DIY: Vivienne Westwood inspired shoes (hearts, bows and cherries)

i fell in love with these electric blue shoes from Goodwill ($4.99).  they are plastic but very very comfy and reminded me of Vivienne Westwood's Lady Dragon shoes.

using Velcro i attached large heart buttons from Joanns (above).  since i used Velcro i could also attach these beautiful Hobby Lobby sequin bows (below).

...and what should i wear these new shoes with? why, with a crazy bright plaid maxi skirt of course! :)

plaid skirt - Goodwill

blue shoes - Goodwill 

red bows - Hobby Lobby (plus Velcro)

also, i bought these natural espadrille wedges from Ross, removed their bows and ironed on cherries (cherry iron-ons from Hobby Lobby).  i was able to do iron-on because of fabric upper.

these DIYs were inspired by Vivienne Westwood's Lady Dragon cherries, hearts and bows shoes...

click for source here

click for source here

Pearl of Fashion Pearls of Wisdom in her Vivienne Westwood shoes

p.s.

sorry for the lack of my own outfit posts.  will explain later.

DIY: Victoria Beckham glitter sunglasses

i spotted this Victoria Beckham glitter cat-eye sunglasses several weeks ago here.

Victoria Beckham glasses from Funky Trend

here is my version using my old pair of Walmart sunglasses with white frames.  covered with two layers of my nail-polish: first Sally Hansen's Gunmetal and then Sinful Colors' Queen of Beauty...  my daughter Nina modeling my "new" glasses for me.

DIY: embellished with pom-poms

House of Holland from Style.com

denim Walmart flats + purple pom-poms

Marc Jacobs pom-pom shoes

River Island pom-pom heels from Shoeperwomen's blog

Tinker Bell shoes from the Disney Store

i tried it with purple, i tried it with pink, and then yellow.  i pick purple what do you pick? (please press "play" below)
denim flats from Walmart $5 + plush pom-poms from Hobby Lobby + hot glue gun

next on the list: make Nina glitter flats with pom-poms!

DIY: cool accessories

Chanel Metallic Lambskin Ice Cube Clutch from Menx' blog LiveAbsolute

back in December Menx of LiveAbsolute posted a wonderful review of Chanel's clutch with tons of close up pictures.
the photo above (re-posted with author's permission) was very helpful in making of my own version of Chanel Ice Cube clutch.

i spotted my metallic silver quilted clutch (below) at Walmart for $7.00.  fake ice-cubes are from my local  Hobby Lobby (don't forget to print a 40% off coupon from their website before you go buy anything).

 all you need: a guinea-pig clutch, fake ice-cubes, E6000 glue...

... and in no time you have your own version of  Chanel beauty.  this, of course, is from their winter collection, but won't it look particularly cool in the summer as well - cool, get it?!  ;)

i could not stop there and made an ice-cube ring (using JoAnn's adjustable ring) and an ice-box clutch using Erica's tutorial for attaching a door knob, clear container, fake ice-cubes and a clear door knob (all from Hobby Lobby).

p.s.

for the ring i glued an ice-cube to one of the adjustable rings from this post.  

for the ice-box clutch i used "N 5" which is simply a cut-out from black Contact paper (from HomeDepot). 

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Happy Leprechaun Day!!!

Nina co-designed this shirt.  when she saw me drawing this in my sketch book, she asked for light green polka dots on a hat.  i thought that added a rather nice touch.

i rarely get to paint anything for Cordell anymore.  he thinks he is a big boy :( 
i tried to make his giant shamrock look distressed or "vintage" ;)  so, i don't think it looks too cutesy for a boy.  and the main thing: Cordell loves it and wears it! 

p.s.
shirts are painted with fabric paint.  solid green tee from Target ($4.99) and a white one from Walmart ($3-5).  check out my Etsy store for more designs. 

DIY: Easter wreath

what i used to make this Easter wreath (not too bad for my first (and probably last) wreath, no?)...

