Happy DIY

It's officially fall which means it's officially time to start planning for Halloween and once you start planning for Halloween all the other holidays seem the start seamlessly falling into place. I love it.

Halloween planning for me means DIYs out the wazoo usually beginning with my costume but this years I am finding myself pretty inspired by some images I had saved on my computer.



Love these bullet-like spikes and you can find them for $13.40 at StudsandSpikes.com. They sell all kinds of them and it's awesome because you can pretty much apply them to anything that needs roughing up, like a pair of cut-offs for example,



I've show this before but the way the triangle studs were placed makes it look like glitter. Studs and Spikes does not sell triangle studs but even just regular pyramid studs could look amazing if applied the right way. Wouldn't it be cool to use three different sizes? It makes those cut-offs go from potentially trashy to completely acceptable.



This is another great "studding" idea except even cheaper and easier to find are thumbtacks! I love pumpkins and I love carving them but sometimes it's just too much work. This isn't quite the same effect as a fun carved pumpkin, and you can get to the seeds to roast them but I think it looks really neat. I would just want to make sure that I put the pumpkins out close enough to Halloween so they wouldn't be rotten by the time I pulled the thumbtacks out.



Concerning a different holiday, birthdays, how cute are these candle holders for cupcakes??! I found this on This Is Glamorous a while ago and I still think it is an awesome idea. Little plastic animals + candle holders + gold spray paint = ultra glam birthday accessory.



These are from Etsy by Still With You. Back when I was making a dream catching I bought this blue suede skirt from Goodwill and cut it up to use the suede for making some of the feathers and those earrings totally reminded me of that and how you can find some good fabric to use for small projects if you purchase clothes that you take apart.



This is a hairtie from Forever 21 and HOW easy would it be to create that yourself? I find lacey tablecloths at Goodwill ALL the time along with just tons of housewares that I could make this sort of thing from.



This here is a FABULOUS DIY idea from I Spy DIY except she originally did it for InStyle magazine. Totally going to look into t-shirts and lacey fabric today at Goodwill (I am TELLING you, before you set food in a fabric or craft store, GO TO GOODWILL. What happens is crafty old ladies end up with this massive amount of crafty STUFF and end up needing the space for more crafty stuff so they give it away. You can find embroidery thread, old curtains (for fabric), ends of fabric bolts, scraps, yarn sometimes even beads. So ALWAYS check second hand stores first!)



Finally this lace collar which is also originally from Etsy but I'm sad because I cannot find the original location. I just love the chain detail and I have plenty of left-over chain from a DIY failure so it's something I could look into making as well.

Get Organized, Stay Organized

As weird as it sounds the end of the year is drawing near and really all that means to me is time for a new planner. I don't tend to make resolutions.

I currently use this one. I like it well enough, it generally has enough space but I have seen some planners on The Hach that have me gaga (and sold).

I really love the Draw Your Tomorrow planner in hot yellow.



I like that it's spiral bound and comes with a monthly view (which my current planner lacks). The following inside shots come from Fred Flare which is somehow managing to sell it for $36... hmmm.



If I want to pay $36 I might just go for the LiveWork AGENDA Diary, size large.



I like that it comes with weekly, monthly AND yearly almost like you could keep a little mini diary right along side your planner. I like the look of it too, I would probably get "rose." I will admit I think I like the weekly set up on the first planner more though.

Thriftin

Great score at Deseret Industries (had NO idea that the T at the end of Deseret was actually sounded until very recently... how weird).

A gray cotton/modal blend sleeveless Gap Henley-like collared shirt
Calvin Klein dark olive green cropped cargos
Express ribbed tank with sequin detailing around the neckline
A relaxed fitting navy blue knit shirt with gold and silver horizontal stripes (reminds me of the night sky for some reason)
A short sleeve sheer collared button up black with white polka dots
A knee-length button down olive green Banana Republic wool skirt
Broken-in "boyfriend" style dark gray J. Crew twill chinos

I love thrifting because the prices give you room to be more fearless with your shopping and try new things which is why I bought the J. Crew pants ($6) BUT... I know I have shorter legs so pulling these off could prove to be tricky. I did some research and it looks like I lot of people roll them which could work for a while (they're so wide though!) but not as it gets colder. I know I need to pay close attention to proportion and all that but hmm, it has me concerned. MAN they would look great with a red belt, too. Hmm.



The skirt is a LITTLE big on me both in the waste and it's just a little long. If I were tall the length would be totally fine but my calves are the short part of my leg and so there just isn't as much distance between where the skirt ends and the floor. Either I will get it hemmed OR I'll just have to always wear it with heals which isn't the most practical choice for me. Potentially though... potentially.



You'll notice I scored a lot of great brands. There are multiple benefits to this. Obviously you will know what kind of quality your getting. The J. Crew pants are extremely well-made for example. The second benefit is, if I decide that it just isn't working out I can likely sell them to a place like Crossroads, Buffalo Exchange or in my case Pink With Envy. They LOVE good brands and lucky for me those Chinos could pass for any season. They flipped for my Armani Exchange pants last spring.

Of course all the inspiration pictures above are demonstrated with khaki pants and rolled up which... well it's not my favorite, versus my slate gray ones but it's a start. I was contemplating purchasing those moccasin ankle boots anyway. I think they could also look great with a pair of these:



Anyway, I'm excited about my haul. Really looking forward to making some serious fashionable attempts this fall since it is my favorite fashion season. SERIOUS attempts before I have to start wearing boots (the ugly kind) 24/7. I HATE my snowboots. I bought them at the last minute and they're not even that comfortable. Uggs are looking more and more appealing and I've never thought that before.