Oct 7, 2010 | DIY
DIY rose hoop-and-chain earrings.
Thanks so much for everyone’s recent feedback regarding my DIY Roundups. I’m glad to know that many of you enjoy them! But every week does seem a bit much, so I’m going to take Bromeliad’s suggestion (thanks, btw!) and try these Roundups every 2 weeks so that people can link up more of their projects. Sometimes we just can’t get enough done in a week (as I’ve definitely experienced lately!;-)
Since I haven’t finished photographing everything this week, I’ll share with you a pair of DIY earrings I made awhile ago. I just bought a pair of cheap gold hoops from Claire’s and some tiny silk roses from Michael’s. I removed the stems from the roses but kept the petals bunched together, and threaded two roses onto each hoop. I then added some dangling pieces of chain in the center for a pair of sexy, feminine rose-and-chain hoop earrings. (You may have seen some similar types of earrings for sale in retail stores lately, utilizing silk orchids, daisies, or other flowers, and chain, beads, and other dangles. I was also wearing these earrings in one of the photos from the Tigard/Tualatin/Beaverton Valley Times’ shoot🙂
photo by Jaime Valdez
So welcome to DIY Roundup 6! If you’re unsure how to link up your tutorial (or finished project), here’s how:
Just click the light blue “Ad Your Link” button that appears to the bottom left below. Follow the instructions in the Inlinkz window, pasting in the URL of your project or tutorial (from your own blog, Facebook page, Flickr account, Craftster.org, CutOutandKeep.net, etc). Don’t forget to write the NAME/DESCRIPTION of your project – like “Bow T-Shirt” or “DIY Lanvin Necklace” – not your own name or your blog’s name!!! You can link up any piece you’ve made or tutorial you’ve written from any time, not just in the last two weeks (though it would be nice if it’s a recent project, just to keep the content fresh). It’s all about sharing and bringing in more like-minded visitors to your site!
So now you get to share your own DIY’s! If you have a DIY project or tutorial that you’d like to share, please feel free to link below! (However you can only link YOUR OWN PROJECT. Please do not link others’ projects!)
If you’ve linked up your project to the Roundup, feel free to grab the button below.
Can’t wait to see everyone’s projects!
xoxox
Carly
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Oct 7, 2010 | Fashion, Score!
This Fall Macy’s invites you to “Find Your Magic” with their latest campaign just in time for the holiday season.
With the tag line “Whatever it is that dazzles, delights, or excites you this fall, it’s in the bag at Macy’s,” this interactive section to the site has daily shopping picks, details on fun in-store events, and a Fashion Director Daily Challenge with create-your-own outfit and outfit sharing feature where you could win a $100 gift card to Macy’s!
To drive the magic bag message in-store, Macy’s is also displaying dresses made entirely from the shopping bag that measure over 10 feet high. (Can’t wait to check those out!)
Last month, Macy’s released their “Find Your Magic” TV commercial, featuring celebrity designers including Sean “Diddy” Combs, Tommy Hilfiger, Jennifer Lopez, Rachel Roy, Jessica Simpson, Martha Stewart and Donald Trump.
To commemorate this new campaign, Macy’s is giving away a $50 Macy’s Gift Card to one lucky Chic Steals reader!
How to Enter
Edit 10/15: The entry period is over and the winner will be announced shortly!
Watch the video above – and Leave a Comment on this post below telling me what part of the video you liked best! (Make sure your email address is in your comment or profile so I can contact you if you win!)
Giveaway open to anyone in the U.S.
Apologies to my international readers!:-(
Giveaway period is open from today until Thursday, Oct. 14, 11:59 PM PST.
Winner chosen by Random.org.
Good luck!
