Wearing The Payton {part two}

Y'all ready to style The Payton tee a couple of new ways??

As SOON as you start to accessorize a T-shirt, your look goes from simple to stylish!

Here's another way to dress The Payton up a little bit!  Throw your shirt on with a pair of white skinny jeans, cute strappy wedges, a utility jacket, a neutral statement necklace, and a fringe crossbody.  This style is perfect for a casual date night or dinner with friends!

Have you heard of the athleisure style?  A pair of yoga pants, an open-front chambray (or tie it around your waist!), a simple pair of black Nikes, and a wire headband take your grocery shopping day from grubby to cute with The Payton!


The Payton tee does NOT have to be your painting shirt!! Dress it up with skinnies and wedges OR dress it down with our athleisure style, and you'll STILL feel put together for your day running errands!


Keep checking back for MORE ways to wear The Payton!!


Jess & Rox


If you've missed our other posts about The Payton tee and the family we've chosen to support with a portion of our sales, check 'em out!

Wearing The Payton {part one} - Bringing Marlee Home - New Product Reveal

Shopping Party: Blanket Scarf

Friends, we are so, so excited for our upcoming Shopping Party!  We are so grateful for the support we received at the Lone Tree Folk Festival.  Y'all are truly the greatest!  Now that we're gearing up for the party, we want to give you a preview of a few of the items we'll be selling!

We are loving that the weather is finally changing so we want to introduce our Blanket Scarf!

Dress is up a little with skinny jeans, a blazer, and ankle wedges.

Stay warm and cozy with a plaid button-up, puffy vest, jeans, and ankle boots.

On the ridiculously warm Mississippi fall day, wear a T-shirt dress, open chambray, and wedges.

There will only be a limited number of every item we sell so don't miss out!  The scarves will sell for $28 and will be a perfect Christmas present!

We look forward to sharing more with y'all!! 

-Jess

***UPDATED:  If I want y'all to join us, I should probably tell you WHEN this shindig is!  Join us on November 21st at Rox's house!  'Like' us on FaceBook to find out more!***

Drab to Fab: Tribal Print using Freezer Paper

We've ALL seen the tribal print craze.  Leggings, purses, shirts, jackets, scarves, pockets, and more and more and more!  Here's a way to join the trend (or add to your tribal print collection!) without spending much or ANY money!

1.  Draw your favorite tribal print on the paper-y side of freezer paper with a pencil.  (There's a waxy side, too.)  Before you draw, decide the size you'd like your print so you don't have to erase a bunch of times!

2.  Using an Exact-O Knife, carefully cut out the print to create the negative.  Iron the print with the waxy side DOWN.  Smooth out/iron down the fabric first to avoid bubbles and creases.

3.  I chose to use Martha Stewart's Multi-Surface craft paint.  I'm unsure of the durability of regular craft paint on fabric, and the only color of fabric paint I had on hand was black!  (Look back HERE to see where else I used this metallic paint!)

4.  Carefully dab the paint onto the fabric in the negative space.  Make sure to put cardboard or extra freezer paper in the middle of the shirt to prevent bleed-through.  

After deciding if you need another coat of paint, carefully peel off the freezer paper.  (My favorite part!!)  I chose to do only one coat of paint and peeled the paper off immediately after finishing.

Be careful to follow instructions for the fabric paint!  Some paints suggess letting the paint 'cure' for 48-72 hours, then heat-setting the fabric either with an iron or in dryer.

Now it's time to rock that print!  You can obviously choose a more intricate pattern to paint, but I like ease and time to be on my side in my projects!  This was literally a 30 minute deal.  You can make it even EASIER by printing out the tribal print from a template.  But we don't have a printer... bummer.

Let me know what you think!  This project is obviously VERY versatile.  Paint a word, picture, etc.

Thanks for reading y'all!!

-Jess

Geometric Print Drape Front Cardi {tutorial}

I went through a stage where I felt like I needed to get ALL solid printed clothing so it would be versatile... 

