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!

Tutorial Time: Prabal Gurung for J. Crew Inspired Dress

If you remember, I posted a teaser for a DIY Prabal Gurung for J. Crew inspired dress on Thursday and promised to come back with a tutorial.  Let's get started, shall we?  :)

 One more time, here's a photo of the DIY Inspired Dress and the Original Prabal Gurung Exploding Bow Blouse (link to J. Crew here):

See tutorial details after the jump...

Prabal Gurung for J. Crew Inspired DIY Teaser

I fell in love with Prabal Gurung's Exploding Bow Blouse for J. Crew when I saw it on Chloe.  It is now sold out so I wanted to try my hand at making an inspired piece but in a dress version.  Here is my work in progress (though I did change my bow orientations to match where I placed the shoulder straps).  I'm using a silky teal fabric with navy blue edges:

 

Left: DIY Prabal Gurung Inspired Dress,   Right: Prabal Gurung Exploding Bow Blouse for J. Crew

On Sunday, I hope to post the finished dress with a little bow tutorial if you're interested :)  What do you think?  Yay or Nay?

Wear Your Scarf As a Shirt Tutorial Part II

More scarf as shirt ideas!  Did you miss Part I?  Click here for other ideas.  See Cee and Elle totally rock scarf as shirt looks :)


Note - tie your knots securely and wear a tank underneath to prevent any wardrobe malfunctions!


For square, silky scarves:

Ring Halter

How To:

1.  Slip the top 2 corners through a scarf ring (or regular ring)

2.  Pull the corners through until you have enough to double knot behind your neck

3.  Arrange the front draping to your liking

4.  Double knot the bottom ends around your waist

For long, rectangular scarves:

Crossover Halter

How To:

1.  Center and wrap the left top end around the right side of your neck.

2.  Repeat with the other end.

3.  Tie a double knot behind your neck.

4.  Tuck the ends and belt to secure.

Variations (L to R) to Crossover Halter: Twist the ends before tying behind the neck.

Add a scarf ring (or a regular ring) to the ends before tying behind the neck.

Tie the ends before tying behind the neck.

I think I like the Ring Halter and 4th variation of the Crossover Halter best :)  Will you be trying any of these?

Color Obsession: Yellow

Eep - I'm really dropping the blogger ball.  I meant to post another tutorial on wearing your scarf as a shirt but the lighting was so dim today that none of my pictures look very good.  I also completely missed this month's PFC and still need to catch up on reading / commenting on those posts.  So here's a post I had waiting in the wings.

I have an obsession with yellow.  I love pale pastel yellows, golds, and deep mustards.  There's just something about it that seems to brighten my entire day :)  Today's outfit is a yellow maxi from my first pregnancy (made for me by my mother - I learn something new from her everyday!) paired with cognac and brown.  To add more color, I turned to jewelry.

Dress:  DIY (by mom!) Yellow Maxi

Belt:  H&M Obi Tassel Belt

Shoes:  Sofft Buckle Sandals

Necklace and Earrings:  Local artisan from mall

I LOVE this necklace and earring set!  There's a new store in the mall that seems to sell handmade jewelry from local artisans / designers.  I am very much in awe of their talent - I would not know how to begin setting stones this way!  Just inspirational.

Speaking of yellow, I got these super cute Xhilaration Teala wedge sandals at Target for $22 (seen here on Jean of Extra Petite):

It looks like they are sold out online but I saw several at my store.  Here's the link in case they restock or you want more info.

And I got this Steve Madden Mustard Tiered jacket from Amazon for only $24!

What's your current color obsession?

H&M Conscious Collection Dress + 20% Off Coupon

This dress comes from the H&M Conscious Collection and I love how girly it is :)  It's an incredibly flowy dress with some cabochons on the shoulders arranged in floral patterns.  This fits very nicely in the shoulders and bust so I have hopes that this will be versatile post-pregnancy too (it is a non maternity dress in case you're wondering).

Also, did you know if you sign up for the H&M newsletter, they'll send you a 20% off coupon?

Dress:  H&M Conscious Collection

Belt:  Ann Taylor Nude Snake Print Belt

Necklaces:  Banana Republic and Old Navy

Shoes:  Gucci d'Orsay Camel Pumps

Bag:  "Charlotte" Messenger Bag with strap shortened for shoulder carrying

After seeing endless Ann Taylor ad campaigns of layered necklaces, I have jumped on the bandwagon.  Do you layer?  What are your "rules" for doing so?  For me, I just like to have the lengths staggered and the hardware matching (i.e. silver with silver and gold with gold).

