NEWS || Kipi X Oh Lou Collaboration!!

I've got some exciting news for you all! A few months ago I met (via Instagram) the very talented Fisayo (@loveohlou) who is a student in Fashion Design and the owner/visionary behind the Oh Lou shop. Other than her skilled fashion drawings, she is largely known for her colorful, confetti filled (litterally) hair bows! Naturally, when she approached me about working together on a project, I couldn't help but say "yes!"

An important facet of her work is to connect her success to improving the community around her. She began the #SilverSpoonInitiative, which supports the Washington D.C. homeless population by providing a food bank with a non-perishable food item for every accessory purchased. Her clever motto, "Buy an accessory, give a necessity," sums it up perfectly. As some of you may or may not be aware, my entire introduction into creative work (sewing, DIY, photography, etc.) began similarly like Fisayo, with an interest in making something original and using that work to improve the lives of those around us. It is perhaps the best combination of self-motivation: to challenge yourself creatively and to believe creative solutions can have positive impacts in the world.

Alas, let's get to the meat of the story shall we?! The end result of our Kipi X Oh Lou collaboration is a set of three shoe clip bows - all of which have spunk, color, and sweetness! Drawing inspiration from some of the things I love most (pom poms, color-blocking, and desserts), we came up with some pretty fun designs I think many of you will love! Each set of bows cost $10 and, as I mentioned, every purchase buys a food item donation to the D.C. food bank. Check out Oh Lou's shop where you can buy some accessories, her website to learn more about her, and her Instagram for some daily confetti-filled inspiration!

DIY || #38 || Take the world wherever you walk

People...I've had these DIY Embroidered Yarn Bracelet Sandals in my head for nearly a year (!!) and I finally found the perfect materials to put it together! You probably think I'm a bit crazy, but seriously, I've been dying to make these! I've had the fortune to travel many places around the world and I made it a tradition of mine to collect yarn bracelets from each country as a keepsake. When I was younger, I used to wear all the bracelets and they became excellent conversation starters! Now that I'm living the professional life, I had to put them aside but still like to memorialize them in some way. The best part about these sandals is that they can be meangingful if you'd like them to be! It's quite common to make Yarn Friendship Bracelets, so you could double up with your besties and make these sandals as an alternative way to strut your awesome friendship wherever you go. Or, how about about a fun DIY Mother's day gift that you make together?! The options are endless. Best part, they take less than 15 minutes to put together. Here are the deets! 

What you'll need:

-Plain sandals with strap across the front/top (bought mine at Forever 21 for $7!! Here's a similar style online)

-Yarn bracelets (bought mine at Michaels, but also found some from a vendor at a street fair!)

-Hot glue gun or Permanent bonding glue

-Scissors

Instructions:

1. Prepare your bracelets! The ones I purchased cameattached to a pleather backing, so I used scissors to cut it off. If you are using the traditional yarn bracelets, you will have to trim off the ties on the nds so it is a straight, rectangular piece, kind of like a ribbon.

2. Since the yarn will thread apart after cutting the ends, apply a thin amount of glue to the back, inside of the bracelet along one edge and fold the end over just enough so it it sticks down but doesn't shorten the bracelet too much. I folded mine over about 1/4 of an inch.

3. Repeat step #2 on other side of the yarn bracelet.

4. Using the hot glue gun, apply glue to the first half of the sandal strap using a zig-zag pattern. Carefully apply the yarn bracelet, gently pressing as you move up and across the strap.

5. Glue the sedcond half of the strap and complete attaching the braacelet to it. 

6. Repeat steps #4 and #5 on the second sandal.

That's it folks! Super easy and straightforward way to really create a unique accessory for the summer adventures, for your mom, for your besties, or just for your own fabulous self! Let me know what you think or if you try it out! Also, the beautiful embroidered blanket featured in these shots is from Urban Outfitters!

DIY || #32 || Laughing My Ears Off

First DIY of the new year and it involves two of my favorite things: staying warm and emoticons! This super simple project was inspired by Studio DIY's Emoji Ornaments she  made over the holidays. Given how much I love to use emoticons with my friends every day, I figured, why not share them with the rest of the world? Scroll below for the deets on how to make these interchangeable DIY Emoticon Earmuffs!

Here is what you will need: solid color earmuffs (yellow or white works best!), large clear plastic buttons (with pin backing - like these), colored paper, markers, scissors and glue. All these supplies I got at Michael's!

To start, open up a plastic button. Remove the sample paper inside and use that circle as a template. Trace 4 circles on the sheet of yellow paper; these will be the bases of your emoticons. Depending on which smiley you wish to re-create, you can cut and glue more shapes using different colored pieces of paper. for example, to make the 'tongue sticking out' emoticon, I cut a small circle out of white paper for the open eye and then I made the tongue by cutting out the shape on pink paper. Glue everything in place if you add pieces like these. Next, finish the emoticon with black marker to do the eyes, eyebrows and mouth. Once the emoticon is complete, simply place it back into the plastic button case with the emoticon facing outwards. Gently, pin the button to the outside of the earmuff so that it is firmly attached. Make sure you don't do this while the earmuffs are on your head (which would be both quite dangerous and quite difficult)!

