DIY Materials and Clutch Giveaway

This the first giveaway of three. For this one, you will be winning two sets of studs, pearls, and embellished patches. Also, you will win this clutch embellished made by me. This giveaway runs for a week and will end on December 7 at 12:00 a.m.

 Criteria for this giveaway are:

 1.You must join through GFC or Bloglovin. These can be found on the right side of my blog. If you are already a member of one, skip to number 2.

 2. If you are already a member of GFC and Bloglovin, just leave a comment and tell me if you won these what would you embellish or make with these.

3. For an extra entry follow me through twitter at: https://twitter.com/carrie_teal

This giveaway is for everyone. I will email the winner to get their address. One winner will be announced on December 7 and this will also be the start of the second giveaway. Good luck!  :)

Hope everyone has a great weekend. 

DIY: Embellished Pearl Sweater

Most of you that read my blog,  know that I love all things embellished. Well, for now I have gone away from spikes and studs, and currently love pearls.  For a while, I wanted to put pearls on a sweater, but I needed the right sweater.  You might have one right in your closet you can use. I found mine for $10.00 at Plato's closet. This is a great embellished sweater to add to any wardrobe and I love how it turned out.

Materials needed for this are a sweater, scissors, threading needle, white thread, 2 different sizes of pearls. I used some from a old necklace I had, but they can be found at any local craft store.

Step 1: Decide upon a design before sewing on pearls. Thread your needle and pull through sweater with a large needle.

Step 2: After each pearl, you will tie a knot. Then, move onto the next pearl. Do not cut string until the final pearl. You will need to do one continuous string. I tried knotting them separately and they kept falling off. (annoying)

Step 3: Continue process until you have the desired design.

 Step 4: I put on eight large pearls and ten smaller pearls on each sleeve. Make sure to duplicate the same pattern on the other sleeve.

Linking up at the Pleated Poppy for WIWW.

I have decided to host a giveaway each Friday for the next 3 weeks. Since it is the time of giving and  I love giving my friends gifts to let them know I appreciate and think of them. I appreciate all of my readers and your support. The first giveaway will be some supplies for a few DIY's and a DIY done my moi. Check out Friday's post if interested.

Little gold belt

Happy Monday, I hope everyone had a fabulous holiday weekend. I actually had a chance to read the book Gone Girl, by Gillian Flynn. It is definitely quick read and is full of action( and a little bit of crazy). My mom watched the kids, so my husband and I actually had a date night. I also went thrifting and got a few good items. One item is this gold vintage belt in the photo below.

Thrifted gold belt- Similar, J.Crew 's Classic Pave' Link Bracelet, Tahari Strauss Boots, H&M dress- Similar,Tights- Target(old)- Similar

 I love it and my inspiration for this belt comes from the t.v. show called 2 Broke Girls. My husband and I watch this show. We think it is hilarious. I love the way the actress Beth Behrs ,who plays the character Caroline, accessorises her uniform (which is pretty ugly) with a gold belt and pearl necklace. I think this just shows how much just one accessory can have on an outfit. I have always admired( that's putting it mildly)this gold belt.  So this weekend, when I found one that looks almost identical for $2.99, I was ecstatic.

Where do you get your inspiration for your style?
Linking up at Visible Monday, Monday Mingle,and Watch What I'm Wearing.
Also, I did delete some photos from my blog, so I am working on getting them back slowly.

I'm plaid with that

Happy Wednesday ! This post is on plaid. Plaid is a print that can be combined with many prints. Buffalo plaid as seen in Michael Kors 2012 Fall collection is a plaid that has two main colors.

Michael Kors Fall 2012 Fashion Show

I tend to wear buffalo plaid more often, but for this post I wore tartan plaid. I bought this skirt from the thrift store. I loved that it is pleated, wraps around, and still had the original pin to hold the front together. This skirt is vintage, but to modernize it, I paired it with a yellow pinstriped J.Crew shirt, black Madewell sweater, and my new Tahari boots.

Tahari Strauss Boots , Madewell Black Sweater- Similar, Thrifted Plaid Skirt- Similar

Silver Monogrammed Necklace- Similar, Rhinestoned Bow Studs, J.Crew Yellow Pinstripe shirt- Similar

Do you wear plaid? Do you prefer one plaid over another?

I am sure that everyone is glad to have a short week. It's great to be able to spend time with family. Is anyone going to go Black Friday shopping? I can't decide if I need anything that bad to go out. Well, I hope everyone has a great Thanksgiving.

Linking up at the Pleated Poppy for WIWW.

Thoughtful Gifts

Happy Monday, I am pumped this is a short week. I am excited to have a few new followers, happy to have you! I will be visiting you soon, the sickness is plaguing me again. So, I have done nothing this weekend, but watched the Lifetime channel. My husband thinks its funny, he can turn it onto that channel, and I will sit on the couch for hours upon hours. This is because it is usually hard to get me to sit down. With the holiday season upon us, it's time to start thinking of gift ideas. The best gifts in my opinion are the ones that people took time and thought to pick out or make for me. For example,  last Christmas, one of my good friend's, Lauren, purchased a subscription to InStyle for me. I loved this gift for these reasons:

1.This wouldn't be something I buy for myself
2. I had just started my blog and this was so helpful
3. I got this gift all year, I couldn't wait to get my new edition in the mail every month

Another one of my good friends, Molly, bought me a pair of sequin leggings from Express. She over heard me talking about them. She knew they wouldn't be something I would buy for myelf, but loved. I love them and think of her every time I wear them.

