wrap bracelet from a thin belt

so I'm totally lovin' the  " wrap watches"..... yes that is what I call them and if they have a name other than that,  I don't know what it is.

So anyway I found this picture on Pinterest, (I hate to admit how much I'm on there) that I absolutely loved, but wasn't feeling the price tag:   anywhere from $75 - $115.  What?? I don't think my husband would appreciate that unnecessary purchase. But it sure is pretty....

(Pinterest) 

la Mer Collections

I really didn't care about the watch part of it, I mostly loved the wrapped layers as a bracelet.

 light bulb moment... I could easily make my own!  With that thin leopard belt that I keep trying to wear and just seems to accentuate my

not- so -skinny parts.

All I did was wrap the belt around my wrist in a criss cross pattern  

and buckled it

like the pictures below.

hmmm   Cute,  but it needed something.

   

 

So I wrapped a chain around the same way.  I think

I like how it looks both ways.  Guess it would depend on the style of the outfit.

But either way... very simple to do.

It took all of about 3 minutes to get it looking just like I wanted :)

and it was worth those 3 minutes...  I'm totally loving it!

Maybe I will remember to take a picture of my outfit when I wear it out...

What do you think?   

Have you finished any cute do it yourself projects recently??

My newest jewelry

So I wanted to share my newest jewelry. 

It's been fun getting back into it.  I pretty much put everything on hold for a while

and I have to admit... I missed it.

and here they are:

Each necklace has a matching pair of earrings.

(Sorry, don't have the pictures of the earrings uploaded yet)

So what do you think??

Avery's Rainbow

These are some pictures of our last trip to the shore this summer.  It had been sunny and  beautiful all day.  Perfect for beach pictures.

  It's a tradition now, to take pictures here every year.   It was a little sad for me because our lil Avery should have been in these pictures with us.  She would have been 10 months old

and then I looked up and saw this little rainbow....

and I knew that she WAS there with us.   



Linking to  Heart Therapy at Eisy Morgan

Book pumpkin decoration

 I was putting up my fall decorations the other day and realized I just didn't have enough cute things... aka NEW decorations to put up.   I was feeling a little guilty about spending money just because I was getting bored with what I had ....  what is a girl to do with a dilemma like this?  Get on the computer for a while that"s what ! After a few minutes hours I found this adorable Book Pumpkin Tutorial   and had to give it a whirl.

It was very simple and quick  and it looks so adorable on my newly painted  cabinet !  How do you like?

What new fall crafts have you got going on ?

Running.... My newest and most satisfying endeavor

This is such a weird thing.   If you asked me two years ago if I could see myself running a 5K, I would have laughingly said No Way!   I HATED running,  jogging... all of it.   I couldn't even last half a block and I was huffing and puffing like the out of shape person I was. But after the loss of my little girl and carrying around 20 extra lbs of chub, I decided to give it a try.   In the beginning I think I was ( in some twisted way) punishing myself. I know! sounds disturbing, but it really gave me the shove I needed, because this running thing does not come naturally to me AT ALL.  I really had to force myself to keep going sometimes, sometimes letting the tears fall as I ran. I started out at  a few blocks jogging, then walking a little, until all of a sudden I was jogging a full mile!   Wow! I Can do this. The accomplishment felt huge to me.   Next thing I know I'm pushing to two miles. That was enough for me for a while, jogging 2 miles a few times a week eating healthier meals and just watching my body slowly but surely shrinking back into my "skinny" clothes.   Now  I LOVE running.

So with a few of my friends running 5k's. I'm thinking .... why not?   Can't be that hard...  well it IS hard.   I just hit a wall at 2 miles,   3?  not happening, I just couldn't do it.   So I downloaded this
" couch to 5k" app to my ipod....  I'm 4 weeks in and loving it.   I sorta feel like I'm going backwards a little bit, but it's building a good strong base.  It's helping me with my endurance, speed and distance making it a win, win, win situation for me :)   So if all goes well I will be 5k ready in 4 more weeks!

So although I realize this certainly is not for everyone, I encourage you to try running...I thought I hated it and couldn't do it too. It is such a good feeling though to just get out there and put all your issues, stress,  whatever heavy load you're carrying and just run it away.
  
I am 4 lbs away from my goal weight and I have lost a ton of inches AND  here's the bonus: I'm enjoying myself while doing it!
That is satisfaction to me....

sweater and twine bangle bacelet tutorial

So I found these awesome bracelets on Pinterest.

source  ravelry.com   (on pinterest)

my version

I may or may not be Pinterest whipped :)  Anyway I saw the bracelets and searched high and low for a tutorial on how to make them.... and came up empty handed   so to speak.   There just wasn't anything out there.... So I just did them my own way.

Supplies needed:

• plastic bangle bracelets     ( I made 3)
• glue gun
• scissors
• old sweaters  (found mine at the thrift store) 
• twine   optional
• piece of felt or ribbon   length of inside of bracelet 

I found these ugly plastic bangle bracelets on clearance at Burlington, but I'm sure you could find them anywhere.  They came in a set of 3.   Two of them were about 1/2 inch and one was approx. 1 1/4 inch thick. Exactly what I was looking for.
Because I used a vest for the largest one I cut a piece of the neck,  but it is a lot easier to use the sleeve of a sweater,    I did have a little issue with it the first time around so don' t cut your piece of sweater too big for the bangle it will leave you with overlapping layers on the bottom and that in turn makes your bracelet a little smaller :(     Not good.     And I did glue a piece of felt to the inside of the bracelet to cover the mess.   ( can't see it on the outside)


I didn't take pictures of the making process of the first one because of all the frustration of ripping it apart and doing it again.....  but I did take pictures of the smaller one.

This one I used the sleeve of an old cardigan type sweater that was cheaply made and very stretched out.    I just cut off the end of the sleeve , slid it on the bracelet , put a little glue on the inside of the bracelet and pulled the fabric around and pinched it onto the glue   like pictured above.





For the twine bracelet  I first cut a rather long length of twine, glued the end on at a slight angle to make it easier for wrapping, and just glued every so far and kept wrapping the twine around .

Lucky me i just happened to cut the perfect amount of twine so it ended right here:

and I just finished it off with a dot of hot glue.   and Done!

I really, really love the textures and they are perfect for my casual fall outfits!

I'd be happy to answer any questions you might have.....   and I would love to see your version if you give it a try.    Have a great day!

Linking up with   Liked it, Pinned it, Did it    on Ma Nouvelle Mode

To Be or Not To Be?

I know I have been MIA these last few months, I was seriously thinking about quitting the blog thing altogether, but as I sat in front of the computer thinking... maybe this isn't for me and I should just delete this....I couldn't do it. It represents change in my life that I so desperately need.  It is like a therapy "of sorts" for my healing heart.  So I think I'm going to give it another try.... only this time maybe give it my all.   So I have a few small tutorials to share over the next couple of days/ weeks.... whatever it takes to get myself going again.