So I decided to invest time and money into a jewelry class.  After a fair amount of research for available classes in the area, I found Ria Smith Designs located on Jewelers Row in Philadelphia.  My classmate, Sveta and I learned how to solder, rivet, pierce, and fabricate different metals.

Below are my first time jewelry making creations!

Deerhead Pendant: Riveted and oxidized silver nickel and copper

Puerto Rico Wave: Marriage of metals

Hammered Stack Rings: Two silver rings; Originally the width of the ring was too large, so after soldering and shaping it, I decided to cut it in half and I ended up with two different designs.

This year has been a blessing.  My wonderful brother and sister-in-law had a baby girl, Elyse.  I traveled up and down the East Coast.  And I’ve become a lot closer with my boyfriend’s immediate and extended family.  This not only brings me true happiness… it also brings MORE PRESENTS!!!  So this holiday season I decided to wrap money-conscious.  I used brown paper bags form the grocery store and .99 cents tissue paper!

The hardest part about this wrapping is finding a cool topping for the present.  I like to look in the clearance sections of various stores (Rite Aid, CVS, Marshalls, Michael’s etc.).  I even rummaged through my Mom’s Christmas storage and found some really neat do-dads at the bottom of the box.

Wrapping with grocery bags can sound yucky but the key to making them beautiful is to accessorize!  A very loud and large ribbon will do the trick especially if you pair it with a festive ornament or decorative leaf, pinecone, bells, or berries.

One thing that really gives the gift character is the To & From name tag.  This is a perfect spot to write something meaningful to the recipient.  It also can add a bit of class.

And don’t forget to save any cool ribbons and toppings that you receive!  Most of my ornaments come from my super creative sister-in-law’s 2011 gift wrapping!  Let me know how they turn out!

This exquisite beaded vintage collar necklace is a life long “it” piece to have.  If only I was willing to spend the expected $600, I would feel like a princess every time I wore it.  Or like Elizabeth Taylor or Audrey Hepburn (yes these women and many more wore Kenneth Jay Lane.)

But have no fear.  There are other necklaces that kind of give off the same sophisticated chic look.  Check out some of the Internet’s finest:

Karmaloop

Sabo Skirt

Leif Shop

Shop Bop

Where do you find your chunky necklaces?

My brother and sister-in-law have been blessed with three healthy, smart, and gorgeous children.  For about two years now, they have been determined to make one more addition to their family but have hit some serious road blocks.

The whole adoption process is kind of heart-wrenching…. for everyone involved.  It’s hard for the birth mother to 1. choose adoption over abortion, 2. actually give up the child when he or she is born and 3. move on from the child and accept that the child is not hers anymore. And it’s hard for the adopting family because there is a lot of hoping, praying, and really the ability to stay optimistic and kind of “go with the flow.”  My brother and his family are probably the most optimistic and faithful people that I know.  They’re also the most loving and devoted parents that I know.  And to see how bad they want this but how hard it is to “get” is really hard to watch.  It’s especially hard for me because typically when girls my age get pregnant, it’s not planned.  And then they’re stuck with all the questions, “Can I do this? Do I want this? What are the options?”  Hopefully they do research and hopefully they talk to friends and family.

Seriously… HOPEFULLY.

Hopefully because I believe in the power of social media and the flow of information.  Hopefully someone finds this blog which in turn leads them to my brother’s story.  Hopefully an unborn child gets to live.  And hopefully my brother and his family can complete their family.

You can read about my brother’s story here: Completing Our Fam

You can find these summertime pieces currently listed on Etsy.

Vintage jean and sheer blouse.

Vintage cream dress with slit.

Vintage Lace Knee Length Dress.

But my love for modern technologies and vintage decor hasn’t made interior design easy.  I hate when TVs are mounted on the wall because you can see all the wires!  Reminds me of a guys college house, yeeck!  And I really don’t like the TV stands that are sold at random furniture stores either, they’re too wanna-be modern… I hate the glass and I don’t like that black cheap plastic look.

So I bought a credenza to hold my flat screen TV.  I originally searched Etsy and found an amazing 1970s inspired barn wood credenza but it was $1200.  Thankfully I found a furniture consignment shop and purchased a mid-century credenza for A LOT cheaper.  The white marble top is beautiful and the tan wicker doors compliment my bamboo hardwood floor and white oak cabinets.  The piece is truly gorgeous!

