DIY: Old to New

To me, the way you have your living space decorated also shows your style. Interior decor has just as much fashion as the clothing you wear daily. Decorating on a budget, as well as shopping for clothing, can be difficult. This post is here to inspire you to decorate or revamp your living space!

A couple of weekends ago my bff and I had a free Saturday and decided to do some thrift shopping. We came across two chairs that we thought could be really cute if fixed up. 

We got them at our local Habitat Store! They look pretty bad but just wait.




So next we went to Lowes and got all the supplies that we needed. Which after you find your furniture (the hardest part) it is easy.
What you need:
-Paint (any color you want)
-Clear Gloss (we used the spray paint version)
-Sandpaper
-Fabric (that coordinates with your paint color)
-Staple gun
-A best friend to help on all your decisions and work (hard to find but only the best will do)


So first we cleaned our chairs up and started painting on our colors. I chose blue paint with orange/cream damask fabric for the cushion. Katherine chose white paint with a yellowish/cream patterned fabric for the cushion. We also got some coordinating fabric to make pillows!(DIY coming soon)

(Katherine ^)

It took two coats of paint on our chairs, but I'm sure one would look fine.
After we painted our chairs and let them dry we started our sanding. We sanded through in some areas to show the original color and to make it look a little worn.(Katherine wanted to match the color of my nail polish to my chair)

After we sandpapered it down really good we spray painted the clear gloss over it for protection. While it dried it was time to reupholster our chair cushion. We cut the fabric and stretched it over the front of the base. Carefully we stapled each corner and then the middle. Thankfully we had Katherine's sweet mom, Annie there to coach us and make sure we didn't staple our fingers!

(<Annie)

 When finished tightening the fabric good it should look like this on the front! 
After the chairs were dry we simply stapled our cushions back on and tada we have NEW chairs!!!  

We love our new chairs so much we have bought several more to work on and possibly sell! Its not hard at all to make anything from a thrift store that is old new again. If you like this post then you will LOVE my bff Katherine's blog www.mattandkatblog.blogspot.com
Don't forget to let me know what you think in the comment box and follow our blogs! 
Good Luck with your chair
xoxo

Swimsuit Season

Its almost swimsuit season and the question is what to wear?

Here are a few tips and choices I have for swimwear. 

Tips: You should always shop for the the styles that fit your body type. Just because it's cute doesn't mean you should wear it. Make sure you are comfortable and confident in your suit. 

Also, make sure the color goes with your skin tone. Don't wear a color that could wash you out. 

I am a firm believer in mix and matching! You can create several swimsuits with just a few pieces. I will show you how to mix and match the right way.

These are a few of my favorite swimsuits of summer 2011. 

This suit is so playful and flirty with perfect spring colors. This style is great for a smaller busted person. It pushes up and emphasizes with the ruffle. Its from theorchidboutique.com $112.00

This one piece is a ruffle and a multicolored floral pattern. The ruffle swoops all the way around the suit so it's not just in the front.Great for someone with or without curves. The pattern covers up and the ruffle shows off. By the wonderful Marc Jacobs from neimanmarcus.com $173.00

This pattern mix is from Betsy Johnson.com. The bottoms are $96.00 and the top $106.00. Don't be afraid to mix patterns like this as long as they coordinate well. 

This suit is definitely for the less endowed. It gives you up to two full cup sizes and designed exactly like a bra. The fold over bottoms are great for bigger hips. All from Victoriassecret.com and available in different patterns and colors. The top $54.00 and the bottoms $30.00.

This sassy little yellow bikini is from Kmart! It would be great for mix and matching. Bongo brand for Kmart, a great buy for $12.99 for each piece. 

MIX AND MATCH:

These two mix and match are perfect together. The black/white stripe top matches so well with the floral pattern. I found both of these pieces on pacsun.com $29.50 for the bottoms and $39.00 for the top. Okay so next we will take the bottoms and find another top that can go well with it. 

Which, you can always get the one that matches it which was also on pacsun.com $29.50. I like the other combo personally and thats the best thing about mixing and matching. You can pick out which ever combos you like the best. 

You could always go with a black top that could interchange with other bottoms like the ones that match the stripe top or the florals. This is from American Eagle $24.50. This top would also be very cute in red with those bottoms. 


Here is another example :

This swimsuit from Victoriassecret.com could go with a ton of different sold colored separates or be worn with the patterns together. It is $38.00 for the top and $16.00 for the bottoms. A very good investment when starting to mix and match.

 These regular turquoise bottoms would go great with the top! The beaded embellishments match the color. From forever21.com $9.80.

This other embellished top from Victoriassecret.com goes with the printed bottoms or the turquoise bottoms. For $38.00 you can put either one of those together for two different swimsuits. 

