My Little Sister's Closet - WIWT

My little sister, Emmy, has this dress that I love.

Its white with blue pin-striping and ruffly and very Ralph Lauren-y looking.  

She looks so cute in it.  Every time she wears it, I get green with envy!

I tell her how much I want one in my size.

So...

The moment I saw this dress at Target, I had to snatch it up!

It's a Converse brand wrap dress.  

For some reason, the bust is cut really large... might have to do something about that...

But it looks cute with a tank top underneath.

And I mixed my black's and brown's.

For shame, I know. 

But I wanted my headband to match my outfit!!!

Under the dress, I have on a black tank.

The tights, from Walmart, are brown and black striped, you can't tell in the pics.

And my much loved K-mart boots! (The heel is wearing out! Boo hoo!!!)

The boots were actually an extra little nod to Em.

That girl is starting to have quite a thing with boots.

First it was pink cowboy boots.

Then some pink knit knee high boots.

And now, a pair of brown suede slouch boots. 

And lately, she has been rocking the boots and tights look.

Which you know I love.

Oh... did I mention that she's NINE?

So is it weird that I take fashion advice from a 9 year old?

I don't think so...

I like to think I am teaching her all I know about fashion.

And all I know, I learned from my mom.

(And her Speigle catalog and Mary Kay!)

Who happens to also be her mom....

I think both of my sisters are in very good fashionable hands.

Now I need to scour my closet and see if I can find a Harley-beast worthy outfit lurking there.

That girl definitely has her own unique style too.

I think I just may want to be like them as much as they want to be like me!

Dress: Target, $25

Black Tank: Ross $6

Tights: WM $5

Boots: K-mart $20

Brown Scarf: WM, $5

Headband: KelsyC-made

Necklace: Silpada

Black bone pendant: KelsyC-made
Coconut shell earrings: KelsyC-made

Upcycled Vintage Leather Bag Tutorial

This is the first time I have ever done a craft like this.



I have this fabulous vintage bag that I got a while ago (for $4 from Fun Junk, my favorite-est place EVR) but I've always thought it needed a little sass. So I turned to my trusty internetz friend Google and searched "painting leather" and came up with several great links.

I especially like this one.
This one is pretty good too.
There is some useful information in this link as well.

1. Decide on the image you want to paint. I wanted to use a silhoutte of Goose. Let me tell you, getting her to sit still for the pic was probably the hardest part! I printed out the image and cut it out.

2. I didn't have any leather cleaner at my disposal but in one of the many links I visited yesterday I recall one saying you could use acetone (the main ingredient in fingernail polish remover). Since all I had was nail polish remover, thats what I used. I put some onto a cotton pad and lightly cleaned my work area.


3. Place your image and trace it onto the bag. (If I could have found my clear contact paper, I would have cut a stencil, I think the painting would have been easier that way.) I outlined my image in a white paint pen.


4. Gently scuff up the area you wish to paint with a fine grain sandpaper. This will help the paint stick.


5. Apply a thin base coat. I found a multi-purpose sealer made by Deco Art and a white water-based acryilic paint for porus surfaces made by Folk Art. I mixed equal parts of paint and sealer and made a base coat. This sealer is specific for adding "maximum adhesion" to acryilic paint when mixed and is a sealer when used by itself.


6. Apply 2-3 coats of the paint/sealer mixture depending on your desired coverage.


7. Apply one coat of sealer only.


8. Embellish (and let paint dry overnight)


9. Enjoy!


Since this is the first time I have ever done this, I'll keep you updated on how the bag holds up. I can tell you that I have done some "product testing" myself, including a scratch test and water test, and it seems to be hunky dory!

TFL!