DIY Starry Summer Scarf

School’s out for summer!! OK, that doesn’t apply to me anymore, but I am still getting into the summertime mood! You know when weekend BBQs, pool parties, and outdoor concert invites start popping up, summer is officially here!

We still have chilly nights here in Los Angeles, so I thought that a summer scarf would be the perfect DIY to celebrate independence next month while also feeling super chic as the sun goes down. (Because you know I’m already planning my 4th of July outfits! 😆) The beauty of this scarf is that it’ll feel super festive on the 4th, but it’ll work any other time of year as well!

You can snag everything at JOANN and here's what you'll need!

2 yards of cotton fabric (I went with white solid gauze, but got lost in the rows trying to make a final decision! Pick something that will feel softest against your skin.)
A star stamp (...or any stamp you feel most excited about.)
Ink pads (I chose red, white, and two blues.)
Thread (...to match fabric)
Shears (My go-to are these Fiskars!)

Start with your fabric and lay it down flat on the ground. I got two yards of gauze and trimmed it in half lengthwise.

Next I took my stamp and began to get inky!

I started with the light blue and made diagonal lines down the length of the fabric. This is the fun part! Go rogue and stamp anywhere you please or create your own pattern. I kept to the lines creating my next batch of royal blue stars in another parallel pattern and then finished with some sporadic red stars!

PS - post stamping, just to help set the ink a bit, I took an iron and did a quick press. No steam, just some heat! (Then when it’s time for a hand wash, the inks will be a bit more stable.) I wanted to make this an infinity scarf, so I pinned the edges of the scarf together, inside out, and prepped for a quick stitching.

(This part is totally optional! If you want an open ended scarf!) Stitch, stitch, stitch!

New festive neckwear, ready for action!

I love the stars and how subtle they are depending on how the scarf is twisted!

Light blue blousin’ to tie all the shades of blue together!

Summer style that’ll work with anything - shorts and a tank, a maxi dress, or with a bathing suit and a sarong!

And the perfect thing to wear on the 4th!

DIY Fascinators (Hello ROYAL WEDDING!)

It's Royal Wedding time!! Who else has the fever? Maybe it's especially exciting since I just got married, but I really can't wait for all the pomp and circumstance!

To celebrate, I've got a few little projects up my sleeve...(you can snag everything at JOANN!) You can't go to a Royal Wedding without a fascinator, so there's two easy DIYs to prep for the church bells. One that's a bit more springy and femme and the other that's more British feeling! You know, a perfect pair to capture the relationship of Meghan Markle & Prince Harry! 😂😍

Here's what you'll need for a British Themed Fascinator: Tulle (or sinamay), assorted trims (ribbons, feathers, cording, charms), glue gun & glue sticks, hair clips or combs

Start with tulle (or sinamay - depending on how easy it is to find) and fold in 1.5 inch pieces like an accordion to create a thicker strip of material and then iron flat. Next trim the strip from the main piece of tulle and then create a rounded design and pin into place. Here’s where you can get creative & go wild making any kinds of shapes - circles, figure eights, whatever comes to you! These pieces will be the centerpiece of the fascinator.

Taking a page from the real royals - who could forget Princess Beatrice from Prince William & Duchess Kate’s wedding with the HUGE pinkish bow shaped fascinator - it’s time for some BIGGER moves. Cording and floral wire were used to make teardrop shaped pieces. Again, this is a place to get creative. Make a big star or copy Princess Beatrice’s ribbon-esque shape to make the fascinator uniquely you! Once the shapes were made, it was time to glue the edges before adding a bit more flair.

Feathers, tulle, and a hair clip were affixed to the back making this ready to wear!

I tossed on a LRD (little red dress) and got wedding ready!

Super chic and I totally feel like the 6th Spice Girl! Victoria Beckham, what’s up girl?

I might be wearing fascinators to all my formal events moving forward, just an FYI :)

For something a little softer and floral, here’s another fascinator to DIY that’s perfect for high tea!

Here's what you'll need for a Floral Fascinator: Wedding Netting / Tulle, assorted faux flowers, pliers (for flower snipping), assorted accoutrements (feathers, small butterflies/birds, charms), glue gun & glue sticks, headband, felt (not pictured to assist with flower attaching on a smaller headband)

Start with a headband and a round piece of felt, and glue the felt to the headband. This will act as a base to glue your flowers onto. Snip your flowers from their stems and hot glue those buds to your felted base. I went with one large center flower and then added smaller flowers around it in accent colors to pop. Feel free to choose any flower that suits your fancy though! All pink or all peonies or all daisies - whatever is most uniquely you!  

Next grab your netting or tulle and affix a portion (anywhere from 6 to 12”, depending on how much you’d like it to cover your face) with glue to the headband base. I loved the idea of adding little feathered butterflies to the netting for a more garden chic look as well as feathers. I went with Goose biots (the thin stringy ones)...

...to give the fascinator some height.

I paired this with a vintage yellow dress and got ready for an afternoon wedding party!

This is also totally perfect for a tea party!

Who doesn’t love a little bit of hair flair?The feathers give it just that extra bit of street cred, you know what I mean? The Brits would totally approve!

This might be enough reason to plan garden parties all summer.

Duchess Marisa, at your service!

Wedding Dress Recycle: Whole Lotta Ruffles

I recreated so many vintage wedding dresses to wear around my wedding and honeymoon and this one was one of my favorites!

Look at all these ruffles!!!

It feels oh, so, Marie Antoinette.

Kirsten Dunst as Marie Antoinette

Look at those sleeves!

And that lace collar?! 

I have a fairly certain idea what's going to happen to those sleeves.

But first, DYE!

The dress went into a bath of emerald dye and came out a lovely lightish aqua color. This dress was fully polyester and I didn't use a poly-friendly dye just to get a more subtle shade. 

I grabbed my seam ripper and got to town around those sleeves... The used to be attached...

I was OBSESSED with how the tiered ruffles turned out and just couldn't touch the skirt portion of the dress. I mean, hello new lewk!

I'm obsessed with the way fuschia/hot pink goes with this aqua color, so I took some remnant tulle (YES, THAT'S TULLE AROUND MY WAIST!) and got myself a gorg rose to pose in front of this super chic door.

Greens on yellows on pinks, oh my!

When in such serious ruffles like these, you must find a hammock and swing!

This is most definitely on my favorites list. I couldn't have been more excited with how this turned out!