Wednesday Giveaway with Good Housekeeping & Rit Dye

Happy mid-week, friends! Who's down for a little giveaway?  This one is a bit different this week...I'm working with RIT Dye and we're doing a fun giveaway with Good Housekeeping magazine!  There are 100 books to win, lots of bottles of dye to win, and one lucky winner even gets a Skype sesh/consult with moi!

This is what ran in the May '13 issue (the one with the gorge Julianna Margulies on the cover) of the magazine...

Some of you might have seen it on page 196!  There are a few ways to enter - scanning the Good Housekeeping logo on your smart phone with one of their apps, or if you don't subscribe, you can scoot right over to their site to enter as well.  (That's totally easier, if you ask me!)

Click HERE for the sweepstakes link!

Now, these are a little tricky - if you don't want to get a free trial subscription of the magazine, make sure you click the area that says "No Purchase Necessary to enter".  (I took a screen shot of the page - see that blue "click here" area? That's where you click on their page if you don't want the mag delivered to your door!)

I've entered little contests here and there and have ended up with subscriptions of magazines that I already had because I didn't read the fine print.  So for today's giveaway, head on over to GoodHousekeeping.com and fill out all the info on their site to win!  The contest closes on May 15th and you can enter once a day.  (I'd love to hear if any readers win this - keep me posted if you do!!)

Also, a quick update on past winners....Congrats to Laura Whitman (Tony Awards pack), CourtneyB (Flying Buttress bag/panel of your choice), Sue (Pressed Flower Kit), Kate Martin (Rose rhinestone bracelet), and Audra (Eco-coffee bag).  All pending prizes are getting sent out this week...slight delay on my end, sorry!!

New remake tomorrow!!

Monday Remake: 80s Vintage Jessica McClintock Top

So there are a few specific things I go crazy bananas over...animal style fries from In-N-Out, Tim Riggins on Friday Night Lights, my amazing yoga teacher Peter who signs off every class with "Namastizzle," and lace.  So when I found this vintage shirt at Goodwill, I had to have it.  Just check out the front!

Lace party USA!!

The rest of the piece was highly questionable...

...but it had serious potench.

I started off by dyeing the piece in a denim blue bath of Rit Dye.  The non-lace portion is polyester so I knew that wasn't going to change much, however my goal was the lace!  I wanted the lace to become a part of the blue family.

Total color change success!  Next up was removing the shoulder pads.

Once the pads were gone, it made cutting the sleeves off that much easier!

I wanted the lace to be the centerpiece of the top, and I also wanted the sweetheart dip in the fabric underneath the lace portion to stand out, so I trimmed the blue polyester to match each edge of the sweetheart center to open up the neck line.

This shirt needed to be taken in, so I adjusted the sizing next.

I removed the lace that was the trim at the bottom of the shirt...

...and then added it around both of the armholes.

I stitched everything in place and had a top ready for a girls night out!!

With some red lips, dark jeans, and blue mules, I felt like the ultimate denim darling.

Here's a little close up!

I love that it has a Victorian feel with the high collar!

I always play around with jump shots and the timer on my camera - I have to say, I'm pretty impressed with today's result.

Nate Robinson, eat your heart out.  I'm ready to take you on at next year's NBA All Star game.  Swoosh!!

Happy Monday, lovebugs!

Carissa's NDAD Creation

I'm in full on summer mode right now!  I know it'll go back to feeling like spring next week, but for now I'm enjoying all the sun.  I'm also that weirdo who loves getting into a hot car after letting it sit in a parking lot while I'm on errands.  Today's piece comes from the beautiful Carissa.  Looks like she's ready for summer too!

Marisa, I want to thank you for sharing your amazing creations!  I've been working hard to lose weight recently, and your site has inspired me to revamp my existing wardrobe, rather than spending more money to replace it. The last time I wore this dress, it fit like a glove.  That was 50 pounds ago.

Now it's time to give it a new life!

Carissa, congratulations on all the hard work!  You look fabulous and I'm just so ecstatic that you're revamping all the goodies in your closet instead of buying new pieces.  You're totally right - there's no need to spend all that dough!

Time to check out the project!

First, I cut off the top portion and the straps.

Then I refinished the new top hem and reattached the straps.

The existing shirring in the back was starting to sag, so I inserted a length of elastic into my new hem to reinforce it.

Finally, I took in some of the excess fabric at what would now be the waist to give it a bit more flattering fit.

And now it looks great paired with a $2 thrifted yellow leather belt...

...and my favorite black wedges! 

Thanks again for all the inspiration!

Love this Cariss!  (My nickname is Maris, so I'm giving you what I get from my family!)  You look amazing and I'm so proud you did some resizing to make this dress a knockout once again!  The yellow belt is fab and you truly have the most perfect summer dress!  Have fun wearing it as the temperature starts to rise!  For more from Carissa, check her out HERE!

Sat, May 4 Subscribe to Self Magazine, just $4.49/year from DiscountMags.com! Use Promo Code: 3912