Lovely Tutorial: Pillow Case to Retro Off the Shoulder Top

I love the retro vibe from this king size pillow case I found so I decided to make a casual top out of it. Simple as that. :)

The pillow case itself.

Take the pillow case and cut it in half (in the previous photo it's folded in half) and then fold the half into another half. Afterwards, cut out the arms and neckline making sure you get both layers. For the sleeves cut two squares containing two layers of fabric and sew one piece to the front and one to back of the arm area (I should have taken a photo but I will next time I make sleeves). Then, sew the opening of the top and bottom of the sleeves together. Start hemming up the sleeves, bottom of the top, and neckline by folding in the edges not once but twice to cover and stop the fray. Once that's done you're good to go!

The wonderful thing about this retro top is the fact it's reversible. One side is plain and the other side is a little bit dressier because of the button down look.

I threw on destroyed white shorts and a cognac braided belt to complete this casual retro off the shoulder top. A very fun everyday look that is comfortable and super cute. I have a crazy pet peeve of having my bra straps show, but in this case I don't mind since it's an off the shoulder top and it's suppose to look effortless. It looks like a tank top strap anyway. I tucked in my bra strap in a couple photos to show you another way you can wear the top. Either way looks fantastic.

Today was a lazy day for me which explains my messy top bun. You'll have to excuse me for that. :)

Pretty Things: I've Turned Into A Crazy Purse Lady...

Oh wait, that's just called being a GIRL. Haha! I usually carry around a gigantic handbag, but lately I've been really drawn to smaller purses for its convenience, simplicity and cuteness. I'm totally into super adorable purses like these that I recently thrifted all for about $2 to $4 each. Hellz yeah.

Ridiculously adorable envelope clutches:

So simple and so elegant. Great for an evening out.

Love the texture and color. Very casual and cute.

AND ridiculously adorable crossbody bags-- my current crazy obsession:

The cream, cognac and gold color combo is exceptional. This lovely bag can definitely go with any outfit.

I looove the chain detail for the straps on this bag along with the diamond pattern stitch. So pretty!

This bag looks like a clutch, but it's actually not because the straps are missing. Since I have other bags with removable straps I can easily snap them onto the rings of this bag. The shape and texture is magnificent.

Again, these are simply too cute.

In conclusion, a girl can NEVER have too many purses! At this rate I might have a different purse for every outfit I wear. Baha! Good day to you all. :)

Ivory Lace Slit Maxi Dress

I have been searching for the perfect white maxi dress for a long time and to this day I have no such luck. Either it is too long or just not the style I was looking for. So, of course I just made one myself with this cute lace curtain I found. Yes, a curtain.

If you just so happen to redecorate your windows instead of throwing out old curtains simply re-use them! The hoarder in me truly appreciates my usefulness for useless things.

A simple front slit spaghetti strap ivory lace maxi dress. I added a navy and white striped bow to add some shape and color to the dress. I wish I would have done a tutorial on this, but I got so caught up in the moment I only took photos when I was done. Whoops. I will for sure make another front slit maxi dress in the future because I am obsessed with maxi dresses. So don't you worry. :)

Strappy sandals, chandelier earrings, and a chunky necklace will go perfectly with this outfit. Very boho chic. :)

Lovely Tutorial: Window Valance To Boxy Scallop Lace Tank

Yes, it is true. Home decor turned fashion! I turned an elegant lace window valance into a gorgeous boxy lace scallop tank.

I found this valance while I was shopping for $2 so of course I could not resist. You knowww. The lace is absolutely stunning might I add.

I cut the valance in half; one for the front of the tank, the other for the back. Then I half folded each fabric so it would be symmetrical and eyeballed and cut the pattern of the tank underneath the armpit and the neckline. What would be easier and what I usually do but was too lazy to do since I already envisioned something in my head, is find a tank that fits the way you would like it to and cut around it. With a little cutting and sewing...

This lovely boxy lace tank only took me about a total of 2 hours to make. It would have taken less time but my original heart shaped neckline did not turn out so I revised it into a round neckline. Still so simple and pretty. :)

I paired this cute lace tank with my coral skinnys! And of course being silly makes the outfit that much better. Der.

The infamous duckface!

Bluesteel... with my puppy behind my legs!

Okay that is enough for now. Ha. A chunky necklace would look fantastic with this outfit as well but unfortunately I do not have one. Perhaps I shall make one soon... hrmmm. :)

I am super excoiitted to wear this out! :)

New Hairss: Gradual & Natural Looking Ombre

I am currently obsessing over the ombre hairstyle although the style has been around since last year. I have always been so envious of those who dyed their hair since I have always wanted to dye my hair but never did because the thought of having black grow-out made me crinnggge. I wanted something different other than cutting my hair (in which I would never cut my long locks, ever! well for now) so coloring was the only other option. I have been wanting to ombre my hair for awhile now and I had put a lot of research into it through YouTube, google search, blogs and whatnot prior to coloring my hair on my own. The thing about ombre that I absolutely love is the fact I can keep my natural dark brown/black hair color at the top and dye the bottom lighter giving my hair the ombre effect.

