Christmas Kitty DIY

Hiya Blogland!!! Everyone having a wonderful start to the  week??  I received a surprise in the mail yesterday from the always colorful and fabulous Senora Allnut. She sent the most gorgeous pleated ivory maxi skirt. I have pictured several outfits with this for next spring/summer. It will be very versatile!! She also sent a lovely bracelet and copper heart. I'm planning an outfit for the bracelet for later this week!! I love black and white!!

Here are some kitty ballerina ornaments I just made from stuff in my stash. Below is a quick DIY on how to make Santa ones. They go together really quickly. I'm also using this DIY to make angel ones. You can also make them into regular Santa's by substituting Santa faces for the kittens.

Pipe Cleaner Kitty Ornament DIY

 

Your supplies: 1 regular pipe cleaner, 1 bumpy pipe cleaner, 1/4 extra fuzzy pipe cleaner, face cut from old card,  tiny wreath and tree, also 4 small beads and a piece of string for hanging.

 Cut the bumpy pipe cleaner in half. Fold the bumpy and fuzzy pipe cleaners in half.

 

Loop the bumpy pipe cleaners together. Twist the bottom piece to make a star like below.

 Lay the fuzzy piece on top and wrap the untwisted (arm) pieces around it to hold it. It should look like below:

 Wrap the other pipe cleaner around the middle covering the white "ends" to form a body. don't make it too tight.

 Leave a piece loose for the tail. Secure by passing it under the loop above.

 Stick the beads on the ends. Bend a tiny bit of the pipe cleaner end up to secure the bead.

 Pass the string through the fuzzy loop and make a hanging loop by tying off.

Hot glue the face on the front and add tree and wreath. You can also add some glitter. The pink kitty's skirt was made by putting glue along the back of the ribbon and ruffling the crepe paper onto it. Then it's just hot glued on.

Santa Kitty!!!!

On the fashion front Monday's outfit was a big hit at work. The sweater is Basic Editions(Kmart)/Thrifted. The trousers DressBarn/Thrifted, shoes are Clarks/Thrifted and the necklace came from the clearance rack at Burlington Coat Factory. It was broken but easily fixed. I started out with a grey pinstripe shirt under the sweater but the shirt was too big and bunched up weird.

Tuesday outfit is for SpyGirl's 52 Pick-Me-Up: Trend Salad. We are supposed to wear as many trends as possible. I really don't follow the trends but here's my take on it. I'm covering pattern matching, menswear, colored tights,  and booties. Oh, and like Val Sparkle- silvery foxy grey hair!!

Everything except the tights is thrifted. Skirt is SagHarbor, Shawl/Vest is CJBanks, Turtleneck is Dressbarn, and the booties are Nine & Co that I got for $6 brand new unworn!!

I am also thrilled and honored to be SpyGirls' Digital Catwalk Model this week!! She even caught the purple in my hair!!!

Wait to see what happens when you mix some bleach, cheapo bottle brush trees, glitter and vintage beads. Stay tuned for the reveal!!

TTFN
Tamera

Literary Textures

Hiya Blogland!! How is everyone this lovely Wednesday?? We are in the middle of a mini-heatwave. I'm looking forward to the cooler weather coming back.

Here in the US I'm sure y'all have heard about the government shutdown. This means I am off work indefinitely. I'm taking advantage of this time to do some stuff around the house. Yesterday I cleaned out some dead stuff from the gardens. Gracie and I have been taking advantage and going on some nice hikes.

I managed to do one outfit for two challenges I'm participating in this week.  The outfit below is a mix of textures for SpyGirl's 52 Pick-me-up:Textures. I'm wearing a crocheted top with a crinkly skirt, my multi-texture Skechers flats and a linen scarf.

Fashion for Giants:Literary Stylings has you style an outfit inspired by a book you've read the past month. My September book was "The Dressmaker of Khair Khana: Five Sisters, One Remarkable Family, and the Woman Who Risked Everything to Keep Them Safe"  I can HIGHLY recommend this book. it was fascinating, uplifting and I could hardly put it down.