And head to Macy’s now through October 11 for their Columbus Day Sale, with 25 – 70% off storewide (and an added 10 – 15% off with your Macy’s card or pass – available here – just enter your zipcode, locate the Columbus Day sale flier, and download and print your pass for in-store savings!!) Online there are huge discounts to be had during this sale too – with 2-day specials and an extra 25% savings on all Clearance items…also use coupon code SAVENOW to get free shipping off any order $99+.
Happy Columbus Day Shopping!
xoxox
Carly
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Oct 7, 2010 | Fashion
It’s October again and that means another Portland Fashion Week a.k.a. PFW! (I can’t believe it’s my THIRD year covering the shows. Amazing that time has gone so fast.)
(From top left, clockwise: the Vigor Shipyards venue for the shows; hanging lasercut chandelier; painting on the building; art by Lisa Golightly; the runway – made entirely of solar panels! – ancient anchor chain marking the entrance to the building)
I won’t treat subject you to a shot of what I wore since I schlumped about under the premise of “I’m working, I don’t care.” And of course I ran into into a reader of mine – DIY enthusiast Grishley! We’ve been following each other’s blogs for some time and she’s super-sweet in person. She’s a very talented designer and posts lovely photos chock-full of inspiration. I was so glad to have met her! (Check out her blog if you haven’t already *hint, hint*) At least I didn’t have a gigantic spaghetti stain on my shirt. Fate smiled down upon me.:-)
Tonight’s show was a standing presentation from local and up-and-coming designers (including Adam Andreas, menswear designer – some of his pieces pictured above.)
Thought-Provoking Fashion
R.A.W. by Rio Wrenn began with a pair of rust-stained (but it looked like something else) underwear lying on the floor of their section, followed by a woman in garters and a slip walking around and posing on a fainting couch. There were a few displays of the rust-stained fabrics that the label is known for also in the installation, but it still left you wondering what exactly the label produced and what its message was (besides stained underwear). [Ah, Portland!] The artist in fact utilizes insects, rusted objects, plants, and copper to hand-dye her silk and silk blends, making them into lingerie and selling the fabrics. R.A.W. Textiles strives to pave the way to a sustainable future by being conscientious of the dye, fabrics, and production methods used in their clothing.
Laura Allcorn provided a small sampling of her jewelry and a display of a model “pollinating” a a rack of orchids with a feather duster. Concerned with the phenomenon of colony collapse disorder [a potentially serious problem for honeybees, the plants they pollinate, and the rest of us who depend on those plants for food] she created a small line of modular jewelry. She was also gifting pendants made from pollen suspended in resin to remind people of the importance of this issue – one she said can be helped by shopping locally and in-season, supporting local beekeepers, and planting wildflowers native to your region in your garden to encourage honeybee colonies to return and flourish.
Established Local Brands
Idom showcased a few of designer Modi Soondaratok’s signature dresses, featuring quirky, sweet design details that elevate them from the ordinary to the amazing.
Dawn Sharp, who has achieved incredible success with her line of fun, detailed separates and dresses, presented a few pieces from her Spring 2011 collection [entitled “Free Spring/Summer 2011”]. Inspired by psychedelia in all its complex forms, her dresses were comprised of the highest-quality silk burnout fabrics, silk velvets, and charmeuses in kooky prints. In business since 2007 and selling online in her Etsy store, Bonadrag, and Cultist (as well as a number of brick-and-mortar stores in LA), the price point for her pieces is affordable and the pieces themselves covetable.
Designer Emily Christensen showcased a number of dresses from her line Filly in a variety of neutral hues. Inspired by the environment around her, she creates her dreamy pieces to be the ultimate testimony to the beauty of the female form, utilizing no zippers, buttons, or fasteners of any type. Her pull-on designs allow for ease of wear and enhance her customers’ natural beauty. She only uses American-milled fabric (a true rarity these days!), working closely with a manufacturer and dyer in San Francisco so all her prints and colors are completely unique to Filly. The line is sold in more than 75 stores across the US, Canada, and Japan, and online at Vickerey.
