the case of the missing eyeball

on friday afternoon a little gold bird was victimized right under my nose, quite literally.  while i was busy making faces at my husband, i heard a crunch, i heard a crack, and i realized that a crime had been committed.  one of my little blue-eyed brooch birds had been assaulted and was lucky to escape the attack with its life, but only one of its two eyes.  it didn't take me long to identify the attacker thanks to exhibit A:

jacket: american eagle // lace dress: h&m via ebay // neon belt: gap // bird brooch: vintage // sandals: aldo

a few things about this outfit: first, i almost died when i saw that i'd won this dress on ebay.  i've been wanting a lace dress for so long, but seeing as how i'm a cheapskate, i wasn't willing to pay what most of them went for.  and then i found this one.  $17 later, i'm the proud new owner of this brand new dress with a €30 price tag.  next, i've had this neon yellow belt for years, and although i love it so much, i've never been sure of how to wear it because i'm pretty low key and i didn't want it to make me stand out so much.  i guess this is another reason i really needed this dress.

so how was your weekend?  mine was nice, and i'll tell you more about it tomorrow!  but until then, be sure to enter the giveaway i've got going on from printrunner.com for 100 postcards with your very own design! 

tie dye and lace: an outfit post

you know, i'm almost embarrassed to post this (almost embarrassed meaning i questioned posting a few times, but not quite embarrassed enough to not post it) because the pictures, well, they're crap. pure crap. i can't be entirely to blame though; in the words of milli vanilli, or the person who was really singing, "blame it on the rain, yeah yeaaahhh." the sun is finally back out today, but yesterday and the day before pretty much looked like dusk all day long. so dark and dreary i couldn't have taken a clear, non-grainy picture if i'd wanted to! but graininess aside, i wanted to show you something...

scarf: i don't remember, jacket: american eagle via tj maxx, dress: tj maxx, hand-dyed slipdress: lost cabin vintage, patterned tights: target, riding boots: vintage, arm party: vintage and flytiers jewelbox

the thing i was so excited about showing you is my dyed slipdress courtesy of the always-charming toni from lost cabin vintage! toni is awesome, and i've loved getting to know her through her blog and our daily emails. isn't that slipdress amazing though?! i really wish my pictures would have turned out better, and i even though about changing back into that outfit when i get home today to redo my pictures since it's sunny, but i know i won't have time before i leave to go see breaking dawn, and i've just been about to die to share! i can't wait until i can wear it so that you see more of it, but when the high is only in the 40's and it's windy, well, layers are essential! so, there you have it, one of my favorite new pieces in my closet!

i hope you guys have a great weekend, and PUH-LEASE come back on monday because there's going to be something very, very special waiting for you!

if you can't buy it, make it: an outfit post

you know how sometimes you feel such a sense of accomplishment, and it just puts a smile on your face that almost nothing can take off? well, since i'm no seamstress, when i wear something that i've made of significantly altered, i also wear that smile. last friday i told you that i was wearing a skirt i made, so of course i wanted to do an outfit post showing it!

jacket: thrifted, shirt: forever 21, necklace: dinosaur toes, skirt: made by me!, boots: vintage

i never really had any intention of making my own lace skirt until... THE UNTHINKABLE HAPPENED. let me start from the beginning. it was a rainy day, that april 16th, circa 2pm. i can remember because it was my birthday, also known as the only day i can get chris to come shopping with me for clothes. we went to forever 21 where i tried on a small mountain of clothes, but had to narrow down my choices seeing as how i'd left a stack of birthday cash at home;i figured i could come back for the rest of it - the rest of it including one beautiful lace skirt. i went back not quite one week later and just inside the door was yellow tape blocking any entry into the store, and beyond the yellow tape, the only things left in the store were two or three racks of clothes and a few boxes. i tried to stay calm and tell myself that they were remodeling the store, but i won't lie, i was terrified. so four or five days later i went back to get the skirt i so highly coveted, only to find and empty store and a sign on the door telling me THEY LEFT! i think the angels cried right along with me that day. so, i didn't buy the skirt, and i figured i'd try my hand at making one (i still want that forever 21 skirt thought).

now that i've told you the good part about making something, it's time to get to the honest part. i used a pattern twice before on clothing i've made (a wrap skirt, and a pair of leggings), and to be honest, i just didn't like it. i know that there may not be as much error involved in working from a pattern, but personally i just feel like there's not as much room for creativity when i use a pattern. so, in true danielle style, i laid on top of the fabric, put little marks to know how wide i was and went from there! it generally works fine, but one thing i didn't take into account quite as much as i should have: this fabric doesn't have any stretch. the skirt fits fine, but the only thing is, it's just barely big enough to pull the smaller waist over my butt without ripping seams! so, the good news is, if i keep this skirt out in plain sight, it might keep me from eating donuts for a meal for example, because hey, if i do, i won't be able to wear the skirt!

have you ever made any clothes? what did you make?

P.S. don't forget to enter THE GIVEAWAY that ends later this week!

well, slap me silly

Etsy admin, I just can't thank you enough for including my shop in the gift guides and on the front page. Just when I'm thinking the slow down of business is getting a little scary, you give me not one, not two, but FOUR pick-me-ups! Two front pages and two items in gift guides! My lace necklace sold in no time, and they must have been popular because I sold three of them this weekend!