Earth Month: Earth Therapeutics

I wear my flip-flops about 93% of the time (you can get away with that in Los Angeles even on brisk days) and having exposed skin all the time doesn't make for the softest of skin on my feet. I not-so-secretly get pedicures mostly for the amazing loofah action the pedicurists rock on the bottom of my feet. Sometimes I'm embarrassed that they're making fun of me because of how much comes off, a la Elaine on Seinfeld.

Dry skin tends to plague me, so Earth Therapeutics has been a dry skin savior.

The foot balm is made up of three natural plant butters (cocoa, mango, and shea) and has a mix of tea tree and peppermint oils which stimulate and purify as well as aloe vera, that gets in there deep to soften skin. It's thickly textured, free of parabens, and not tested on animals - an awesome trifecta of good stuff getting absorbed by your skin.

The peppermint scent is strong enough to open up a few airways as well - it's like a mini aromatherapy sesh with your toes!

Earth Therapeutics www.earththerapeutics.net Price – $2.99+ Varieties – body butters, foot balm, cleansing strips, nail and cuticle care, and exfoliating soap.

Eliza's NDAD Creation

Eliza submitted something fabulous my way and it's a dress that she got for free! I love remakes that come from situations like this. One person's throwaway is another person's brand new, gorgeous dress!  The color is so fantastic too! Check out what she did...

I worked as an RA my junior year of college and one of the other RA's in my building was given a bunch of bridesmaid dresses by a student's mother. After they floated around her hall for a while she asked me if I wanted any of them.

My mom taught me to sew when I was ten-ish and now I make a lot of my skirts and dresses, but had yet to refashion anything. This dress was free and so I decided to go for it. 

See how Eliza's new dress turned out...

First I removed the bottom panel of the skirt and gave it a new hem. Next I took of the sleeves and the waist ties and recut the armholes into a slight racerback shape. I used the waist ties to face the armholes which was a whole lot easier than making bias tape. 

I love how it turned out and I can't wait to find more things to refashion. (My little brother wanted to be in the photos too). 

Thanks for the inspiration Marisa and for the reminder that making beautiful things doesn't have to start from scratch.

True that, Eliza!  I love what you did with this dress! What a perfect "new" piece for summer and yellow is such a gorgeous color on you. Also, you and your brother are adorable - you guys have that bent knee pose down to a science! I can't wait to see more refashions from you, now that you have one under your belt!

Remake: Blue Floral Polyester Dress

This dress was a simple and easy polyester one that I snagged from the thrift store. Hi pastels, I've missed you!!!

Elastic waist, high neck - a very basic number, just one that I wasn't super excited about.

I love the pattern as pink flowers are my fave, so I couldn't resist bringing it home with me. Easy summer dress, here. We. Go.

I started off by making a slit in the neckline to create a V-neck shape. Generally speaking, I usually don't go for the high necks on pieces unless they're something super structured. For this, it needs to be a bit flowier, something that really screams spring and matches the swing of the skirt!

I pinned my neckline in place...

...and stitched it in place.

To match the top portion to the bottom, I cut the dress a little shorter. Best part of that trick, is that the excess material can now be used as a sash at the waist. I like the idea of making it a bit more fitted, so instead of sewing it, I'm just going to cinch!

Just a few steps gives me a new piece that is summer approved.

It's the perfect thing for a bridal or baby shower...

...or something fun to wear to the Farmers Market!! Well, just without those major heels...they're definitely not the proper footwear to scour stalls of fruits and veggies in!

I'm digging the laid back feel of this dress and feel super feminine in it!!

It's like I'm wearing a field of lilies and lavender in this piece! Just wish the fabric was scratch and sniff :)

Happy Friday and I'm back from vacation on Monday (!!) and will be getting up all the fun Bali posts asap! Can't wait to share...