DIY: Turn Any Shoes Into Ankle Fringe Gladiators!

{please forgive the state of my pedi!} I have been wanting to add some fringe to my shoes, but I didn't want to permanently affix anything to my shoes.  I found a yard of this microfiber material at the thrift shop for $1 and took a little inspiration from my favorite blogger, ...love, Maegan (seriously, check out her ankle adornment DIYs!).



These are the only materials you will need: some fabric, scissors, measuring tape, and newspaper.

I decided to make mine a bit wider than the circumference of my ankle (8") because I wanted it to wrap over.  But if you do not, I would take your ankle's circumference and add about 1/2" to it.  Cut out a rectangle of newspaper that is your desired with and length.  I chose 4" in length because that is as long as I wanted the fringe to be.

I wanted the fringe to be shorter in the back than in the front so that the fringe wouldn't get caught in the back of my shoe between my heel and shoe (again, totally optional), so I marked down on either side of my rectangle 2".

Draw a curved line about one inch away from the center 4" line, starting at the bottom and ending at the bottom of the edge of the rectangle, 2" down.  Fold the paper in half and cut along this line.

Using the newspaper shape as your pattern, pin it to your fabric and cut the shape out of the fabric.

Lather, rinse, repeat.

{here's where I really wish I had those fringe scissors!}  I started in the bottom middle (curved side) and started cutting fringe, leaving about 1-1/2" left at the top (straight side)

I then (obviously didn't take pictures) cut a strip of the same fabric, about 3 times the length of my fringe shape and about 1/2" - 3/4" wide; I just eyeballed it and did not make it perfect in any way.  As pictured above, I cut 2 slits in the 1-1/2" allowance, about an inch apart and the length of the width of the strip.  Lace the strip through, leaving about 8" on the side closest to the strip and the remainder on the other side.

Here's one finished product!  Again, lather, rinse, repeat.

Wrap them around your ankle and tie them in the front or back.  I chose to tie them in the front with a larger bow.  Wear them on their own (the initial pic at the top of the post), or pair with your favorite neutral shoes.  Here's some Guess brown leather peep toes.

Paired with my favorite BCBG platform pumps on the planet!

Getting a little funkier with my wooden heeled strappy heels.  Gives them such a punch!

Dress up your flip flops!

My favorite reef flip flops :)
I hope you love these!  You can make them in any color so that they match your shoes better.  (brown on brown, black on black, etc.)

Here I am with my favorite neon pink cardi from Forever 21.  I always wear it when the rest of my outfit is all darker colors (today was a black top, black pants, and leopard print flats).

Thrifting Haul

Last weekend I did some amazing thrifting.  Here are my fashion scores I found, I'm super stoked!  Now I just need to find more skirts, I guess I'll have to go to some more stores this weekend!

This blazer is unbelievable.  I'm so in love with it, not quite sure about the shoulder pads, but I'm kinda liking them.  It's so lightweight it's perfect for spring!  $5.

I fell in love with the print on this blouse, it's pretty loud and bright and obnoxious, which is so me!  It's a little matronly when I put it on.  I may DIY something to it, I may leave it as it is.  $4.

I thought this was so beautiful with the lace trim.  It's rather dressy, which makes me want to instead wear it with jeans and flip flops :)  I love wearing something in a more unexpected way.  $4.

This beautiful silk Banana Republic tunic was only $6!  It's in such perfect condition, I cannot wait to wear it!

I totally remember having tops like this in the 80s, so I needed to get this.  I'm going to DIY it a little, probably cut out the neckline and cut the sleeves much shorter.  $4.

This lovely white linen with lace trim blazer/tunic is so perfect for a light cover up at work or as a tunic with a cami under it for work.  It was $3

How fun is this?!  Hot pink linen blazer.  $2.  Nuff said.

This dress looks sooo much better on than it does on the hanger.  It reminds me of the brown polka dot dress Julia Roberts wears in Pretty Woman.  The silhouette is gorgeous on, kinda has a Mad Men vibe to it.  I paid $6 for it.

 I found these in the men's section {always look there!} and found these incredible vintage navy uniform dungarees.  The rise is a little high and long, but they fit so perfectly throughout the leg that I'll wear them with longer tops.  So amazing! And for $2.50, couldn't pass them up.

 This vintage Carla Marchi bag still had it's tags attached!  And I paid all of $5 for it!

 I love the shape of the bag itself, but I hate the handle so a little DIY restoration is in order.

 I really wanted a snakeskin clutch, so finding this vintage bad boy was beyond!  And it was only $2!

I am such a sucker for vintage clutches, and this was no exception.  I think I may jazz it up a bit with a little DIY action.  $3

 These bangles, one wooden and one lucite, were only $1 each.

This is my faaaavorite.  It reminds me of rose gold.  I paid $4 for it.

