Ugly 80s Prom Style Bow Refashioned into a Cute Chainlink Purse!

Posted on | September 23, 2010 | 42 Comments

Bows are usually some of my best friends, but there was something about having one pretty much smack dab on the front of this already very frou frou red mini dress that was rubbing me the wrong way. So I decided to remove it and make it into a cute bow-shaped purse. Click on the steps to see how you can refashion your own ugly bow!

Mini Project: Refashioned Floral Retro A Line Dress

Posted on | July 14, 2010 | 62 Comments

I fell in love with this delicate blue and green floral print, but unfortunately it was on a size 12 mumu when I found it. It was only $10 at Goodwill, though so I thought I’d give refashioning it a whirl. Here’s the (rather shoddy) finished product. I might wear it to NY Fashion Week if it doesn’t fall apart on me before then!

Let me know what you think!

Make Your Own Shoe Jewelry for Free

Posted on | July 2, 2010 | 42 Comments

Before:

After:

With the economy in shambles, accessories that allow us to add some flava to our existing wardrobe pieces and avoid having to buy brand new ones seem to be all the rage. My absolute favorite example of this trend? SHOE JEWELRY! Especially these fab pieces by Litter SF. While Litter’s glamorous baubles will cost you upwards of $70, there’s no need to feel left out if you don’t have a pile of dough to spare. I made my own shoe sparkle by taking an old dangly earring I had in my jewelry box and hooking it over the back of my heels. Just secure with a piece of duct tape, and voila - instant FREE shoe bling!

recycle your paper into cute little hermes birkin valentines!

Posted on | July 2, 2010 | 36 Comments

another cool way to recycle your paper. visit the hermes website to download templates to make your very own kelly bag. just pick your location, click on “travel the world of hermes,” and select the paper bag pic (”i want it, i’ll have it!”).

what a cute craft to give your valentine, especially filled with some organic chocolate goodies.

thanks for the pics tatertotsandjello and prettyinthecity!

recycle your credit cards into free name rings - courtesy of amex

Posted on | June 30, 2010 | 26 Comments

if you’ve decided to take american express up on their offer to buy you out for $300, recycle your old credit card by turning it into a priceless piece of name jewelry.

here’s how.

this is a card i received in the mail from macy’s after i specifically told them never to send me one again. ahhh, macy’s. my first instinct was to cut it into a million pieces and tell it to begone. but when i thought about all the design work, glittery gold and red pigments (actually quite pretty), energy and plastic it took to make this card, i couldn’t bear to just throw it in the trash.

so here’s what i did:
1. first, cut the part of the card with your name on it off in a long strip.
2. then, cut it to a size that will fit your finger.
3. next, bend the strip around a marker or something that has a similar circumference to your finger to form a loop.
3. last, poke a hole into each side of the strip, and use strong thread to link them.
voila!

you can also use the part of the card that has your account number (after you’ve canceled your account, please) to make a bracelet symbolizing man’s plight (addiction to shopping).

i added an extra lil suttin’ suttin’ to mine with a dior ribbon that i found in a garbage pile right outside of the flagship store on 57th street. all it needed was a good wash.

other ways to deal with unwanted credit cards: when a paper shredder just won’t do

CORPORATIONS WILL DO ANYTHING FOR MONEY: carrot mob makes it rain

Posted on | March 28, 2010 | 19 Comments

Carrotmob Makes It Rain from carrotmob on Vimeo.
i throw up more cash, and change the forecast. this is how it should work and what swyyne in ALL about. plus that asian dude is funny.

what to do with all your stolen toiletries

Posted on | March 16, 2010 | 22 Comments

i’m always impressed when people can resist grabbing as many soaps, shampoos and sewing kits from their hotel rooms as their luggage can hold. i have yet to develop such willpower and rue my weakness everytime i look at my drawer full of miniature bottles. instead of throwing them away, here are some ideas about what to do with them:

1. use the showercaps to cover leftovers. it saves saran wrap and is a lot easier to work with.
2. this one’s obvious - after using up all your shampoo on a trip, clean out the bottle and save it so that you can refill it for your next trip.
3. building off of that last one, i just started a “waters of the world collection.” fill your empty bottles with water from your destination as a souvenir of your travels.
4. use the shampoo as dish detergent (or just use it as shampoo!) instead of buying it at the store.
5. melt all of the soaps down in the microwave and make them into one giant soap. you can buy molds here.
6. krissy just mentioned something that blew my mind: why don’t hotels just refill those big shampoo/conditioner/soap dispensers that hang on the shower wall instead of giving out individual bottles? it would save money and materials. i’ve stayed at a couple places in europe that do this and i did not even miss the bottles at all! while we’re on the topic, i was excited to see that many hotels are adapting to a system where guests must insert their keycard into a slot in the room for the electricity to work. this way, the tv, ac and other devices do not drain energy when no one is in the room. you can’t leave the lights on either.

shower cap…forgot to take a pic of it in use. kind of defeats the purpose, i suppose.

staggering our work hours - is it so insane?

