Yellow is not Mellow {Six Piece Remix, Week 2} & Giveaway

This was one of the coldest days ever and of course I had to have The Handsome take photos outside. Church let out and we were waiting for the rest of the family at this Chinese restaurant in Longmeadow, MA called Hu Ke Lau. Best. Place. Ever. Anyway, the sun was shining and calling my name...not to mention my man is super awesome at taking pictures. Didn't he do a great job? Thanks babe! {end scene}

I can't believe I don't wear this striped jacket enough. It is part of a suit and I guess since I've been putting off altering the skirt that matches, I just never thought about wearing the jacket. It's the next piece in line when I showed you my selection for this challenge in this post. I decided to go bright and fun. This winter has been killing my mood. I needed something yellow. Then I remembered a friend of mine gave me a yellow/grey/black/white striped geometric skirt. *Poof* A golden look.

Speaking of yellow, did you notice the super cute crochet bow in my hair? It actually is a brooch but I got all fancy and creative {surprise}, attaching it to my head with a bobby pin. It was created by the lovely and talented Indigo from Marian Ruth. She is the owner and designer behind this cute handmade Etsy shop. I just had to give this girl some praise! Young, ambitious and beautiful...there is no place Indigo can't go {too cheesy? eh} I'm not just saying that because she's one of my lovely April sponsors, either. I really think Indigo is on her way to bigger and better things. Oh and guess what? She is giving away one of her darling creations to a lucky ABJ reader! Whoot!

SHOP / FACEBOOK / TWITTER

This wallet is SO cute! {Get used to me saying "cute" a lot when I talk about Indigo} Enter below using the Rafflecopter widget and you could win it! As usual, you do have to follow ABJ to enter but that's easy-peasy and there are other simple ways to earn extra entries.

Indigo has also graciously given all ABJ readers a nice discount on any purchase in the shop.
Save 10% with coupon code "Artbyjacy10"! 

Good luck, my beauties xoxo

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Polka Dot Love {Six Piece Remix, Week 1}

 

Two things: first, can I just say that I do NOT like how big these pictures are?! Whoa, I wanted my new blog design to include nice decent size photos but this is kinda ridiculous. Oh well, hope you enjoy looking at me anyway. Second, is it mature that I giggle every time I write "polka"? It's a super silly word, I can't help it! And what does it have to do with "dots" anyway? Whatever, moving on...

You may remember in this post when I first talked about this amazing challenge from +Danielle D @ Framed Frosting. If not, go back for review please. And if you have time, you might as well scoot over here to read Danielle's original post. I shared six pieces from my wardrobe that need some more wear luvin' and I had a blast. I literally can't stop putting outfits together and am ahead of the game by 4 weeks! I know, I need to get out more...but before I do, please enjoy these massive photos of my face as I "model" outfit #1. The piece is this black and white polka dot dress that I love but it's way too short for me. So I layered it with a jean skirt, colorful blue shirt, white cardigan and BAM! Awesomeness. I love pops of color...can you tell?

Do you know what else is silly? Me trying to be "natural" when taking pictures all by myself in the basement. Weird yet necessary for every blogger. Obviously I need to work on hiding the clicker. The next few photos is what happens when the baby is napping and mommy has the camera. Hope you guys are having a great week, see you next Wednesday for outfit #2! Oh yeah, and there might be a giveaway included...maybe...

Six Piece Remix: Finding YOUR Style

It all started when I saw my girl Danielle over at Framed Frosting post something about finding your style and some sort of a challenge. Hm...that got my attention!

You see, I've always loved clothes. In fact, I used to study fashion design in Boston but lasted a good six months. What can I say? The industry just wasn't for me but I still loved to draw fashion. I don't regret leaving but I had a blast checking out the sweet little clothing stores and shops on Newbury Street.

I love deals and won't pay for anything full price. There really is NO point and I'd rather wait for it to go on sale or just shop thrift stores looking for a similar piece. Though I love to draw fashion. when it comes to drawing up what I like, well, my tastes have changed since my Boston days. Part of that is when my life changed due to a deep, spiritual experience, then everything I liked before I didn't like anymore. I had NO idea what my style was!!

Six years later {I'm not making this up! The number "six" really does relate to my life}, I think I am finally figuring it out. I mean, really, do we ever settle on a style? Probably not. But I have been growing tired of what I've been calling "my style" and tired of all of my clothes. I feel like I need a change. So when I read about the Six Piece Remix, I was SO in.

What is the Six Piece Remix?

I would encourage you to head over to Danielle's blog right here to read the original post, but I will briefly explain. It's taking six pieces you already have and remixing it with some other pieces to create an all new outfit. That's it! Easy, simple, resourceful...shopping in your own closet.

Okay, now here are MY six pieces for the remix:

1.) BLACK & WHITE POLKA DOT "HEART AND SOUL" DRESS
I absolutely LOVE this piece but just have not figured out HOW to wear it. Part of that is because this is suppose to be a dress but it's way too short for my liking. I don't like wearing any skirt/dresses above my knees. My taste in clothing is very modest because it's a reflection of my faith. But I seriously love polka dots!!

