance you provided.

Cut the elastic to fit your waist / the top of your skirt. Sew together to two ends of your elastic to form a circle. With the skirt inside-out, sew the elastic to the top of your skirt using a zig-zag stitch.

{like my pictures?}

Next, turn the skirt right-side out. Fold the elastic down inside the skirt twice so that it's covered, and use a stretch stitch to sew it down.

Hem the bottom also using a stretch stitch {so the hem will allow stretching as you walk}, and you're done with the sewing part!

For the painted flowers {or painted whatever-you-want}, lay the skirt out flat and place a piece of cardboard underneath the front layer. 

Using a fabric pen or fabric chalk {something that will wash out}, draw your design. Then, use a small paintbrush to slowly and carefully paint over your drawing. You could also make a freezer-paper stencil.

DONE.

Pair your cute spring pencil skirt with something bright and fun, like blue stripes and a DIY scarf {i ended up sewing the ends of mine together to make an infinity scarf}.

Enjoy the stretchy, comfy fabric, the cuteness, and hopefully the warm weather!

DIY Floral Stamped Jeans

See this picture? I found it browsing the magazines at my hairstylist's house. And the MOMENT I saw it I knew I had to try a DIY {i just knew it}.

So here's my DIY version of these floral-stamped jeans:

First, you need {and here's the surprise} a pair of jeans. And also, fabric paint.

As for a stamp, you can LITERALLY use anything. Anything. I ended up using some crocheted flowers I found at Joann's and a smaller flower I cut out of cardboard.

I hot-glued some cardboard to the backs to make them easier to stamp. Then, just dip them into your paint and start stamping! {i used an old pair of scrap jeans to practice on.}

Whaddya think?

DIY Men's Pocket Tee Refashion

Refashioning men's tee's is one of my favorite things to try. Admittedly, sometimes it doesn't always work out.

But this one did!

To start, I bought this men's shirt for $5 because I loved the color!

And for $5, even a refashion fail wasn't that bad.

I began by taking in the sides to fit.

Then, I unpicked the pocket and used it to cut a new pocket out of different fabric.

Then, because I hate hemming sleeves, I decided to ruche them instead.

Then, I cut and sewed a new, rounded hem at the bottom. 

Ta-da!

Love Week: DIY

I LOVE DIY.

I don't know that much more needs to be said.

I love DIY dishtowels.

I love DIY maxi-skirts.

I love DIY refashioning.

I love DIY gifts...and DIY decor.

The DIY possibilities are endless!

I've redone end tables, re-purposed an old sweater, repainted thrift store frames, and refashioned everything from new knit fabric to oversized old tees.

DIY is FUN.

You really ought to try it sometime. As my husband always reminds me, the worst case scenario is that you might have to DIY again. 

Adding Sleeves to a Tank Top

I was having a rather bad day yesterday, and when I have bad days....I become a {secret} spending addict.

No judging.



So ahem, yesterday was a bad day, and I ended up buying this top:

Because how could tiny bikes not make me feel better?!

It made me think of summer, which was both good and bad. Good because, well...DUH. It's SUMMER. And bad because summer is hot, and I don't like wearing a lot of layers. And because I'm LDS {check it out} I wear sleeves. And I really didn't want to cover up this cute tank with a cardigan {plus....hot.} So I decided to make sleeves.

Easier said than done. I searched madly all over the web and Pinterest for a tutorial on how to add sleeves to a tank top. There are a few out there: Cut off the sleeves from an old tee and sew them to the tank, or add long flutter-y sleeves also made from an old tee. Bleh. Nothing was what I wanted. 

And thus this tutorial was born. 

You need:

Matching fabric & coordinating thread

tank top

buttons {optional}

1. Fold your fabric in half. Measure from the top of your tank top to the bottom of the arm hole--this is how wide {top to bottom} your new sleeves should measure. Use another tee that you like the sleeves of to measure the length {shoulder to elbow}. Cut them out with seam allowance.

2. Cut out the "J" shape where the sleeve will attach to the tank top {forgot to take pics of this part}.

3. Sew the sleeve to the tank, right sides together. Then, sew down the length to close the sleeve {you could do this vice versa, but it worked better for me this way}.

4. Hem your sleeves to the desired length.

5. Attach button and strap if you want the gathered look.

And there you go, it's that easy. 

P.S. Don't judge me for my lack of real pants. 

3 Easy Ways to Update Old Frames

Winter gives me a serious case of the blahs. 

No color, no flowers....no SUN. It's enough to make anyone cry.

So when I get the urge for bright, happy days, I start looking for something around the house that I can brighten up. Picture frames are some of the easiest updates you can make, and here are three easy ways to make those old frames into new beauties. 

1. Pick up a unique frame from the thrift store and paint it a bright color.

This cute double-frame used to be brown. Plain, boring, brown. I used a pretty blue spray paint to give it a facelift, and sanded the detailing to bring it out.

2. Use Mod-Podge and patterned fabric to give a plain frame some interest. 

Paint your frame with Mod-Podge, then carefully apply the fabric. I used a rotary cutter to trim the edges. A fabric-covered frame is a unique piece you don't see everyday, plus the billions of fabric choices mean you can customize it to look however you want.

3. {and this is the easiest} White paint!

Updating frames doesn't get any easier than this. The outside of this block used to be black. Which wasn't bad, but it definitely darkened the whole thing up. All I did was paint it white---and doesn't it look so much brighter? 

So, ta-da! There are three easy ways to brighten up your winter blues {and your decor}. 

I can't wait for warm days again. Can you?

DIY Leg Warmers

Okay, this idea has been all over Pinterest, but it really only just clicked with me. 

You can take an old sweater, cut off the sleeves, and turn them into leg warmers! 

And guess what? THEY ACTUALLY KEEP YOUR LEGS WARM.

Who knew??! 

Just cut the sleeves to the length you want, take them in to fit, and then hem!

Now, my legs are deliciously warm ALL the time. 

Amazing!