DIY: Address book into ipod/iphone Carrier!

Here’s what happened…

I saw this super cute embroidered fabric address book on a thrifting trip today. It was small and fit inside the adorable little case shown. My mind immediately went to a Pinterest pin I had seen for a large book as a Kindle case, and I thought..why not turn this into a fun craft project to house my iPod touch?

After all...who really uses address books anymore?

I honestly can't tell you the last time I didn't store this information ON MY IPOD. I know, I know...it's so "1984" of me. But it's true! And the little address books are the perfect size for most smart phones or iPods, so why not turn them into cute hard cases?

OF COURSE I use thrifted items for my craft projects...c'mon! They are more unique items and usually cheaper!PLUS you are doing something kind for the Earth in recycling and upcycling items... Just do it! I found this at Lakeshore Rescue Mission Thrift in Grand Haven, MI today along with THREE Marushka prints to add to my collection! Stop by the Thrift Trick Facebook page and check them out!

I love the iridescent blue and embroidered dragonflies on this!

Here’s how I did it…

I delicately cut out the address book from the binding. I will use these small papers for scrap--I try not to ever waste paper.

Once I had the bare book, I used my scissors to "drill" two holes in the binding, but you could make a more precise hole with a nail and hammer, or just about any other method you could think of...

Then I threaded through this elastic cord and tied it on the outside of the binding. You could slide the knots around to the inside after if you want to hide them! I put mine on the outside for now.

After I did this on the top and bottom (very taut cords) I had the finished project. Ta-da! My ipod slid right in and the elastic holds it right into place. Positioned right, it is easy to use the ipod right inside the case, without even removing it!

AND, it slides right back into the cute yellow hard case.

Brussel Sprout Couture (Hair accessories DIY) and holiday flower pins!

I always save these mesh bags from oranges, lemons and Brussel sprouts. I've seen cute things done with them before but I didn't know what I was going to use some for until it hit me last night, as I was making some homemade holiday flower pins for my hair!

Here's what I used for this project:

--2 batches of fake flowers from Dollar Tree ($2)

--Hot glue gun

--1 package of clip on barrettes (also from dollar tree for $1)

--Red plastic jewel from a bag of jewels called "Table scatter", also available at Dollar Tree for $1 (a whole bag of them, different sizes!)

--Scrap of old leather


As you can see, I just deconstructed the flowers from the stem, and then rearranged them back together, hot gluing the petals. After I was done, I simply put a strip of hot glue along the back. I know you've seen these done a million times and yes, they are ridiculously easy. You could use any flower, and any style clip you want. I like using the barrettes because they really stay put.


Here's where things got fun though. I've always loved the vintage veil/tulle style head peices--I have quite a few of them (here's a list of pretty ones on Esty). It occurred to me that my recycled mesh bags would be great for this. YES! So I did my own colorful and whimsical version using the petals from the flower, the mesh, one of the plastic jewels from the "scatter bag" and a scrap peice of leather--though you could use anything as your backing.

These could also be secured to a hat or glued to a headband. Oh how much fun you could have if you are the mother of a little girl...but grownups like them, too.

Have fun and if you make a tulle or flower piece, I'd love to see it on my Facebook Page!

InStyle Recreation and DIY Necklace!

This month in InStyle magazine (I subscribe, can't help it) there was an outfit layout that I thought was so cute. Actually, they are always at least a few outfit mockups that I love in each issue--usually almost all of them! The only problem is that one of their outfits usually totals up to somewhere around $1,000. Um, that's a used car. No thank you.

SO. I recreate these outfits using all second-hand, thrift, upcycled and pre-owned items from my own closet! If you love fashion and you haven't tried this, you should. It's so much fun and it gives you new perspective on things you might already have!

Here was the original outfit I loved. Super cute, classic, romantic, vintage-y. I knew I could recreate it at home but problem numero uno was this lovely Swarovski crystal necklace on black ribbon. Nope, don't have one of those lying around. Neither did I have black ribbon. But what I DID have was a bit of scrap black satin in my sewing room and this fantastic vintage starfish brooch that had broken last year and was hiding in my jewelry box. Time to repurpose!



Here's what I did:

-Cut a thin strip of satin long about 1.5 inches wide and long enough to go around my neck and attach to the starfish.

-Glued the underside with Elmer's--a light coat. Spread it evenly and waited until it was tacky. (You could do this with a paintbrush). Anyone who has sewn with satin knows what a pain it is to work with--especally thin spots. Uck. I opted for the quick easy way. And if the necklace doesn't last forever, I'm not going to have a tantrum.