SO... what do you do if you need more patterns in your wardrobe without spending the bucks?

Do. It. Yourself.

Here's how I added a little pattern to a piece in MY wardrobe:

1.  I grabbed a plain black knit drape front cardi from my closet that I NEVER wear...

2.  Using a sheet of foam from the craft store (with adhesive on the back), I cut a couple triangles and attached them to a jar lid to create a stamp.  I used Martha Stewart's Metallic Gold acrylic paint and a foam brush to paint the stamp.

3.  After deciding to alternate the triangles pointing up then down, I started stamping in the middle on the bottom of the back of the cardi.  I didn't worry about perfect spacing or clean stamping.  On each 'drape', I stacked the triangles higher so the triangles would be more noticeable when worn.

-  After the paint dried, I threw the cardi in the dryer to 'set' the paint.

And that's it!

tunic:  Marshalls // cardi:  Target (refashioned by me) // 'leather vest':  thrifted // leggings: Wal-Mart //booties: thrifted //short necklace: Wal-Mart // long necklace: thrifted

{I styled my cardi over a sheer tunic with leggings and wedge booties.

I added a 'leather' vest for texture and stacked two necklaces for added interest.}

I know this piece will get a lot more use now that I updated it with a little pattern!  I can't wait to try this with a lighter colored cardi and and darker paint...  I'm thinking an aztec feel!

Let us know if you have any questions or if you try it out!!

Thanks for reading, y'all!

-Jess

Elegant Flower Clip: A Tutorial

Love is in the air.

I know a few lovely ladies getting married soon...

And one of the brides-to-be asked me to make her something for her hair.

Although I had a picture of some she liked, I had to come up with my own assembly process!  And now I'd love to share it with YOU!

1. You'll need:

chiffon

tulle

beads

felt

alligator clip

scissors

needle

thread

Candle and matches/lighter

hot glue

2.  Cut about 7 circles of chiffon about 2 1/2 in. diameter and about 5 circles of tulle the same size.  TOTALLY, roughly cut.. mine were more like octagons!

3.  Using a small flame, carefully melt the edges of each piece of chiffon and tulle.

4.  DON'T put the fabric IN the flame... just close enough for the edges to barely melt and curl up.

5.  Roughly stack the finished circles on top of each other.  The more random you stack them, the more they'll resemble real flowers!

6.  Tack all pieces together with your needle and thread.

7.  Use as many or as few beads as you'd like for the middle of the flower.  I wanted mine to have the clustered look.

8.  Cut a circle of felt (in a coordinating color) for the back of the flower.  Cut a slit just large enough to fit the back prong of the clip through.

9.  Hot glue the back of the felt (and clip) to the bottom of the flower.

Done!

Dress up your hair-do with some flower clips or give some to your favorite bride-to-be for her big day!

Thanks for reading!

-Jess

Faux Mantle Shelf: Making and Decorating

Once upon a time, we bought a cute little house.

We loved our cute little house...

...but we couldn't figure out how to decorate above our couch.

We started out with a large mirror and a sconce on either side.  It worked, but we only put it up to fill up wall space.  I decided then to make a shelf to go above the couch.  I used a 1x8 plank of wood and two shelf supports (ready made from Home Depot), stained them in espresso, hung the supports on the wall, and laid the plank on top.

I filled the space beneath with an old window that Rox gave me (I'm pretty sure it was a sweet score on Craigslist!), plus emroidery hoop framed fabric on either side.  The window luckily had the perfect chippy paint finish so I didn't mess with it.  The hoops were brightly colored plastic (from Wal-Mart) so I spray-painted them using Rustoelum's Heirloom White.  The fabric was leftover from a skirt that I made a couple years ago, and I thought the greens were a perfect pop of color for the wall.

(Do you recognize the little garland on the window??  Check out my post HERE to see how it's made!)

