Katharina's NDAD Creation: Holiday Edition

As soon as Katharina sent this my way, I had to post it! We're all in holiday mode and everywhere I turn there's decor. Be it in stores, in front of people's houses, and even on cars! I was lucky enough to catch a Hanukkah parade in LA that consisted of a string of cars driving with twinkle light menorahs on their roofs! I need some holiday car bling! In the meantime, check this project out...

Hello from Rio!  Last year, I was amazed with a picture I found on Tumblr...

New Dress A Day - DIY Christmas ornament hanging tree

...and it served as inspiration for my mother and sister to make our own. We had no idea how they made it, so we created something up ourselves.

We bought two stars made of some sort of woven straw to serve as a base and then my mom tied them together. We hung it to our ceiling using hooks that my grandfather had made for my fifteenth party. In Brazil, we don't have sweet sixteen parties, we celebrate girls' 15 years, similar to a quinceañera).

New Dress A Day - DIY Christmas ornament hanging tree

 

After that we sewed each ornament onto the base, using a whole lot of nylon thread! Yes, the tree was hanging the entire time, so we stood on chairs because we needed to see the height of each ornament as we placed it. It was three days of work with  glitter all over our dining living room area to show for it, but we did it!

New Dress A Day - DIY Christmas ornament hanging tree

Of course, during the process we looked up "hanging Christmas tree" and saw the there was a much simpler way to do it, with hooks and a different base, but we're still proud of our version! You see, when you live in a hot place like Rio, where Christmas is during the summer, the whole fake snow/pine tree act just doesn't cut it. I think our tree is more tropical weather appropriate.

New Dress A Day - DIY Christmas ornament hanging tree - Grey's Anatomy Christmas

PS, this next picture is the view from under the tree.

New Dress A Day - DIY Christmas ornament hanging tree

My sister and I love to lie under Christmas trees and look at the twinkling lights, just like Meredith, George and Izzie did on Grey's Anatomy.

New Dress A Day - DIY Christmas ornament hanging tree - Grey's Anatomy Christmas

 

Doing that underneath this tree is a whole other experience! Hope you liked it, Marisa! Boas Festas! ("Happy Holidays" in Portuguese), Feliz Natal (Merry Christmas), e feliz ano novo (Happy New Year)!

Katharina, your tree is just spectacular! I think it looks amazing and I love that it was a family affair. Everyone got involved to create this beautiful piece which brings a smile to my face. You're totally right - how bizarre must it be in tropical weather to have a big pine tree in your house? This does the trick perfectly and it is so perfect for the holidays! I need to try this on out at some point myself. Feliz ano novo to you too!

Holiday Party Help!

I love hearing what you guys have to say when I can't choose what to wear to events!  I'm the ultimate "takes forever to make a decision" gal, so I'm reaching out to you to help me pick!  I have an annual holiday dinner this weekend with all my BFFs from college.  We've been doing it for years (it's in the double digits already!!), people fly in for it, and it has become the most fantastic tradition.  We all dress in festive attire, enjoy a big potluck where we all bring tons of food, and talk all night long.  No joke, people have watched the sun come up! So, help!!  Which outfit should I pick??  Here are my three options:

LOOK #1 - Vintage white tulle dress

This dress feels like it could have been worn at a wedding?  The amazing buttons on the wrists made me think that a wedding could have been on the agenda.  The only thing is that there's also these rust circles in the center of lace printed flowers made with glitter!  Yes, glitter!  I love the print, love the sleeves, don't love the long beaded strand that hangs from the back of the dress, but all these things can be tweaked.

New Dress A Day - vintage tulle wedding dress - thrift store shopping

LOOK #2 - Black tiered lace dress

This dress is a ribbed polyester with three different tiers of fabric.  The lace down the arms is super cool, but the rest of it needs some help.  Could be a very cool mod option with a little adjusting.

New Dress A Day - vintage black lace dress - thrift store shopping

LOOK #3 - Vintage velvet lace dress

This one has some holes on the waist, strings hanging, and there is not a working zipper on the back of the piece but I do love the velvet.  The shade is super gorgeous too - love me some burgundy!!  It feels a little more Thanksgiving-y to me, however there is always room to make something work!

New Dress A Day - vintage oxblood velvet dress - thrift store shopping

OK, I leave it in your hands...I'll be wrangling thoughts on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram as well, so send me your thoughts and make my decision!  I'll be going choosing the top vote-getter Saturday morning, so let your voice be heard!

TGIF, friends!

DIY: Cabochon Stud Earrings

On the 2nd day of DIY my true love gave to me. Two flower earrings and (yesterday's) partridge in a (pair of gloves) tree.  I think this lyric modifying is going to get difficult from here on out.  Bear with me and the puns :) DAY 2: Cabochon Stud Earrings

New Dress A Day - Holiday DIY - stud earrings

This is a project that I love to make for myself, just because I basically only wear stud earrings.  I love hanging ones, but I can only wear them if I put a clip-on back on them all thanks to wearing big, heavy pairs when I was an 80s kid!  My lobes never recovered.  Le sigh.

Here's another quick and easy DIY to add to your gifting list!

The project needs only a few supplies...

New Dress A Day - Holiday DIY - stud earrings

1. Cabochons (These are flat backed beads that you can score at any craft store.  I found these vintage-feeling ones in the fabric district downtown for 20 cents a pop, but here's a cute stash I found online.)

2. Earring pin posts/stud backs (I bought a big bag of these years ago and am still using them. There's a pack of 100/$4 here!)

3. Toothpick (The best tool for applying glue!  Feel free to use whatever you have close by to apply.)

4. E-6000 (The glue of champions. This stuff works SO well.)

I opened my tube o'glue and dipped in the toothpick to get a good amount on the tip (1) and then dabbed the back of one of the cabochons (2).  I took the pin post and pushed it into the glue to stick (3)...

New Dress A Day - Holiday DIY - stud earrings

...and then repeated this process for the other cabochon.  Once the earrings were put together, I let them dry for a few hours.

New Dress A Day - Holiday DIY - stud earrings

And in no time, a brand new pair of earrings are done and ready to be rocked!

New Dress A Day - Holiday DIY - stud earrings

This would also work really well for metal backed ring bases, using a larger cabochon to create a statement ring!  Hmm, maybe you'll see that DIY in a few days?

Two DIYs down, 10 more to go!