Jul 26, 2010 | Beauty
Add a brooch to a folded wide scarf for a headband-look. (Fold scarf into about 3″ wide to replicate this.)
I know you guys are probably completely sick of my going on and on about my favorite magazine Vivi, but I thought this particular editorial on styling with hair accessories was really useful. With summer here I’m suffering from bad hair day after bad hair day (what with the hot, dry Oregon summer and me growing my hair out n all) – so hair accessories for me a MUST to induce a little bit of chic-ness into my outfit when everything on my head has fallen flat.
So here you go – I made these extra big so you can click on them and enlarge to see the how-to. Hope this is helpful and gives you some styling ideas!
Bohemian-style hair: using an elasticized headband and a flower headband.
Using scarves: 1) Regular Bow (uses 30″ square scarf) and Big Bow (uses 69″ long scarf) , 2) Petite Ponytail Scarf (uses 19″ square scarf), 3) Turban (uses 63″ long scarf)
from Vivi Magazine August issue
xoxox
Carly
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Jul 25, 2010 | DIY, From You, Life
from formspring.me:
Hey I wondered if you could help me with making one of these “bralets”, do you know how to make a pettern for them? http://api.ning.com/files/zcwHPg1VgsLUzsS1e99DsdD4ZlRqQdct0bCSs9*1rseLJIAKirKx55a0ARHDEJCLVDBdi8fpp9Gn0zIw37Jm5Vb-jsk5K1bz/bralet.jpg
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Jul 24, 2010 | DIY, Score!
Sponsored by New York Design Shop and Style Sample Magazine, this DIY competition pits 10 selected crafty blogs against one another – with the challenge of creating some crafty pieces and sharing them on the NYDS blog. We’ve each been sent the same package of DIY must-haves (courtesy of NYDS) and have been set the task of making something with the contents.
A box brimming with lovely, tactile embellishments and trims!
Announced on page 3 of the latest issue of Style Sample Magazine, and on the NYDS Blog in a “Meet the Bloggers” feature, I’m up against the likes of …love, Maegan, Fvncy, and Alisa Burke!
All the projects and finished DIY’s that each blogger submits will be posted on the New York Design Shop’s blogs (I’ll post the link once it’s up)…and then it’s up to you, lovely readers, to have your say and give your input!! The competition is decided by VIEWER VOTE – that is, you all get to decide who YOU think should be the blogger to win the entire competition!
The prize is an Alternative Apparel dress, $50 worth of DIY materials –ooh, think of what I could do with that!!—, assorted accessories from New York Design Shop, and most importantly to me: a FEATURE INTERVIEW in the September/October issue in Style Sample Magazine! This is what I’m really shooting for; I so want to return to designing accessories {at least to start} on a more permanent basis, and exposure like an interview in such a widely-read online magazine would be a dream come true to help me reach out to women who might want to wear my jewelry and accessories. The potential exposure for a struggling designer like me is what makes this prize priceless!
Also, just by commenting on any of the projects submitted, YOU TOO will be entered to win a finished project by the winning blogger! (Anyone want a free piece of clothing or an accessory to start off the school year with?? Sounds good to me!)
So the deadline for entries (Sunday) is drawing near and I’m working hard on all my DIY’s…having just arrived back from Tokyo on Monday, I’ve had less than a week to get this all done! I’m hitting my stride, though, and hope to have all my photos and everything done by tomorrow. Whew*.*
Once everything’s been submitted and the voting’s open, I’d be honored for my readers to check it out! And if you like what I make, I’d love to have your vote too!;-)
Oh…and the competition guidelines said “make one or more projects with these materials.” We aren’t allowed to use any other trims (besides chain) than what we were sent above, though we were encouraged to use a non-kit item as a “base,” like a shirt or a pair of flip flops etc.
I was so jetlagged and busy after we got back I wasn’t able to start actually making anything until Thursday of this week!
So the question is…
How many DIY creations and projects did I make with the stuff that I got in the box above???
Remember, I could only use the trims/embellishments from the box – and once they ran out, that was it!
Edit 7/26: I’ve submitted all my projects and will be announcing the winner shortly! You don’t need to leave your best guess in the comments section anymore:-)
The first person who correctly guesses how many finished projects I submitted in time (using the above materials) will get a little surprise from me in the mail! (Won’t say what it is just yet…you’ll have to wait and see!;-)
So – take your best guess!
How many creations + tutorials did I make in 3 days?
I MADE 12!
xoxox
Carly
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Jul 23, 2010 | DIY, From You
from formspring.me:
Hi! Do you have any tips on how to recreate this necklace? http://img824.imageshack.us/img824/5264/dsc0749.jpg Thanks!
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Jul 21, 2010 | Life
Pudding out and about.