I decided to arrange empty frames on the wall behind the TV so it wouldn’t take away from what was on TV but it also didn’t make the wall look too bare.  I found a couple amazing vintage frames at antique stores and flea markets but I really couldn’t fathom spending $50 for an empty frame.  So I began scouring thrift stores for either empty frames (which is surprisingly hard to come by) or very old paintings with cool frames that I could just pop right out.

This is a really easy DIY project.  The price of these frames ranged from $3-5 and only two of them were actually empty.  Popping out old paintings is not hard at all, just be careful of the sharp old nails.  Once I had 7 empty frames I nailed on saw tooth hooks and then hung it on a nail on the wall.  I arranged the frames on the floor before I actually hung it up, which helped give me an idea of where I wanted the big frames, how far apart to space them, and which colors to place next to each other.  Some things slightly changed during the floor to wall process, but I think the final arrangement turned out nice.

There definitely are some holes in the arrangement and I plan on adding more frames, I just couldn’t bear to look at a blank wall anymore.  And I just recently moved that turtle shell chair from Pier1 in the living room.  The credenza used to be centered with the TV centered.  Just playing around a bit with the furniture and accessories.

So there you have it.  2012 Samsung flat screen meets 1960s furniture and accessories.

My guess is Guatemala.  Guatemala undoubtedly has the most colorfully dressed people in the Americas.

Traditional dress for women, called traje, is village-specific or language group related.  It is generally woven at home but can also be produced in commercially well-known weaving centers such as Totonicapan.  Huipil, is a loose-fitting tunic that is heavily decorated with embroidery, ribbons, lace and more.  It is generally made of cotton but can also be made of silk and wool.  More modern huipiles are enlivened by geometric spots of colors, especially hot pink.

Photo by: Janie and Ric Finch. TRAJE EN GUATEMALA, http://www.rutahsa.com.

As you can see in the above picture, headdresses or headwraps are also an important piece to the traditional Guatemalan garb.  The headwrap, also known as a cinta is typically decorated with brocaded designs and tassels.

Over the past couple months I have purchased and pinned many items that are similar to the Guatemalan wear.

Found at Karmaloop

Found on Etsy
Found at Nieman Marcus

Found on Etsy, no longer available.

Found on RiverIsland

But I am so proud of my most recent find.  Guatemalan made flats.  I found them at Rices Market where a Guatemalan native sells hand made goods such as wallets, keychains, bracelets, and of course these AWESOME flats.

Amazing colors, print and leather!

Such an easy summertime outfit!  The tribal print flats are the center of attention!

Arm candy & shoesies!

While I was browsing this woman’s jewerly stand I found this single earring and asked if I could try it on.  I was taken back by how awesome and unique the stone was especially because it was covered in tiny pearls and diamonds.  But then I heard the price!  “$60 for the earring. Half off here, $120 in the store.”

So I took the earring off and looked a little closer.  This is how it’s made.  They attached a chain to the back of a butterfly clasp.  Which is pretty cool because not only can you use that same clasp on a different earring stud but you have the choice of wearing it in one or both ears.

So I don’t know what is worth $60 here, but I know I can make this for about $3 and achieve the same look!  DIY post soon to come!

I tied the 2xl in the front which is so much better than a baggy tank!  And I couldnt get enough sparkles so I’m sporting my new thrifted necklace.

Streamers are so cheap!  70 cents for a roll.  Go crazy, get as many as you want! 3 rolls worked for me.

I decided to attach it to string, which the boys had lying around the house.  Basically what I did was loop the streamers around the string at all different lengths and alternating at random intervals.

And while I was making this decoration, my boyfriend was making a cornhole set and when I saw him cutting out the holes, I got a bright idea….

So in addition to the pictures that I developed and attached with closepins, I spray painted the cut out wooden circles and made letters to attach to them to spell out NCSU (NC State University).

This turned out to be a big hit.  Half because the boys didn’t care to decorate and because it was a great conversation piece.  Everyone was looking at the pictures and asking questions.

I also made a little candle for the bathroom.  I bought these foux flowers for 99 cents each and attached them with string to a glass candle holder which was about $2 from the dollar store.

Quick, cheap, and easy is always my motto.  And this worked good enough for me.  Got people chatting and spiced up an otherwise grungy manly man house.  What other graduation decorations have you heard of/ made?  Hope it wasn’t time consuming… as this only took about an hour total!