It's Pinspired Friday {Look for Less #2}

It's Pinspired Friday! TGIF!

Taylor Swift seems to be able to pull off just about any look, especially those highly polished, preppy and pretty looks. This one popped up on my Pinterest feed, and I was inspired to find the look for less. :)

The site the image came from didn't come with the price tag for that outfit, but it's safe to say it's probably not under $100. My version just happens to be! Of course, take it with a grain of salt - my prices don't include shipping, taxes, etc. Get Taylor Swift's look for only $71.99.

Look for Less #2 by hargrovk featuring black sunglasses

Black dress
genuine-people.com - $17

City Classified black shoes
lulus.com - $18

ALDO black purse
aldoshoes.com - $25

Black sunglasses
lucluc.com - $8.99

Moisturizing lipstick
eyeslipsface.com - $3

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 {Look for Less}

Ever since I joined Pinterest, I've had a "My Style Board." I've pinned a lot of different looks, and it's been fun to work with what I got to switch up my style. I've learned new ways to wear things, and it's definitely helped me get outside my comfort zone and try patterns and styles I may not have tried before.

I've had this look pinned for 2 years, according to Pinterest (wow!) and yes, it's Kim Kardashian. There is very few things that she wears that I would wear, but this look looked so comfortable and easy to dress up and down, that I knew I had to pin it. It also gives me a new way to wear army green without looking like I joined the army.

I looked through a few places online to gather the pieces for this outfit, and I tried to stick to places that were easily accessible and most of all, affordable. The best part about this outfit is that you probably already have a few of the pieces!

Forever 21 short sleeve tee
forever21.com - $3.80

Charlotte Russe ankle strap shoes
charlotterusse.com - $24.50

Charlotte Russe zip pouch
charlotterusse.com - $29.99

Charlotte russe
charlotterusse.com - $1.99

Stoosh One-Button Long-Sleeve Blazer - jcpenney
jcpenney.com - $24.99

jcp™ Cropped Pants - jcpenney
jcpenney.com - $19.99

Amazon.com: Fashion Jewelry - KNIT BALL FRINGE RUFFLE SCARF- By...
amazon.com - $27.00



Before shipping, taxes, and all of that good stuff, you can get the entire look for $132.26! And you can't beat those aviators for $1.99... :) I think I might have to give this look a try soon!

Got a look you want for less? Send it to me or leave it in a comment and I'll find it for you!

It's Pinspired Friday! {T-Shirt Upcycle Nautical Necklace}

It's Pinspired Friday!

Today, I'm inspired by a pin I pinned about three weeks ago. If you've been following my blog for a while, you know I'm no stranger to crafts made with t-shirts. So far, I've made color block t-shirts, quilts out of t-shirts, and headbands made out of t-shirt strips. I love working with t-shirts because jersey is awesome - it doesn't require hemming unlike cotton, it comes in a billion different colors, and old t-shirts are cheaply and easily obtainable, and often make some pretty neat things.

My sister-in-law graciously gave me a huge bag of t-shirts for crafting, and in there was a few strips of shirts that had already been cut up, which got my wheels turning. I could have made another headband, but I decided to wait and see what else I could do with them.

Enter...

The Conqueror Necklace by Ashen Drift 

I positively love this necklace - especially the silver closure. It is unfortunately sold out - but I also knew I could possibly make something similar.

While my "clasp" isn't nearly as nice - it gets the job done. :) And it actually does look great on and it is ultra light... and can be made very cheaply!

 So do you want to make your own? Here's what you'll need.

Kind of a lame looking picture... sorry about that!

• Three strips of t-shirt, pulled. If you don't know how to make those, check out my headband tutorial - I am using the shirt strips that were already cut up in the bag but they were 26" long.
• 1 non-looped t-shirt piece, about 10" long.

I'm using all navy for this one as I made the white and blue necklace first to see if it could be done first and I didn't have any more white strips! :)

Start by taking one loop and twisting it. I used both hands, rotating in opposite ways and twisted it until it was a tight twist.

Using something like a counter or toe or a little helper, bend the twisted loop in the middle and slowly move it off so it automatically makes a chunky, shorter twist.

It'll look like this. Carefully set it aside (move it around too much before you make it into a necklace and it'll unravel) and pick up one of the other long loops.

Now you've got two chunky loops. Stay with me here for this next step... it's so easy but sort of hard to explain...

Take the third long loop and thread it through the loops at one end, making sure you get the middle of both.

Now take that same long loop and thread it through the other chunky loops on the other side.

Now it should look like this. Take your 10" unlooped piece and thread it through the two loops at the top.

It'll look like this. Now, knot it tightly and tie it in a bow. You might need to pull on that little strip to make it thin enough and long enough to make a small bow.

You're done! Try it on!

Fun, easy and cheap, and great for your spring outfits. Let me know how this works for you! Thanks for following along.