I’m going to be busy the next couple days getting over the jetlag from Japan, unpacking, and DIY’ing my heart out for a cool project I’ll share with you all very soon.
The hydrangea finally is beginning to bloom!
These shots were actually taken in late June, before I went to Japan, but I thought them nice and summery – just at the beginning of what can truly be called “summer” here. Of course, by now there’s a lot more happening in the garden right now, but I thought to share these photos first.
Foxglove.
I was going to get rid of the foxgloves in my garden when I read that touching them with bare hands can cause a rash at the very least (since foxgloves are extremely poisonous due to chemicals from them once being extracted to create Digitalin – a group of medicine used to treat heart disease!! Even a nibble on the topmost leaves can cause death, apparently.) But they’re so pretty I left them in the backmost corners of the garden, hoping Lil Tot and Pudding don’t come in contact with them very much. The other one that is flowering right now has light pink varying to white flowers.
The nasturtium bloomed too! And a nice shot of Pudding’s butt.
In early June all the wild strawberries we have finally produced fruit – tiny, compact little bites. Very sweet!
Hope you guys are having a great summer!
xoxo
Carly
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Jul 21, 2010 | DIY
Thank you all for submitting your projects into my last DIY Roundup! I know I’m a little late in posting this…but I’ve had trouble staying on track with the ol’ bloggy blog while in Japan, what with the time difference, having to share the computer with 4 other people, and trying to deal with annoying JIS-standard keyboard, which had the apostrophe above the 7 key and the @ mark over on one of the brackets keys. A very weird setup.
Regardless, I had a great time visiting all your blogs and checking out your pieces. You’re all so creative! Here are the top 3, as measured by user clicks:’
I love how incredibly sexy and tough this is. And her tutorial is so detailed that anyone can make one for themselves!
Gorgeous! The lavender canvas gives them this sweet girly vibe. But holy heck, that’s a lot of tacks!
and, for the top slot,
This is so incredibly like the original I had to look twice. What a fabulous job!!
Thank you so much for sharing, and please enter any other projects you have in my next DIY roundup!
If your project has been featured above, feel free to grab the button below.
xoxo
Carly
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Jul 20, 2010 | Life
I’m beginning to think that myself and planes JUST. DON’T. MIX.
Rough translation of the above video:
Today [Monday, July 19], around 5:15 PM, a Delta Airways plane bound for Portland out of Narita [Tokyo] tried repeatedly to take off, but was unable to due to the brake refusing to release. The pilots gave up the attempted take off, and the plane was manually towed off the runway and back to the hangar. None of the passengers were injured. According to Narita officials, the cause of the problem was due to the plane getting stuck in the unevenness of the runway surface covering. They ended up having to close the runway for about 40 minutes.
Perhaps if you peer closely at the image above, you can see my scowling face from one of the windows on the plane. (Just kidding; I wasn’t near a window.;-)
And this was AFTER a 1-hour delay where we went to take off and the pilots couldn’t get the rear hatch light to light up and indicate the rear hatch was actually closed – so we taxi’d on back to the hangar and waited while the maintenance crew fixed it.
Then, the SECOND time we went out onto the runway, the pilots opened up the engines SIX TIMES, and the plane did NOT budge. That was pretty scary. I thought they were just playing chicken with the Air Canada B747 next to us – kind of revving up the engines, like at a racetrack. (At least that was what it sounded like!) 15 minutes of sitting out there on the runway doing that, 8 planes backing up behind us. and we didn’t budge…so the tower had to stop all incoming traffic and we had to be towed off the runway as you saw above.
Here’s the screenshot of the news article on Japan’s AP saying basically the same thing, except with a little more information. What had actually happened was that due to high temperatures in Tokyo the asphalt of the runway had softened, and the planes wheels had sunk into the depressions. Apparently the 23,000 pounds of thrust per engine on the Boeing 737-600 could do nothing to pull us out of those divots created by the wheels. Um, okay…
The pilot said that between him and the other 3 in the cockpit they had a combined total of more than 120 years of flight experience, and none of them had EVER experienced anything like this!
I swear, I am so sick of bizarre things happening to me on airplanes!!!
(In other news, I am back safe and sound in Portland, after a flight that was supposed to be less than 9 hours had us all stuck inside the plane – but not necessarily flying – for 12 and a half hours. With a four-year-old in tow. UGH!)
xoxoxo
Carly
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Jul 19, 2010 | Fashion
Mixed Chain & Rhinestone Necklace: Forever 21
Watch: vintage
Tulle Skirt: Spiral Girl (Ala Moana Center, Honolulu)
Or so the people I had lunch with told me. I took it as a compliment.;-)
Coincidentally we happened to have lunch at my FIL’s favorite Italian restaurant – which just happens to be owned by the family of a kid I went to school with…20 years ago here in Japan. Weird. But the food was delicious! (Ham and prosciutto…squid ink risotto…homemade mozzarella and tomato caprese…bakes cocoa ganache…yum. I skipped the squid ink, though!)