Posted on | March 16, 2010 | 15 Comments

we get it. the mta is so strapped for cash that they’re considering everything from “selling” station naming rights to the highest bidders to buying bridges from the city for $1 and charging riders to cross.

the 2nd ave. line, a situation more desperate than me trying to find a non-slutty, but still not completely man-like costume for halloween, is not likely to be completed until, well, until i find a non-slutty but still not completely man-like halloween costume. not anytime soon, but i’ll keep you updated.

bottom-line, most of us have abandoned the prospect of a comfortable and reliable subway ride. the 7 line is packed and often runs local even though it starts off as an express. the indicators that tell you how long the next l train will arrive in work great, except that the train comes into the station right on schedule and then does not stop. the g train, well let’s not even get started on the g train.

ask any new yorker why we have to suffer so to get to work and he/she will say the same thing - there are simply too many people trying to get to work at the same time. and ridership is increasing. so what do we do?

with money, time and capacity as our limits, it seems the only thing we can do is stagger our work schedules. now, there are many obvious reasons that people might think this approach won’t work:

1. my boss needs me at work at 9am.
2. i don’t want to stay at work later than i have to.
3. i don’t want to look like a slacker.
4. i am an stockbroker and need to be in early.

the list goes on. but consider the following:

1. almost everyone has a mobile device and much of what we do between 9am and 10:30am can hardly be called “working” anyway.
2. some people are still sleepy at 7am in the morning and would appreciate being able to come in at 11am (and would work more effectively).
3. some of us do not mind staying late if we get to come in later.
4. some of us have kids and would love to come in a little early if it means we can pick them up from school at 3 in the afternoon.
5. if your office makes it a policy to have staggered schedules, and dept. heads know about it, they won’t think that you’re lazy…well they might, but that’s probably due to the fact that you are.
6. imagine 1/2 or even 1/4 of the people that you usually ride the train with, not riding the train with you anymore.

i’ve run this idea in front of a lot of different people and most think it is great. yes, there are a lot of roadblocks, namely your employer not being down with you coming in later or earlier. but there has to be some way that the mta and employers across the city can strike a deal. incentives of some kind? employers should know that not everyone is a morning person and allowing people to come in later could boost productivity. the mta should know that many of their delays and necessary repairs are caused by the super-high volume of riders.

if anyone has ideas, let me know.

in the meantime, i’m going to ask john liu what he thinks.

here is his email address: liunewyork@gmail.com

meat flakes!

Posted on | March 15, 2010 | 16 Comments

if you thought that bacos were revolutionary, you will be flabbergasted when you try gyu toro flakes. the brainchild of hokkaido-based tokachi slow foods, gyu toro flakes are made from cows raised on “physiologically optimal feed” and are said to taste like o toro fatty tuna! i am sold!

imagine eating these sprinkled over some steamy rice, or scrambled eggs? rarrrr.

now i just have to figure out the website. from what i can decipher, you can purchase a 200g container for 2100 yen or about $19.91.

www.gyutoro.com! who knew?!!

A Poem for Today

Posted on | March 6, 2010 | 19 Comments

a couple of months ago, I would’ve said no way.
i was towering over everyone and everything. but i’ve taken my slippers off to kneel and pray - at the very thought of you.
i don’t want to make the same mistake. it’s so easy for you to separate - the colour and the shape.
my dues have been paid in a million ways. the check was made out for 200 days. you cashed it in and didn’t hesitate.
and it made you a hero to me.
do i want to be that indistinct blur? do i want to end up like her? the girl i wanted to never see again. though i fed her milk to make her strong again.
she was sleeping like a baby cub - and when i shook her awake and got her all dressed up. she was so shiny and perfect in every way. we laughed and we said “gosh, look how you’ve changed. we’ll never let it happen again.”
no one has ever called me decisive. wallowing in vagueries is my favorite dish. but i was so sure about this. you made me so sure about this.
so i don’t want them to be right. i want to tell them you are my light. when i am dark, i wish you’d be by my side. telling me that i will see another day.
am i foolish to think this way?he told me we don’t exist in our physical bodies. we flee from them to our memories. traveling each day to the places we feel most safe.
i read it a book that prince charming was a crook. and cinderella was just plain crazy. she was hallucinating and talking to mice. that can’t be right.
i’ve been seeing what i want most to see. and you look so good to me. but i swear i’ll never visit the old me. so if i’m dreaming, let me know i’m dreaming.

