Polka Dot Shirt

Hi!  I wanted to show you my latest sewing endeavor.  The shirt below was my inspiration. 

Again, I can't take credit for the idea, because I followed another tutorial from Cotton and Curl. And because the original tutorial is so excellent, I didn't bother taking pictures of how I made this shirt.  Besides, I didn't follow her directions exactly, and I think you would be more successful if you did.  ;)  I came across a few hiccups as a result of trying to do my own thing.  Ha ha.   Anyway, here are some pictures of how it turned out.

I found this silky polka-dot fabric at a wonderful little hole-in-the-wall fabric store in Portland.  There was only about a yard of it, but it was $2, so I snatched it up.  I had plans to make a skirt for it, but I would have had to buy some contrasting fabric to add to it, so when I saw this shirt tutorial, I decided to try it out.  The silky fabric was a little hard to work with, and I'll definately have to hand-wash it, but I really like how it turned out.  In fact, I pretty much love it.  I'm totally wearing it to work tonight.  :) 

This was a super easy project and I love the way it turned out.  I think I might make another one once I find the fabric for it.  :)

Would you ever attempt this project?

Niki

Easy-peasy Maxi Dress

I saw this dress on Pinterest several weeks ago, and knew I had to make one.  I didn't have a maxi dress and this one looked so easy and comfortable.  A trip to the fabric store and three seams and a few cuts later, I had a finished dress!  Then I had to go to the thrift store for a wide belt to wear it with.  The pictures don't accurately show the beautiful deep purple of this dress.  I made a red one as well.  What do you think?

How would you style a dress like this?

Niki

Wearin' the Blues

Today's outfit inspiration came from this month's Everybody Everywear challenge.  The theme was monochromatic.  Turns out I missed the deadline, but oh well.  I'm still showing you my take on a monochromatic outfit.  I decided to wear all blue today, in different shades to keep it from looking boring and too matchy-matchy.  I accessorized with some fun jewelry to pull it all together. 

Would you wear a monochromatic outfit?

Niki

Button-up tank top: refashion.  White tank top (underneath):  Old Navy  Skirt: thrifted.  Shoes: thrifted.  Necklace: Claire's (clearance!)  Ring: my great-grandmothers

I'm Walkin' on Sunshine

 This outfit is a very good example of what I want to do with this blog.  I want to give you ideas on how to reuse and rewear clothes you might already have.  That's what I did today.  I almost forgot about this skirt, until I saw it in my closet the other day.  I remembered how much I loved it and decided to wear it to work some day.  I've always had a hard time figuring out what shirt to wear this skirt with because of its many colors.  I got this yellow shirt at a thrift store a little while ago, and was having a hard time figuring out how to style it as well.  Inspiration struck, and I wore them both together!  I really liked the result.  It was super comfortable and cool for a hot day.  I did shorten the straps on the shirt this morning.  I didn't even use the right color thread, but you can't see it, so it doesn't matter.  ;) 

What pieces do you have a hard time styling?

Niki

Shirt: Thrifted.  Skirt: Fred Meyer

Like Mother, Like Daughter

Hey!  Just a quick post to show you guys what I found at Goodwill today!  I went with my mom and littlest siblings.  We were on the hunt for a wide belt to wear with some dresses I just made, and we walked out with way more than we came for. 

I found a sweet loose-knit type sweater thing in a pretty light peach color.  I have been looking for something like this, so I was pretty happy.  I also found two belts, one skinny, one wide.  Both of which I needed.  Before today, I only had 3 belts to my name.  ;)  My mom found 3 more belts for her.  There will be some sharing going on.

I also found an Ikea mug for a dollar that I grabbed.  I've been wanting to try this idea I've seen floating around on Pinterest.  Hopefully it'll work.  If not, nothing lost, really.  :)  Well, most go change for work.  Bye for now!

Niki

What I Wore: Monday, Monday...

 Hi! How was your Monday? Mine was fine for the most part. I was a little mopey this afternoon for whatever reason. Actually, to be completely honest, it was probably mainly because I realized I wasn't going to be able to go to the county fair this year. I go every year, so it made me a little sad. I love the fair and it feels like work is eating up my social life. But, in this economy, I am very thankful to have a job, even if it only pays minimum wage. ;)

So now, onto what I wore today.  It was nice and warm here in Oregon today, so for most of the day, I just wore a skort and tank top.  I added the button up to make myself presentable for work.  Let me tell you the story of this shirt.  Today is actually the first time I've worn it.  I had been wanting a denim or chambray shirt for a while, so when I saw this men's shirt at Salvation Army, I snatched it up.  However, I didn't exactly know what to do with it.  Two days ago I decided just to take in the sleeves a little, since the shirt mostly fit anyway.  After altering it,  I still didn't know exactly how to style it.  I'm still playing around with it, but today I decided to knot it at the bottom and I really liked the result. 