Decorating the shelf was really fun:

The decorating began around the large chalkboard which is an old whiteboard that our church was throwing away.  I flipped it over, painted the board with chalkboard spray paint (Wal-Mart), and spray painted the edges using some shade of white.  I LOVE being able to change the feel of the shelf by drawing a frame on the board and changing the wording. (During Christmas-time, I hung a green wreath over the board with the word 'joy' peeking through!)

The other decor is a random collection of things I just had, made, or bought for VERY cheap:

picture frame (from Good-Will, spray painted)

keys (thrifted by my mom!)

candle sticks and holders (Dollar Tree, spray painted using Rustoleum's Silver)

vase (Good-Will)

sticks/branches (Wal-Mart, a long time ago!)

white pear (Kroger, after Thanksgiving sale)

twine canister (old coffee can covered with jute rope)

wooden letter (handmade, spray painted using Krylon's Jade)

embroidery hoop (Wal-Mart, spray painted using Rustoleum's Heirloom White)

fabric (JoAnn's)

antlers (These babies are the real deal! My hubs actually uses them during the hunting season so I get to use them to decorate as long as he doesn't need them!)

squirrel (Good-Will, spray painted using Rustoleum's Heirloom White)

I finally love my living room decor!  The shelf makes it SO easy to re-decorate without putting TONS of holes in the wall (THIS makes the hubby happy!).

Do you have a mantle or faux mantle??  How do you decorate it?

Thanks for reading, folks!

Bunting & Streamers { Tutorial: Five Ways! }

Summer brings opportunities for backyard BBQ's and dinner parties!

And what's a party without decorations??

(Umm, I guess it's still a party...)

Add a little flare with some homemade bunting or streamers!

Here's how:

1. You will need a little bit of fabric, string (or yarn or twine..), scissors, and hot glue.

2.  Fold your fabric with wrong sides facing together, create a crease (with an iron if you want), and cut as many strips as you would like to have on your finished bunting.  Mine were 3-ish inches wide and just under 4 inches long.  You can see where I marked the two different types of bunting you can then cut!

3.  To make things a little easier and quicker, fold each strip in half (length-wise) and cut your diagonal.

4.  Continue to create your flags until you have as many as you'd like.  I made about 10 of the traditional triangle-shaped flags and about 8 of the other flags.

5.  Unfold each flag and lay them out to figure out how long you will need to cut your string.  Go ahead and leave them spaced-out.

6.  Squeeze a strip of hot glue along the crease, lay your string down, and fold the fabric back with the wrong sides facing together again.  Leave a little length on each end of your string so you can hang your banner when you're done!

1.  You'll need scrap fabric, scissors, and string.

2.  Cut 2 squares for each flower pouf.  I cut 24 squares for 12 flowers each 2 1/2 inches by 2 1/2 inches.

3.  For each flower pouf, lay 2 squares cat-a-corner on top of each other.

4.  Pinch the squares in the middle and gather it into a little point.

5.  Tie your string into a knot to secure the flower pouf.  I found the easiest way to do this is to go ahead and make a loose loop in the string, stick the point into the loop, and then pull it tight.

6.  Turn the flower over and "floof" it up a little bit!  After tying all of your flowers, remember to leave a little length of string so you can hang up your garland!

*Original tutorial found HERE*

1.  You'll need tissue paper, string, scissors, and hot glue.

2.  Unfold the tissue paper all the way.  Considering that each large sheet will make four tassels, keep as many large sheets stacked as you will need.  Cut the large sheets into quarters.

3.  Fold each quarter in half.

4.  Cut the tissue paper into fringe starting on the OPEN side of the paper; NOT on the fold.  Leave about an inch and a half at the top of the folded paper.

5.  Unfold the sheet and lay it it flat.

6.  Roll the tissue paper down the middle with the fringe out on either side.  DOES NOT have to be perfectly rolled.

7.  Twist the middle of the rolled paper in middle until you get to the fringe on either side.

8.  Twirl the twist (that's a moutful!) into a loop and secure the loop together with a dot of hot glue.

9.  After you've made all your tassels, string them onto your twine or yarn and secure the tassels in place with a knot.  Remember to leave a little extra length on each end of your streamer for hanging it up!

