Super Simple Summer D.I.Y + Inspiration

Summer is in full bloom, and that means it's suuuuper hot, at least where I'm from. A big trend in fast-fashion stores lately is sleeveless blouses. Seriously, when I went to Forever 21 and H&M, maybe every other shirt was sleeveless. 

When I was thrifting the other day, I found a very cute, very cheap blouse, but the sleeves were waaay too tight. So... I cut the sleeves off and sewed the edges, and now I have myself a very cheap, D.I.Y'd sleeveless blouse that's summer ready!

Seriously, if I could do it, anyone could.

You'll Need:

-A blouse (preferably one with a collar)

-Scissors

-Sewing machine or needle and thread similar in color to your garment

\

First, cut the sleeves off, but leave some room to sew the edges. Then, sew the edges in! It's kind of the easiest D.I.Y ever. If you have a stain on a sleeve that you can't quite get out, or if you just want to summer-ize your closet, this is perfect.

With sleeves!

I cut off a sleeve, but leave about an inch for sewing back up.

The finished product!

 

Before and After

Thanks!

Some of My Favorite Blogs...

I have tons of blogs I follow, but I just wanted to focus on a few for today. I divide fashion blogs into two categories: pictures of just fashion, and then the blogs that go in depth and provide D.I.Y's and other stuff.

JAK & JIL
This blog is the former. Jak & Jil is probably the best blog I've seen that just gives you pictures. The stuff he takes is amazing... most of the outfits are hit or miss, but to me, almost everything is a hit. I love the fact that there's no explanation to the pictures; it's just the pictures themselves. I've seen some of just clothing, but there are a few on there that are so intriguing that you want to know the back story. And then of course, the outfits. I literally get goosebumps at some of the outfits put together here, especially the men's... I don't know what was going through these peoples' minds as they were putting their outfits together, but I wish I had brains like theirs! I really recommend checking it out if you haven't already, but I'm sure most fashion-conscious/bloggers will have already seen this site. I just wanted to gush over it, that's all. (:

Make It & Fake It ;   A Pair and a Spare
This blog is the latter! It's full of great D.I.Y's (hence the name) that are just genius. Seriously. I follow a lot of D.I.Y blogs but this and A Pair and a Spare are probably the two that I adore the most. Unlike a lot of D.I.Y bogs, this is accessible to all tastes and everything comes out well... nothing really has that 'I Did This Myself' feel, it's more professional than that. I love that!


I'm always on the lookout for great blogs to follow, and these are just a few sites that I love. Like I said, there are tons more, but these are the 3 I felt like sharing today. (:

Let's Go to Chinatown...

So, I was over at my friend's house this past week and she lives super close to Philly. I don't know how or why, but we ended up going to Chinatown in Phila, but I'm not complaining. She and her sister took me to this greeeeaaaattt Malaysian/Thai restaurant, and then bubble tea. However, that doesn't exactly translate to "let's take legitimate pictures for my blog!"... so, you have the rather blurry, far away, and super AWKWARD (1st picture...) shots you see here. So sorry for that D: Anyways, enjoy!

Blouse: H&M ($18, here) 

Cardigan: GAP
Shorts: Abercrombie & Fitch ($5!)
Sandals: Steve Madden (I got them for $13 at Sam's Club. Sam's Club! A friend told me she got the same style at a Costco for $18, which is still a steal.)
Bag: Nine West

Summer 2012 Happenings

 Guys! I'm so excited for Summer. I'm going to Canada, which doesn't sound too exciting but, you guys, I have this odd fascination with Canada. I'm definitely going to buy some extremely tourist-y momentos! I'll also be heading to the Firefly music festival, which I CANNOT wait for. The Killers, one of my favorite bands ever, is going. (Not to mention OK Go, The Black Keys, Cake, etc...) And tomorrow, I'm getting a new sewing machine! The old sewing machine has been broken for a while, so everything has been by hand for me lately...
This summer is going to be great. I'm volunteering with my church for VBS, and the theme is perfect: underwater! I can't wait to share it with you! I'm going to try to have at least one D.I.Y up every two weeks, but I can't guarantee this. Anyways, here's the beginning of my summer in a few snapshots! xx

I got the best birthday present ever from my Aunt!

This is what I do at the eye doctor...

These are perfect for accident-prone people like me... all the scent of a candle, no flame!

Celebratory end-of-the-(school)-year Chick-Fil-A binge! (I didn't eat all this, by the way....)

 

My 'Wreck This Journal.'

Maxi Lovin'

Hey everyone! Summer is starting off and I'm (finally) getting around to starting this blog. (: Last day of school was today, and that was filled with finals... ugh.
Anyways, since it's been pretty hot here lately, I realllly wanted a maxi dress. I had one from last year, but of course, I lost it. So when I was at Macy's recently, I found this perfect black and blue maxi. I'm only 5'2", so most maxi's I try on are much too long, but this little number is perfect!

Maxi dress: Macy's 
Cardi and necklace: American Eagle ($12!) 
Bracelet: Tory Burch 

p.s: sorry for the lack of photos... I was in a rush to go, and my 'photographer' only had time to take one photo. There will definitely be more shots of future outfits!