Mother-Daughter Chevron Pleated Skirts DIY

Aside from the normal preparations of going back to work, I also knew I wanted new family portraits done for my desk.  I can't tell you how many stressful moments have been alleviated by staring at baby pictures of my son.  Puts everything into perspective rather quickly.  :)

Family portraits are kind of tricky to me.  I wanted to wear something relatively classic looking so the pictures wouldn't look too dated when we looked back at them years from now.  I also wanted the whole family to look cohesive (yes, I've been watching too much Project Runway) so decided that everyone should wear blue.  I took it to the next step and decided to play matchy-matchy with Baby E again by making us both pleated chevron skirts.

DIY Mother-Daughter Chevron Pleated Skirts (buy here)

I know you can't see our faces in this pic, but this is one of my favorite candid shots from the session :)

And see that "glow" on my arms?  It was a HOT day for photos.

 I think it was Jean who mentioned that she trusts the camera much more than the mirror.  So I pondered between 2 classic button-downs via photos.  I'm glad I did!  I preferred the light blue in the mirror, but the dark navy looked so much better in the photo due to the contrast.  The pictures also told me to nix the necklace for being too busy. 

(And if you're wondering, I have not yet fixed my ball of hair here since these were taken the same day as the black sheath post, but appreciate all your helpful tips!)

If interested, you can order these at my Etsy store.

Skirts are custom made to your waist measurement and length preference.

Baby / Toddler version also available by special request :)

Sooo, mother-daughter outfits - take advantage while she's too young to be embarrassed or stop it already?  :D

P.S.  Now that I'm back to work, blog posting may be a little erratic as well as general interaction.  If you have a question or need anything, I'm usually the best at responding via Twitter (I know that's weird, but the limited characters works well for me) followed by email.

Going Overboard w/ Nautical DIYs

Quickie post today on some recent DIYs.

Nautical, nautical, nautical.  I feel like that's the only theme that runs through my head nowadays.  There's even a small Twitter group (Aubrey, Cee, Elle, Ying and me), wittily dubbed the Anchor Brigade by Elle, devoted to nautically inspired shopping finds :)

Sailor's Knot Anchor Bracelet

Triple Wrap Bracelet w/ Anchor Closure

Striped Pearl Ribbon Bracelet (buy here)

Bronze Anchor Earrings

Gold Anchor Earrings

Sailboat Earrings

Red, White & Blue (and Gray) Leatherette Bracelet

Past nautical DIYs, click on pictures for full post:

Nautical bracelets and Looped rope necklace

Nautical skirt and Lighthouse peplum top

Have you gone overboard with nautical?  (Yes, I'm cheesy like that)

Jewelry DIY: Ode to Pearls

I've always been in love with pearls and incorporate them into almost every piece I make.  This one is my ultimate pearl piece with 5 strands of ivory nugget pearls to add a little bit of drama to every ensemble.

5-Strand Nugget Pearl Necklace (sold here)

It winds up being a rather heavy piece as I prefer glass to plastic materials but I like the end result.  As you can tell, I made this piece right before DD was born :)

I'm also experimenting with less traditional pearl necklaces like these ladder necklaces:

Customizable Pearl Ladder Necklaces (sold here)

And finally, I've been wanting to create a chevron necklace.  I think this one is "getting there" but still needs some work:

In other DIY jewelry news, I'm working on some bracelets but I'll save those for a later post :)

What type of jewelry are you most drawn to?  Chains?  Pendants?  Beads?  A mix?

Etsy Feature on ShopHappens & Discount Code

Erin of ShopHappens.com recently contacted me about an Etsy feature on her site and I was so very flattered!  From her site, "ShopHappens.com is a website dedicated to sharing shopping knowledge with the general public.  Customer service stories, awesome sales, interviews with Etsy sellers… nothing is off-limits as long as it is shopping related. "  


Go check it out for an exclusive 15% off discount code off anything in my Etsy store :)  Also, if you're interested in any piece of jewelry on my blog that hasn't been listed in Etsy, please feel free to email me.

Triple Strand Pearls (buy here)

Freshwater Pearls on Chain (buy here)

Pearls and Cameo on Chain (buy here)

Pearls and Cameo on Ribbon (buy here)

Custom Pearl Ribbon Necklace (buy here)

Thanks again, Erin!