DIY Jewelry Displays

I can't wait to start hosting pop-up shops as a Chloe + Isabel Merchandiser. So to get ready on a small beginning budget I decided to make a few displays myself.

Personally, I love the natural look, so I am going for an off white and linen theme for all of my display pieces, to keep the focus on the jewelry.

For this project, I used: 

picture frames: $1 each from the dollar store

off white spray paint: $3 on sale (

batting: $10 for a roll at Jo-Anns such a ripoff!

Linen/Muslin: $3 for half a yard

Glue and/or staples-I ended up using both to make sure it would stay

First, you need to take apart the picture frames, so you can paint just the frame itself. 

Apply a few coats of white paint and allow for it to dry completely. Unless you are entirely impatient like myself and proceed while the paint is still sticky, resulting in smudges and figure prints. But hey, it does add character!

While you are waiting for the paint to dry you can work on making the padded frame inserts! Now for this part you will need the fabric, batting, a piece of construction paper or poster board and some binder clips. The construction paper will not be seen, so it doesn't matter what color it is, but the stiffer it is the better as long as it is still thin enough to fit in the frame. 

Then you want to cut the paper and batting to the full size of the frame and glue them together. 

Then cut the fabric about 1.5 inches bigger than the frame on all sides and lay it on the table as shown below.  Add glue around the edge of the paper and fold the fabric over gluing it onto the back. 

Use binder clips to hold the fabric in place until the glue dries. If this doesn't seem to work too well you can staple the edges. 

Once your frames are dry and the inserts are complete stuff them into the back of your frames and put on the back. And you're done!

While I was at the dollar store, I also picked up a candle holder and little plate for an extra little display. Can't beat it for $2.00!

I am loving how my display is coming along!

You can check out my website at chloeandisabel.com/boutique/laurentarr

Love,

LST

DIY Lace Shorts!

Yeah, yeah, yeah this post may be a little late for the lace/denim fad, but oh well. I've been wanting to do this for a while now and with the semester over I finally had the time to do it!

This project is perfect for a pair of last year's shorts that need to be freshened up for Summer 2013!

I bought 1/2 a yard of lace from Jo-Ann Fabrics (which was way more than I needed), for about $3.00. I wasn't sure if I wanted to do all of the pockets or not, but in the end I decided it would look better.

First, I cut off a square of lace a little bit bigger than a back pocket. I placed it over the top and put a few pins in it to hold it in place. Make sure you have a little extra on the top of the pocket, so you can fold it inside. On the back pockets, I used a sewing machine to sew the sides and bottom and afterwards, I tucked the lace over the top of the pocket and sewed it by hand. After the stitching was complete I trimmed off the extra lace.

On the front, I added lace over the mini pocket on the right and a patch behind the left pocket. I sewed the front pockets by hand and then cut off the extra lace. Ta-dah!

Adding lace to your shorts is much easier than one might think! I love them so much I might try out some different looks on other shorts, maybe even dyeing the lace!? We'll see!

Oh yeah! During my blogging absence, me and Julia took some awesome photos which you can see at JuliaRayPhotography.com, just scroll down a few posts. She also made this little video of our adventure :)

Love, 

LST

Spring Time!

This is a classic example of me failing at what I was trying to do, but still creating something kind of cool. I started this project on Tuesday and I wanted to be super clever and do transformation Tuesday: garment edition...but since I didn't finish I guess it's just transformation Friday...welp. I wanted to make like an ombre effect on the bottom of this dress that was originally all blue (this is the original, except I bought it from Pacsun like 4 yrs ago). But anyhow, for some reason, which I can't understand, it turned pale pink instead of white or even yellow. So, I'm not really sure what happened, but it is kind of cute and super springy! I just soaked the bottom portion in a bleach/water solution for longer than I probably should have and then I sprayed the top of the pink portion with bleach in a water bottle to make the colors fade into each other better. 

Just thought I would share, even though I'm still not sure if I like it...? If anyone knows why a blue cotton dress would turn pink when bleached, comment below! :)

Alsoooooo,

Thomas Rhett is in Tallahassee tonight and I really want to go see him perform, but anyhow I am lovin' this song right now, so if you haven't heard it you should check it out. =)

Love, 

LST

Braid. Beach. Bum.

