{Fabric & Threads} Blazer, Drop Down Waist, Leggings.

In this series I've been sharing with you a few of my favorite outfits. When I went shopping for work clothes, for more suitable Downtown business attire, I knew I wanted a navy blazer. And I also knew I did not want to spend a fortune. I ended up finding a blazer at Charlotte Russe (believe it or not) for $20. It really has pulled together so many of my work looks. Worn with a t-shirt and trousers, over dresses, and to make jeans a bit more dressy on casual Fridays, it really is the most versatile piece in my closet this fall. And I love that it is lined with a silky fabric (navy with polkadot hearts), so that when the sleeves are rolled, a bit of the pattern peeks out! The blazer combined with navy knit leggings and a drop waist shift dress make the outfit casual cute yet put together for the workplace. The purse is the most costly item in the entire look (from my trip to Rome!) and the turtle necklace I bought at a car show in Burbank, California (random, yes). The shoes and leggings are hand me downs (thanks, mom!). Leaving just the drop down dress, which was a sale item at Anthropologie. I wore this outfit to work today actually, and the children wanted my necklace! It spurred on many renditions of "I had a tiny turtle, his name was tiny Tim, I put him in the bathtub, to see if he could swim...." I hope you are enjoying this series! 

xo,

Lauren

PS.  Anyone else notice that this outfit coordinates so perfectly with my last DIY project?  I just did!

Wander over Wednesday.

I have some more DIYs in the line up for you, to be shared soon. My October is finding itself busy (and it has been beautiful outside, so we have been riding bikes and picnicing at the park more often than not). In the meantime, wander over to these links for some inspiration this Wednesday...

photo source

• This is such a cute idea, perfect for reusing old t-shirts, and wonderful if you are loving chunky necklaces like I am. Wander over and see how to do this project at I still Love You.
• Wander over to Thoughts by Natalie for some soul loving. Read her article Finding our Unique Kind of Beautiful. You're sure to find more ways to remind yourself you are cherished, loved, and beautiful when reading the content of Natalie's blog.
• Windy days may find you hating your bangs, if you have them, so why not braid them and rid yourself of crazy wind blown fringe. Wander over to A Beautiful Mess for more on how to get the braided bangs look.
• Wander over to Happily Grey for Fashion Sense and Style, and a bit more on how to empower women to overcome poverty. 

How to DIY a Retro Fan.

The summer heat brought on a new want for a fancy fan. A vintage fan to be exact. I posted on the topic of fans, spinning right round, back in July, remember? After browsing and ogling over photos on Etsy and other sites, I determined that a pretty fan was not something that fell into the "splurge" category of life. So all summer long we continued to use our "Hawaiian Breeze" fan, which was really more like a dusty white thing that I had a love hate relationship with. Love when it was cooling me down. Hate when it stood motionless always catching grey clumpy dust. Hawaiian Breeze and I finally came to a breaking point. It was time for a makeover. A colorful retro-like makeover. During a trip to Home Depot, and browsing spray paint colors as one often does, I decided that this was the perfect solution to my doughty fan. I purchased two cans of spray paint and the rest was history. For a total of $7.50, I was able to get my fancy fan.

Prep the fan for painting 1. Use a dry dusting rag and/or a shop vac to clean the fan. Make sure all dust is removed, or else the paint will not have the right finish. Elbow grease recommended 2. Disassemble the fan parts. Create an array of bits and pieces. Unscrew every last bit. This way your hardware and plastic parts are separated out, giving you the option to paint what you want how you want it (I left my screws and hardware in their metallic state, forgoing their first considered spray painted fate) 3. Using electrical tape and a plastic bag, cover the fan motor (to protect it!). Tape and cover the cord. Also be sure to cover any piece that is threaded (..the parts that turn in place to keep the fan together. If paint gets on them, it could effect how they screw together in the end). 



Spray Painting the Fan 1. Lay the pieces out on your drop cloth 2. Apply the first coat of spray paint. For  a smooth application, hold the can of spray paint equal distance from the piece you are painting and move in a left to right, right to left fashion TIP: Be sure that the coat on the fan blade is not too too heavy. This is the piece that actually needs to be in motion, so the lighter the better. (I was clever and bought a metallic paint that needed to be thicker than the normal gloss to achieve the rose copper look I wanted. Smart move. Hopefully it works out and my fan blade doesn't come to a hault!) 3. Allow the coat to dry for a few hours or over night 4. Rotate / Flip over the fan pieces and repeat the spray painting process on the opposite sides 5.  Allow the time to dry and check once more for touch up painting 6. Take plastic bags and tape off protected pieces once everything is dry. TIP: To keep your paint cans from getting clogged and dried in the spraying tip in between paint applications, hold your can upside down and press the nozzle. Be sure to hold aiming away from you as paint will spew out. Keep holding down the nozzle until nothing more comes out. This will take care of any clogs and keep your spray paint nice, neat, and ready to go for next time.



Putting the fan back together   If you were the one who took it apart, reassembling the fan shouldn't be too tricky. Simply use the same screw drivers and think of it like a puzzle. And get ready for your newly made over beauty! I was just so giddy at this point in the process that I had Matt help with the reassembly while I excitedly got ready to plug her in and test her out. No longer a dusty Hawaiian Breeze, my new fancy fan is stunning! I know summer is over, but there has to be a few more hot days in store, right? Even when not in motion, this fan brings color pop and style to any room in our house. I'm going to keep a look out for another fan on sale or cheap at a thrift store. I would love to make a bright yellow fan that I can use for next summer!

