5-Minute DIY Trendy Statement Necklaces

I've found that a great solution to the "I have nothing to wear" complex is adding the right accessories. And the quickest and cheapest way to do that is to repurpose something I already have on hand.

Back around 2005 we were all wearing long beaded necklaces that hung down to our belly buttons. Nowadays, the cycle of accessory fashion has rotated back around to short and chunky. Trendy statement necklaces are layered and rest above the breastbone.

For this quickest of projects I repurposed those long necklaces from the previous decade into trendy statement necklaces. And here's the best part, I did it non-destructively and it took less than five minutes!

I started with a long beaded necklace, a roll of ribbon, and fabric scissors. Using fabric scissors on ribbon is important if you want to prevent fraying. Dull scissors will leave you with jagged cuts.

Thrift Store Fashion for the Fourth

Unlike last year, I'm not playing host this 4th of July, so my thrifting focus lately has been on fashion. This post is inspired by Lindsay Turner at Thrift & Shout. She always finds the cutest and trendiest clothes at the thrift store, so I had to show off a few of mine.

First up, a halter dress I've had for about a year, snagged for $8 at Goodwill. It may be hard to see, but the pattern is small red dots on white. I love the vintage pin-up silhouette of this dress.

West Elm Inspired DIY Part 3: Red Lacquer Tray

I'm serious when I say I'm a perpetual DIYer. So perpetual, in fact, that sometimes there just isn't time to share everything here! I'm playing catch-up on projects that have fallen through the cracks, starting with this third installment of my series of DIY projects inspired by West Elm. (Part 2 a.k.a. Rope Lamps was just featured on Copycat Crafts! Yay!)

In addition to my love of lamps, I also love trays. It must be the neat freak in me (or as my friends would say, the Monica Geller in me) that is obsessed with the organizational possibilities of a tray. With a tray you can carry breakfast to the bedroom without spilling! With a tray, you can turn an ottoman into a coffee table! Truly delightful, aren't they?

No surprise, I've been drooling over West Elm's colorful lacquer trays ever since I first saw them.

The Magic of Varnish: Thrift Store Table Makeover

One of my favorite things about thrift store hunting is finding the unexpected. The other day when I was searching for a vase, I found this delicate and simple end table.

I tend to wander through all the departments of a thrift store, even when I'm searching for something in particular. On a clothing mission I'll check out furniture, on a knick-knack mission I'll poke through the shoes, and I usually check out the the lamps (I have a lamp problem). By doing this I expose myself to extra temptation, but when the price is right, I'll give in.

This table was only $4, a small enough dent in my wallet that I took it home.

Polo Shirts into Geometric Throw Pillows

It has been a long time since I posted regularly, so I'm playing catch-up on a few posts that I started at the end of the summer. My roommates and I have moved to a new house since then (more on that later) so most of the photos in this post were taken at the old place. I'll be showing you more of the new house as it comes together. In the meantime, here's a project with a little summer color to brighten up your winter days.

This past summer I found myself adoring the brightly colored and geometric pillows I saw in catalogs, blogs, and stores. And though I love the classic, baroque pattern of the throw pillows on our couch, they are a little heavy and dark looking for the warmer months.

Wrap Your Gifts With Thrift

Though the holidays are behind us, I thought I'd share with you a project that was well received this past season of cheer. With all the time and money that we put into finding the perfect gifts for our loved ones, we naturally want to present those gifts in wrap worthy of their purpose. But after all that shopping, who wants to spend another fortune on gift wrap?

If that sounds like a sales pitch, I'm starting to view sharing advice about thrifty living as a pitch for better living. You just might be able to have your cake and eat it too.

Don't worry, I'm not going to suggest something like wrapping your gifts in newsprint and fastening it with staples (I had a friend who wrapped gifts intended for his girlfriend this way). Instead, I'll describe my strategy for finding quality and creative gift wrap supplies for cheap at the thrift store.

Thifty Find: Clutch Purses

Fashion trends tend to repeat themselves. What's in fashion now is probably going to fashionable again down the road, whether fifteen, thirty, or fifty years from now. I think this is one reason bargain-hunters like me get so addicted to thrift store shopping. If it was popular ten-plus years ago, chances are you can find it in a thrift store.

Right now, popular fashion strikes me as a whole mess of later 20th century revivals. We've got some Mod style from the 60s, maxi dresses and sky-high platforms from the 70s, skinny jeans and high waisted shorts from the 80s, and flannel shirts and floral prints from the 90s.

I'm also seeing a lot of clutch purses.

The clutch purse first appeared as a fashion item in the 1920s and 1930s, but the ones I've been seeing in all the trendy shops like H&M seem very 1980s.

To me that means bold colors, boxy shapes, and fun textures. A few minutes of searching the purse rack at the thrift store and I found two!

