diy: a simple way to cut shirt

happy friday!
today i have a fun and SUPER easy diy, no sewing involved.

while i was at the tattoo expo, tom did a bit of thrifting without me (so sad) but i told him to buy me treasures and that man did not fail me one bit. he scored me this super cute quail shirt! isn't he the best!!
it may be the tiny punk rocker in me but i love me a cut up shirt. i have never been a huge fan of high necklines and i do love showing off my tattoo's so instantly i new i wanted to do something to this shirt.

all you need is a pair of scissors and what helps me is making a line with some fabric chalk where i want to cut so that i am not just free balling it. there are so many fun things you can do with cutting a knitted shirt but here is what i did!

you can get a tiny glimpse of my septum retainer

i made a ballerina cut or boat neck cut to show off my shoulder tattoo's and a cut the bottom so that it was more of a crop style shirt which i love so much. bing bang boom, this is the result!

and as you can see i have already worn it a few times and plan on wearing it lots more!

easy, no? how do you like to cut up your shirts? i would love to see what you have come up with! have a great weekend everyone! tomorrow is my friends big day and i can't wait, it is going to be sooo beautiful!

xo,
cb

adding florals

goodness me! i find that i have so many scraps and never know what i should do with them. recently, i have found a couple of uses for them. one being this display that suki from the owl club blogged about this week. i see those jars all the time and love them and think putting my scraps in there is a brilliant idea. the other one is from green valley crafts. now, i know other ladies have done similar things but seeing it again inspired me!

so i got out some cut off jeans that i felt needed a little tweaking and dug out some fabric that i had left over from my hemming projects and got down to business. i didn't take pictures while i was doing it but it is pretty straight forward.

thats right people get a good look at my ass.......hehe

cut out a heart or any shape out of the desired article of clothing and then cut out a piece of the fabric and place on the back of the cutout, pin, and then hand stitch! now i am not going to lie, sewing a pocket was pretty tricky and it started off easy but toward the middle i gave up and sewed through the pocket so now it is no longer usable but i don't really use my back pockets anyways.

and now you got some super cute updated shorts ready for spring by adding some tights and those bare legged bike rides in the summer! oh i can't wait! shorts are my favorite and i know i will wearing the shit out of these! hehe

xo,
cb

sprucing up the ol' wardrobe

this last weekend i felt extremely productive, i still have a mile long list of things i want to get done.  expanding my tattoo portfolio and working on paintings and illustrations for the shop but as always, it is super nice to be able to throw in a few projects for myself.

as a lot of you who have reading for some time know how obsessed i am with collars and i have been itching for more lace collars in my life. i searched etsy for the perfect lace collar and found this one!

 i was very excited to get it and knew exactly what top i wanted to put in on...a orange h& m top i got many moons ago.

it was a super easy fix, just pin in place, hand stitch and like that you have have instantly updated a somewhat boring piece into something new and exciting.

while thrifting with kelly-anne a couple of weekends ago she told me that she looks for lace dresses and shirts while thrifting for collars and i thought the idea brilliant! i foresee many more lace collars in my future...am i going overboard, do i need to seek some professional help....maybe, but this girl isn't going to stop anytime soon.

xo,
cb

what i wore: solo photo shoot

hello lovelies! all this sunshine here is making my heart oh so happy and with that comes a fun bright bike outfit for you all today!

tom's schedule has changed a bit at work for the better, so now he is home when i get home (yay) and i love coming home to a warm and happy house. now i am greeted by little rosie and my man. best ever! so now that i don't have a camera assistant i will be shooting on my own. a bit scary but i can handle it which just means i have to wake up a little earlier which is sooo hard since it is so cold in the morning and warm & toasty in my bed.