 (Do you like my "Wow, there's something really entertaining on the ceiling" picture?  ;D  )

 Don't be fooled.  That hairclip is not for decoration only.  It's keeping my hair from slipping out of the braid.  :) 

Well, that's all for now.  Hope you had a lovely Monday.  I will see you soon. 

Niki

Skort: Kohl's.  Striped tank: an H&M in Austria!  For reals.  Chambray shirt: thrifted.  Flats: thrifted.  Hair clip: Claire's.

What I Wore: The Working Class

Button-up:  Old Navy.  Skirt:  Old Navy (clearance!)  Belt: a gift.  Shoes: thrifted. 

Some days, I have a hard time finding something to wear to work.  I can't wear jeans, shorts, tank tops or sandals, so it's difficult to find outfits that work for summer.  The building is air conditioned, but I still feel weird wearing a cardigan over a sleeveless shirt.  Cardigans in the summer just feel wrong.  I also have to be careful about skirt length, since bending over is a regular part of my job.  But enough complaining.  I was pretty happy about the outfit I put together today.  It was comfortable and cute.  I always forget how much I like this pink button up shirt.  It has a sweet but subtle floral print.  And this skirt is one of my favorite go-to clothing items.  I've had it for a few years now and I still love it.  My hair was a mess today though.  I really need a haircut.  :)  What do you think?  Do you have any dress code restrictions where you work? 

Niki

What I Wore and New Shoes!

Hey!  It's been a few days, so I have a few things to talk about today.  First of all, I wanted to show you how I've been styling that shirt I refashioned in the last post.  The first time I wore it, I paired it with my coral shorts for a casual summer look.  I apologize for the picture quality.  I just couldn't seem to fix the colors just right.  :/

 Shirt: refashion.  Shorts: Kohl's.  Necklace: my sister's ;)

Look #2.  The weather was cooler that day, so I wore the tank top with jeans and a cardigan. 

 Jeans: Levi's.  Cardigan: Old Navy.  Headband: my own creation.

What do you think?  How would you style a tanktop like that? 

So this afternoon, I got to go thrifting with my mom and younger siblings.  It was half off day at Salvation Army, so we all found some pretty good deals.  I'm super happy with what I found.  3 pairs of cute flats!  This never happens!  I'm a size 10, so I have a hard time finding shoes that fit at regular shoe stores.  So to find 3 pairs of shoes at Salvation Army for $3 each?  It doesn't get much better than that!  Small pleasures, people, small pleasures.  :D

Aren't they cute?  I'm absolutely in love with the red ones!  Like, in love.  You will definitely be seeing these shoes in upcoming outfit posts.  You'll also be seeing some new maxi dresses I whipped out today from Simple Simon and Co's tutorial.  I'm pretty excited.  :) 

Niki

Tie-front Tank Top Tutorial

Did you notice the alliteration in my post title?  Yeah.  I didn't plan that.  Really. 

Well, now that I'm done being distracted by my own cleverness, I have a quick tutorial for you. 

I found this awesome blue men's shirt at a local thrift store. I was going to buy it anyway, but it ended up being half off. It was a total score at $1.50! It has a super subtle pattern and I love the color of it.

It's not the best picture. Sorry.

Confession.  This is only going to be half a tutorial, because I actually followed Cotton and Curl's tutorial for the first half of my refashion. 

So step 1 is to go to her awesome blog and follow her instructions for this tank top.  ;) 

Step 2 is to create the tie front.  I did this by folding my shirt in half so that the sleeves and side seams were in the center.  Make sense?  Then I cut a straight line from the back of the shirt to the side seams.  Make sure you know how long you want the shirt before you cut it.  Once I got to the side seams, I started tapering my cut down to the end of the shirt.  This makes the shirt longer in front than in the back.  The picture should help explain what I mean.

When you're finished cutting, hem the bottom.  That's it!  Put in on and tie the two long ends together in the front. 

 Voila!  I didn't love the way the tank top turned out until I had the idea to make it into a tie front.  Now I think it's pretty cute, if I do say so myself.  It's super comfortable and cool for summer.  I wore it today with some shorts and am going to try to figure out a way to transition it into an outfit for work tonight.  Thanks for reading!

Niki

Olympic Roundup

The Olympics.  A mini world war and two weeks of world peace at the same time.  Super cool.  I love watching the atheletes make super hard stuff look super easy.  I wish my body moved like that.  Gosh.  Anyway, I've rounded up a couple of ideas for showing off your Olympic pride.  The obvious choice is a t-shirt like this.

Super easy tutorial perfect for kids or if you're not feeling too ambitious.  I don't think you can go wrong with this one.  Find the tutorial here.

Or maybe you're in the mood for something edible?  These cupcakes look fantastic!

Personally, I would skip the candy clay and just color my frosting orange.  I'm lazy like that.

Or check out this collection of Olympic-inspired manicures!

And finally, show off your Olympic style with a super-cute necklace with the classic five rings.

Well, there's just a few ideas to I found to help celebrate the Olympics.  Let me know what you've done or created in honor of this once-every-four-years sporting occasion.  Bye for now!

Niki