New Direction

Hey everyone - yes, I realize it has been a long long long time since I've blogged here. And I am really sorry about that. I'm totally flattered that I even have followers on this blog, and if any of you are still hoping for posts on here I have some bad but good news for you.
My interests have shifted since I started this blog, and while I'm still very committed to modest fashions, I've realized I'm really not much of a fashionista. I'm more of a crafty girl, and some of that crafting involves clothing, but more of it involves the greater craft world at large. So, I started a new blog that expands the focus of this blog. I hope you'll check it out, and enjoy it as much as you've enjoyed this one.

http://everythingniceblog.blogspot.com/

My DIY Nursery

So, this is a big first for me (and a bit of a departure from this blog's usual content) - I'm linking up to the DIY Thursday party over at A Soft Place to Land. I have been a blog stalker over there for quite some time - I think I've pretty much read every post she's ever written - and I've gotten a lot of inspiration. And I've been using a lot of the inspiration I find there (and the Nesting Place and Centsational Girl and Thrifty Decor Chick and... the list goes on) to put together the nursery for Andy (due date is just a week and a half away!!). So, without further ado, here are all the projects I've been working on:

First an overview (you'll probably have to click on the picture to enlarge it if you really want to read my clever in-picture commentary.) :


My inspiration for the whole room was (were? I hate antecedents. I think it's was.) these three prints I found as I was wandering around on etsy. (They can be found in Gumball Grenade's etsy shop.)

I fell in love with them and knew I had to have them. Once I decided to base the whole nursery theme around them, though, I found that there really wasn't a lot out there in the baby realm to complement them, which necessitated many DIY projects - which suits me just fine.

So here are some of the projects I did:

I would have loved to have these prints custom framed, but I'm cheap and working on a small budget, so I bought those super cheap unfinished wood frames at Ikea ($2/per I think?), painted them, and then made "mats" out of scrapbook paper. They deserve so much better, but for now this will have to do.

Also in this picture you can see my shelves that I painted (same color as the blue frame). They look better in person. Really, they look better than the unfinished wood condition that I bought them in. So that's always good.

Here you can see the quilt that I made- it's a rag/shag quilt and it's fairly simple. Just blocks of color that echo the colors in the paintings. I also made that dust ruffle out of a plain red flat sheet I found at DI (like Goodwill). I just ripped two long pieces from it and sewed them together. The bottom was already hemmed hallelujah, and then I just tucked it around under the mattress in a ruffly sort of way. Totally pleased with myself there. Oh, any opinions - to bumper or not to bumper? I'm tempted to make one, but then I keep hearing how you shouldn't use them. Thoughts?



And here's the mobile I made using this tutorial. It uses the red, white, blue, and yellow motif from the paintings (and the rest of the room) and also the sail boat that is in one of the three prints. I like it. It's not amazing, but it's kinda cute.

And, my piece de resistance, the window "mistreatment" ala Nester. When I bought sheets for the crib (from Ikea) I was saddened to find that one of them had a hole in it. I couldn't be bothered to take them back (I'd lost the receipt and Ikea is a bit far away), so I racked my brain thinking what I could do with them. Then, after seeing several curtains and window treatments, I finally hit upon the idea of this, my own window mistreatment. I used 1/2 yard of 50" dark blue fabric for the top, the rest of the red flat sheet (from the dust ruffle) for the trim and ties, the crib sheet (that's the big blue part), and - as the lining - a curtain from Savers that I originally bought for the room and discovered was too small. Oh yeah, and some left over yellow fabric from the quilt, which I used to make the stars to cover the hole in the sheet. Whew. I only sewed one seam (across the top). Everything else I did with hemming tape, which I loved because I have issues sewing straight lines, especially when the fabrics are all different textures (that crib sheet was danged stretchy). Oh yeah, and of course I used the glue gun. How could I not?