some of you who have been following me for a while have seen this skirt before. it was my second skirt i made myself and it is one of my favorites. the print is perfect and so happy and bright. recently, i acquired this shirt from f21 and couldn't be more happy. the color is perfect and i am a huge sucker for scoop back anything. if you know of any good scoop back shirts, let a girl know! you can't  have too many ;D

please excuse the sight of my lovely bra by the way, isn't it sexy? hehe

so it was actually fun doing my own photo shoot, hard because i never know where to set up but this is my first time so i will get better at it, i just wish i had a remote to make it a little easier and i don't have to run into place. does anyone know if you can get a generic one that can be used with any camera?

 details: 

shirt: f21

skirt: home made

boots: thrifted

tights: target

earrings: deuce fashion

bracelets: thrifted

xo,

cb

happy little things #7

hello!

does anyone else have a hard time entering giveaway's? i love too but then in the back of my mind i always think, i'm not gonna win and then don't enter. well many months ago, amy from a is for ampersand, was hosting a giveaway for the cutest little locket and i was set on winning it.

sadly for me i was not the winner of this cute little locket so i made it my mission to find one. i discovered a new bead shop in sf that is absolutely fantastic, i could be there for hours and only just scratch the surface of the amazing treasures they have there.

while browsing a while ago i happened to cross this ornately designed oval locket and just fell in love with it. i loved how large it was and the crazy little fellow that works there, who will literally talk your ear off told me it was from a old jewelry factory in italy. he went on and on about it but my eyes started to glaze over and my brain began to wonder but i gladly paid for it and went on my merry little way.

i love lockets. they have a wonderful sense of nostalgia and are so charming and hold a little secret inside. for mine i wanted to add a picture of me and tom so i printed out black & white pictures of two i fancied, cut our heads out and just slide them right in! now tom will literally be with me where ever i go.

xo,
cb

use what you've got

i am very excited that there are only 3 more days till christmas and only 2 days till christmas eve. my family has always celebrated christmas eve which works perfectly with toms family because they celebrate on christmas. two days of family togetherness makes me so happy. really, it is the best present...

speaking of presents i am never one to go get christmas wrapping paper. last year i hand stamped brown paper and this year i am keeping it classy and simple.

 i didn't have any string or yarn and the lace i thrifted a while back looks great with the brown paper. also i have a HUGE rosemary bush outside and i cut few a sprigs off to finish off the look and presto, so cute, free & easy!

i also saw this cool idea in sunset magazine and thought it was perfect! i love vintage scarfs and they are always so plentiful at the thrift store so i snagged a few and am using them as wrapping plus they also serve as part of the gift, nifty, no?
---> to wrap, just treat the scarf like wrapping paper, minus the tape. tie both ends in a knot, i doubled mine as the ends were longer then i wanted and you are all set.

this year my family is doing stocking stuffers and since my marmalade didn't make as much as i thought, i used the left over mason jars and cut succulents from my over flowing pot. i am very excited to hand these out.

xo,
cb

a green post: upcycled legwarmers with ashley!

Hey everybody! My name is Ashley and I share little tidbits of my life, crafts, photography and my story of navigating the inevitable Quarter Life Crisis over at A Bird Out of Water. I love Cristie's blog and was so excited when she asked me if I would be interested in sharing a 'green' diy! Today I am going to show you how to upcycle an old, well-loved sweater into a cute pair of leg warmers!

Perfect for Fall, these look super cute on their own, but my favorite look is peeking out from your favorite pair of boots. The best part is, in addition to using items we all probably have on hand, this project seriously will take you under an hour and maybe even less if you are using a sewing machine!

Supplies:

• Old Sweater
• Trim 
• Scissors
• Pins
• Thread
• Sewing Machine (or needle if sewing by hand)

Above are a few examples of some cute trim I considered. I opted for the lace for a girly and slightly folksy feel, but the possibilities are endless!

1. Start by cutting off the sleeves of your sweater. I would recommend giving yourself as much fabric as possible to work with. Once I cut both my sleeves off I layered one on top of the other and cut across the top making sure they were even.