DIY Blues: Closet Your Inner Shopaholic

The title makes it sound like this is a gloomy entry, but stay calm and read on.

There's one place I shop that's even cheaper than the thrift store. And by cheaper I mean free. It's my own closet. It makes me feel like a bit of a hoarder to admit it, but there are plenty of clothes in my closet that I forget about or that I don't wear very often. So sometimes when I get the urge to shop, instead of heading for the thrift store, I head to my own bedroom.

Last time I did this I pulled out these three items:

Thrifty Find: Dark Brown Lace Top

This top was one of those things I found when looking for something completely different. I was trying on skirts and found it on the re-stock rack while waiting for the dressing room. It turned out to be the only flattering thing I tried on!

The top was $4.99 at Goodwill. No label to tell me who made it, but it is good quality material, so it could have been from a store like Macys. I wore it over a black shirt and pants for work, but I'm searching for the perfect skirt or dress to pair it with.

Frugal Fourth of July Party

We had a pretty un-festive Independence Day last year, so this year I decided we would make up for it by throwing a party. With a large lawn and huge deck on the roof of the garage, our rental house begs to be used for entertaining. It wasn't long before red, white, and blue decor started catching my eye at the thrift store. This post is about all my finds for our party, and how awesomely little I spent on them.

My first find was at the Salvation Army. Back in April they had crates of little fabric American flags. I got a pack of a dozen medium-sized ones for $3.49 and another pack of 120 mini flags also for $3.49! I used the boyfriend's staple gun to attach the flags to the fence along our lawn.

Mid-Century Makeover

A little while ago I came across a sort of holy grail of thrift store finds. It's one of those items that I've always pined for but never found. One of those items that I figured had been snatched up by collectors and re-sold by trendy interior designers to their meticulously stylish clients. In other words, I never dreamed of finding one.

I found a vintage student's chair.

West Elm Inspired DIY Part 2: Rope Lamps

Finally, the long- awaited second part of my West Elm inspired DIY series. It only took about 7 months! There are a few reasons for that, which I'll explain in a bit.

My inspiration for this West Elm knock-off is their Round Rope lamp. This lamp would have been right at home in some of the seaside houses my family rented on vacation when I was a kid. They make me think of tidy little guest rooms and ocean breezes.

Pottery Barn Knock-Off - Faux Spring Flowers

Spring has been in the air since February here in Southern California. That's when the cherry blossoms came and went, and when my seasonal allergies started. But even someone like me who has a love-hate relationship with the first seasonal blooms can appreciate their beauty. What better way to enjoy seemingly perpetual spring than to bring a little of it indoors?

I mentioned in the last post how I work near a shopping district that is full of fashion temptation. Well, that goes for home fashions as well. Restoration Hardware, Crate & Barrel and Pottery Barn are all within lunch-break walking distance. And what a temptress Pottery Barn is. There's even a "Friends" episode about it ("The One with the Apothecary Table").

Since February I've been admiring Pottery Barn's faux foliage display. Healthy bunches of blossoms and bright green leaves, simply bursting out of the most adorable vintage French milk pails or what-have-you. The white cherry and the white dogwood were my favorites.

And if I could only take them home with me they'd brighten my home without making me drippy and sneezy. They even showed up in a little catalog mailer at the office to tempt me more. Also featured in the little catalog was the price: about $50 per branch! Even cheaper versions at the craft store were $9, which was steep if I wanted more than one.

Obviously, this blog is about a girl on a budget, so I had to find a way to get my flowers for cheap. Time for an adventure in Pottery Barn knock-off DIY.

Finding the bare branches was easy. I simply walked outside with an old pair of scissors and lopped some nicely shaped branches off the hibiscus bush in the front yard and the oak tree out back.

DIY Dye: Bootcut Mint Green Jeans

I work in a dangerous area. I don't mean hardhats and power tools dangerous, I mean spending-grocery-money-on-clothes dangerous. That's right, I work in a shopping district. Within two blocks of my office there are Banana Republic, Zara, Forever 21, Urban Outfitters, and H&M, just to name a few. Lunch breaks can be a time of great temptation.

I'm proud of myself that I usually come back empty-handed. I manage this by using shopping excursions not to buy, but to gather ideas and inspiration. A spring trend that I've seen in many stores (and all over Pinterest) is bright colored jeans. My favorite color I've seen is a very spring-like mint color. Looking at it just makes me think of big deep swimming pools and spoonfuls of mint-chip ice cream. Oh so yummy.

There's only one problem. All these bright minty jeans only seem to come in skinny cut. I love skinny cut, but it isn't the most flattering style on me (wide hips) so I try to avoid it. Also, most of them are pretty pricey.

