Mini Project: Refashioned Floral Retro A Line Dress
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!
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Make Your Own Shoe Jewelry for Free
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!
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recycle your paper into cute little hermes birkin valentines!
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!
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recycle your credit cards into free name rings - courtesy of amex
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.
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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!
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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).
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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
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CORPORATIONS WILL DO ANYTHING FOR MONEY: carrot mob makes it rain
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.
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what to do with all your stolen toiletries
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:
- use the showercaps to cover leftovers. it saves saran wrap and is a lot easier to work with.
- 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.
- 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.
- use the shampoo as dish detergent (or just use it as shampoo!) instead of buying it at the store.
- melt all of the soaps down in the microwave and make them into one giant soap. you can buy molds here.
- 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.
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| shower cap…forgot to take a pic of it in use. kind of defeats the purpose, i suppose. |
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A Poem for Today
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.
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The (Sort Of) Eco Renovation Continues - Hacked Ikea Platform
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
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the water-saving way to wash your hair
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.
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saving the earth through sheer laziness
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.
it has a pretty sweet cardboardy look to it too!
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).
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5 Things You Can Do to Not Be an Eco Hypocrite
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.
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How to Make Tulle Rosettes from an Old Tutu
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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Claudia Schulz Handmade Wool-Felt Hats
Absolutely stunning felt hats perfect for the start of fall (and hiding a bad hair day). (via Ecouterre)
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Vivienne Westwood + Melissa Wing Sandals for Greek Mythology Nerds
Dame Vivienne Westwood and Melissa Plastic Dreams have done it again with these adorable Wing Sandals! I swooned pretty deeply when I first peeped these on Ecouterre, and will have to control my urges if I am going to resist the siren song that they are singing to me as I navigate this stormy day. Contrary to popular belief Melissas are actually non-toxic and made in a sustainably managed factory in Brazil, so I feel good about shodding myself in them. They’re also shockingly comfy! (via Ecouterre)
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How to Make a Broken Barrette into a Three Finger Ring
Turn this:
Into this:
I’ve been lusting after a three or four finger ring a la Radio Raheem’s LOVE and HATE jewelry in Spike Lee’s Do the Right Thing for some time now, but they are super hard to come by and when I do see them, they’re quite pricey. Well, when my favorite bow barrette broke the other day, I wondered if I could make it into a DIY version of the classic three finger ring. The existing hardware on the clip fits my fingers just perfectly so I didn’t even have to make any modifications! I’ll be rocking my sweet new ring around town. I think I’ll name it “Serendipity.”
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why is this a site?
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.
look for stuff
feed yourself