16" grape vine wreath - $3.99 at JoAnn's;

4 packages plastic white eggs - $0.77 per package of 12 at Hobby Lobby;

a can of white primer spray and a can of Robin's Egg spray - these are your most expensive items, but if you use JoAnn's 50% coupons, you'll only pay about $3.00 per spray can;

small amount of acrylic brown paint and an old toothbrush to create speckles; 

a package of moss;

a butter-cup "bouquet";

LOTS of hot glue sticks, hot glue gun, rubber gloves, scissors;

feathers (optional);

jute cord for easy hanging (optional).

first, separate your plastic eggs and lay them out on a newspaper (after priming and painting eggs, they easily snap back together).  prime, spray paint and speckle allowing to dry after each step.  to create speckles dip an old toothbrush in acrylic brown paint and run your finger (don't forget to use rubber gloves) across the toothbrush bristles.

next, i hot-glued moss to my grape vine wreath in small random patches:

using hot glue attach eggs, butter-cups and feathers randomly. 

p.s.
for my primer i used  Rust-Oleum American Accents Primer spray.
for spray paint i was experimenting with two kinds: Design Master Robin's Egg and Krylon's Blue Ocean Breeze.  Krylon is easier to use, however Robin's Egg was the exact color i was looking for. 

p.p.s.
if you decide to double coat, you may need two cans of spray paint.

enjoy!

DIY: easy and inexpensive craft idea for St. Patrick's Day

to create this door hanger plaque?? (what would you call it?) i used:


shamrock placemat from JoAnn's for under $2.00 (on sale)
jumbo size green glitter from any craft store (mine is from JoAnn's) 4oz container (you will have leftover)
Mod-Podge (either matte or hard coat)
flat brush, x-acto knife or any other sharp knife
yarn or ribbon for hanging

first i covered the area i wanted to sparkle with Mod-Podge using my 1/2" flat craft brush.  immediately, sprinkle the area with glitter:

allow to dry 1-2 hours.  shake access glitter off.  apply a coat of Mod-Podge again to seal the deal:

Mod-Podge dries clear, so don't panic when you see a white coat on top of your glitter.
with X-acto knife i made an X-shaped cut and "threaded" through a piece of brown yarn (that's what i happened to have at home, you can use pretty green or white ribbon).

my kids love St. Patrick's Day.  they had their leprechaun traps ready a month before the actual holiday.  thanks to Daddy (and to some magic from the Electronics Snap Circuits Kit) - the alarm will sound once a little leprechaun is caught in our homemade trap.
i also, painted my son this shamrock tee.  it's a Target green tee ($4.99) with a "vintage" shamrock painted on it.  let me know if anyone would like a tutorial.  Nina's leprechaun tee is in the works...

Cordell seems to have the knack to just stumble upon lucky clovers

 

DIY: maltese cross cuff

last year i purchased a beautiful maltese cross from a local antiques shop for pennies.  it seemed to be a pendant in its prior life, but the hoop was broken.  i knew i had to save it and give it a new life (upcycling is so much like God's grace and His love of all things, even blemished, damaged and broken).  i suppose i could somehow attach this pendant to a black silky ribbon and wear it as a necklace?  or even make a brooch out of it...  however, i decided i would get more use out of a bracelet/cuff.  i could style it with a military shirt or jacket; denim; stripes; or with some elegant black and white outfit... 

what i used for this project:

silver cuff from JoAnn's by Dazzling Geodes and my random pendant
black acrylic paint
One Step Crackle by DecoArt from JoAnn's (this step is optional)
old brass paint (not pictured), also, from Joann's (it's Lumiere by Jacquard sold in a 2.25 fl. oz. jar)
E-6000 clear glue (not pictured)
flat brush, small sponge (optional), small plastic or paper cup to hold the cuff while you paint (see below)

first i painted the cuff black (let it dry), then using flat brush covered it with One Step Crackle.

initially, i wanted to stop here but the crackle was barely noticeable.  so i decided to smudge small amount of brass (or bronze) paint (i had this paint left over from my shoe project).  i used soft sponge but you can just use the same brush above.  i liked the color i got a lot!

then i glued my pendant to the cuff using E-6000 glue.  and voila! my new cuff...

 maltese cross cuff from Smith & Company for $6000

p.s.
if i had to do this over, i would skip One Step Crackle.  as i mentioned above the crackle effect was barely noticeable.  not sure what i did wrong...