DIY: Pencil Skirts (and here's that new haircut I mentioned!)

Having found a love for pencil skirts and their versatility for creating a professional look while still lending themselves to be colorful, young, and vibrant, I decided it was time to purchase a pattern and start making my own (or, if I'm being honest, putting my mom to work).

The pattern I chose has six different styles of pencil skirts in varying lengths and with a few options of embellishments. The pattern showing the yellow skirt is almost identical to the purple pencil skirt I purchased from J. Crew--it has the same seams, cut, and fit. We used the fabric on the left to create a J. Crew style skirt that I absolutely love. I've worn this skirt with my mustard cardigan and both brown and black tights. 

We used the ruched pencil skirt pattern (middle right) with the fabric shown on the right. It is a silky fabric designed by April Johnston from Project Runway. I decided to actually use this fabric inside out as the pink tone is actually very bright, bordering on neon but the reverse side is perfectly magenta. Paired with grey tights, black wedges, and a black top the skirt is fun and edgy. Thanks mom!

DIY: Daily Calendar (and have an awesome rest of your school year)

This is a Pinterest-inspired gift I made this holiday season for some of my coworkers, my sister, my mom, and also for our house. I love the idea of taking a moment each day to write down something that happened that day whether it be some momentous occasion or just something you're grateful for that day.

Source: designspongeonline.com via Debra on Pinterest

As 2012 drew to a close I realized that I have so much to be thankful for and I know that I don't recognize enough the blessings in my life from the people I'm lucky enough to call friends and family, to my beautiful home, stable job, and my awesome cat! I'd like to take a moment to find the good moments that each day holds ("Everyday may not be good but there is good in every day." Thank you Jen!) and record it. I hope it will serve as a daily reminder to be thankful and to find awesomeness in each day.

"When I get sad, I stop being sad and be awesome instead. True Story." Barney Stinson

I couldn't find any of the berry baskets used in the inspiration pin (original directions here) but found some small white boxes at Michael's that fit 3 inch cards perfectly. I purchased 4x6 ruled index cards and stole the paper cutter from school one night, ok, I actually asked permission, otherwise it would've taken an eternity to cut all those cards by hand with a pair of scissors. In total I made 6 of these sets so here comes so math:

6 sets x 366 days = 2196 cards needed

2196/2 = 1098 cards needed (each large index card was cut in half)

So I purchased 12 packages of 100-cards (extras just in case)

Instead of vintage postcards I purchased scrap-booking paper and card stock. I used spray glue to adhere the paper to the card stock, then cut those on the paper cutter too.

Top Left: Supplies (Aleen's Tacky Spray Glue and Diet Coke were absolutely necessary items)
Top Right: Divider cards made with scrap book paper, spray glue, and card stock
Bottom: Finished product

The last and longest step was to add the dates to all the cards. I decided to purchase metallic pens and hand-write the dates instead of using a stamper. In all I think it probably took close to two hours to create each complete set.

Have an awesome return to school for all the teachers out there! And if your school day is lame, just stop letting it be lame and be awesome instead...

Christmas Gifts 2012

Christmas Gifts 2012 by dlanum featuring ann taylor

These are some of the wonderful gifts I received this year. I also unwrapped some beautiful and fun tank tops from my sister but I couldn't find pictures of them online. I am, however, sure you'll be seeing them in the coming weeks in pictures of outfits!

Budget Update--End of 2012

Well, I have just spent the last few hours looking through my closet and jewelry to make a list of everything I have purchased since my last splurge at the outlets in August. As mentioned in that post, I ended up spending through the rest of my October budget and well into my allotted November spending leaving me with a mere $44.32 left for that month and the $70 for December.

So how did I do with my remaining $114.32 for August through December? In two words? Not good. But also not too terribly bad considering that the majority of the purchases I made were less than $15 (rule #3), I did not pay full price for anything I purchased, and I would have been on budget if I got rid of two purchases*.

I am also listing the wonderfully fashionable Christmas presents I received from my wonderful mom and picked out by my stylish sister (second to the last paragraph from my first post).

Here's what I bought!

Old Navy
Dark wash trouser jeans $8.47
Mustard yellow cardigan $18.71
Blue and white polka dot cardigan $19.94
SF 49ers T-shirt $14.63 (this purchase was more for my husband than me...maybe I won't count it in my budget...)

Goodwill
Merona super long sleeve glue gingham collared shirt $3.98
J Crew stretch red paisley collared shirt $3.98

Banana Republic Factory Store
Khaki shorts (for my friends awesome wedding in Mexico!) $6.43

TJ Maxx
Royal purple skinny jeans $14.99

Gap Outlet
Light purple and yellow tissue shirt $6.49
Grey and red floral tissue shirt $6.49

Ebay
White Mountain dark brown riding boots $43.24 with shipping
*These cursed boots!! I knew months ago that I couldn't afford to buy boots and I did it anyway. Yes, apparently I have no willpower. This is one of the two purchases that if I had some self-control I'd have been on budget.