Last of all, some advice? This room is doubling (tripling? quadrupling? It's also my office and craft space.) as a guest room while my mom stays with us for a month or so after the baby's born (thanks Mom, you are the best). I feel like that wall needs something, but I don't know what. I've got four prints by the same artist who did the sail boat painting over the bed - they are gorgeous prints of Greece, but they don't really go with the nursery. I was also thinking of doing an alphabet wall, but then I'm worried things will get too busy in the space ... and also that it isn't fitting for the "guest room" zone of the room. Any ideas? Should I just leave it? Really, I should just leave it, seeing as 1.) The guest room will only exist for the month that Mom is here and 2.) we're looking to move out of this apartment (I wonder why?) and into a house in the next few months, so it's probably just not worth the aggravation. Still open to suggestions though.

Anyway, thanks for looking at my DIY Nursery :)

Tutorial Tuesday: Feather Hairpieces

So, yesterday I offered up the idea of using fascinators to spice up a simple dress to make it into a prom-ready ensemble. In that post I claimed you could easily and cheaply make one yourself. Well, just to prove it to you I found two tutorials that will show you how you can make yourself a lovely fascinator, for prom or any other fancy occasion you may be attending.


First a video from threadbanger, mostly utilizing feathers.



And second, a link to a photo tutorial from corvus tristis showing how to use feathers with flowers and ribbons to make a gorgeous hair accessory sure to sparkle.

Modestify Your Prom: Episode 2

Today we're going to talk about modestifying the price of prom. Yes, prom is an important night - honestly, it's probably the last time in your life when you'll be participating in such a unique social engagement. Sure, there are formal dances in college, but trust me - they are very different. So, yes indeed, you want prom to be special and you want to go ahead and splurge in all sorts of ways that make you feel like a princess. Or a fairy. Or a flapper. Or whatever you most want to feel like. It's your prom.

But at the same time, the expense of all this splurging can get to be overwhelming and leave you feeling more like a pauper than a princess - the little match girl left on the street. But there are tons of ways to go all Cinderella, even without the fairy godmother.

First, the dress. Here's a definitely awesome tip from Cinderella and her little furry friends: use your existing resources to make or modify an existing dress. Go through your closet, your sister's closet (if you have the sharing kind of sister), your mom's closet, and the ever-wonderful thrift store to find a dress that may not be perfect at first glance but can be made perfect with a few adjustments. For example, take a simple dress and add embellishments that will glam it up for your night of glory.

Here are some of my ideas for how to make something simple into something fabulous:



Glam it Up by CherryTree84 featuring Betsey Johnson necklaces

In this set, I used the classic tiara, some high-heeled mary janes, a multi-string necklace, and fingerless lace gloves to turn a simple silver dress into one worthy for prom. So take a second look at your Sunday dresses and try to imagine what they might be like with a little help from the accessory department.


Glam it Up 2 by CherryTree84 featuring Tarina Tarantino necklaces

For this one, I've added a splash of pink to this little black dress with some oh-so-girly pink heels and a pink beaded necklace. I absolutely adore that black lace headband which you could totally make yourself after a trip to the craft store. And of course, the clutch purse to tie the whole girly ensemble together.


Glam it up 3 by CherryTree84 featuring Carvela heels & wedges


This one is the one I am most proud of. That dress is way simple and not something you'd normally see and think "prom." But then we add some unique elements - the feather fascinator headband (again an easy and creative accessory you could make yourself), the wrap belt with the lovely bow (think long black strip of fabric wrapped around several times), some kicky heels, and finally some black fingerless lace gloves. Neat eh?

Hope this gave you some ideas on how to take something simple and turn it into something uniquely inspired, totally you, and prom-ready. Stay tuned for further episodes on modestifying the price of prom in other ways.

Tutorial Tuesday: Flower Headbands

So, playing around on polyvore.com (which I'm sure will be a new favorite pastime), I've seen tons of headbands that just make me squeal in girlish delight. Bows, flowers, hearts - all such sweet little embellishments that have me thinking spring and wishing I had even a single headband in my collection. Well, I found a tutorial that just might help me (and you) out - DesignMom gives us an easy-to-follow tutorial on how to make a sweet flowery headband that's sure to compliment all your modest spring outfits.