DIY: pauper's rose gold

rose gold (also known as Russian Gold) is simply a gold and copper alloy.  honestly, in the old country i disliked rose gold.  however, now just like many other things i used to dislike (such as glitter nails LOL), rose gold seems beautiful to me for the first time...

to make a "rose gold" cuff you will need:

silver cuff and an oval stone from JoAnn's (both Dazzling Geodes by Plaid)
Krylon Metallic spray paint in copper (JoAnn's, Walmart)
E-6000 glue (JoAnn's or any craft store)
plastic or paper cup for holding the cuff in place
optional: two small beads for decorating the stone (not pictured; i had some spare beads i could use)

i used an empty coffee can to create my work area;  you can use old newspaper

spray the cuff (preferably outside and away from other objects) following directions on the spray can.
drying time is 10-15 minutes but allow about two hours before handling.
next, i glued the oval stone to the cuff using E-6000 glue.
i also, spray painted two small beads and glued them to the stone.

the silver knuckle ring (below) came from Kohl's.  i loved everything about it except it was too sparkly for me.  i spray painted the ring immediately wiping it with paper towel.

knuckle ring - Kohl's

same ring after spray painting

as i was working on this project, i remembered seeing similar DIY on Angelia's blog Superheros and Stilettos last year.  see her beautiful Vintage Brooch Ribbon Necklace here.

very small and light Panasonic Lumix

i'm loving my new camera from amazon.com.  it's Panasonic's Lumix DMC-FH20 for $134.95.  the card from my old camera worked for this new one (yeah!).  also, purchased Joby magnetic flexible tripod from the same place.  it is very strong and can attach to the refrigerator doors, fence poles, basketball poles, garage doors etc.  i first saw this tripod on ThriftyMomma's post Alien Alert!,  who got the idea from Curvy Everyday, who got the idea who knows where? ;)

gray again

i'm "struggling" without my own camera (i accidentally dropped our old Canon) and am using my parents' camera and my cellphone.  so sorry about blurry pictures.

this gray cardigan came from Target.  it seemed to be a perfect DIY material for one of my long-forgotten DIY projects i saw on The Glamourai back in 2009.  Kelly's inspiration came from 3.1 Philip Lim.

gray cardi- Target (with black DIY bows attached to the button holes)

black pants - Walmart

black shoes - Steve Madden DSW (old from '09), also worn here

faux snake skin clutch - Goodwill

ring - SteinMart $4.99

bracelet and earrings - Kohl's (old)

 

 twinkle toes at 39?  why not?!  life is too short!

Sally Hansen's Gunmetal+Sinful Colors' Queen of Beauty

heart of glass

last February I bought this red glass heart pendant from JoAnn's and attached it to the necklace above (from a local boutique).  also, added a little black bow to it.
as much as i love color, i've been wearing mostly black and gray these days.   black and white, and gray are so easy to style, yet always look nice. 

knuckle ring with dark red "stone" - Target $7.99

bracelets (from top down) - silver cuff from Georgia; Kohl's bracelet, F21 black waxed string bracelet

grey flower came with a headband from Ross (i use it as a pin on my sweaters and hats)

nails (bottom coat) - Sally Hansen's Gunmetal

nails (top coat) - Sinful Colors' Queen of Beauty glitter

i accidentally dropped my camera and it broke (or was it subconscious desire to get a new one? just kidding).  it was very old Canon with just 8.0 mega pixels.  some of the pictures above are taken with my cellphone, some with my parents' camera.  i'm camera-less until our new Panasonic Lumix arrives.  sure, i want a $799 camera but...  $129 will do for right now.  can't wait to receive my new camera this week.


Debbie Harry (Blondie): Heart Of Glass 1978

MIA Motif Wedge Bootie

behold: the most beautiful and the most comfortable shoe in the world!  you may be thinking "what @#&?!"
well, at least in my opinion this is the best.  these beauties just arrived and i can't take them off.  they are perforated suede/genuine leather in grey (also, available in black).  i usually avoid ordering anything online but this was free (utilized my amazon.com points) and free shipping.  who can resist?!  this was love at first sight.  can't wait to wear these beauty booties out! (i know i'm cheesy).
also, available from DSW.com for $29.94 (sizes are limited).

it's a snow day here in Tn again.  we played outside splatter-painting snow with sidewalk paint (mixed with water) and sprinkling craft glitter all over ("yellow snow" has a new meaning for me now)...  it was the only way i could keep my kids from making me pull them non-stop around and around our cul-de-sac.  i was pulling them both at the same time and they were shouting "faster, mommy, faster!"...

