I bought a linen Mossimo dress from Goodwill for $5 this summer. It is (was) a halter top, which I don't like, but it fits well and is an A-line shape and a lovely shade of green, all of which I do like. Bonus: the skirt is lined so I don't need to wear a slip, AND it has in-seam pockets.
The halter style signifies summer to me, and since this dress is solid color and fairly long, it should be able to be worn in colder months as well. I typically prefer base pieces that can be worn year-round with some smart layering, and halter tops don't really let you do that. Plus they're just kinda juvenile.
To make this dress more friendly for autumn and an office environment, I simply readjusted the straps so they laid over my shoulders and attached to the bodice at the back. I marked the new length they needed to be (with bobby pins--not as secure as pins but easier to use with one hand when you're your own dress form):
I snipped a little below this and folded the raw edges down into the strap...
Pinned them where they needed to go...
Then sewed them on, retracing the existing stitches along the back of the bodice.
I cut the scrap ends of the halter straps to make three belt loops.
Pressed them in so long edges met in the middle.
Placed them around the waist of the dress, folded down the short raw edges and top-stitched. (I act like this step was easy, but I in fact messed up so many times and actually threw my seam ripper in rage after my fourth time of accidentally catching a strap or something on the underside of my stitches).
Simple changes and yet so much better. Throw on a cardi and welcome to fall.
i knew i needed a pendant lamp over my fireplace mantel to cure my dark living room woes. and to shine a light on my rad horse print.
i found this one at goodwill. i liked that it had a chain i could "swag" (like this) and that i wouldn't have to buy a lamp kit. it was brown originally, but in my genius mind i thought that a good old coat of spray paint would be all the makeover it needed.
ick. couldn't stop there. i was hoping that i could just rip the red stuff off and have the basic gold plate, chain and wire to use with a different shade. but of course the frame was made of metal, not wood, and i couldn't remove just the top part without, well, something that cuts metal.
i think i tried forty different things to make a new frame shade that fit my style. a $9 lamp at goodwill is pretty steep, after all, so i couldn't just waste it, right? i tried using the basket from this unused hanging planter:
but it was too shallow and looked pretty goofy:
since i hadn't removed the glue and staples from the base yet, i thought i'd hide it with the twine from the hanging basket:
wait, TWINE? i hate decorating with basket weave. this isn't my style at all, are you kidding me?
so i went a whole new route. the placements i bought for my dining table when i first moved in are not functional at all, but i still like the look of them.
crumbs would easily fall through, and they attracted dust since they're made of felt or something. so i cut up two of them into six triangles. painted the metal frame of that lamp with leftover white paint. attached the triangles to the frame with needle and thread. and now i have this:
i don't own a ladder, so hanging this from my 10-foot-ceiling with a chair, a suitcase filled with books, tiptoes and a lot of cursing was a dangerous ordeal in itself. also explains why i got lazy and only swagged the chain up to where it was easier to reach on the wall.
a similar look can also be achieved with doilies, as i found on apartment therapy:
source: calinas (in swedish) via apartment therapy
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Project linked to:
