Knockoff Earrings for Less!

Have you ever shopped at Shopko? I will admit, when I first checked the store out, I thought it was a little weird. To me, it feels like a mix between a Kmart and a Big Lots... they've got all you'd need, but it's often at a premium for sometimes not-so-great quality, unless you're shopping the ad or clearance. It's a weird little mix of a store but I secretly think it's pretty fun to shop the clearance, because when they go to clearance, they really go to clearance.

Enter these earrings:

It's funny, because in this picture, they don't look so bad - I like that color yellow. But in reality, the jewel was NEON yellow, not Big Bird yellow. Neon yellow isn't really my speed anymore... but I had seen these earrings on the Young House Love blog before (they're apparently a Sherry favorite):

Kendra Scott Jewelry - Danielle Earrings in Green - $60.00

and couldn't help but notice how these were almost exactly the same earring shape and size... but not with a $60.00 price tag:

...but with a $1.40 price tag. I can make a $1.40 work. Here's what the back looked like... they actually look and feel like a high quality earring (and you can see they are more neon in this picture):

I knocked out the jewel part...

which was easy to do... it was only being held in two spots on the sides. Easy!

I grabbed my Rust-oleum Oil Rubbed Bronze spray paint, and gave the jewels two light coats so they wouldn't drip.

Ironically, used the Shopko ad to catch the paint...

Looking good! I had to make sure to let them dry for a while as plastic doesn't absorb the paint at all.

I used hot glue to put the jewel back in, but will use Krazy Glue gel formula to really secure the jewel when I get some more :)

Pushed the jewel back in with a hint of glue, and they came out gorgeous! Much more my "speed", and a pretty color for fall! They remind me of these ones by Kendra Scott as well!

Kendra Scott Jewelry - Danielle in Black - $60.00

These are a great testament to always keep an open mind when shopping - a lot of things can be changed to fit your taste! Thanks for reading!

It's Pinspired Friday! {A New Style}

TGIPF! It's Pinspired Friday!

So, I have a relatively large announcement regarding life outside of the blog... I've accepted my first full-time job with a local advertising agency. I am SO happy. I went to school for and graduated with a B.S. in Advertising and it's been a lifelong dream to work in an agency. Needless to say, I'm on cloud nine. 

So what does that mean for this blog?

I have no plans to abandon the blog! Will I still have time to do every Friday still and a post sometime earlier in the week? I'm not sure yet. You may just start seeing many more crockpot meals and recipes. ;)

---------------------------------------------------

So in light of the recent development in my career, today I am touching on office attire. I definitely have some dressy clothes in my closet, but I thought I would share what I'm slowly grasping:

You need basics.

Who would have guessed, eh? I have this fantastic ability to purchase shirts and forget about my bottom half because it's boring. So I have a wonderful selection of bright shirts or "exciting" shirts, but very few cardigans, pants or skirts that are just basic. Is basic boring? I am learning it doesn't have to be. And people prefer if you wear pants in public, so...

I have a collection on my "My Style Pinboard" on Pinterest that I've been collecting forever, it seems, and a lot of my styles I've "collected" have the following basics:

Patterned Skirt	Black Skirt
From Outfitposts.blogspot.com	From Cleo.Ca
Grey/Dark Grey Skirt	Navy Skirt
From Outfitposts.blogspot.com	From Hello-Gorgeous-Blog
Khaki Skirt	Bright Colored Skirt
From Polyvore	From Hello-Gorgeous-Blog

So now that we've got six basic colored skirts, we'll want the same in dress pants. You can start to see in even just those five images, if you've got the basics, you can change around the tops easily to make them work with the other colored skirts too! It's worth noting having basic shoes: black pumps, tan/brown pumps, black flats and camel/brown flats go with everything too. You can throw some sandals or sandal heels in there too.

So now we need pants:

Navy Pants	Grey Pants
From Simplyme091909	From outfitposts.blogspot.com
Colored Pants	Black Pants
The Streetstyle Tumblr	Unknown Source
NICE Jeans	Khaki Pants
From SimplyMe091909	From Polyvore

Get the idea? I finally am. I need basics and the rest will come. Grab a cardigan using the same basic formula (black + tan + navy + patterned + colorful + grey) and you can easily layer and make a great looking outfit.

Next, you need accessories.

Some offices may be more or less stringent on what is appropriate. I always tend to stick with more traditional styles when it comes to accessories like purses so that it matches with everything, but I may have more exciting earrings or necklaces. If you can balance a more traditional accessory like a purse with crazy shiny earrings, you'll look more put together and avoid my biggest fear - look like you're trying TOO hard to love every trend.

Basic Semi-Exciting Studs	More Exciting Earrings
From Anthropologie	From FashionDivaDesign
More Traditional Necklace	More Exciting Necklace
From MaxandChloe.com	From Luulaa
More Traditional Purse	More Exciting Purse
From Toryburch.com	From JustFab.com

So there are just a few tips and tricks that I am learning! I am excited to have the chance to wear more office appropriate attire and of course, to be an asset to a company that does what I've always wanted to do.

Have any tricks or tips when it comes to office attire, or heading into a new position? Thanks for reading! Have a great weekend!

It's Pinspired Friday! {Fancy Pearl Earrings Tutorial}

Hi all! It's Pinspired Friday! Today I'm going to showcase these cute earrings:

Sorry about the quality of these pictures! My camera was just not cooperating that day.

and how easy they are to make!

It all started when I pinned these earrings about 2 months ago:

I thought they were very cute and would be great for any occasion, so I decided to make some of my own and share how to make them with you!

I picked out smaller pearls and made my posts a little longer. Looking back, I would probably make my posts a little shorter (I still like the dainty pearl size) as they are super long but they're still fun and I'll probably wear them anyway.

So let's gather our supplies. We'll need:

• 6 posts with flat bottoms
• 6 "pearls"
• two french hooks

You'll also need:
• a pair of wire cutters
• a pair of earring pliers. They have rounded prongs so we can get the circles just right (needle nose won't work.)
• Possibly another pair of pliers to open the circles.
• A ruler or other measuring device

 My measuring device was a piece of paper that was an inch long. Ha! I measured each post to be an inch long where I bent and made the loop. Not sure how to make earring loops? I don't want to beat a dead horse (there are so many great tutorials out there!), so I'll link to a tutorial on making a earring loop.

I made each beginning post.

And then I put my next pin through that loop.

And proceeded to make another loop, and then another pin through that loop. Then, I simply attached my french hooks to the three step earrings...

And it's as easy as that!

Cute, can be dressed up or dressed down earrings for cheap! I had all of the materials already, so I had no cost on these, but posts, pliers and "pearls" can be bought for very cheap at Joann's or even Walmart.

Thanks for following along!

P.S. Where was I last Friday?
I was out of town last Friday and I unfortunately missed last Friday's post! Usually I schedule something if I'm going to be OOT but I had nothing and time crept up on me. Sorry about that guys!