Hey ya'll!

So, I am a member of the Collegiate Merchandising Association and I got the chance to be a guest blogger for FSU's fashion magazine, Clutch's, blog this week! Super exciting, even though I always lack all creativity when I need it the most. Anyhow, I saw the idea of creating designs with bleach. I came up with my own anchor bleach dyed spring break tank for their blog which you can find here.

For them I kept it short and sweet, but I really wanted to braid the straps as well for a cuter more detailed look. So, I'll show you all how to do that!

First, using your scissors poke a hole in the fabric at the top of the horizontal seam, and cut downward along the neckline hem about 6 inches. Make sure you don't go too far because you will end up with an awkward gap in the braid.

Next, poke another hole along the horizontal hem and the arm opening hem on the opposite side and cut down as shown below until you reach equal points on both sides.

Repeat first two steps on the other side. Be careful not too cut the straps too far or cut through the back, cause that would be bad.

Now you should have three strings to your strap. Braid these together. 

Hand sew a couple of stitches across the braid to keep it in place. 

Ta-Dah! :) 

Have a good and safe spring break everyone!

Love, 

LST

A Nail Polish Pen...Literally! (DIY)

Do you ever wish you could paint your nails as well as the ladies at the salon?? Ever wish it was as easy as writing with a pen?? Well, I have found your answer. I can't believe I have thought of this all on my own, because I think it is pretty genius!

The other day I was contemplating doing a cute nail tutorial for Valentine's Day and that is when it hit me! I thought to myself, I wonder if I could disassemble a regular pen and fill it with nail polish to decorate my nails?!

Tonight I went to work. I searched for a dead pen but of course when I actually need one I couldn't find one. After a little trial and error this is what I came up with!

Step 1: Find a pen. A pen with as little ink in it already is the best. Also, the more simple the pen, the easier it is to disassemble. If it is one with a cap instead of a push to write clicker thing it is much easier to deal with.

Step 2: Disassemble the pen. Screw off the tip of the pen, remove the ink cartridge and pull out the metal tip. (Your pen may be a tad bit different so just do your best to completely unassemble it without breaking anything.)

Step 3: Remove any remaining ink from the ink cartridge tube. You can do this by tapping it on a table or running it under hot water, eventually it will all come out.

Step 4: Once all of the ink is removed you can begin putting your nail polish of choice into the tube. I used a fairly thin nail polish this time because I wasn't sure how well it would work. The thicker the polish the harder it will be for the polish to dispense.

Step 5: If it is a ball point pen, you will need to cut the tip off of the metal part. This allows the polish to really come out, otherwise it will only work on paper and it will be way too thin.

Step 6: Screw all of the parts back together. You may need to tap the pen downwards on a table to shake the polish into the tip.

Step 7: Decorate your nails to you liking! I thought I would go for a Valentine's Day theme (even though I hate the holiday, yep, single and bitter). The awesome part about using the nail polish pen is that it allows for a constant flow of polish and it creates a thin enough line to write letters and small details, but it is thick enough to read.

         

Note: If you run out of polish, simply unscrew the pen and drop some more in.

This is the first time I have tried this so I am not really sure how long the polish will last without drying up. I would be sure to not add too much polish and that way it will be easier to clean out and add a new color!

I mean, why buy all those drug store nail art shenanigans if you can do it for own for practically free, using whatever polish you'd like! :) This would also be great for doing french tips. I will try out some new designs and post them soon!

Hope you all like this. Good luck, and let me know if any if you try this out! Also, give me any feedback you have, I love comments! 

If you decorate your nails using this method, send me your pics here and I will post them on my blog!

Love,

LST

Country Chic Room Decor (D.I.Y.)

So, for Christmas my awesome roomie and best friend made me this super cute accessory/clothing display! I absolutely LOVE it! She is really good at D.I.Y. crafts and knew I would especially love this one. She made a tutorial for it on her blog, which you can find here.

Thanks, Julia!

Love,

LST

P.S. - If you were curious, I just recently bought the dress from Forever 21. :)