The life Kamila Sidiqi had known changed overnight when the Taliban seized control of the city of Kabul. After receiving a teaching degree during the civil war—a rare achievement for any Afghan woman—Kamila was subsequently banned from school and confined to her home. When her father and brother were forced to flee the city, Kamila became the sole breadwinner for her five siblings. Armed only with grit and determination, she picked up a needle and thread and created a thriving business of her own.
The Dressmaker of Khair Khana tells the incredible true story of this unlikely entrepreneur who mobilized her community under the Taliban. Former ABC News reporter Gayle Tzemach Lemmon spent years on the ground reporting Kamila's story, and the result is an unusually intimate and unsanitized look at the daily lives of women in Afghanistan. These women are not victims; they are the glue that holds families together; they are the backbone and the heart of their nation. Afghanistan's future remains uncertain as debates over withdrawal timelines dominate the news.
The Dressmaker of Khair Khana moves beyond the headlines to transport you to an Afghanistan you have never seen before. This is a story of war, but it is also a story of sisterhood and resilience in the face of despair. Kamila Sidiqi's journey will inspire you, but it will also change the way you think about one of the most important political and humanitarian issues of our time.

The women of Afghanistan were educated and stylish before the Taliban came. They were forced into black burkha's from head to toe. I  decided to wear all black in reference to this huge change in their lives. My necklace is made from an Afghani charm.

 

I only had to go to work for four hours yesterday so I dressed casually. Everything but the shoes are thrifted. The tshirt is Liz Claiborne, the cardigan Laura Ashley, the jeans are Lee. The pendant is a gift from the groovetastic Vix.

 

 

 

Take a moment to check out how others did Textures and Literary Stylings!!

 

Have a fabulous rest of the week and I'll chat with ya'll later!!

 

TTFN

 

Tamera



Once, Twice, Three Times an Outfit

Hiya Blogland!! The weather is GLORIOUS here!! 70's, low humidity, brilliant blue skies!!  My kind of summer!!

This week Spygirl's 52 Pick-me-up challenge was wear an item 3 times and see if anyone notices. I may have taken the "easy" way by choosing a black Tshirt. It's from Lane Bryant and I thrifted it last year. I "ruched" the sides to help make it fit better. I soon will have to alter it some more!!

Monday I paired it with my DIY Matrushka skirt and Amerimark sandals. I wore a bunch of bracelets-including the cool pink skull one Krista made for me.  I took the elastic in on the waist of the DIY skirts I made but I'm going to have to do a major altering job as there is too much fabric bunched up at the waist now. Or else I'll just deconstruct them and use the fabric for something else. Just ignore the doggie butt!!

Wednesday I paired the tshirt with a pair of old (had them at least 15 years) Lee jeans of mine that I CAN GET INTO AGAIN!!! It was a bit cool so I wore a thrifted cardigan and some thrifted bracelets and necklace. The sandal are new. I had to go bra shopping this weekend (UGH) at Kohl's and found these Croft&Barrow sandals on the clearance rack. I've been looking forever for wedge black sandals that are comfortable-which these are totally. They were marked down from$ 69.99 to $12.99!!!! I stopped at the Goodwill on the way home from work and a young girl commented on how cool she thought wearing a brooch on your pant cuff was. I scored something AMAZING that I'll share a bit later this week. Just think "Stevie Nicks Vibe"!!!

Today I wore the tshirt with my black swirly maxiskirt and the abstract art Chico's jacket I thrifted last spring. I'm glad it's cool enough to wear it again--I love the "jeans jacket" styling, the lightweight fabric and the awesome collagy print.  I decided at the last minute to wear my pink LizClaiborne loafers (thrifted spring 2012 UNWORN for $$!!). Added some bangles (including the Krista skull one) and a thrifted pink belt.

It was tough wearing the same thing-I actually had to wash the top Tuesday (menopause and pig-sweating).

It looks like it's gonna be a busy weekend ~~~ I'm taking the boys to visit a CAVE on the towpath tomorrow. I need to spend some quality time tonite or tomorrow nite with Manic Panic Pink as Saturday I have a photoshoot involving cows and something yellow!!

Everyone have a fantastic weekend and I'll be back on Sunday with the fruits of the photoshoot!!

TTFN
Tamera