Here are some examples:

Hudson Collin Mint Jeans an Neiman Marcus $165

Mint Green Insight Beanpole Skinny Jeans at Urban Outfitters $89

GUESS? Brittney Skinny Aqua Wash at Macy's $67

But as I always say, if they don't make it the way you want it, make it yourself. (I totally always say that...I swear.) So I decided to dye my own mint green jeans.

I was off to the thrift store again, this time in search of white jeans to dye. I tried on a few pairs until I found two that fit. I had intended to only buy one, but one pair was 50% off. Usually I try not to be a sucker for a deal, but at the thrift store this means I got a pair of Tommy Hilfiger carpris for $3! A pair of Express bootcut jeans set me back about $6.

The Green Clean Test

I'm very good at making up excuses not to clean the bathroom. I'm happy to say that this post is a sign that one of those excuses has been eliminated. I hate the smell of most home cleaning products. So I decided to try some of the home-made green cleaning recipes I've seen around the web.

First up was homemade glass cleaner. I was always a fan of Windex until I found out there were other ways to get a "streak-free shine" that didn't involve industrial chemicals and light-blue dye. We all know (or at least all of us crazy people who have an unusual enthusiasm for cleaning) that consumer glass cleaners can be used on more than just glass, and I've found the same is true for the following homemade glass cleaner recipe from The Frugal Girls.

The recipe specifies Dawn dish soap, but my mixture works just fine with Gain dish soap. Any of you out there who try this, let me know if your dish soap brand makes or breaks the recipe. I also added a few drops of tea tree oil to mine to help with the vinegar stink, which my roommates wrinkle their noses at.

In the interest of keeping the whole experience as green as possible, I used microfiber cloth I got in a pack of three for $4 at Big Lots. I love paper towels, but I'm slowly weaning myself off them.

Christmas Wreath Frenzy

My holiday decor shopping this year is reaching near-hoarder levels. The shelves in the garage are already full, as is the spare closet...I honestly don't know where it's all going to go once the season ends. But I can justify it all, because I got it for ridiculously cheap at the thrift store, and it doesn't look it.

So, this is the second post in my Thrifty Christmas series (the first was the Holiday Shrub), and this one is all about wreaths. Christmas wreaths are probably the most customizable seasonal decor, but wreath-making can be a pricey craft if you're buying everything new. But if you know where and how to look, creating gorgeous wreaths from thrift store finds is easy and insanely cheap!

The key is to be creative about your resources. I sourced my wreaths and decorative elements from three different thrift stores in the area. Thrift stores usually start putting out Christmas decor a few weeks after Halloween. Though they bring out the merchandise gradually to keep the shelves stocked, as with most things, you're likely to find the best stuff if you start early. I found the big wreath pictured below at the Salvation Army for $3.99. Similar wreaths from the craft store are $20 or more!

Festive Holiday Shrub

I am particularly proud and excited about this project, because, unlike many of my posts, this one is not inspired by something I saw on Pinterest or someone else's blog. It's entirely of my own creation...at least as far as I know.

The magnolia bush in our yard is always the first plant to lose all its leaves as winter draws near. I love the shape of the shrub, and the color of its dry branches in the winter light. This year I decided it would be the recipient of the first explosion of Christmas cheer.

A Touch of Fall

We usually get our first cold winter storm about a week after Halloween. For bodies still used to early fall heat waves, it's real cuddling weather. And even when I can no longer keep my toes warm, I keep my spirit warm with touches of autumn color around the house.

I started with a few packs of leaves from the dollar store. When I grabbed these off the shelf I couldn't tell there were so many color varieties in each pack, nor so many leaves. There were more than 200 in each pack and I bought three!

Trendy Feather Earrings

This project falls under the category of "Things I won't buy if I can make them cheaply myself." The materials for making your own feather earrings are cheap enough that the ones you see in stores are a shocking rip-off. Thanks to my friend Stephanie for inspiring this little adventure in thriftiness.

You can get all the supplies you need at a craft store like Michaels. (Prices are estimates because I lost my receipt and can't remember precisely how much everything cost.)

1. Feathers! - $6 for a big variety pack, $3 for smaller color-coordinated packs
2. Earring hooks - $3 for pack of 20
3. Crimp cord ends - $4 for a pack of 48 (there seem to be a few names for these. I have seen them called crimp beads, but the most important thing is that they have a loop at the top).
4. Optional: Pretty chain for trendiness and weight - about $4 for a pack, or take apart an old necklace you don't wear anymore for free!
5. Optional: Thread for holding feathers together

How to Make Pipe Cleaner Spiders

It's officially October and I have no more restraint when it comes to Halloween crafts. The inspiration for this how-to comes from the Wired How-To Wiki on building a giant spider web. I followed Wired's instructions but made a few modifications.

For this project, all you will need is a pack of black pipe cleaners. Michaels sells a pack of 100 for a just a few dollars.