I was curious what this dress would look like on a non-preggy and found this picture:

Asymmetrical Maxi Dress Easy DIY Tutorial

Can you sew a straight line and fold fabric into a rectangle?  If so, you can sew your own maxi dress!  This is my second foray of using my dress form to make a dress rather than a pattern.  Interested in the 1st foray?  Click here for the Easy, Draped Maxi Dress Tutorial.

This asymmetrical maxi dress features a draped arm opening and off-the-shoulder sleeve.

And if you were interested in seeing what a 6-month pregnant lady looks like in it:

Want to dig into the tutorial?  It's right after the jump :)

A DIY Tutu for Baby

I absolutely adore the idea of a tutu for Baby Girl so I found a no-sew tutorial and went to town :)  I wound up using tulle cut from a bolt rather than the individual tulle rolls because the bolts had better color selection.  I added some plum flowers and purple ribbon too.

I kind of wish I had a baby doll for a model.  I thought about using our son but my husband was very firmly against putting him girl's clothing :P  Teddy bear it is!

I am now 24 weeks pregnant, have gained 19 lbs and 8 inches to the tummy.  I CANNOT wait until we put Baby Girl in this and take bunches and bunches of pictures!!  Next, I'd like to sew her a little sailor-style dress :)

Gold Stripes and Olive OOTD

This gold striped cream cardigan was an Ann Taylor find from the Memorial Day sales.  With the additional 40% off sale, it was only $24 and I quickly snagged it.  I love stripes and though I have a bevy of striped garments already, I couldn't resist adding a gold version to my closet for such a great price :)

Here I paired it with some gold jewelry and classic semi-neutrals: a navy blue ruffled shell + an olive skirt (while I was at it, I wanted to show another example of wearing "normal" clothes during pregnancy - here's me in the olive skirt both later in the pregnancy and earlier when I wasn't technically "showing" yet):

 

Left:  23 weeks pregnant             Right:  Same skirt, 11 weeks pregnant

Cardigan:  Ann Taylor Metallic Striped Cardigan, SP, $24 in-store (buy here)

Shell:  Gap Navy Blue Ruffle, XS

Necklaces:  Tassel Necklace from Old Navy and Dangle Charms from Banana Republic

Skirt:  J. Crew Canvas Military Skirt, Sz 0

Shoes:  Frye Joy Vintage Slide (buy here)

And a closer view of the necklaces, stripes, and ruffles:

 

I love that you can get cute necklaces from virtually anywhere - Old Navy, H&M, F21, Target, etc.  They're not always built for durability but they make for some good pieces of visual interest.  Where do you get your jewelry?

Sewing a Bright Summery DIY Dress

Though summer hasn't officially started yet, the temps have hit 90+ degrees already for the past week or so.  Last week, the office suffered an AC snafu resulting in a ridiculously stuffy and hot building (well, at least for me) thus prompting me to think that I need many more flowy sun dresses for my wardrobe :P

I found this cute, sheer floral at Joann's and thought it would make a perfect dress option.  I've been having luck lately at Joann's - especially when I head to one specific location with an incredibly well-organized and well-stocked clearance section.  You know I love a good deal!

Dress:  DIY Bright Floral Sun Dress

Belt:  Old Navy Bronze Bow Belt in Croc Print

Shoes:  Gucci d'Orsay Camel Pumps

The dress actually uses the same pattern (McCall's M5654 View B) as this one below but the straps are in a different configuration:

 

I love that this pattern provides a fitted top portion with a flowy bottom that can be left alone or belted.  Do you ever buy/make the same item in different colors and variations?

My Favorite OOPS DIY Dress

When I set out to make this dress, I was envisioning a slim cowl tube dress in a light gray color.  What I wound up with was an asymmetrical split collar A-line dress in dark gray ponte knit.  I do think the color is too severe for summer and the general style looks more fall / winter but ultimately I like how this turned out.  The challenge will be how to alter this into a post-pregnancy dress but I'll worry about that later ;)

Dress:  DIY

Belt:  Ann Taylor Reptile Patterned Belt

Necklace:  Ann Taylor Silver Rhinestone Necklace

Pin:  Rhinestone Tree

Shoes:  Gucci d'Orsay Camel Pumps

A closer view of the pin - I love the pop of "bling" this adds!

What do you think of this "oops" dress?