The (Sort Of) Eco Renovation Continues - Hacked Ikea Platform

Posted on | January 27, 2010 | 10 Comments

Progress has been made! The platform or “elevated room” that I’ve been trying to explain to everyone (unsuccessfully) is almost complete. Just to give you a little background here, I’ve been renovating my tiny apartment and trying to be as eco-conscious about it as possible. That being said, I was really at a loss for where to source a custom platform like the one that I wanted for less than $500 without having to resort to Ikea.

Long story short, I ended up going to Ikea. LOL. Although there were quite a few replies to my Facebook poll about whether or not Ikea is green, I still think they’re trying harder than others and was willing to buy some of my stuff there as long as I made sure the vast majority of my furniture was either secondhand or that I just didn’t buy any more furniture in general (I already have an old dresser and dining table as well as some chairs I fished out of the dumpster at Stony Brook before I graduated). Anyhoo, read on for more pics and to see how I made the platform.
Read more

the water-saving way to wash your hair

Posted on | January 21, 2010 | 11 Comments

just shampoo and condition at the same time. apply shampoo to your scalp and conditioner to the tips. then lather each area until you meet in the middle.

your tips will be healthier because they won’t have their natural oils stripped and you’ll shave a minute or so off your shower time.

saving the earth through sheer laziness

Posted on | January 21, 2010 | 8 Comments

as a level zero tech geek, i’ve been seriously torn between buying new gadgets and not contributing to the nasty crap that gets discarded in our (asia’s) backyards when i throw my old stuff away. that’s why i’m feeling last year’s model. it’s basically a bunch of tech geeks tweeting about how they’re gonna stick with the ipods, netbooks and blackberrys that they already own instead of upgrading.

update: had a convo with bridgette about this today and found that she’s doing a lot better at this than i am (being that i just bought a new berry).

5 Things You Can Do to Not Be an Eco Hypocrite

Posted on | November 16, 2009 | 15 Comments

Am I Dwight?

Sure, this video is a gross exaggeration, but, like every scenario on The Office, it’s got some roots in the truth. As an “environmentalist” and someone who publicly encourages others to clean up their acts and turn to a greener lifestyle, I try to do as much as I can to actually walk the walk too. I say “try” because there are definitely things I still do (eating meat, taking cabs) that give me that cringeworthy “what if someone sees me doing this?” feeling, but now I actually feel like that’s a good thing because it helps keep me on track with the person I want to be. If you represent yourself as someone who lives an eco-conscious lifestyle, here are a few things that you’ll want to make sure you’re doing - or not doing - as much as humanly possible if you don’t want to be called a hypocrite (a.k.a. a self-greenwasher) along how well I am actually sticking to each of these practices myself.

Read more

How to Make Tulle Rosettes from an Old Tutu

Posted on | November 7, 2009 | 3 Comments

Now that Halloween is over, I thought I’d try my hand at refashioning some of the old costumes I’ve accumulated over the years into accessories that I’ll actually wear now. My first project? Turning the sheer tulle of an old 1980s dance recital tutu into a pretty rosette.

1. Push a needle through a scrap piece of foam core to create a base for you to string the petals of the rosette onto.

2. Cut out teardrop shaped petals of the tulle.

3. Layer the petals onto the foam core base one by one, making sure to pass the needle through the tapered side of each piece.

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latest

• Ugly 80s Prom Style Bow Refashioned into a Cute Chainlink Purse!
• Mini Project: Refashioned Floral Retro A Line Dress
• Make Your Own Shoe Jewelry for Free
• recycle your paper into cute little hermes birkin valentines!
• recycle your credit cards into free name rings - courtesy of amex
• CORPORATIONS WILL DO ANYTHING FOR MONEY: carrot mob makes it rain
• what to do with all your stolen toiletries
• staggering our work hours - is it so insane?

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swyyne has always been an experiment for me. with all of the other super eco sites out there, i've been feeling like i want to contribute something just a bit different. so for now, here are my random musings.

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