42 Days to Go: $2 Remake

Yep, that's $2 in the title of this one - I got a pair of most gorgeous appliqués that were just a buck a pop.  Check them out...

I was first thinking about making shoe clips, but as the little wedding week got underway, and I saw some inspiration danglers at Anthropologie...

...and I thought I'd turn them into easy earrings, totally appropriate for a wedding!

I took a pair of earring hooks and two jump rings...

...attached the rings to the hooks...

...and then attached the rings to the appliqués! This was easy because the ends of the rings went right through the mesh material the beads and stones were attached to.

I clasped the ends of the jump rings shut...

...and had a glammy, shiny, perfect pair of blingy-earrings!!

I'm not one for dangling earrings without clip-on backs, thanks to years of wearing heavy Jem and the Holograms-style earrings, however these were light and gorge!

I can't wait to start going earring crazy now...get ready!!

43 Days to Go: Thursday Giveaway

Because it's been pretty much all things wedding this week, I figured a fun giveaway to tie all of this in would be perfectly suited!! I'm obsessed with all these goodies...My Best Friend's Wedding (which I will always think of each time "Say A Little Prayer" plays), a satin sleep eye mask (I have a leopard printed one which saves me on the plane), Blue Q's "I'm Savin Up For My Dream Wedding" tin bank, and Hide-A-Notes which are adorable cards with different cute drawings/sayings you can give your significant other.  Nothing like sneaking a little card with a ship on it that says "you float my boat" into a back pocket :)

To win these goodies, leave a comment below with a fun wedding story!  Maybe you caught the wedding bouquet without trying (you got that story from me last week), saw attendees do the splits (yep and splits, plural, was not a typo), or had a private John Mellencamp concert during the wedding reception (check).  Share something fun/memorable and a winner will randomly get chosen next week (as well as winners from the previous two weeks' giveaways)!

44 Days to Go: $1 Remake

Continuing on the wedding theme this week, this dress just cracked me up when I found it...

There was something about the sleeves, mixed with the bright pink that just made me giggle.  I feel like there was a bridesmaid moment that happened with this piece and I couldn't stop thinking about what flowers got picked to match the dresses!  To make this wearable for me,  I got to work!

I started with scissors and began to hack away at the hard/papery/coffee filter-esque material that was sewn in each of the sleeves.  The sleeves were basically immovable with this stuff as a liner, so I cut it all out!

I should have put on a pot of coffee with what was leftover!!  Post sleeve fix, I began to work on separating the bodice from the skirt.

I went around the waist removing stitches...

...and finally ended up with two pieces!  The tulle crinoline and skirt are not making it to the final picture today!!  I pinned the raw edges at the bottom of the top and sewed down a new hem.

I pinched and cinched the neckline, giving it a little bit of ruching, and now with flowier sleeves, my piece was finally ready to wear!  I tucked the top into a brown skirt from H&M and paired it with some flip flops to work during the day.

I'm such a fan of the brown/pink pairing that I brought along my Trina Turk tote that had the same color palette on my errands.

However by night, I changed it up a little!  Wore a pair of Steve Madden heels (circa 2004), tossed my hair up in a high bun, and grabbed my go-to vintage Dooney & Bourke purse.

A quick and easy change to dress this up a smidge for dinner.

From bridesmaid dress to chic top with just a few easy steps.  Love the quick process and the outcome!!