P.S. Have you liked Little Oak Creations on Facebook yet? Like us today to get the first look at projects, coupon codes, and get ahead of the game - I'll be hosting a giveaway soon! :)

P.P.S. (haha):
Wishing you and yours a very Happy Easter! 

It's Pinspired Friday! {DIY Color Block T-Shirt}

Alright lovelies, it's Pinspired Friday and I've got a good one for you today...

Color blocking is everywhere...and maybe I'm a little late to the party but dang it, I love the trend and I had to have some color blocking in my life. 

My sister-in-law gave me a whole bag full of t-shirts of all different sizes and colors (thank you!!) and I wanted something NEON. Am I too old for neon? Maybe. But I figured if I mixed some navy it would tone it down a bit and make it age appropriate. I originally wanted to make the bottom blue and the shoulders neon, but there was a logo on the yellow one that would have required a lot more thinking on my part and I wasn't having it. ;)

Here's what inspired this shirt:

Uber Chic for  Cheap: Refashion: DIY Color Block Tees

And yes, this girl is super cute and puts my selfies to shame later on in this post.

Need to have one for yourself? Here is what you'll need.

• 2 T-shirts - 1 of mine (the navy one) was a Hanes "Favorite T" so it was slightly more fitted and had cap sleeves... making it a little easier. The other (the neon one) was a Fruit of the Loom "BEST" shirt (basic shirt... the kind you see screenprinted locations or attractions on.) Both were the same 50% cotton/50% polyester though - which is important for a steady and even stitch when you stitch the two pieces together.

You'll also want:

• A sewing machine

• A bunch of straight pins

• A rotary board, a rotary cutter, and a big ole' ruler. It'll make your life easier than cutting it with scissors, trust me.

Here's my shirts. As I pointed out above, you'll want them to be the same material, and at least similar width wise in size. You can always make bigger smaller, but obviously you can't make smaller bigger. As you can see, I have about 1" or so on each side that is larger than the blue shirt. No worries, we tackle that later. Figure out which one you want on top, and which one on bottom. I picked neon on bottom, navy on top. If you have a logo that lines up with your armpitties, find a different shirt. Logo-less shirts are best for this. Kudos if you buy the same exact shirt in two different colors.

Grab your top shirt. Get it to lay perfect... smoothing wrinkles, making sure seams line up, etc. I used my ruler to make sure the arm pit lines matched up and were straight... important so you don't make an awkward wonky line.

I cut about 2 inches under the armpit. If you want your top half of the shirt to sit a little higher (more on the top of the breast, for example), you can cut it higher, but leave enough to for a seam allowance. Line up your ruler straight and cut.

I cut the bottom shirt about 2 inches under the armpit. Make sure it's straight, smooth and then cut.

You've now got two pieces of shirt, so turn both pieces inside out and start pinning around the parts to be sewn together. Before you start pinning willy nilly, you have to think about seams if your shirt has any (pin the shirt where the seams would normally go), and pay attention that you're pinning the pieces correctly and that the insides of the shirts will be both inside when you turn the shirts back inside out. Make sense? You don't want your top to be correct when you turn it back and your exposed hem to be facing the outside. When you go to pin, start pinning in one armpit region, just in case your shirts don't match up size wise like mine.

My yellow shirt didn't have any seams (score) so I didn't have to worry about where they were, which was good since I have to take that yellow shirt in a bit. Pin around the shirt, and if you're like me, you'll have more of one shirt than the other.

That white-ish piece in the middle left is the yellow shirt. Had to use crappy flash to get the seam to show though.

As you can see, I had too much yellow. So I lined up my excess with the blue seam and then pinned that down the shirt so I could make a new side seam so my fabric would match. NOTE: If you are using the same size shirt, don't worry about this step!!!

Pinning the new side seam... And yes, this means that my shirt will have one side seam. I ain't hatin'.

Now my side is seamed, and the blue and yellow fabric are equal sizes. Yay!

Switch your sewing machine to zig zag stitch. Zig zag stitches will help so the fabric doesn't pull as much when you sew this type of fabric. My machine was set to this stitch, size "3" length, 3 width, 4 tension. Pretty normal tension settings.

Start sewing in one of the armpits. I recommend the one you didn't have to make a new seam on if you can avoid it. If you used the same size shirts, either armpit will do.

Sew around, hit your reverse button to reinforce the beginning stitches... and turn that bad boy back out. You're done!


*deep breath* *awkward selfies...*

.Yes, this is me...and I did not 'shop this picture (even though I wanted to very badly...) 6.8lbs down in this weight loss journey...  and not stopping :)

Luckily, this shirt can shrink right with me. :) I think this'll look cute for spring with some white capri's or skinny jeans with heels like Uber Chic. :)

Update: I tried this shirt this morning with a cardi and necklace :) 

Hope you enjoyed this tutorial! Try it out - I might make another with a navy base and pink top. We'll see! :)

I'm linking up to these parties!