-Rolled the satin into a thin strip and flattened it. Now I had a nice, thick ribbon effect. Once it had dried for the most part, I bound each end with string so it wouldn't come apart. I then made it attachable/detachable from the starfish pin by permanently hot glueing one end and sewing a hook on the other side, which attaches to what was left of my pin brooch. You could get creative with this part, and you could even glue the ends and do loose ends to tie, though the satin does become stiff after being glued. You would want to attach some pieces at the end for tying. I didn't want that with my necklace because I wanted something collar-style. It turned out just lovely. It keeps a nice shape and is stiff, but it looks soft and shiny still. It will look so nice with a black shift/cocktail dress, too!





So, the rest of the outfit I had under control! In another post, I have already talked about my favorite little polka dot t-shirt. I subbed that for the black and white heart shirt pictured in the original! Red cardigan was subbed for the jacket. Simple black polyester skirt for the ribbed one shown here. I did a black shoulder bag instead of a clutch, and added red shoes instead of black heels. And of course, I subbed my DIY necklace for the crystals!

So, only two items shown here were things I actually bought new, and that was the shoulder bag ($6 on clearance at Family Dollar) and the black skirt (also purchased at Family Dollar so long ago that I can't remember how much it was...it is literally seven or so years old, haha!) All other items were cheapo thrift things.

Here's my version of the outfit, with the original one more time for comparison:

ORIGINAL: Over $1,000 MY VERSION: Free, but if you take into consideration the collective amount paid, about $20.

AFTERTHOUGHTS: I do love this outfit but two things happened when I actually WORE it --things always look better on paper, don't they?

1) Retrospectively, black heels work better. There is so much going on with this outfit that the red shoes put things over the top.

2) I felt the same about the necklace WITH the outfit. I am glad I made it...and it looks great laid out, but when you put everything together, I felt like it was too much.

So, to sum things up, I love this outfit but in wearing it out, I would do a black flat, most likely, and skip the necklace. The red, black and white is strong enough on it's own! Put a red lip with it and it's all the flare you need, in my opinion!

A hoot and a half...

In another blog I posted about the cutest little owl pendant that I had found while out thrifting for a dollar, so today I decided to post the first outfit with it. It's been a while since I've rocked a sweater vest! This navy blue one was, ofcourse, a $1.59 special. The black shirt underneath it was a freebie from my mom--it's that great stretchy synthetic polyster stuff that is so forgiving and hangs nicely on everyone. Jeans (Gloria Vanderbilt, which I think is Kmart) were another Goodwill find for $3 a few years ago, when "skinny jeans" first became popular. Ofcourse, they aren't "skinny" jeans on my size 14 frame, lol! But I find if I were them with a fitted top and boots they are pretty flattering!



The boots I have are one of my brand new purchases this year. I am a thick shorty and I have HUGE calves. Boot shopping is such a headache for me. I can never wear what I want to! This year I actually found a pair of black calf boots I liked at Target for $40. They have a stretchy panel sewn in the back so they are super comfortable. The only thing I don't particularly love is that they sometimes are a little too stretchy and the fabric gathers in spots. Next year I think I'll try something a little different, but for the bigger girl looking for a good versatile calf boot...good choice!
Ofcourse I have that adorable little owl pendant on. The watch is something I made myself...I bought an old watch for a dollar at a thrift store and I bought the pretty velcro bracelet at the dollar store--that weird one by my house with all of the cool stuff. I actually sewed the watch face right on to the bracelet. So many choices in making a neat watch if you upcycle. Try it out!
Cool beaded/mirror bracelet cuff was a wacky yard sale find this summer for 35 cents. That's right!

Follow up: How I wore the necklace

I posted earlier on my DIY necklace (see the post here: DIY Necklace), and I thought I'd post the outfit I decided to wear with it for the first time!

All of the things I am wearing are vintage and/or thrift with the exception of the jersey tights (bought them at Payless shoes for 3.99).

Grey jersey dress was actually a long skirt that I transformed. I bought it for $2! The cardigan

was $1.59 at my favorite thrift haunt.

The necklace I made (ofcourse) with recycled items. Ring was actually one dollar from a gas station down the street (it's a cheapie but so cute!)

and the bracelet was also one dollar on clearance at Maxx 10. The shoes were a brand new thrift find (Munro Natural Fit) and they are seriously the most comfortable shoes I have ever worn in my life. The silver shoulder bag (which I love) is Clinique and my father in law (of all people) grabbed it an an estate sale for me--he thought I would like it. SCORE! FREEBIE!