Jul 17, 2010 | From You
from formspring.me:
do you have any idea why corinne, rob, and meg stopped making videos for threadbanger?
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Jul 17, 2010 | From You
from formspring.me:
HI! I LOVE LOVE LOVE your blog! You are so amazing! I just discovered it a couple of weeks ago and passed it on to all my best friends. Do you think you could do a DIY on this dress? http://www.forever21.com/product.asp?catalog_name=FOREVER21&category_nam
Hi there and thanks for your question!
Could you post the full URL in the comments to this post? Unfortunately formspring cut it off and I’m not sure which dress you’re referring to…
Thanks!
xoxo
Carly
P.S. And thanks so much for passing on my blog to your friends, too! That was so sweet of you 🙂
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Jul 16, 2010 | DIY
To continue on in the theme of strange things to wear on your wrists…
I’d like to share with you how to make your very own pair of pleated wrist cuffs.
As an accessory they may be somewhat unusual – but maybe you noticed them on China Chow from a previous episode of Bravo’s Work of Art? (Episode 3; the one where the artists have to create a piece of art for a book cover; I can’t find the screencap from Bravotv.com. She’s wearing them though!!)
They’ve been seen on celebrities such as Audrina Patridge and Brooke Hogan, courtesy of Cuffs Couture, but at $58-$90 for a single cuff I find this brand a bit out of my budget.
I actually saw the cuffs I got the idea from in a February 2010 issue of Vivi magazine, and thought they were a great idea to wear with bare arms to add a bit of romance to an outfit.
You Need: (sorry for the hand-drawings, I didn’t photograph the step-by-step)
*2 pieces of black woven fabric, each about 3″ wide and long enough to wrap loosely around one wrist with about a 2″ overlap
*2 sets of black velcro strips (the furry side and the hooked side = 1 set), each about 2″ long
pleated white trim (mine was grosgrain ribbon trim I found at Jo-Ann’s Fabrics, though if you can find pleated silk or cotton that would be soooo much better)
*black grosgrain ribbon, 1/2″ wideAnd…
*fabric scissors
*flame
*sewing machine and needle for wovens
*hand-sewing needle
*black thread
*white thread
*fabric glueHow To:
1. Turn under all the raw edges of each fabric piece about 1/2″, and sew.
2. On the underside of one of the smaller ends of a fabric piece, sew a piece of velcro (the furry side out). Do the same for the other fabric piece.
3. Cut 2 pieces of your black grosgrain ribbon and 4 pieces of pleated trim to the same length as your finished fabric pieces.
Use an open flame to heat-seal the edges if they are synthetic fibers; if cotton you will have to either fold the raw edges under or seal them with Fray-Check.
4. Sew 2 pleated trim pieces onto each long side of one of the fabric pieces. Place them just far apart enough so that the 1/2″ wide ribbon placed in-between them will just overlap them in the center. Do the same for the other fabric piece and remaining pleated trim.
5. Sew each piece of black grosgrain ribbon down in the center of the fabric pieces.
6. Make the bow: (For my bow I made two loops; one a little smaller than the other, and placed them on top of each other, gluing the top loop onto the bottom one, then wrapping the center and securing with stitching underneath. You can make two or one or however many loops you want! The methodology is the same anyway. The following directions are for a single-loop bow🙂
*Cut a 2.5″-long piece and a 1.5″ piece of grosgrain ribbon. Double-thread your hand-sewing needle with black thread, and double-knot the end.
*Create a loop with the longer piece of ribbon, underlapping the ends.
*Push your needle into the underlapped pieces to the inside of the loop, then back through and out, pulling the knot tight onto the ribbon underside.
*Pierce the end of the smaller piece of ribbon and push it all the way down to anchor it onto the underside of the loop you just made.
*Curl the small ribbon around the loop, and anchor the other side of it with the needle and thread.
*Sew an X through all layers except for the tops of the loops, knot, and cut the thread.
*Make one more bow.
7. Use a dab of fabric glue to glue each bow onto the center ribbon of each cuff.
8. Sew the other velcro strips onto the opposite ends of the fabric cuffs, onto the right sides, the hooked side facing outwards.
Each cuff is fastened by pressing the strips of velcro together on the underside of your wrists.
The stiffness of the ribbon pleats makes it stand out from the wrist more than I had hoped, thus something that is softer or thinner would be a better choice for the pleating. You could even make the pleating by hand (with the help of an iron) if you were particularly hardcore.
I think they look equally as good with a casual ensemble as with a slinky LBD!