Journal Idea | Exploring your City

A Journal for Exploring Your City. I stumbled upon this clever idea journal in the sale area at Anthropologie. The categories of the pages steer you right through every nook and cranny of the city.  From must to's, favorite neighborhoods, getting around on foot/ bike/ bus/ train, top eateries, and other fun ideas for bopping around on a stay-cation. The pages are blank to begin with for you, or me, to fill out! I love knowing the city I am in. Being able to tell visiting friends the favorite must see parts is a skill I admire of any city dweller. I think journaling about the city you are in is a great way to get to know it better. And love it more. I bought this journal as a gift for a friend, but before giving it away, I snapped a few photos of the pages so that I could share a bit about my city right here on the blog, for you to see and enjoy as well. Here it goes!

My City: Denver, Colorado.

 

Even if you do not have this specific SIDE WALKS journal, you can turn any blank paged book into this same sort of idea. Title your own pages, tape in photographs, and highlight your must see and favorite experiences in the which city you live. For some more journal DIY ideas, hop on over here, here, and here. (And on the topic of journals, I've always loved this vintage postcard calendar journal, you should go look and see! I have plans to make it, it's just that cute.)

{Guest Post} Beth's Up-Cycled Glass Bottles.

Hi there Triple P readers! My name is Beth and I have a blog called dot in the city, where I share everything from recipes to social media tips to faith. I'm so excited Lauren invited me to guest post; she asked that I share some ideas for DIY-type home decor.

I'm not the kind of person who makes a front door wreath for each month of the year, but I do look for affordable ways to make my home reflect the change of seasons. In the past year, I had fun sprucing up our mantle for fall, Christmas, and spring. Looking to reuse some glass bottles/jars yourself? Check out how to clean and re-purpose glass. Here are three practical ways we have re-used glass bottles in our home and they can be used year-round.

Light Pendandts

Using a tile saw, my husband cut off the bottoms on a pair of wine bottles to create two light pendants. He then used steel wool to smooth the edges a bit. For a while, I considered painting or frosting the bottles, but decided to leave them. 

Vases and Accent Decor

Clean up empty bottles and use them on their own or spray paint them (as I did for several of my mantle decorating adventures). I try to hang on to various shapes and sizes of glass bottles to add interest.

Candle Holder

Use a glass bottle as a candle holder. There are some wine bottles that are so darn pretty I want to keep them around once their wine is gone, so I started using them as a candlestick on our dining room table.

Thank you, Lauren, for having me! Please stop by my blog or connect with me on Facebook. I also love to chat on Twitter and share photos on Instagram!

Hand Painted Vans: Dalmatian Hearts.

The laid back surfer girl shoe style of choice is a classic, yet canvas shoes often take a worse for the wear. With tears, rips, and toe holes over time, they often need some cheering up. These worn in shoes can be easily spruced up with some fabric paint, a patch, magazine cut outs, or even some hand stitching and sewing. I first fell in love with the idea of revamping Vans when my cousin Jenna hand stitched brightly colored thread over the tears and holes in her well loved navy blue Vans slip ons. I would always ask to borrow those shoes when I would visit her. They made me feel ever so thrifty and cool. Just as any young high schooler wanted to feel at the age of 14 and 15. And although I don't need shoes to help me feel this way any longer, they are still thrifty and cool ten + years later. And yes, she still has them (see below).

I'm not the first to hand paint canvas lace ups, and I'm definitely not the last. There are some really cute ideas out there, and I'm sure even more to be blogged about. You can see some other canvas shoe revamps here, here, and here. For my personalized canvas shoes, I decided to go with Dalmatian hearts. Black silhoutted shapes printed on neutral tones has been a trend popping up over the past few seasons. I have loved seeing prints of horses, polkadots, and foxes in black and white prints. One of my favorites is the hand stamped pony print dress over at ABM. To Hand Paint Dalmatian Hearts: 1. Gather your fine tipped paintbrush, matte soft fabric paint, and your canvas shoes. 2. Outline hearts on the front/toe area of your shoe. I used the seam as a border of where I kept my hearts, keeping the area around the laces heart free.  You could also make and use a stencil if you like! 3. Fill in the hearts with more paint,  using your paint brush, adding touch ups and making the hearts a better shape if need be. 4. Allow a few hours for your shoes to dry. 5. Slip in your feet and get ready to be ever so cute in your dalmatian heart shoes. Care Instructions: This is the same fabric paint I've used when painting tea towels for my kitchen. After countless washes, the paint has not come of and it does not spread. Hand wash cold, air dry. (BTW That adorable puppy still needs a name. Suggestions welcomed. And no he is not mine, although I wish! He belongs to my neighbors so at least I can borrow him.)

photo credit

For more of your peep-toe-problems, cast your woes over Jenna's blog 

for some ideas to keep your toes tappin' and your feet 

from catching a cold (holes can do that to ya).

XO,

Lauren (& Jenna!)

Featured at Hi Sugarplum!

Matryoshka Dolled up Pumpkin.

It is still a bit too early in the season to carve pumpkins. Who wants mold come October 1st? Not me. But it is definitely the perfect time for some pumpkin decor sans jack-o-lantern. For this pumpkin design, I decided to try out a Russian nesting doll (also called a Matryoshka doll). I used the template below as a base for the shape of the doll on my pumpkin, and then added the details on the face and dress by hand. I used left over fabric paint, actually, but acrylic would work too. A thin brush for details, paint, and a pumpkin are all you need for this project. My plans are to get two more pumpkins, so that there is a small, medium, and large. Then I can line them up just as the cute little nesting dolls themselves are typically displayed. For more pumpkin inspiration, you can hop on over here!