I am utterly obsessed with thrifting.  It's so much fun, and the pieces you find are so unique and beautiful.  Yes, it's a pain sifting through everything, but finding those hidden gems really makes up for it.  Here, I got nearly a new wardrobe for less than the cost of a new pair of shoes.  I'm thinking of branching out to some thrift shops farther away, because I'm ready for more amazing finds!
xxooxoxo
Lia

Month 2 of No Smoking

I made this the day I quit smoking to help inspire me.  I hung it on the wall in my living room, so I can look at it every day.  To be honest, it works, and it works really well for me.  When I have a craving, I look at it and focus on one thing to do that will distract me from my craving and before I know it, my craving is gone and I feel so much better. 
I'm now on Day 32 of no smoking.  I stepped down to a lower dose patch two days ago, and the cravings have gotten really bad, but I still stand firm.  14 years of poisoning my lungs and those around me is too too long. Not to mention, it's such a bad influence on the kids, physically and mentally.  My kids have been super supportive, as has everyone else in my life. My 6 year old son told me when I announced I was quitting that he would never ever smoke cigarettes but he will drink beer.  I definitely will have my hands full with this one!
The most amazing difference is that I can breathe so much deeper now!  And I can smell things like never before.  The smell of cigarettes disgusts me, and I can smell it on people.  I never realized that I smelled like that.  Ew.
Anyone thinking of quitting, just do it now.  I said for years that I wanted to quit but I wasn't ready.  You know what?  You'll never be ready.  Sometimes you just need to bite the bullet, put on your big girl panties, and do it.
xxooxoxo
Lia

I heart BaubleBar!

The ever amazing Grace from Stripes and Sequins has been raving about BaubleBar recently, so I had to check it out.  I'm now SUCH a convert! I ordered some bracelets today.

I'm madly in love with the handcuff bracelet, which would look great with my Kilt Pin Charm Necklace I made, here, with the adorable handcuff charms on it :)

I also ordered the Square Bangle Set, because three of the bangles remind me of rose gold, and the hematite bangle thrown in just completes the look I think!

I can't wait to get these in, they shipped IMMEDIATELY after I ordered, and since this was my first order, shipping was FREE!  I am soooo hooked!  Can't wait to wear these, and I will post pics!

xxooxoxo

Lia

Charmed, I'm sure

This is probably one of the easiest DIYs yet, I did it with things I had on hand. {I tend to obsessively stock up on things, especially when they are on sale, and use them all later.  This was the case}

I took each charm and attached it to a jump ring.  The kilt pin with charm hangers as well as the octopus charm I got for 50 cents each I believe at Joann's.  The other charms are from etsy.  With the handcuff and angel wing charms, I wanted one to hang lower than the other, so I attached one's jump ring to the other's.

I decided to have some multilength chains hanging down behind the octopus so it looked more jumbled.  I cut three different lengths of chain, and attached the ends to a jump ring, which was connected to the kilt pin.

 I used bigger chain for the actual chain part.  The beauty of this necklace is that it requires no clasp; the pin IS the clasp.  Open the pin, slide on/off the chain, close the pin.  Easy peasy lemon squeezy.

I love this wooden mini dress form. It's so shabby chic, which usually isn't me, but I fell in love with it.  It was a couple of dollars, scored on my recent thrifting spree. 
I really love this necklace and have worn it probably 5 times in the last 2 weeks.  I love the mood it has to it, especially with the angel wings.  It kind of contradicts the darkness of the octopus and the implied badness of the handcuffs.  I'm all about contradiction :)
xxooxoxo
Lia

Turquoise n Coral...Summer Dreaming

{I used my tax refund and got myself a new camera, although not a DSLR, I still got an amazing Nikon with 26x zoom, I'm pretty much loving the picture quality, although I'm not a great photographer} With the amazing spring weather we've been having here in Denver, I *needed* to make something summery.  I was at Joann's the other day and saw these *amazing* coral charms and knew that I had to make something with them.  I also picked up a package of turquoise beads...

Here's pretty much everything needed.  What I'm not showing is the painstaking hours I spent restringing all these beads onto nylon thread, crimping the ends and adding jump rings.  Once that was done, I used another jump ring to connect all the ends of the strands together.  I also ended up adding 5 large links of chain to each end, followed by a jump ring, and finally the clasp ends. 

That became the turquoise part of the necklace, then to add the charms, I simply attached a jump ring to each charm, and attached that jump ring through two strands of the necklace, pretty randomly.

 And the finished product...

I decided to use a strand of beads to make matching earrings with, as well as two of the coral charms.  I used some head pins to string the beads, then used pliers to make a hook at the end.  I then used jump rings to attach three strands of beads and one coral charm to an earring hook.

What you can't see in the picture was my amazing view...

My son JT, was trying to sneak into the picture, but he didn't realize I was zoomed in so I wasn't capturing him.  I decided to include him in some of the pics, so cute!
Notice the SICK record bowl?  I recently snatched it up on one of my thrifting sprees for $1.  I'm in love with it.

Poor little man has been wicked sick lately, and his nose is raw from blowing it so much :(  I hope he gets better soon.

I hope you all love this necklace DIY!

xxooxoxo

Lia