Here are some tips when thinking of gifts for other people:

1. Think about any hobby or interests they are currently involved in.
2. Have they ever admired something of yours- they might want one just like it!
3. Listen to things they say they want or need in passing conversations- then write it down( I forget if I don't )
4. Handmade gifts give that personal touch
5. Monogramming shows that you are really thinking of them

Baublebar: Acrylic Script Monogram

Striped Momgrammed Bracelet

How do you pick gifts for people? Do you make any of your gifts?

Holiday Dress - Revamped

Well this week is dedicated to the holiday dress. This is my dress that I wore last year. I can't believe a year has already went by and it's time for the holidays. Sometimes I buy a dress for a certain holiday occasion, get excited, and then find out it is not as dressy affair as I thought. So, to get many uses out of that holiday dress, make it more causal. I took this sequined strapless dress and paired it with a chambray shirt and hot pink sweater. When I showed my daughter my dress, she said, "didn't you have a skirt just on". My mission was accomplished, she didn't realize that it was the same dress. This is also a great alternative, if you do not want to invest in a new holiday dress. Look at your oldies, but goodies in your closet and see how you can revamp it!

What is your favorite sequined piece? Have you bought anything new for a holiday party coming up?

Linking up at the  The Pleated Poppy for WIWW .

Dress for all that's Jolly

I hope everyone had a great weekend. It was unseasonably warm here, so we tried to play outside as much as we could. I also may have put up a Christmas light or two because I rarely get to put them up in a tank top. I promise not to turn them on for a couple of weeks! The holidays will be in full force soon and it's a very busy time. So, now is a great time to start looking for that holiday dress. I snagged this baby at the thrift store this summer for $16.99, yes that's right. This is an excellent time to go thrifting for a holiday dress, because there are still plenty available. If thrifting is not your thing, then the stores have plenty for you to choose from.

I have picked a few holiday dresses that I think will look great on different body types. All of these dresses are fabulous and all have great price points.

For the ruler shape Lipsy One Shoulder Dress

For Pear shape body types this Mango- Sequin Dress .

For hour glass shapes this Sequin Skirt Dress.

For the tulip shape Elissa Tee Dress

I will also be posting on Wednesday how to take last year's dress and reuse it in a different way, if you are passing on buying a new holiday dress. I love this time of year because I get to dress up. Make sure the dress you choose makes you feel like a million bucks!


Have you bought a holiday dress yet? Do you buy one every holiday or try to reuse previous ones?

Linking up at Visible Monday, Monday Mingle,and Watch What I'm Wearing.

DIY: Add a little Metallic to your Rainboots

Happy Friday, yes I have struggled this week. I am not sure what's up, but every week I seem to be getting somebody's bug. Now, I am feeling fabulous and will get back on track. I bought a pair of rain boots at the thrift store and knew I wanted to do something with them.(I already had a black pair) They have sat around for some months and I realized I wanted to put a metallic effect on them.   This can be done to any solid color rain boot, but if you didn't want gold - silver is a great alternative.

  For this DIY you will need a solid color rain boot, Krylon gold spray paint (adheres well to rubber or plastic), paper to ball up, newspaper, masking tape, and plastic bags.

Step 1: Tape the bottom of the boot as seen in photo.

Step 2: Put newspaper in the boot, so paint does not get in the inside. Make sure to put the boot on newspaper and put plastic around the taped area.

 Step 3: Crumple up the paper and then spray the spray paint on the paper.

 Step 4: Lightly press the paper on the boot. This is kind of a sponge painting affect on a boot. Once you have done one area don't repeat  in the same spot, because you want the metallic paint not to fully cover the boot.

 Step 5: Continue up the boot and let dry for a couple of days, so the paint will adhere. I have washed the boots with a wet towel to make sure the paint wouldn't come off. . This is an easy way to apply the metallic trend into your wardrobe.

I love how they turned out and it was so easy. 

Any plans for the weekend? Do you tend to wear a particular metallic color over another?

"Fox"y Lady

Happy Monday! I do love the animal sweater  trend, but I it has taken me a little while to find one that I think it appropriate for my age. By this I mean, I see animal print sweaters for my 10 year old daughter. She has one with a bunny in the middle. So, I like the trend, but was looking for one that a 30 something year old could wear. I loved this Fox Stole Sweater from Nordstroms as seen in the photo below. It gives the illusion of wearing a fox stole on my sweater. The neutral color of this sweater makes it very versatile.

 Frenchi 'Fox Stole' Sweater 

 Loft Checkered Shirt (old) - Similar,  Merona Kasia Leather Riding , Gap Skirt (old)- Similar

These are the rules I followed for myself when looking for this type of sweater:

1. Make sure the animal print is off center .

2. Most multi-animal print sweaters will work.

3. Make sure the background color of the sweater is a neutral color.

These are a few I like and I have been on the hunt for a while!

Topshop 'Mirrored Zebras' Sweater

DP: Bronze bird embellished jumper

DP: Beige badger jumper

Which is your favorite  sweater above? What do you think about the animal print trend?


Linking up atThe Pleated Poppy, Watch What I'm Wearing, Monday Mingle,  and Visible Monday.