These photos inspired me to finally do something different to my hair since I am a hair virgin. I found these photos on google search image therefore I do not claim these as my own.

This was the first time I dyed my hair and gutsy me decided to do it by myself since I did not want to spend the money to go to the salon-- big risk I know. I did not want to bleach my hair because the damage does not seem worth it to me so I went with hair dye instead which is less damaging. I chose to go with Garnier Nutrisse Ultra Color in B3 Golden Brown because I have read some awesome reviews about the brand. It is a line from Garnier specifically made to lighten dark hair up to 3 levels for medium brown to black hair. My hair fell under the dark to darkest brown on the haircolor chart on the box since my natural black hair lightened up quite a bit from being out in the sun.

My hair before:

I followed the instructions on how to mix the ingredients into the bottle provided in the box. The one thing I did not follow was the amount of time to leave the dye in my hair. It says to only leave it in for 20 minutes, but risky me decided to leave it in for 40 minutes instead since my hair was dark to begin with. I sectioned my hair in half then sectioned the halves into 3 different sections and started with my ends since that was what I wanted to be the lightest. I covered each section with foil after applying the dye then went on Pinterest for about 40 minutes just to kill time. After rinsing it out with warm water the first time I put more dye in the second time starting at the middle and covering everything below, again concentrating on my ends. I did not want to waste the hair dye so I used the whole bottle. Like I mentioned before, every hair is different so if your hair is lighter than dark to darkest brown you might need to leave the dye in for less than I did or use less dye in general.

And drum rollll...

I absolutely adore the results! My hair turned out to be a reddish brown which I am very satisfied with. I took these photos in three different areas for lighting purposes because every light makes my hair look a different color; my bathroom, bedroom and car (since I figured it would look weird and vain to my neighbors if I just stood outside taking pictures of myself), all taken with my iPhone and it is not filtered or photoshopped whatsoever. One day I will learn how to use my husband's Canon to take better photos but for now these will do. The last photo is the comparison of the dyed hair to my original hair color.

I did not believe my hair could retain such color in a million years but thanks to Garnier Nutrisse I achieved the ombre I was hoping for! I have noticed zero damage from using this hair dye and the conditioner that comes with it works phenomenally. As you can see, I did not go toooo drastic with the ombre look since my natural hair color is on the darker side so I opted to go from my dark brown/black to a more light/reddish brown making my ombre more natural looking.

If you want to try to ombre your hair and do not have the experience I have read everywhere that the salon is the best bet to get exactly what you want. Through my research, I read that your hair can only go about 2 to 3 shades lighter than your natural color (without bleaching that is), but every hair reacts differently to hair dye even if it is the same color and buying the wrong dye can turn your dark hair orange. Yikes! Been there done that. I cannot guarantee you the results I have so do this at your own risk. Somehow I just got lucky.

So, after my risky experiment my virgin hair is virgin no more! Well the bottom half of it anyway. Oh, and except for the one time in high school my best friend and I decided to bleach a huge chunk of my bangs hoping it will turn blonde, but horrifically turned orange. Baha! Grand times. :)


Update: 9/19/12

The color has faded since and looks brighter in the sunlight. I looove it.

Darling Alteration: Coral High Low Maxi Skirt

As you can obviously see I am in the 'high low' obsession stage because of my previous post of my white high low tank dress and now... a coral high low maxi skirt! I looove the elegant and whimsical effect and I cannot get enough of it. I found this maxi skirt while shopping that was a size 24W for $4 (I could not say no)-- I knew it would not fit but of course an alteration was in store for this beautiful coral maxi skirt.

Before:

Here is the picture of the cutting process to make the high low effect I promised I would take a photo of from my previous high low post. The seam you see is the side of the skirt. I am such a little shortie (5'1") that I started my cut very high in the front of the skirt making the length high above the knees to elongate my legs. Remember to cut a little at a time until it fits you well or when you finally achieve the appropriate length.

So very simple and once the skirt is cut you can start sewing up the edges. Since it was a size 24w I had to also alter the waist. Instead of cutting away at the fabric to make the skirt smaller, I used an elastic band and inserted it inside the fabric of the waist to add more ripples in the skirt giving it a more playful flow.

The impeccable results:

I paired this pretty coral high low maxi skirt with a cream lace top and a brown skinny belt. I am also wearing bronze and forest green gem drop chandelier earrings but you cannot see it clearly in the photo because my hair is covering it up. Oops.

A fabulous outfit to go shopping in or on a romantic evening out. ♥