Freckled Face DIY Adventures: Bow Ties

Bow ties are an item in a man's fashion repertoire that will never go out of style.  Inspired by Mr. Goodwill Hunting, I thought I would try my hand at making a couple bow ties.  Now, keep in mind that I haven't been sewing for long and have only taken one sewing class in my life.  These bow ties are based off of a McCall's menswear pattern. 

Here is the finished product!



Tell me what you think!

On My Soapbox: Too Much Stuff!

I have to admit that God has blessed me exceedingly and abundantly, and I am sincerely appreciative and grateful for his many blessings, however, there comes a point when a person has entirely too much stuff!  What a blessing it is to even be able to say that, but if I am honest with myself, I am only expressing the truth.  We live in a very capitalistic and materialistic society and I am definitely an offender who needs to “pump tha brakes,” which is why I am proclaiming to the world my plan for 2012.  EVERYONE, I have resolved to stop shopping in 2012!  I know that it is hard to believe, for those who know me, but that means no more shoes, clothes, house wares and unnecessary shopping!!!  YES, I've said it to the world and it’s gotta stop!

While this is my resolution come, January 1, I do have some exceptions (Of Course)!  Here are my seven rules to stop the madness.  First, I can repurchase any white or black items (ex. tanks, tees, jeans, …).  I am a firm believer that those types of items should be replaced yearly, as they become faded, dingy, easily stained, etc.  Second, I can purchase items for events and activities that REQUIRE particular items (ex. wedding I am in (not attending), an organized sport I am playing,…).  Third, I can purchase an item for someone else (ex. gift for someone, item(s) for a person in need, charity event,…). Fourth, I can make a purchase for myself on my birthday - "Can a girl get a break"!  Fifth, I can purchase an item if it is insanely affordable (ex. A Coco Chanel coat worn by Coco herself for $10 - "Yea Right, but you never know"!).  Sixth, I can make a purchase of a reasonably established amount every quarter (Yes- that's every 3 months).  Last, I can make a purchase if I am on vacation "Come on people, what's a vacation without a souvenir"!

This is a quest to not only stop accumulating a ridiculous amount of material things, but an opportunity to curb bad spending habits and save more money. In the end I will be forced to focus my attention on things and people who really matter.  I think this will be good for me and I am actually looking forward to the challenge because all of this "stuff" is sucking up all of my energy! 

So, how do I begin to change poor habits?  My first plan of action is Operation - "Mission Organization".  More to come on that!

What New Year’s resolutions have you been considering and what will you do to try to achieve them?

My Favorite Things (December 2011): Top Ten Favorites For 2011

I figured for December instead of choosing one item, I would list the top 10 items that I have favored in 2011, from food to fashion that I didn't feature in my previous "Favorites" posts.  In no particular order here we go!

  

1. Cake Pops (Especially Ms. Audra's Red Velvet!)

2. Ulta Brand Nail Polish (This is some good quality stuff, who knew!)

3. Urban Decay's Naked Palette (Great neutral colors for everyone, kinda pricey though!)

4.  LCherise Paintings (Check my girl out here!)

5. Cucumber Gimlets (A drink for the more sophisticated woman or man!)

6. Keurig Coffee Machines (Love the Wild Blueberry flavored coffee and the Chai Latte, move over Starbuck's!) 

7. Oil of Olay Pro-X Advanced Face Brush (Clarisonic who!)

8. JCP (Clothes that fit a real woman's curves!)

9. Bonefish Grill ($5 Bang Bang Shrimp on Wednesday's Ya'll!)

10. Polka-Dot Palette (I had no idea I could paint free-hand, and you can too!  Believe me!) 

BONUS FAV!!!  Beyonce's "Party" (Love that song!)

Style Guide: 25 Ways to Wear a Scarf

With winter fast approaching, we Fashionistas need to think of new and innovative ways to wear our winter accoutrements that stand out from the old boring "European Loop" that everybody wears.  Wendy from Wendy's Lookbook has made it easy for us to do just that with her "25 Ways to Wear a Scarf in 4.5 Minutes" video.

This is an awesome video and I hope that you find some styles that you can incorporate into your look this Fall and Winter.

Happy Fall and scarf wearing!

My Favorite Things (October 2011): Zipper Earrings

                                       

I love to support homegrown folks and businesses!  I found these cute upcycled vintage zipper earrings on one of my favorite websites.  Yep, Etsy! 

You can get them too at the benjamin2008 shop on Etsy. 

For my Do-It-Yourselfers, here is a helpful site, to get you going, DIY Zipper Earrings.

