Manage me. I'm a mess. Maybe it's not my weekend, but it's going to be my year.

So, who could manage

1. Reading 10 chapters a week in textbooks,
2. Two quizzes every weekend,
3. 4 projects,
4. Oh and don't forget the normal things like midterms and finals too???

Not me! I think I'm drowning.

But I managed to squeeze in a DIY tonight after I got home from work at 10:30.

So I was inspired by this picture, which I've actually posted before:

This was the bag before:

I got the bag for $12 at a store in the pretty much the ghetto. Yeah, some lady even took my cart because she liked a pair of shoes I had picked out and put in the cart. Crazy people.

And this is the bag after!

I actually really didn't do much to it. I made a black bow out of some crazy mesh fabric and put a studded belt on it. It's probably just about cheater status easy!

Sometimes I really like simple things. I'm not sure why, but I really like this simple black top paired with a simple skinny black belt. I wore it to my mother's Semi -Fourth of July party. I guess I looked pretty unpatriotic but hey, it wasn't even on Fourth of July.

Oh and I wore these shoes, which I bought at the same store where I bought my bag for $6 woohoo!

Well, I must say, I'm thoroughly exhausted right now. Goodnight, Good morning, Good Afternoon and Good Evening around the world!

Here's a night, and it shines. So be here by my side, and watch the stars. They're ours. Make a wish or just take charge.

So I...

• am super excited that I have a new bumper and fender sitting in my living room. It means I don't have to drive around in a ghetto smashed up car for much longer.
• have mixed feelings about starting school tomorrow. I'm just too much in summer mode right now.
• am not loving having to wake up at 5:30am for work or working/schooling a 12 hour day this entire week
• have a really large stack of clothes I want to to use for DIYing and wish I had more hours in the day to do them
• feel i should have accomplished more during my week of summer vacation!

Aside from my useless rambling, this is my latest DIY!

It was super super easy. I literally just took a rather plain top and sewed some bows to it! I think it would have perhaps looked even cuter if I had used some festive ribbon! Instead I just used navy quilting fabric. I also actually sewed snaps onto the bow and shirt so that the bows wouldn't get ruined in the wash!

Time is money, and baby money is time. Baby I got money. I want to make you mine.

So my latest DIY is an extremely simple one, but I decided to show a tutorial on it anyway. I basically turned some plain bangles into crazy Raggedy Ann ones.

Step by Step

Materials:

• bangles
• fabric cut into strips about half an inch wide
  

Take one of the strips and twist it around the bangle, starting at one end of the fabric strip and ending with the other when the two ends meet.

Tie the two ends together with a double knot and trim the ends.

Take another strip of fabric and twist it around a section of the bangle in a crisscross fashion. Tie the ends together with a double knot and trim the ends. 

Fini! Woohoo!

We'll end up numb from playing video games and we'll get sick of having sex, and we'll get fat from eating candy as we drink ourselves to death

Ok, so I really like these shoes from Steve Madden...

Steve Madden Quantumm $79.95

But I'm way too poor to buy them. So, I decided to make them myself! I started with a pair of American Eagle wedges that I bought at TJ Maxx for only $12!

Before:

After:

It was actually quite easy! I just used some elastic on the back of the fabric strip to make it ruffle! 

Too bad, I found these shoes as I was looking for the photo of the Steve Madden Quantumm shoe. I kind of wish I had used these shoes to make these instead. I guess there's always next time!

Steve Madden Florah $89.95

Yeah I'm lyin'. Damn you're fine.

I'm so sorry to anyone who has noticed the fact that I have been gone for a month. Being a senior in college can get a tad hectic. However, I'm back and have started doing one of my favorite things...DIYing! There's just something about it. Nothing makes me smile faster than shopping, but there's just something just so fulfilling about making things yourself...like seeing the fruits of your labor!

First of all, I finally got a new bag. I've been needing one for over 6 months now. The outside casing of my strap broke and I've just been watching the rubber bands, that are inside, break day by day. It finally got down to only two rubber bands holding the strap together and I realized my textbooks and laptop could go tumbling down with my bag the day the strap breaks while I'm carrying it. So, I went to TJ-Maxx and bought this Enzo bag for only $30 and basically made a huge bow out of fabric (because I'm so sickeningly in love with bows) and sewed it to my bag!

The second DIY I did was embellishing a shirt. I made little flowers out of zippers to put on the collar. I really didn't know what I was doing while folding and sewing the zippers but I think they turned out pretty nicely!

I must say, I'm quite proud of myself. I still have a huge pile of clothes to alter but at least now I feel motivated to sew!

Did you know that people being trained to work in sales for Whirlpool have to live in a house with only Whirlpool appliances for a month for training?

So, I was looking through my continuously growing, reference sized book of magazine cutouts and decided I want to start posting about why the pictures inspire me and the many DIY ideas that come from the pictures. The only problem is that some of the pictures are so small and the camera on my phone is not the best, but I'm still going to give it a shot!

Marc by Marc Jacobs ad

I love everything about this picture. I love how both the bracelet and the shirt are multicolored and they both have different color schemes but they look great together! I really like the draw strings on the shirt actually, so I thought about taking one of my collared shirts and flipping the collar inside out and threading a string or ribbon through it!

Topshop top

This picture is pretty blurry because the cutout was tiny but if you can see, its a wife beater with a man's bow tie on it. I thought it was a clever way to spruce up a white tank top!