2. Once you have your sleeves cut to your desired length, turn them inside out and fold over about a half inch seam. Pin your trim to the outside along this folded edge (which will be inside the leg warmer once finished, giving you a nice clean look). You should wind up with two pieces that look like this below...

3. Now you are ready to sew! I chose to use my sewing machine which really sped things up but you could totally sew these by hand. Sew along the edge of the lace, staying fairly close to the outer edge. You'll also want to start and finish with several back stitches to secure your seam if you are using a machine.

4. The last step is to simply turn right side out, slide 'em on and look super cute!

Don't mind my funny looking toes! ;)

This fun and super easy diy is a great green craft to add a little pizazz to your Fall wardrobe or even as a homemade Christmas gift! Plus you are saving a piece of clothing from winding up in the landfill which is always a great thing. Hope you guys have fun, and please stop over to say hi and share your leg warmers over at A Bird Out of Water! Thanks again Cristie!


thanks soooo much ashley for sharing this really awesome and super cute green diy! these are gonna be so much fun to make!
xo,
cb

a trip to the hardware store

happy frinesday!

well our weekend was very crafty and we both got a lot done. since we had rearranged things we needed a couple of things at the hardware store and i needed to pick up some things for my new suitcase! which by the way the orange one i found was horribly moldy inside and it didn't want to zip or up stand up straight so i would have been a sad display. but i wasn't discouraged because at one of the thrift stores i found this perfectly wonderful beaut!

 it rained pretty much all friday but once it stopped we rode over to the hardware store. we were there for waaay too long! i have never been at a hardware store for so long but it ended up being such a fruitful trip, they even have laundry detergent and sponges, who would have thought! oh and much needed lobster mitts!

the top i am wearing is one i got from the thrift store the previous day, i love it and any excuse to wear my favorite pants is okay with me!

once we unpacked we got to cutting. tom helped a lot with the cutting, thanks baby! he did a great job and   it is always fun working with him. he cut out the contact paper in the same shape as the inside of the suitcase and then we mounted it on foamcore to avoid wrinkles, plus it made it easier to screw the hooks in.

we hot glued the foamcore onto the suitcase. the fabric divider i kept because as things sell i can re-arrange my things and close off one portion of the display. i added lace to secure the divider in place when it isn't needed. snaps hold it in place so the lace can be easily taken off and put on. then i laid out my pieces and played with merchandising it. when i was satisfied i popped the hooks in.

it was hard to take a good picture of it but you get the point. i am really stoked on it and think it will be really great once in action. i am actually really looking forward to my craft fairs!

OH and for those of you who wanted to know more about my pumpkin pancakes, head on over to amy's blog!

xo,
cb

too big, no sweat! a green diy!

well, hello everybody! and welcome to a fun little green diy today. i have been waiting to post this guy for a while now because i am super EXCITED about it. it was a big hooray moment for me when i finished and i felt super duper proud of myself too! i love those little moments in life :)

well a while back tom and i cleaned out our dinky little closet and we were getting rid of unwanted clothes and he was going to get rid of this really cute buffalo shirt that i adored! sadly it was waaay too big for me, way too long, the sleeves were saggy and i always like a good tee to be a bit snug around my torso....so it got me thinking....i can totally fix this!

first i measured myself and with chalk started putting my cut lines on the shirt keeping in mind the seams. then i got to cutting and sewing.  as you all know i am a HUGE fan of collars aaaand peter pan collars are my favorite so i had to add one to this guy to make it that extra bit of girlie cuteness.

i found a tutorial on line (this one was great and i LOVE the shape of the collar too), used some old black fabric i had laying around and got to cutting and sewing and my too big buffalo shirt became.....

i am totally in love with it!! it is the perfect mix of funky and trendy, which is what i really like about my own personal style. i have two other items that i am fixing at the moment and will share those as soon as they are ready. i feel like i haven't made so much stuff for myself in a long time and i really LOVE it! any reason why i love being a crazy craft lady :)

also check out this lovely on shannon's blog! so cute!!

craft on...

xo,
cb