Accessories
Metalsmith and jewelry artist Emily Baker presented a few pieces from her recent collections for her line Sword + Fern [you may have saw the brand mentioned in Lucky Magazine awhile back]. The recycled glass and oxidized chain pieces were hauntingly charming, and her use of recycled fabrics, metal, and vintage findings in her chic statement jewelry truly embody the ideas of Reuse and Recycle. Purchase Baker’s beautiful
pieces in her shop in Portland [811 East Burnside #114] or online in her Etsy shop.
Pinkham Millinery (the only operating millinery in the city of Portland!) showcased a number of hats from the line. Renowned milliner Dayna Pinkham, whose hats have appeared on the heads of celebrities, athletes, rock stars, actors, and the Kentucky Derby, still designs and constructs each hat by hand in her downtown Portland studio.
The man himself. Or at least a giant cardboard photo of him.
And of course the big draw this year for the entire world is Seth Aaron Henderson, recent winner of Project Runway Season 7, who will be showcasing his Spring collection this Saturday. He has collaborated with PFW sponsor SolarWorld for his collection, inspired by the company’s black photovoltaic solar panels.
A necklace made from a solar panel which will be auctioned off later on during the week.
Amazingly, they’ve closed the rest of the week to more press (probably due to the high profile he’s brought to the shows this year), so who knows if I’ll be able to return to cover any more of this week’s events. I probably will have to stow away in somebody’s bag.:-(
Oh well, whether I attend or not – there’ll be more coverage of the days to come on the way!
xoxox
Carly
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Oct 6, 2010 | DIY
So this is the last of my submissions for Style Sample Magazine and New York Design Shop’s Create Couture Challenge back in early August! Whew! Can’t believe it’s taken me this long to post them all…I wanted to make a final DIY piece from the box of materials I received and my eye lit upon the beautiful “NEW YORK DESIGN SHOP” printed ribbon. I love white, pink, and black together! So I crafted up this sweet, modernist design pin – that could easily be used as a hair accessory, bag charm, ring, you name it – just by varying the size, shape, and finishing. (The weaving of the ribbon does take awhile, but the results are fantastic!
You Need:
*NYDS Branded Ribbon (or any 1/4″ wide satin ribbon) – the NYDS-branded ribbon comes wrapped around the box when you place an order with New York Design Shop!
Additional Tools/Materials:
*scissors
*fabric glue
*stiff felt
*pin back
*lighter
*iron (optional)
*piece of paper (optional)
[prep: iron ribbon if kinked or curled; draw a shape as a template on a piece of paper]
How to:
1. Cut ribbon into eighths to start out.
2. Seal ends of two of the ribbons with an open flame.
3. Glue two ends of ribbons together, overlapping them at a right angle.
4. Seal the ends of more of the ribbons, and glue them parallel to the first ribbon, alternating the underlap and overlap of their edges.
5. When you have enough ribbons to work with, start weaving in ribbons in the opposite direction, heat-sealing and gluing down the ends as you add them in.
6. When you’ve run out of ribbons, start trimming the ones you’ve already woven, in order to create the desired shape.
7. Continue with trimming, heat-sealing, gluing, and weaving until your shape is what you like. Make sure all edges are glued together.
8. Cut piece of felt slightly smaller than your woven shape, and glue together with fabric glue.
9. Hot-glue pin back to wrong side.
Now anyone can wear their heart on their sleeve…or on their NYDS-branded tote!!
xoxox
Carly
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Oct 6, 2010 | Life, Score!
Entry #22: Ginny
Congratulations!!
The winner has been contacted to get her shipping information for the prize.
Thanks so much for everyone who entered, tweeted, and promoted! It was so enlightening to read everyone’s reasons for supporting the charities they do…and is a reminder of all the good that is in this world.:-)
The Marshall’s Gift Card Giveaway is now closed as well…but I have ANOTHER gift card to give away real soon – so stay tuned!;-)
xoxox
Carly
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