before and after: goodwill dress alterations

Just wanted to share a project with y'all. Goodwill may very well be one of my favorite stores ever, and no this isn't a sponsored post. I just love Goodwill. Because you can buy awesome things there for low prices and you can buy not-so-awesome things and turn them into something you like way better. Listen, I'm not judging the before dress, the pattern is lovely, the shape is just not my flavor. When I saw this dress for half-off, I knew it had to be my next Goodwill alteration project. I knew I wanted to shorten it and cut the sleeves off, although now I think keeping the sleeves on might've worked too. But it was certainly touch and go for a little bit in the alteration process. Even though the end result is so simple, it was a pretty tough alteration. Things just weren't hanging right for a while, but in the end it all worked out! I leeeeerrrrrv this dress so much. I will definitely be wearing it as much as I can before summer's end.

We have an outfit post coming up soon featuring this dress so keep a lookout for it in action!

xo, Savannah

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the diy: beaded macrame bracelet

This bracelet turned out way nicer than I had hoped for. The gold beads make it seem like more than just a "friendship" bracelet. But, it really is just a fancier version of a friendship bracelet. All you need is braiding cord and some small geometric beads. I'm sure regular beads would work too.

Fold a piece of string in half and tie a knot by the fold, leaving a small opening for later. The string should be about 2 feet long.

Secure your string with some tape or a clipboard.

String some beads onto the left string. I used 17 beads but, the number of beads you use should depend on the size of your wrist. More beads = bigger wrist. Less beads... you get the point right?

Tighten the two strings and tape them down. I taped mine to the back of the clipboard.

Cut another piece of string about 4 feet long. Tie it in the middle onto your two taped-down strings, above the beads.

You will tie a square knot between each bead. So start off by tie a square knot. You basically are tying a knot forward (or to the right), and then tying the same knot backward (or to the left).

After you've tied one knot right and one knot left, slide a bead up the string, right up against what you've just tied.

Tie a square knot under the bead. Remember, a square knot is really two knots- one to the right...

and then one to the left.

Alternate back and forth, one square knot, one bead, until you have made the bracelet as long as you need it to be to wrap around your wrist.

Tie a regular knot with all of the string.

Cut off the excess string!

And now you have a bracelet that will easily go on and off your wrist.

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the diy: beaded friendship bracelets

I was inspired yesterday to make a bunch of bracelets but I only successfully made these guys. But, I really like how they turned out! They are super simple and quick and they could be customized in many ways. And you can give them away to your friends without feeling like your giving your soul and hours of hard work away with it. You know, those regular friendship bracelets are so cute but geez, can I get my day back? Anyway, here's what you do...

All you will need is braiding cord and a few smaller beads. You basically need a bead that is big enough to easily slide on the cord but, still small. Cut a piece of thread about a foot long. Tie a knot close to the middle of the strand.

Slide the beads on in whatever order you would like. I used 8 beads. Tie a knot on the other end of the beads. Overlap the ends of the strands around each other.

Cut another strand of cord and wrap it around the overlapped strands. Tie a forward knot to start.

Then tie a backward knot.

Alternate back and forth about 8 times. Snip the ends off and burn them with a lighter.

Slide a bead onto both of the ends and tie a knot. Then snip off the excess. And you are done!

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the DIY: STRING FEATHER NECKLACE

To make this necklace, you will need:
- Embroidery Thread/String
- Wire
- Wire Cutters
- Scissors
- Mod Podge
- Paintbrush
- Wax Paper
- Chain
- Jump Ring

Cut a strip of Wire, this is 18 gauge.

This piece is about 4 inches long.

Curve the end of the wire into a loop.

Choose whatever colors you want your feather to be.

Cut strips of your embroidery string about 4 inches long.

Tie a piece of string around the wire, making the knot right in the middle of the string.

Repeat over and over with the strings.

Put the strings and wire on wax paper for easy clean up.

Brush the strings downward with Mod Podge to create a feather-like shape.

After the strings have dried a little, turn the feather over and brush again with Mod Podge.

When the strings have dried, cut them into the shape of a feather and snip off the extra wire.

Connect the feather to a jump ring and then to chain.


And you're done!

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the DIY: 5 MINUTE NECKLACE

The name of this DIY is suiting since recently it seems like there just isn't enough time. Getting ready to move into a different house seems to come along with 10,000 new house projects and decoration ideas and I just can't find enough time to do all of them. We found this pack of flat corner irons while going through some old stuff the other day. I decided to make a quick necklace with these "V" shaped metal pieces. Also, they're super super old so you could call this a semi-vintage neckalce if you really wanted to. It literally took about 5 minutes to make this necklace.

You will need:
- a flat corner iron, in whatever size you'd like
- chain
- 4 jump rings
- lobster clasp

Cut the chain to the length you want.

Attach the ends of the chain to the flat corner iron with jump rings.

Cut the chain open in the middle back part of the necklace.

Attach a jump ring to one end and attach a lobster claw (with a jump ring) to the other end.

Close up the back of the necklace and you are done!

You can make this necklace as short or as long as you'd like and you could get smaller pieces. We may try different versions of this necklace with other sizes and we may even experiment with some spray paint. We will see what happens!

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