Some people are just so dang creative!
                                                                           

On My Radar: Shoes of Prey

Have you ever wanted to stand in the ranks of such hot shoe designers as Christian Louboutin, Jimmy Choo, or even Nine West!  Well, look no further!  Shoes of Prey is the answer for you Shoe Divas who have the desire to create a masterpiece that no one else will possess.  At least not before you; because you will be the creator!

The premise of the site is for you to design your shoe by choosing the style (i.e. pump, wedge, sandal...), fabric (ex. satin, leather, cloth...), heel size, backs and other accoutrements (i.e. straps, florets, bows...) to make your one of a kind design.  Here are two prototypes that I created.

 

The upside, or even bummer to the site is that your design will be available to other members of the site for purchase.  So, if you have always dreamed of designing shoes to sell to the masses, YOUR design will be sold on the Shoes of Prey website and folks around the world can rock your shoe!  On the flip side, if you want to design one of a kind, couture kicks, this is not the site for you and maybe you should consider taking a course in Italian shoemaking!

Regardless of your shoe dream, Shoes of Prey is a great website for you to get your "feet wet" in the art of shoe design without the start-up, manufacturing and marketing costs; and having to devote your precious time as an understudy to a wise old fella named Guiseppe.

Happy Creating!

My Favorite Things (September 2011): Handmade Pocket Tissue Holder

2011 is flying by and cold and flu season will be here before we know it!  To remain fashionable, while toting my facial tissues, I purchased a few cute handmade pocket tissue holders from a vendor on Etsy who goes by the name CreativeJenV.

On the site, the tissue holders do not have a tie closure, but one can be added if you ask the vendor to add it for a small fee.  These dainty holders are great because they keep your tissues in their place instead of slipping out of the plastic they are packaged in.  I hate that!  The holders come in a variety of colors and patterns, sure to suit just about everyone; and make a great gift or stocking stuffer.

Check out CreativeJenV at her Etsy Shop.  

My Favorite Things (August 2011): TOMS Natural Burlap Classics

I love to purchase with a purpose, and I'm not just talking the purpose of self-gratification!  This month my favorite things are my new TOMS natural burlap classics.  I had always looked at TOMS and kinda snickered to myself at its crunchy granola, martial art flare, and now I have a pair!  Never say never!  For a girl who wears a heel everyday, these shoes have been a welcomed change for my, once thought to be permanently arched foot.  Very comfy!

Not only does TOMS  make a ridiculously comfortable shoe, it is a fabulous organization who uses their profits to give back through an initiative called One For One Movement.  Through this movement, for every pair of TOMS shoe purchased, the organization donates a pair of shoes to deserving children in developing countries.  Now that is purchasing with a purpose!

Click here to check out the TOMS website.

What’s the Fascination with Fascinators?



Image courtesy of fashionshoppings.com

 



Kate Middleton has definitely brought plenty of attention to fascinators through her trendsetting wardrobe and royal wedding.  For those of you who have been living under a rock and haven’t a clue as to what a fascinator is, a fascinator is a headpiece that is commonly made with sinamay, feathers, flowers, veiling, grosgrain, Swarovski crystals and/or beads, to name a few.  The materials used to make fascinators are endless.  The hair accessory is typically affixed to the head with either a comb, clip or headband and are a trendy and very modern replacement for a hat. 

Since going natural, I have decided that fascinators were my headpiece of choice.  Most importantly, due to the bulkiness and thickness of my hair, which usually makes for a tug-of-war for me with most hats.  For someone with my dilemma (thick hair), fascinators are the perfect choice with their ease of use and one size fit all design. 

Most likely, many of us will not be attending any royal weddings anytime soon; at least not of Will and Kate proportions, so where can we common folk wear such fancy hat pieces?  My recommendations are to have fun with this trend, that I think will be around for a long time to come, and don them to church (at least a fascinator is more visual eye candy than those big bothersome church hats we all hate to sit behind), to brunches, weddings (but, try not to upstage the bride by bringing all the attention to the contraption on your head), the Kentucky Derby, Prom and many other events where headpieces would have proper place.  Some fascinators are toned down enough that they can even be worn to work.



Image courtesy of http://carolinepaige.tumblr.com/


Fascinators can be found all over the place these days and can get rather pricey, but don’t fret, there are economical options out there for you frugalistas!  Here are a few sites that offer these trendy pieces at affordable prices, or, you can  try making your own creation:

Hats by Cressida - Etsy

Fascinators NYC - Fascinators NYC

DIY: Fashion Indie

Image courtesy of media.onsugar.com





Fascinators are fun accent pieces that come in a variety of sizes, shapes, colors and styles and can be as conservative or outlandish as you prefer, so make a fashion statement, represent your personality and fascinate with your fascinator!