our friend Penny (neighbor's dog)

DIY: armor knuckle ring

i'm sure you've seen many kinds of armor knuckle rings online.  i think Vivienne Westwood's $269 armor ring is my favorite of them all (from ASOS).
i was at JoAnn's today and got a package of adjustable rings.  Each package contains four rings: two in gold and two in silver.  these are sold for attaching your own embellishments to make your own one of a kind ring.  however, if you stack them all on one finger overlapping the rings (i actually just stacked three out of four)- you have an armor knuckle ring.  what do you think?  yes?  no?  maybe so?  total cost: $2.99 for a package of four rings (they are on sale; originally $3.99).

JoAnn's adjustable rings ($2.99 for a package of four)

Vivienne Westwood's armor knuckle ring from ASOS

DIY: red sparkle heart tee

EDIT: PLEASE SEE MY NEW POST HERE FOR BETTER GLITTER PRODUCT FOR THIS PROJECT.
i could not resist the temptation to DIY this sparkle heart tee after seeing a photo with Taylor Swift in February issue of InStyle magazine.  i don't care about the celebrity factor of course; but simply thought my daughter would love to have a similar shirt.  Taylor Swift's shirt is from Wildfox Couture ($108). 

photos from wildfoxcouture.com

you will need:
white or black 100% cotton tee (Walmart, Target $3-$6)
one tub of dry red glitter (Walmart or any craft store)
textile medium (from any craft store)
1/2" wide flat brush
wax paper
masking tape (not pictured below)
iron, pencil and plastic placemat (or a piece of cardboard)

pictured: wax paper, textile medium in a bowl, brush, textile medium container, dry glitter

i made Nina two heart shirts: one black and the other white.  our black shirt came from Target, and the white one came from Walmart.
i use children's plastic placemat to protect to shirt but you can also use a piece of cardboard.  just slide it inside the shirt.  with a pencil i drew a large heart shape directly onto the shirt.
next, i used small pieces of masking tape to outline the shape:

apply textile medium to the heart and smooth it over with a brush:

while textile medium is still wet, sprinkle glitter all over the heart shape and gently pat the area (confession: i used too much glitter; be generous but don't over do it):

let it dry for 4-6 hours.  remove masking tape.  apply another layer of textile medium to seal the glitter:

once again let it dry for 4-6 hours or overnight.
finally, after all is dry cover the area with wax paper and heat set with hot iron (i use hottest setting).  by heat set i mean place an iron over wax paper for about 10 sec.  repeating the process several times to make sure you covered the whole area.

and... here it is!

i paint shirts for children and sell them in my Etsy store (this is not for sale since i'm not sure how it would hold after wash).  so, i had all the supplies on hand (except glitter from Walmart for under $3).  if you prefer something much easier just buy iron-on heart rhinestones (also from Walmart for $1.97).  it's super easy and super cute:

iron-on rhinestones by Next Style from Walmart ($1.97)

EDIT: PLEASE SEE MY NEW POST HERE FOR BETTER GLITTER PRODUCT FOR THIS PROJECT.

My Gal Friday

please check out beautiful Kelly's blog Dressing Mommy.  if there was such thing as a real superwomen, it would be Kelly.  after being told she would not be able to look as chic after giving birth, she decided to prove everybody wrong.  i am featured today on Kelly's friday series My Gal Friday.  thank you, Kelly!

sneak peek:
made this lion's heart shirt for Nina yesterday and will share a tutorial with you soon (it's really easy).

large red glitter heart - DIY

white cotton shirt - Walmart

two-tone

my favorite part of this look is my DIY two-tone nails.  first, i applied Sally Hansen's Gilty Pleasure (metallic gold) all over as usual.  after gold was dry i applied Sinful Color's See You Soon which looks black but is actually dark-dark green.  i'm not crazy about the colors of my outfit but liked how i matched the top with the skirt.  they are both from NY&Co but the top was bought from Ross (the skirt is from actual NY&Co store).  Tiger's Eye necklace and ring are my Mom's.  little "thingy" necklace carved out of wood is from Georgia from ages ago.  bracelet from Forever21 (old). 

 

 

 

 

 

 Liz Claiborne brown boots from about 16 years ago

Sally Hansen Gilty Pleasure metallic gold 

Sinful Colors See You Soon dark green (almost black)

just wishing i had these Jeffrey Campbell two tone Marlot wedges and tights both from Urban Outfitters website:

what do you think about two-tone trend?  check out Trends For The Masses prediction here.