DIY Home Inspiration Series: Part Three

Elegant floor lamps, unique chandeliers, colorful table lamps, StarWars-themed lamps (no really!), white paper lanterns, art deco lamps... whatever your style, use lamps.

I've found that most lighting that comes standard with dorm rooms or apartments is just horrible. Instead, use multiple light sources throughout the room, instead of one glaring bare bulb overhead. It'll create a much more welcoming feel and a more personalized touch to the room (it's also much more flattering). More tips following.

Go to Goodwill and salvage two or three small lamps, maybe a floor lamp (you can personalize/update them by DIYing a new lampshade or mixing and matching styles). Set one by your bed, one by your doorway, and then anywhere else the light from those two won't reach. String lights are awesome too (men, this applies to you too)!


Images via Graham and Green, ApartmentTherapy (x2), Pinterest (light sabers potentially from Amazon?), Freshome, HGTV, Houzz, UonoDesigns, Michael Graydon, Wit and Whistle

DIY Inspiration: More Succulent Ideas

Just saw another tutorial for how to make a macrame plant hanger at Refinery29, and their ceramic bowl planter got me to thinking: how cute would an assortment of teacup plant pots be?? I'd hang three or four in plant hangers by my kitchen window. I must make this happen. Goodwill here I come!

And The Winner Is....

Lucky number 7, Berenisse! I'll get in touch with you soon about where I can send your pretty new bracelet!!

Outfit Post: DIYed Neon Shirt and Pleated Skirt

Look! A semi-legit outfit post! With outdoorsy pictures and everything! Though it was super weird taking these, and I'm pretty sure my neighbors thought I was insane, so I snapped these in like five minutes and ran back inside. Enjoy!

Just got this pleated skirt the other day and not sure that I'm super in love with it, but for now I'm keeping it.

Also, I need to start wearing more jewelry. My newest mission. Speaking of which, make sure to enter my jewelry giveaway! (It closes on Friday!)

DIY: Neon Trimmed Shirt

Adding neon trim to old shirts (or shorts, or skirts!) that need an update is such an easy way to bring something from frumpy and boring to snazzy and eye-catching. This is what the shirt looked like before: a lot of eh.

I apologize in advance for the really crappy photos. I did this project way late at night... Promise I'll feature it in an outfit post soon though!

What you need:
Shirt
Fabric Glue
Bias Tape

What you do:
1) Decide where you want your trim. I chose to just do the front and back shoulder seam, but you could do the cuffs too or even the side seams. Did I mention that this shirt also wrinkles at the drop of a hat?

2) Glue the bias tape onto the shirt (or sew if you have matching thread/a working sewing machine...) and let dry.

3) Neon really does make everything better.

Also, don't forget to enter my giveaway!!! 

DIY: Tiny Clay Pots

Succulents are all the rage these days it seems. There are a million and a half tutorials on how to make your own succulent gardens in glass jars and vases, but when I found this adorable teeny tiny pot DIY over on Transient Expression, I finally caved to the trend.

I followed her instructions almost to a T, with the minor exception of just forming a bowl at the start, instead of rolling a ball then hollowing it out. Worked just as well! Kind of asymmetrical, kind of funky, super adorably tiny! Here's my outcome:

The one hanging on the left is a pearly, shimmery color, and the one on the right is a pretty off-white color. But just for fun, let's see what the second one looks like when I turn the lights off.

Why yes, my plant pot does glow in the dark. BOOM.

Style Inspiration: Glitter in Unexpected Places

Jeweled shoes paired with plain denim and a sweater. Cat-eye glasses with just a touch of rhinestones on the tips. Preppy and punky and old school and glamorous - basically, I just love this entire School of DSquared2 campaign. SO much DIY and style inspiration.

Images via Dsquared

And don't forget to enter my giveaway!!

Bracelet/Anklet DIY and Giveaway!!

To reward you, my lovely readers, for being so patient while I worked out my computer/moving/life problems (and visiting in increasing numbers even though I wasn't posting!!), I'm giving you a double dose of awesome today: a DIY for how to make both a delicate bracelet and/or an anklet, and then I'm going to be giving it away to one of you! First, the DIY:

What you need:
A silver chain
Jump rings
Two claw clasps
A couple small charms or pendants
Pliers

What you do:

1) Measure around your wrist or ankle and cut your chain to that length. Remember you don't have to leave much/any leeway since claw clasps usually come with a bit of adjuster chain attached.

2) Attach the claw clasp to one end of the chain, and the adjuster chain to the other.

3) Attach your charm. For the blue charm, I cut my chain in half and reattached them using a jump link with the bead strung in the middle. Like this:

If you want the bead to move, just slide it onto the chain (you might have to detach the clasp for it to fit).

Since the silver arrow had a flat hook, I just attached it to a jump ring and attached it to the middle of the chain.

4) Done!

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And now for the giveaway! 

Here's how to enter:

First, post a comment below stating which of the two (the blue charm bracelet, or the arrow charm anklet) you'd like to win.
Then, you can get one extra entry for each of the following things that you do (post a separate comment for each that you do!)
-Follow my blog (button on the right column of the page)
-Follow me on Twitter
-Follow my Pinterest
-Follow me on Bloglovin

Contest will end at noon CST on July 27th, and winner will be picked and announced shortly after

Good luck!

DIY Inspiration: Just a Hint of Glitz and Glam

I stumbled across this incredible DIY project on WhoWhatWear the other day, and I need to get myself a plain gray skirt and some sparkles ASAP. I might sew on some glitter trim instead of stapling paillettes, but I love the idea. Check out the original here.

Etsy Updates

Still don't have a functioning computer (borrowing my dad's right now), but I have updated my Etsy shop, including making a few new fabric options available for my Kindle cover and putting a few of my DIY rings up for sale.

Even more exciting, I've added a brand new photography section (!!!), featuring my European travels 2005-2008. Check it out! I'll be adding ten or so more photos over the next couple days. And I promise I've got a few cool DIYs for the blog planned for the very near future :)

sorry for the "watermarks" - just don't want anyone to steal them since I am selling them :)

DIY Home Inspiration Series, Part 2

Tip number two for how to make your room home-y:


Get a rug. 


Especially if you have laminate floors, and at least a small rug if you have hardwood, just to mix it up a bit. And to prove how awesome rugs actually are, here's a visual demonstration, courtesy of YoungHouseLove. Literally nothing is different between the pictures besides the rug. Well, and the dog.

Boring, boring, OMG DESIGN MAGAZINE! Room is so much brighter with the rug

And, because I'm still awesome, here's even a DIY for this divine faux grass rug!!

And then here's more proof/inspiration.

Images via abigailahern.wordpress.com, Anthropologie, thatsnotmyage, Michael Graydon, SoLovelyDecoration, Layla Grace, VK, ModernisticDesign, SacramentoStreet, maleneb (tons of great rug ideas here), pinterest