Chapter 4: Backpacking Through Osaka and Kyoto

Shaune and I packed our backpacks and some snacks and headed to the Shinkansen (bullet train) on our way to Osaka.  The train ride was about a 3 hour ride from Tokyo.  Once we arrived in Osaka we checked into our hotel that had one of the smallest double rooms I had ever seen.  I think rooms are bigger on a cruise ship!  The room consisted of two twin beds with bedspreads that felt like plastic, a TV, small stool, two pairs of slippers, two robes, and a broom.  Yes, I said a broom!  There was no closet.  The bathtub looked like a mini swimming pool because it was so deep.  I know that my knee had to touch my chest just so I could step in the tub.  There was also a heated toilet. 

After checking in, we went exploring and found what appeared to be Osaka’s version of Las Vegas.  There were Pachinko casinos everywhere.  The area almost reminded you of a China Town.  We did some sightseeing to see what Osaka had to offer and ate our favorite meal, gyudon.  Gyudon kinda reminds you of a bowl of rice with chitterlings and onions on top, uhmm tasty!  Osaka is very different from Tokyo, it almost seems country in comparison.  We also noticed that we received more stares in Osaka.  Everywhere else we have been people acted as though we didn’t exist.  We smile and people look back with stone faces. 

The style of dress is also different in Osaka.  Tokyo has more of a trendy, hip-hop style going on; Osaka has taken it back to the days of leg warmers, tapered-legged jeans and Sunday shoes.  Osaka style is very 80’s. Since I’ve been here I’ve noticed that my style has changed too, but only out of necessity.  When you backpack you can only carry but so much.  I was wearing outfits I wouldn’t dare wear inside my house, let alone out in public!  In Japan you can get away with all sort of fashion faux pauxs, but some of this stuff needs to be outlawed.  School uniforms are another story!  The girls all wear a blazer with a short Britney Spears plaid skirt and leg warmers.  A female student in America would be sent home if she came to school in skirts as short as they wear them here.  Forget about the fingertip touching the bottom of the skirt rule; they would do good if their wrists touched the bottom of their skirts.

After hours of walking and sightseeing we decided to eat dinner at an American-style restaurant called Charlie's because everything on the menu was 300 yen.  We had some kind of salmon wrap, spare ribs, spaghetti and two complimentary glasses of wine.  The food was on point!  After dinner we headed back to the area that looked like Vegas.  By this time it was about 10 or 11 o’clock and the area we had ventured through earlier in the day with its slot machines, restaurants, shops, and kiddie games had now turned into prostitute row.  We were in shock!  The signs that once advertised the casino or restaurants now had suggestive pictures of women on them.  There were 3-5 men on every corner, each dressed in a dark suit and equipped with cell phones soliciting for the women of the night.  There, the women don’t stand on corners, Japan is a little more high tech than that!

The next day we decided to go to Osaka Castle.  It was beautiful!  Typical Japanese architecture.  I took plenty of pictures.  While we were there we met two Japanese women who conversed with us in Japanese, I must say my Japanese is improving. We met several different people that day.  After visiting the castle we made our way back to the Shinkansen headed towards Kyoto.

We also stayed the night in Kyoto.  This time the hotel room was about normal size, but it still had a broom in it. Shaune and I had one of our first problems with the language barrier.  We went into a Mom and Pop type of Onomiyaki restaurant (Onomiyaki is a savory Japanese pancake that can contain a variety of ingredients.  Don’t think of sweet American-style pancakes, onomiyaki is more of a savory entrée and not a sweet).  We thought we might be able to order by picture, but were sadly mistaken!  We tried to tell the old woman that we wanted a pancake with pork, but didn’t know the Japanese word for pork.  I put my hands on top of my head like pig ears and she was like “Huuhh!!!” (in her Japanese tone) and sneered up her face like a pig.  It was so cute!  She ended up giving us some free food. 

Kyoto was beautiful!  While there, we visited a temple and zen garden.  The space was so serene and surreal.  Japanese culture and architecture is really amazing.  We decided to take a ride in a rickshaw.  It was quite an experience!  Kyoto is one of the most beautiful areas I’ve seen yet. We did more shopping in Kyoto and met some girls who were visiting Japan as part of the Semester at Sea program. I am mad I didn’t know about programs like that when I was in school!  We headed back to Tokyo.