A week that had me scrambling with a bunch of projects due at once and my in-laws visiting. So they never noticed that I neglected to vacuum the house before they came…I met most of my deadlines! But I have a HUGE one coming up on Friday involving…SOCK PUPPETS…a $6 million budget…and somebody from a Robert Zemeckis movie!! (I know, I know…it’s a looong story. Don’t ask.;-)
source unknown
Ain’t that the truth??! So onto DIY and other awesomeness…
DIY Lanvin Necklace by Chic Intuition. Love the safety-pin through the grommets!
Refinery29 is searching for The Next Big Style Blogger! Could that be you? Enter and find out!
Stina Jimerson created a ring inspired by my DIY Edwardian Cuffs! It’s so amazingly textural and feminine – yet so strong at the same time. Definitely scroll through her blog and check out the rest of her amazing work!!
And, a cool project from a blog run by a MALE DIY-er (Andrew from Pull Teeth…and lord knows there’s two few of you guys out there making non-techy DIY projects!!): a DIY Sunglasses Holder. Check out all his other DIY projects and inspirational photography on his blog here!
Cut Out + Keep‘s Best 100 Projects of 2010 (as ranked by most favorited). My Men’s Shirt to Ruffled Shirt tutorial was #13!! (And check out their Best 100 Projects of 2009 compilation as well…4 of my projects made it to the list at #39, #72, #77, and #88.) I’m so flattered that so many people favorited my projects – and there’s so many amazing projects to look through, one could get lost in the DIY for days…;-)
~L~ from Avid Accents posted a great series called “Shopping 101” in which she offers some great tips to make your buying decisions more informed, less impulsive, and into decisions that truly round out your wardrobe. First you need to Know Your Style, then Know What You Have, and finally, Know What You Need before hitting the mall. Invaluable!
DIY Girl Scout cookies. You can buy the real ones online to support the organization if you want to…or if you don’t have access to them, want to have more, or just want to try your own hand at making them…here’s how.
I’ve just discovered a new DIY fashion blog called Studs and Pearls. Check out her DIY faux blazer – refashioned from a Hanes sweatshirt and a beautiful brooch!
Luxirare made her own dress + jacket pairing for all 5 days of the week in a variety of luxurious fabrics, leathers, colors, and textures. Not DIY so much as just straight-out off-the-hook design + planning + execution. It’s amazing that she is able to sew those garments so skillfully without multiple samples/prototypes. As always, I am in awe.
I’m loving this No Sew DIY Shirt Dress as posted on Cut Out + Keep by user selena. So simple…so pretty…so love! So if you’re not into sewing your shirts into dresses, you can definitely get beautiful results by just tying strategically.
Maya from Soccer Mom Style created these two fabulous projects: her “White Swan Gone Bad” studded clutch, and a DIY Armor Knuckle Ring. I’m officially drooling over both – she’s so talented! And check out her blog for many other great DIYs as well!
Recent favorite affordable and cute shopping destinations:
Your Eyes Lie 
Modcloth Sheyna.com
(And Sheyna.com is also a DIY Link of the Week – since it offers jewelry that you can customize into literally hundreds of combinations, choosing gold or silver, gemstone briolettes, chains, etc. – to make your own, one-of-a-kind DIY jewelry piece!)
And since I’m not doing my DIY Roundups anymore, if you have a DIY project, tutorial, or creation that you’d like to see featured on Chic Steals, please email me at carlyjcais at chic-steals dot com – and I’ll feature it in one of my Links of the Week posts!
xoxox
Carly
… and I am drooling over Stina’s beautiful ring. Thanks so much, Carly, for including my clutch and the armor ring.
All projects look amazing and I will definitely check them out tonight!
xx
maya
Soccer Mom Style recently posted…gray again
The form on your ‘contact’ page did not work, so I’m posting this here. Hope that’s okay!
Congratulations! I’m writing to inform you that Chic Steals has been selected as a finalist in the 2011 About.com Reader’s Choice awards. Based on the nominations we received, your blog has made it onto the final ballot. Between now and March 8, our readers will be voting for their Favorite Fashion Blog, and we’ll announce the winner on March 15.
Here is the link to the polls, which you may want to share with your fans so that they can put in some votes for you: http://bit.ly/g2RpKa
Many finalists choose to display a “finalist” badge on their website for recognition and to link to the polls:
http://0.tqn.com/d/diyfashion/1/0/8/g/-/-/lwg11110.jpg
Congratulations again on this recognition.
Best,
Rain Blanken
Guide to DIY Fashion at About.com
diyfashion.about.com
Rain Blanken recently posted…2011 Aboutcom Readers Choice Awards DIY Fashion Finalists – Vote Now!
Thanks Rain, I really appreciate you giving me the heads-up!
I’m super-excited about this and so flattered to have been nominated…I’ll be sharing with everyone again and again in the coming days, and keeping my fingers crossed…;-)
And sorry about the Contact form, I had a typo in the code and it wasn’t displaying…all fixed now – thanks for letting me know!
xoxox
Carly
Thanks for including S&P, carly! <3 I've actually made those girl scout cookies before…SO GOOD!
Kirsten at S&P recently posted…S&P Version- Acrobatics Necklace by Anthropologie