2.) BLACK & WHITE PINSTRIPED "CHARLOTTE RUSSE" JACKET
I know what you're thinking. This pinstriped suit jacket from Charlotte Russe should be super easy to style, what is my problem. Well, studying fashion, you learn what fits and doesn't. {{Tip: If you have a slim frame {like me}, you want more buttons in a jacket. If you are wider, less buttons look best. I'd say 3-4 buttons for a smaller frame, 1-2 buttons for a wider frame.}} So my point? This has ONE button! And you can tell it looks off...but I think it is so cute. I know you feel my pain.

3.) RED & WHITE "CHARLOTTE RUSSE" FLORAL SKIRT
This skirt is also from Charlotte Russe and I fell in love with the pattern! So fun and colorful. My sister in law added the red piece at the bottom for me. My husband actually bought this for me while we were dating. It's a funny story, actually...it involves one declined card and one embarrassed boyfriend! Luckily we figured out it was declined because he had bought too much that day and not because there wasn't money in his account. Phew.
Anyway, trying to style this is difficult because the red is so different. But I need to try!

4.) MULTI-COLORED PINSTRIPED "RALPH LAUREN" COLLARED SHIRT
Yes this is my shirt,  not my husband's on the hanger. I love collared shirts. I think they are super classy and professional looking but on a casual day, I lose how to style them. Hence why there are two in this challenge. This is so nice, I'd love to incorporate it with some fun pieces.

5.) SILVER & PINK STRIPED "SO" COLLARED BLOUSE
This was another present from my man {isn't he great?} I adore the pink and silver combo! The back also has these amazing pleats. However the buttons don't continue high enough and that has left me stumped. And sad. I want to wear this more, especially to church.

6.) WHITE "MANDARIN BLUE" TOP
Again, I know what you're thinking. This is a plain white top, what is the deal Jacy?! I don't know why but I can never figure out how to wear this top! I am not *cough* busty *end cough*
I feel sometimes tops are my problem because of this. Hence why I only have one skirt in this challenge, hence why I keep saying hence. Blah...I know I can do something with this just what!

There you have it. My six pieces for this remix challenge. I am so excited!! I cannot wait to dig deep into my closet/dresser and unearth something mind blowing.
What about you? Are you up for the challenge?

I'll have this cute little button on my sidebar in case you are and it will bring you right over to Danielle's challenge. Come back next week to see how I style piece number one!!

Mod Podge Shoe Makeover {Tutorial}

I have to admit. I sometimes have a hard time prioritizing my projects because as soon as I see something stinkin' cool, I want  to try it like NOW! Do you know what I mean?

Thus the case with this tutorial from Make It and Love It that I stumbled across through the website Pinterest (where else, right?)

Ohhh I was so super excited to try it! I've heard about Mod Podge but hadn't used it...yet. So I picked some up at Michael's.**Note: There is Fabric Mod Podge & Outdoor Mod Podge that may work better for this project but you have to order them online, I believe. I'm just too cheap and impatient so I just got the reg Matte kind :)

My thoughts were consumed with making over old shoes and all the fun fabrics I could use! Ah!

So I started here...

- a pair of old shoes

- fabric (I used hubby's old shirt because I've always wanted plaid flats!)

- scissors / Exacto knife

- small brush or sponge

- Mod Podge

First, I made sure the fabric was ironed and clean. Lots of people forget the ironing part but it's super important. The less wrinkles, the better it'll look in the end (and easier to work with.)

Of course mine had stripes, so I made sure they were straight before cutting.
Cut a big enough piece to fit around the shoe, trimming the edges.

Cut a slit from the back towards the front scoop of the shoe.

Apply plenty of Mod Podge to the top of the shoe and start stretching your fabric to the form of the shoe.

Make sure the fabric gets pulled nice and tight, and try to eliminate any wrinkles/folds/puckering.
**Helpful tip: For the rounded parts, cut small slits into the fabric to make it easier to fold over.
You don't need the edges perfect as we will clean that up later.

Continue applying Mod Podge down the sides of the shoe, pulling the fabric tight, and coating some Mod Podge on top. Make sure your fabric is long enough to cover the shoe edge.

When you get to the back heel, make a straight cut on one side of the fabric so that it lines with the middle of the heel, apply Mod Podge. Then take the other end of the fabric, fold over so the raw edge is tucked under, and pull it to create a nice sealed look. Cover with Mod Podge.

Then trim the fabric on the inside of the shoe but leave about a 1/2 inch of fabric or so.

Make slits in the fabric and apply some Mod Podge on the inside of the shoe, and tuck the fabric underneath. (These slits help with the beginning step with the shoe curves.)

With a sharp razor or Exacto knife, trim the extra fabric along the bottom of the shoe, right at the edge of the sole.

Then apply a very thick coat or two of Mod Podge over the entire shoe.
Let it dry completely, about 24 hours.

Ta-da!! Now you have some stylish shoes with fabric you love!
Check it:

*Note: The style of the shoe makes a huge difference. These shoes were originally uncomfortable and so with the Mod Podge, I can hardly wear them ha! Perhaps with a better made shoe and some fabric/outdoor Mod Podge, these would be more comfortable to wear. Try it with a pair of heels too! (oh goodness...another project for me to do...)

ENJOY!! ;)

Linking up here with Tatertots & Jello