I love the pearls and rhinestone heart on this bag! I really need a new bag because the handle on mine is broken! So, I was thinking I would buy a nice plain bag and decorate it like this one! I just need to find a large rhinestone heart. Maybe I'll add a bow or two also!

Tom Binns necklace

This one is really really really hard to see, but basically it's a pearl necklace with a bunch of safety pins on it! I love it! It's elegance and edge all in one necklace! I think I'm going to add some safety pins to one of my pearl necklaces now!

On a different note, I bought these shoes for my boyfriend yesterday. I think they're really cute and I want a pair now too! PF Flyers were actually a rival brand of Converse back in the day. 

Oh, and I wore this. I'm pretty fond of this jacket!

Rubbish jacket

Mossimo top

I've been told I know a lot because I'm in college, but actually I realize how little I really know because I'm in college.

Zippers are cool and edgy, but there's really just something about seeing something in a place where it doesn't really belong that makes it so eye catching!

Disaya Zipper Bangles $240

I love love love these. They are just so damn clever. You can even unzip them!

These bracelets are actually what inspired this post, but I decided to look for zippers in a couple other unusual spots. They're actually not as clever as the bracelets, but they make fabulous DIY projects!

This is actually from someone's blog and I didn't remember who because I had the image saved to my computer =/. If this is yours or know who this photo belongs to, let me know and I'll definitely give credit where it is due!

I saved this picture to my computer because I thought it would be a pretty easy DIY. I thought about just cutting off the straps to a tank top and attaching some zippers in their place!

I'm not quite sure where this one is from either =/ but I thought I'd try making it! I also thought it would look nifty to put the zipper horizontally on a belt!

Zippers don't have to be just for jackets!

If your a seascape, Im a listing boat full of every hope. The choice is yours to be loved. Come away from an empty boat.

So I guess I really like plaid...

Today, I wore this:

Plaid shirt: thrifted

Jacket: Abercrombie & Fitch

and bought this for $2 at a garage sale:

The plaid shirt was actually way to big for me to begin with. As much as I'd like to be able to wear baggy things, I usually just don't feel completely comfortable in them. So, I decided to sew the shirt in. I think that sewing is an important skill to have. It makes it so that you can buy anything in any size because you can always taylor it to fit your size. I like to buy funky things from thrift stores and sew them to fit me. 

For those who already know how to sew, this is old news. However, because I think it is so important for anyone who likes fashion to know how to sew, here are some simple instructions on how to sew in a t shirt. 

1. Put it on and estimate how many inches skinnier you want the shirt and sleeves to be.

2. Using a zigzag stitch, sew the shirt, starting from the sleeve and working to the body. Make sure to make a sharp angle in the armpit and not a curved line. 

 

3. Try it on! If your happy with how it fits, cut the remaining material off. If not, take the stitches out and sew it again!

Easy Peasy!

Belt it out

Top: Michael kors

Scarf Belt: thrifted

My idea of using a silk scarf as a belt really came from the wrap belts shown in Marc Jacob's spring 2009 ready to wear collection. It just seemed like such an easy idea to spruce up a top!

Speaking of belts, I've been really wanting some more to add to my closet. Belts are just such an easy way to make an outfit more exciting! You can also easily change the whole tone of your outfit by just changing your belt! I found some really cute and inexpensive ones from forever 21...

Faux leather bow belt $7.80

I can never deny a bow! The bow makes it super girly and the leather look gives it some edge!

Satin zebra print belt $6.80

To add a bit of wildness to your outfit?

Lily waist belt $12.80

I love how this belt doesn't have a buckle. Its technology looks so cleverly simple! It almost reminds me of handcuffs. What about a handcuff DIY belt? That would look cool! 

Pyramid wide elastic belt $9.80

Girly and rocker? Love it!

Who could deny these belts at such a price? They're the cost of a cup of coffee and a pastry at Starbucks!

I'm so hard for a rich girl. My heels cast high, my eyes cast low, and I don't know how to love. I get too tired after midday.

I want a Cartier Love Bracelet so badly! However, they are far out of my price range, but I still think they are really beautiful. I also think its really cool how they are put on and taken off with a little screw driver by the one you love. Some may think that is a tad controlling and extreme but hey, I wouldn't mind being locked to a gorgeous and expensive piece of jewelry! That would also mean I couldn't lose it!

I like how industrial it looks, but I really like...

...this one!!!

There are a bunch of bracelets that have similar kinds of themes and that cost a ton less...

Coach

Juicy Couture

NYC Boutique

...but none of these have the same meaning.

I've just seen a face. I can't forget the time or place where we just met. She's just the girl for me and I want all the world to see we've met.

Sometimes I love a bit of street style.

Tripp NYC black suspender shorts $35

Kill City shirt $50

I really like this combination because the suspenders blend in with the plaid giving them a more subtle look.

Insight $62

Hellz Bellz $45

Tarina Tarantino $62

I never knew brass knuckles could look so sweet.

Colcci $100

Melissa $69

Gentle Fawn $62

Hellz Bellz $36

Tarina Tarantino $50

Ash $140

Tretorn $40

Joyrich $110

Joyrich $85

Insight $45

Converse $55

Insight $28

Treton $140

Wesc $91

source: http://www.karmaloop.com