This ruffle halter top is Ralph Lauren from Belk.com for $54.00 and looks great with the patterned bottoms! 




 Hopefully this teaches you how easy it is to mix and match your suits for summer! You don't have to spend a fortune of swimsuits just use what you have or buy a few key pieces. 
xoxo

DIY: Pocket Tee

Over the weekend my best friend and I have been working on craft projects. It gave me the inspiration for something to post on my blog. This project is so easy anyone can do it and that's why I love it so much! You can make this pocket t-shirt in any color and using any fabric. Really try to make it your own.

What you need: 

-T-shirt 

- scrap fabric

-scissors

- fabric glue

-thread

-needle

-pins 

Start out with a simple t-shirt. I chose a striped one for a little different look, but you can choose whatever color you like. I bought it at Target for about $10.00. The fabric should be compatible with your shirt. I chose an orange and blue floral print for my pocket. You can find fabric scraps at any fabric store for cheap.They also have fabric squares you can buy for about $1.00. 

The first step is to cut the fabric piece into a square. You can decide how big or small you would like your pocket to be. Make sure to leave a little extra room for folding over the edges. My pocket was about   four inches wide and five inches tall. 

Next, fold over the edges of each side of the square just a little and secure with fabric glue. Make sure you let it dry!! 

When you're finished gluing it should look like this! All sides glued down and ready to make your pocket. 

Then pin down your square exactly where you want it to be on your shirt. I kind of cheated and used my stripe to make sure it was straight. If you have a solid shirt you might want to try it on once you have it pinned so you can make sure its where you want it. 

Now its time for the sewing! (if you cant sew ANYTHING then you could just use your fabric glue) Just sew a simple in and out stitch with your thread and needle. Make sure you don't get carried away and sew the top part (just the two sides and the bottom). 

Then voila!!! You have made a pocket tee for yourself! Easy as pie!

Good Luck! 

Thanks for reading,

xoxo

Say Yes To The Dress

After the 29th of April 2011, Catherine Elizabeth Middleton will be known as her Royal Highness Princess of Whales!

The most anticipated wedding ever. The wedding that will be talked about for years to come. The DRESS that will be talked about FOREVER!

While everyone wants to feel like a princess on their wedding day, Kate will actually be a real princess.Kate has some huge shoes to fill in the dress department compared to the royals before her. Her choice of dress will be judged by millions of people as she steps out of the car to walk down the isle at Westminster Abbey. It will also be produced by the time she makes it to her groom. Designers are on standby to make replicas of the soon-to-be famous wedding gown of the year.

In Royal wedding past there have been some pretty interesting gowns. We can start off with Princess Elizabeth. Sr Norman Hartnell, a famous British designer was the one responsible for this gown. Embellished with thousands of seed pearls and white beads it made quite the statement in her time.

Princess Margaret chose the same famous designer Norman Hartnell. Her wedding was the first to be televised with over 300 million viewers. She went with a not so traditional approach with her gown other than her sister Princess Elizabeth.

Princess Marie Chantal wore a Valentino wedding gown that took over 25 different seamstresses to create.

Princess Matte-Marit wore a Ove Harder designed gown. Since this is a more recent wedding you can kind of imagine the look Kate might pick. The fit and fabric are a more modern look for a princess bride.

Princess Diana wore the most famous wedding gown of all time. Designed by David and Elizabeth Emanuel. Hand crafted with over 10,000 pearls and a 25 foot long train that no one will forget. It took 40 yards of ivory silk taffeta and antique lace. Diana's dress was just as much of a secret as Kate's. Round the clock security personnel guarded the dress without a chance of anyone seeing it. As a precaution, if the wedding dress design leaked another was on standby.

So now with only hours to go before Kate Middleton is officially a princess the question still stands. What will she wear?? After reading countless blogs, news articles, and magazines I've come to the conclusion no one REALLY knows.

I do know that there are several suspected designers:Sophie Cranston, Victoria Beckam, Alexander McQueen,Daniella Issa Helayel,Bruce Oldfield, or Phillipa Lepley. I do not think Kate will choose anything like Diana's gown. The dress will show off Kate's personal style. Something tighter fitting and more modern in a satin fabric. It is said that the dress will be long sleeved (maybe lace). The train is one thing that cannot be forgotten. Kate's not quite 25 feet, but supposedly 10 foot long.

Reports say she is wearing her hair down with loose curls nothing too different than her normal look. She is also wearing pearl and diamond earrings along with other jewels borrowed by the Queen herself. In no time and millions of viewers Kate Middleton will reveal the wedding dress of the decade at one of the most famous weddings of all time!!