Just over a week ago I made my first attempt at dressing my mason jars. I didn’t have everything that the blog post I used as a reference had but I had other things that I wanted to use. The idea actually came to me while my husband and I were out. Luckily he was driving and I whipped out my phone and made a note of the idea. I’d bought these two drawings/paintings from Ikea – basically black thick squiggly lines on a white background – and I bought two thick black frames to put them in, they were my inspiration along with this black and white print material that had several prints on it. Just like that, while in the car, this idea popped into my head – dress the mason jar in the material, add a bow and voilà! I felt so fussy with myself and even more importantly – inspired. I didn’t have doilies but this was a rather good substitute. I think I’ll be using this as either as a vase with some white flowers or to hold potpourri.
I’ve got my craft bag there and I’ll be jotting down ideas as they come but I’m very excited to keep up with these little projects. I got back into my cleaning mode today and did a killer job cleaning our guest bedroom today and I’m working really hard to get the dining room done as soon as possible – hopefully by the end of the week.
I hope you enjoyed this little post and I look forward to sharing more DIY projects with you 🙂
I’ve always had a fascination with having my clothes made. My grandmother and great aunt were seamstresses and my sister and I often had things made or tweaked for us. I especially liked the fitting process to see how everything was coming along and making any changes that popped into my head. Due to my small frame, having clothes made meant that they’d fit. There is no greater joy than having something fit you they way it should, when you can’t find many clothes to fit you in the first place. I tend to go crazy in fabric stores because of the many prints and embroidered fabrics that just seem to be calling my name. And today, I went to a fabric store. I went for swatches to get ideas, but I ended up buying 5 pieces of material (>_<) 4 prints and 1 white anglaise. I saw the material and I saw how I wanted it made, now it’s time to sketch or get pictures to alter.
As I mentioned in a previous post, I wanted to change my wardrobe since I got married to look more “womanly” for lack of a better word. I also want more prints that I like in my wardrobe, and seeing that I’m in the gym now and getting a “figure” I want to express myself through my clothes. I want to express my personality. Thanks to my friend who has me hooked on www.dulcecandy.com (a fashion blog, also on twitter @dulcecandy87) I resurrected this dormant desire to have my clothes express my personality by having them made. I’m going to aim to have this stuff done by the beginning of summer, but as I now have to search for someone around here to do it, who knows how long it’ll take once I do. I’m thinking of one skirt, one pair of shorts, and two dresses. I really LOVE the black and white print and that will be a dress for sure!
Besides following Dulce Candy, I came across a tweet yesterday from @karla_deras (another fashion blogger http://www.karlascloset.com/) promoting a book called StyleLikeU (http://stylelikeu.com/). This was also very inspiring because the way fashion is going right now, we buy clothes for the season then dispose of them when the next fad comes around. What happened to timeless pieces that could be there throughout any season and could keep making an appearance in years to come? More importantly, INDIVIDUAL STYLE. What happened to everyone having some bit of the new fad but incorporating their unique touch to it? There’s nothing wrong with shaking things up a bit, and adding a bit of flare. This is why I appreciate and follow certain fashion blogs, not to steal their ideas of how they wore something but to learn things that I would never have thought of – mixing certain colours, prints and how to do so without looking like a mess.
When we dress like everyone else, we look and become “everyone”. There needs to be that movement again for individuality in every aspect of our lives. When someone looks at us they see us for who we are and not someone who has blended with the masses, someone who is weak and doesn’t think on their own, but to see a strong person. So I think I’ve done my little part in starting this movement by writing this post, and hope you can share in it as well. Below is the trailer for the book.
“Style” is an expression of individualism mixed with charisma. Fashion is something that comes after style.– John Fairchild
Just a Dash 