Hope this has inspired you to make your own!
Happy DIY’ing!
xoxox
Carly
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Jul 15, 2010 | DIY
The other day I was just browsing in my local fabric and notions store, and something in the interior fabrics and curtains section caught my eye.
Yes, this little basket. Full of wooden and antiqued curtain rings for super-large curtain rods.
Gold, bronze, and bone craquel enamel carved rings, and dark wooden rings.
It was like a basket full of happiness.
Not that I was really looking for curtain rings. I just had my cheapskate ‘n’ DIY thinking cap on.
These curtain rings are so beautifully unique with the enamel craquelure! I’ll just remove the eye screws…
And now I have a one-of-a-kind pair of boho bangles!
You can also find large rod curtain rings in flea markets, antique stores, and interior hardware shops, so keep an eye out and your cheapskate cap on…
Though at $2.50 apiece maybe Forever21 is cheaper??
xoxox
Carly
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Jul 14, 2010 | Fashion, From You
from formspring.me:
How do you get used to wear high heels for long periods of time? I keep buying high heels but never wear them as they make my feet hurt.
Wearing high heels, especially the higher ones, takes lots of practice, and is an acquired skill despite what shoe manufacturers and advertising want you to think. It’s definitely something you have to work up to condition your feet to get used to the wonky position they are forced into. I may not be the best person to ask since I can rarely wear heels as a stay at home mom with no full-time job, but once upon a time I too was wearing heels all day. When I was in school in Japan I remember challenging myself with wearing a pair of 5″ platform boots all day long and not falling down: 20 minutes walking to the train station, 10 minute standing train ride in rush hour, changing trains going up and down long flights of stairs, a 15 minute standing train ride still in rush hour, and 10 minutes walking to the school, going to classes, walking around campus, and then repeating it all to go home 7 hours later. I was really careful and managed it though my feet were ready to kill me by the end of the day!
Probably the best way to go about conditioning your feet is to do lots of walking in general – and if you can, try it in shoes that are comfortable but have a low wedge (like 1/2″). Once you do all your normal walking in this shoe, change them out for a short time during the day to a higher kitten heel that you wear for an hour or so in the beginning. (Still wear your sneaks on Sunday or one day of the week; and after a long day of wearing heels-even low ones-do foot stretches and runners’ stretches so the soles of your feet don’t bunch up [i.e., you don’t get plantar fasciitis, which is really, really painful!] and you don’t get Charley horses.)
Daily increase the hours that you are wearing your kitten heels until you can comfortably walk in them. As you get used to them, your feet will naturally develop calluses wear the shoes rub; these you don’t want to pumice off or else you’ll get blisters instead. (The unfortunate side effect of wearing heels all the time is ugly feet.)
Once you’re wearing the kitten heels on an almost daily basis, then start switching them out for a few hours to a higher pair, and continue to work in this manner until you can wear your highest heels for hours without cramping or falling over. The higher you go, the more often you will have to slip them off periodically to stretch your bare feet – but don’t slip on sneakers or flats to walk around in for any long period of time in-between wearing heels since that will undo all the work you’ve done. If your feet start to hurt chronically or you feel twinges in your legs or back, stop with the heels immediately, and see a podiatrist if you can.
Ankle-strengthening exercises like those found in ballet (the releve position, for instance) or calf-lifts on a stair riser, using 5-10 lb. dumbbells, can help reduce the wobble and uncertainty of your feet and ankles when wearing high stilettos.
Always arm yourself with blister-bandaids and moleskin to stick on the inside of your shoes if they start rubbing, use Dr. Scholl’s ball-of-foot cushions or arch-support inserts to ease the ‘slam, ‘slam’ of the balls of your feet on the pavement, have a pair of lower heels to switch out to, and treat your feet at the end of the day to a rub with warming massage cream or a soak in the tub.
And have an extra pair of flats for driving purposes only, if you plan to drive a car. Wearing your heels at home (if you wear shoes in the house), running around, jumping, and dancing for practice can also help condition your feet and body to navigating the world in higher heels.
You can also check out here and here for more advice on walking in heels, and here is a former runway model’s advice on the subject below:
http://www.modelinia.com/videos/embed/181
See more videos on modelinia.com
Hope that helps and with a little perseverance and practice you’ll be trotting about in the highest heels in no time!
xoxox
Carly
imgs from coolfunpics.com, bizrate.com, badmintoncentral.com, fitsugar.com, paisonflamenca.com, and jakandjil.com
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