Joanne's Fabric (Post on this DIY project in the coming weeks!)
Pencil skirt pattern, fabric for two skirts (Project Runway Fabric no less!), two zippers $38.37
*Second purchase that if eliminated would have kept me on budget. I do think of this as an investment for the future because now that the pattern has been purchased, I can continue to keep mom in the sweatshop making skirts for next to nothing. Did I mention I have the world's best and most talented mother?

Jewelry (Who am I kidding? They're all necklaces...not a ring, earring or bracelet in sight!)
Gold Leaves and Beads (Old Navy) $9.95
Pink and Yellow Bubble Necklaces (Poke A Dot Shop Facebook Special) $36.98 total
Gold Paddle, Brown Beaded, Purple/Blue/Silver Beaded (Cost Plus) $11.69 for all three as they were buy one get one free and I purchased some for Christmas presents

Christmas Gifts
Camel v-neck sweater, camel ribbon tank, tan pants (The Limited)
Emerald cross-neck long sleeve shirt, Black tissue long sleeve shirt (Ann Taylor)
Gold and brown tiered beaded necklace (Pier One)
Chunky neutral and pink necklace and matching bracelet (The Limited)

DIY: Wedding Dress Pendant

I am attempting to become more crafty and thanks to my devotion to Pinterest I spent some quality time during my break from school creating home-made gifts for my coworkers, family, and a very special present for my husband.

I had seen this beautiful pendant on Etsy and was instantly in love. You send a small piece of your wedding dress to this jewelry maker and she creates a necklace charm for you and puts it on a beautiful sterling silver chain. The price was a little out of my budget so I decided that I would try to recreate this look myself.

A quick trip to Michael's was all it took to find the perfect locket-style pendant and a matching chain. Both items were $5.99 at full price but were on sale for 30%. I also had a coupon for an additional 40% off one item. In total the cost to make my necklace was less than $8 as I already had the findings (jump rings, lobster clasps, and jewelry pliers).

Pendant from Michael's $5.99 full price

It took awhile to find a place on my dress where I could cut a piece of lace without it showing...you know, I'm totally planning on wearing that thing again and/or I'm sure should I ever have daughter she will definitely want to wear it so it really can't have a giant missing square of lace. I eventually found an inside seam that had just enough lace peeking through that I could cut a swatch large enough to fill the pendant. I decided that since this charm is clear on both sides, I also wanted a piece of the beautiful tie my husband wore at our wedding. I cut off the extra piece of fabric on the back of the tie that is used to hold the little end. Below is the finished product! 

lace from my wedding dress

fabric from groom's tie

My husband absolutely loved this gift and said it is his favorite thing he has ever received! I love you honey!

Beautiful Photo from our wedding photographer Courtney Aaron

Returning to the Web-waves in 2013

During the month of December I had a few coworkers and friends ask me about my blog and what had happened to it, would it be returning, their lives were empty and pointless without it...well, maybe not that last part. So while I won't be making a New Year's resolution committing to some set amount of posts per week, I feel that I'm established enough in my flipped classroom routine that I will be able to make some time to post more regularly.

Coming Soon:
Update on all my purchases for the remainder of the year (hope the husband isn't reading)
Update on progress in my classroom
Exciting new opportunity for advancement in my career
A new, drastic, still-very-much-adjusting-to-it hair cut

Thank you to my wonderful friends and family for continuing to be interested in my little web-endeavor. I am so blessed by the amazing people in my life!

Math Formulas + New Clothes = Stylish Outfits Part 2

I was so inspired by my first go around with formulaic styling that I did another one! I will admit, however, that this mix and match was not nearly as fun or bright as the first one so I found it much more challenging. I strayed away from the prescribed articles of clothing for two reasons: 1) I don't own a trench coat 2) I found trying to do this many neutrals together didn't really seem very "me". Ten more mix and match outfits are headed your way!

Here are the pieces I used to recreate the styles:
The Limited essential white collared shirt-TJ Maxx similar here
Nine West sling back pointed heel-old similar here
Aerosoles brown sandals-TJ Maxx recent similar here
New York & Co cream sweater-thrifted similar here also...
The Limited colorblocked stripe top-The Limited recent
Max Studio geometric skirt with pockets-thrifted similar here also...
INC black pleated skirt-thrifted similar here
Express Editor light blue pant-old (circa 2005) similar here
Merona crew neck cardigan in yellow star pattern-Target also...
Delia's navy and magenta striped cardigan-TJ Maxx similar here
Mossimo geometric dress-Target Clearance similar here
The Limited Drew pant in gray and blue plaid-The Limited also...
Exact stretch capri pant-The Limited
Merona Madge flats in orange-Target clearance recent
American Eagle flats in navy-Payless Shoes recent
Wool coat-vintage? thrifted similar here
Fitted polka dot tee- Forever 21 recent