Although I don't have any pictures of the creative process, this garland is VERY easy.  (And is probably self-explanatory by the picture!)

- Cut or tear varying lengths of different kinds of fabric.

(I used everything from muslin to chiffon to cotton...)

- Cut your sting or twine to the length you'd like for your garland to be plus some for hanging.

- Starting in the middle, tie the longest pieces of fabric into knots onto the string.

- Keep tying in ascending length until you reach the end of your string or your fabric supply!!

Now it's time to plan a summer get-together!

Thanks for reading!!

Choosing Fabric

Choosing & coordinating fabric can be WAY too overwhelming!  I can't tell you how many times I have been ready to buy fabric for curtains (as we currently have NONE in our house...) before I chicken out.. I'm HORRIBLE at making decisions.. 

I finally took the plunge after gaining a little inspiration from some of my favorite home decor blogs and receiving a little birthday money!  (How lame... who spends birthday money on FABRIC??  And I was absolutely THRILLED about it... PLEASE tell me I'm not the only one!!)

Fabric.com proved to have a MASSIVE selection (making the choice so hard!) so I perused their website for at least 4 days before making my decision.  Plus, they always offer GREAT sales and free shipping over a certain amount.

Master Bedroom:

Sidenote:  My bedroom currently is the most boring place in the world... plain, undecorated, and drab... hopefully I can spruce it up a little with these prints!

1.  ZigZag in Village Blue/Natural by Premier Prints - I want a calming effect when I walk in my room... although, I also want a little interest... how about some light blue and zigzags!  I found THIS tutorial for a DIY rug that I'm dying to try with this fabric.  I'm excited give it a go!

2.  Java Ikat Driftwood by Magnolia Home Fashions - Although I only want to use this fabric for a couple pillows for my bed, I used this print as the base for my other two coordinating fabrics.  I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE the abstractedness (is that even a word?) and symmetry together in one print!!

3.  Towers in Onyx/Grey/Natural by Premier Prints  - Love this pattern.  I'm hoping the print is not too busy for curtains, but that's my plan for now.  I think the calm, neutral colors tone down the boldness of the print.

For the little guy's room:  (see his room tour HERE)

1.  Air Travel in Felix/Natural by Premier Prints - If you read/saw the room tour post, I mentioned wanting curtains for my P-man's room.  I knew I wanted a neutral-ish curtain since the bedspreads and bookshelf/toybox are bright green, and we have other bright colors on the walls.  I didn't want to overdo it with bold print and colors.  The frugal side of me thought I could easily re-use the fabric for pillows either in his room or in my living room!  I also didn't think the print was too gender or age specific.

2.  SeeSaw in Felix Blue/Natural by Premier Prints - I'm pretty sure I wanted to use this fabric for something in my little guy's room as soon as I saw it!  I immediately said no to curtains because of the bold and crazy, but I want to use the tutorial I mentioned above for a DIY rug... now I can't stop picturing the SeeSaw print as a rug in P's room!!  Can't wait to tackle that project!

One of the cool things about Fabric.com is their "Add to Design Wall" option.  You can add any 'swatch' of fabric to the design wall so you can see all your prints right next too each other.  No guess work on coordinating colors!  And if choosing coordinating fabrics is not your strong suit, they give you coordinating suggestions below each fabric option when you click on it!  Yay for making things easy!  If you can't find something that goes with a fabric you like, they add new prints ALL the time.  I found their prices to be very affordable with ENDLESS options.  After googling 'fabric.com promo codes' I found a 20% code that worked!  I'm pretty sure they offer discounts quite a bit so it wouldn't hurt to wait for a coupon offer!

Now I can't wait to show y'all my finished projects... check back with us to see the finished results and other fun projects!

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If you have any questions, don't hesitate leave us a comment or email us OfDwellingandDress@gmail.com.