Continue making as many other faces or emoticons as you wish! The joy of using plastic pin buttons is that you can switch them up anytime! Feeling happy one day - pin on some laughing emoticons. Feeling sad it's so cold you need to wear earmuffs in the first place? Pin on some grumpy ones! When it warms up outside, you can easily pin these to anything else - clothes, backpacks, purses, or notebooks. Have fun and feel free to share what you think or made!

DIY || #31 || Hasta la vista, baby!

Alright, so this DIY was supposed to be a stocking stuffer but, alas, Christmas proved to be much more hectic than I planned! However, I bet there are some of you that forgot to gift something to that distant cousin who showed up unexpectedly for the holidays and now you're scrambling to put something together..or maybe, over Christmas, you became one of the lucky few to get a plane ticket present to welcome the New Year on a tropical and peaceful island. Regardless of what you'll need it for, I'm back with a DIY that is both classy and quick to make - a leather passport case with gold lettering! Read below for the easy step-by-step instructions...

What you'll need: Leather swatch (got mine in aqua color at Michael's), Letter stamps (purchased at Michael's), Gold Marker Pen, Permanent Glue, Scissors, and passport/pencil for sizing.

First, layout you passport on the inside of the leather swatch, drawing a light trace around it with a pencil. Next, trim the swatch so there is about 1" extra across all sides, with an extra .5" especially on the vertical sides in order to make flaps (this will make sense in the pictures). Afterwards, taking one side, fold the leather over the front cover of the passport, dotting glue on the corners. Repeat with back page of the passport. Be careful not to glue your passport to the leather! It should fit snug in the leather but also loose enough to take it out. Repeat adding glue if the leather doesn't stay down at first and lay under a stack of heavy books for a couple hours until it keeps its shape. Alternatively, for the sewing inclined, you can stitch the flaps under a sewing machine for a sure hold. Once that is set, simply take your rubber letter stamps and, one by one, coat a letter using the gold marker pen and press hard into the leather. Write whatever you wish! That's it! 

Follow my colorful mess on some of my newest social media accounts: instagram and twitter, and let me know what you think!

DIY || #30 || Stocking Stuffers - Leather Coffee Cup Sleeves

Welcome to part one of a three-part series on affordable holiday stocking stuffers made with leather! It's been hard getting back to the blog after trying to sift through the mayhem that is applying to medical school. Yet, with the holidays in full blast I couldn't help but craft all the project ideas buzzing in my head!

This first project, DIY leather coffee cup sleeves, is a chic (and fairly hipster) project that looks and feels quite luxurious but only cost me around $6-7 to make. That's a steal! As a California gal living on the east coast, I don't do well in the cold. I also don't do well with wasting things. Although many paper coffee sleeves in cafes are recycled, why not just have a reusable one you can easily carry in your bag or wallet? Better yet - snag a reusable coffee mug and you'll essentially save the world (and look good while doing it).

Alright, here are the deets!

What you'll need: paper coffee cup, coffee cup sleeve (as template), leather (I got mine for $3.99; here is a similar one online at Michael's), permanent glue, scissors, and a pencil.

How to make it: trim the paper coffee cup sleeve on each end so it will fit nicely on your leather sheet. Flip the leather over and trace the outline of the paper sleeve lightly. Cut! You'll notice that the leather sleeve at this point won't wrap all the way around. Obviously, if you have a longer piece of leather this won't be a problem, but mine wasn't. So I saw it as an opportunity to keep being artistic with it. To fill this gap, use a piece of scrap leather, flip it over for an 'opposing' color/texture look, and glue to both ends of the sleeves. Trim excess as necessary. I then wrapped a bit of the excess around the top and bottom of the sleeve to complete the look. Wait at least 10 - 15 minutes for the glue to dry and harden before using. That's it! Happy sippin' folks! And come back next week for second DIY in this leather stocking stuffer series!   

DIY || #29 || Carrying Around My Mini Sunshine

I know, I know...I'm just as obsessed with florals as I am with polka dots. Forgive me! I couldn't stray away from making this Daisy Floral clutch after walking through Michael's and seeing tons of summer floral bouquets on sale now that fall is approaching. This project is incredibly simple to make, and I was inspired by previous wonderful projects done by Chic Steals and Design Improvised. Definitely check them out for more ideas! There is so much creative flexibility with making a floral clutch so definitely tweak it to your own style and go crazy! See below for the easy step-by-step directions...

What you'll need: plastic flowers (I used daisies and yellow/green hydrangeas), plain clutch bag/purse, hot glue gun and glue sticks, and scissors. 

First, make sure to cut the stems of the flowers so they are very short and can be glued flat onto the bag. Next, place a few hydrangea flowers on the clutch to set a colorful base and then glue them on. Begin gluing daisies directly on top of the hydrangeas, then glue more daisies until you fill the rest of the open spaces on the bag. This particular bag had a long zipper that stuck out on the end, which I didn't like very much, so I simply tucked in the excess zipper and glued it to the inside of the clutch. That's it folks! Hope you like it, and let me know if you try it out yourself!