This Priscilla Super-Easy Midi Bun is my new favorite accessory! You just pull your hair back into a ponytail, and plop this on top, and you’re good to go.
It has a comb inside that you anchor to the front of your ponytail, and a stretchy band on the underside, that you pull tight to cinch the bottom and then tuck in. It’s so much better than the buns offered through US wig sellers since you can wear this messed up or smooth (and the construction’s so much more elaborate!)…the US ones are all for either bridal wear or a bunch of messy curls that don’t look like a real bun no matter how you wear it. I so wish you could buy Priscilla brand hair pieces abroad!
Bun top view. My hair is still too short to fully put up in a high ponytail, so I have to stick a ton of pins in the back.
On my way to the airport soon to come back to Portland! The next time you’ll be hearing from me, I’ll be stateside again!
xoxoxo
Carly
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Jul 18, 2010 | Fashion
I’m sure you’re all just dying to know, right??!;-)
The top twelve trends that I’ve noticed out and about in Tokyo, mostly in the Shibuya and Harajuku areas:
1. Boater Hats
The summer sun is fierce once the rainy season ends in mid-July, and many girls add hats to their ensembles just to ward off its rays. The shape this year? The cute retro-style straw boater, often worn akilter on the head.
2. Scarves as Headgear
Sweet and 70’s-ish, scarves as headgear have made a major comeback. Many scarves are also sold with flexible wire in them so you can stand the ends up like pseudo- rabbit ears, kind of a more ladylike version of that crazy Louis Vuitton-fueled trend that looks unfortunately dubious even on 16-year-olds.
3. Flowered Maxi-Rompers
It almost sounds as if those three words strung together will cause a worldwide cataclysm, but yes, tiny flower prints (think of the good ole days of 90210 the ORIGINAL) paired with flowing, full-length jumpsuit shapes are all over the place. There are also flowered dresses and blouses in similar patterns, and jumpsuits in more subdued hues (I have to admit I finally caved in and picked myself up one in black) to be found all over the place – it’s just these particular reincarnation of that 70’s staple seem to be everywhere.
4. Basket Bags
Going along with the neo-hippie-bohemian-flower-child-vibe is the wicker handbag, in all varieties of shapes, sizes, and sporting all sorts of accoutrements, be it silk flowers, cascading streams of pompons and lace, or chic leather and hardware.
from beauty-box.jp – tons of recent Japanese hairstyles there if you want to check it out!
5. Shoulder-Length Bob with Thick Bangs
This trend has been going strong for about a year, and it definitely lends a childlike innocence to those who wear it. Now that summer’s here apparently the “new NEW” thing to do is create a small side part in the thick bangs.
6. Leather and Suede Gladiator-Style Sandals
But softer and more feminine than last year’s tough chic version, in brown and taupe and gray and black, with understated studding, fringe, or ankle-wraps.
7. Gel Nails
Now with acrylic nail sculpture a thing of the past, everybody whose anybody is doing gels. And not just CALgels! I got mine done with a state-of-the-art technique that does not use UV light to harden the gel, but instead uses LED light – and it lasts up to 4 weeks! (I chose not to have my nails lengthened by building up the gel layers, which I was originally planning on doing. If the gels extend beyond your natural nails they only have about a 2-3 week staying power.) Right now lame (lah-meh) glitter powder mixed in with the gel and applied to the tips of the nails, in multiple layers, is really popular, and it looks fabulous even as your nails grow out. The shine, glitter, and gloss of my nails is unending!
Everything’s coming up mini here – with many girls opting to wear their shrunken-length, loose-fit tees atop maxi dresses and the aforementioned flowered jumpsuits.
Stripes are so big this year – and dresses in as many ways as you can fathom to make over the striped maxi dress are everywhere.
Bohemian and feminine, these vests I’ve spotted on everyone from teenagers to sophisticated 40-somethings lunching at swanky eateries in the Ebisu district. They’re a soft and lightweight cover-up during the hottest months here.
Many are soft and flexible braids of fake hair with an elastic at the back; some also on top of a rigid headband. Adds a sweet flower child aesthetic to every ensemble.
Following in the steps of L.A. brands Fred Segal and Joyrich, many Japanese brands have also collaborated with the animated icon to print t-shirts. Since we were going to Disneyland, I planned to buy one there…until I was put off by the crowds and the prices and ended up buying one that was even better than those sold at Disneyland for a mere ¥1500 ($16) from UniQLO (above).
Jul 17, 2010 | Fashion, From You
Is there a way to make cheap flats fit someone with two different sized feet? I have a size 7 foot and a size 6 foot and can’t get ballent pumps to fit unless they are elasticated and they are hard to find or are expensive.
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