DIY: Black, White and (Now) Red All Over

 Emkay, this may sound strange coming from the crazy art teacher who wears sparkly fishnets to school, but I actually have a vague idea of what is inappropriate work attire. In fact, according to excelle.monster.com's 25 Things a Professional Woman Should Never Wear, I'm 74% professional. Ahem. Their list was pretty lame though. For starters, they are obviously early 21st century haters. I mean, what did Paris Hilton ever do to get this list-creator to diss the following:

• Juicy Couture track suits and uggs. Seriously? Nobody is still wearing that except Pam Anderson. Hey, Pam Anderson, Bay Watch called. Oh no, wait, no they didn't. Because 2001 is over.

•  Crocs and fanny packs. Wear this and not only will you no longer have a job but suddenly birth control is no longer necessary. Two birds, one stone.

•  Wallet chain, torn jeans and clothes worn yesterday. Oh, I see. Now we're pickin' on the grunge era. Next you'll tell me flannel is out.

• Flannel. What?!

•  Face Tats. Seriously? Who has a face tat that isn't Mike Tyson? Although I was asked just the other day if my cat eyeliner was tattooed on. It isn't. Right now.

One thing on the list that I do agree with was not showing too much skin. So when I slipped on this dress I purchased from Modcloth not too long ago, I knew it didn't pass the tasteful test. Hello, pale mid-thigh! And I was super bummed because did you see that fabric? It features cats! In the news! Doing human stuff!

Being tallish, I've dealt with this too-short-attire problem before (junior high flashback: "Hey, Stephens, where's the flood?!"). My solution with dresses is adding a band of fabric on the bottom. My wingin' it way of doing this is to measure the width of one side of the bottom of the skirt, cut two pieces of fabric that width, sew those two pieces together thus creating a circle. That circle of fabric is then pinned to the hem of the dress, right sides together and sewn. I then hem the skirt. You can see more examples of that with my Hot Air Balloon dress and my Eiffel Tower dress.

Me, circa 2011. Back when I was still watching Baywatch reruns.

After adding the tomato red fabric to the bottom of the dress, I decided I needed more red to balance it out. That's when I had a flashback of this thrifted Target dress redo from a couple years ago. Here's what it looked like in it's original thrifted state:

Kinda nice because of the sweet bird fabric but mostly boring. After taking up the hem on this dress. I decided to add the bow and the little coral detailing at the shoulders. Recalling this redo, I decided to put a bow on Modcloth cat dress as well. Wanna put bows on things? Here's how it's done:

You begin by creating...what looks like a pair of little boys briefs. Ew, scroll down.

Ah, that's better. So, begin by deciding how wide you'd like your bow to be. Then double that. And add an inch. Decide the height of your bow and add an inch for hemming. Fold under 1/4" top and bottom and hem. Then create a circle by sewing right sides together.

Using needle and thread, create a hand basted stitch. Don't know what that is? It's a very wide stitch as seen above. That kind of stitch is good for gathering. The wrinkles in my fabric show how I've been practicing my gathering skillz. Once fabric is gathered to your liking, knot thread.

As you can see above, once that was complete, I added a folded in band of fabric for the loop around the middle of the bow. This was hand stitched (ugh, I hate hand stitching. What is this, 2001? Pam, gimme a hand here, would ya?!) and attached to the belt.

Oh, shoot, the belt. I forgot to take photos  of how that was created. Sorry. Here's the beginning stage. After pressing these folds down, I added a fusible stabilizer to give the belt some beef, folded it in half and stitched all the way around. Once the bow was hand stitched into place, I added a snap button closer.

Me in all my belted glory. With cats! In the news! Doing human things! Yes, like a good episode of Bay Watch, it bears repeating. 

Pretty sure a crinoline wouldn't make the list of appropriate attire. Nor the sparkly fishnets. But I never claimed to be 100% pro.

The rest of the outfit details: black top and necklace: Target; sparkly fishnets: TJMaxx; shoes: Dolls by Nina

And just in case you were wondering what professional fashon faux paus I did make, that'd be the following:

•  Glitter (So these shoes are not longer okay?)
• Animal Prints (Wait, I can't wear these pants anymore?!)
• Hats Worn Indoors (But what if it's a palette-shaped hat? Is that okay?)

Oh well. Can't win 'em all. 

Read more »

What the Art Teacher Wore #30

Marvelous Monday: What a great day, the kids finally came to art! For the occasion, I wore my DIY Embroidered Eiffel Tower Dress. It was fun chatting with the kids about sewing and embroidering. The idea of one creating their own clothing seemed to blow their mind. shoes: Indigo by Clarks; necklace: Target; flower: H&M

Well, it has begun. The invasion of the art room by the Wee Ones, that is. We managed to pack in as much as possible during our first week: a chat about Jes (whose adventures to Paris will be shared in an upcoming post); a geography lesson; an art room scavenger hunt; a brief French lesson (Parlez-vous francias? Um, not so much); a mini-self portrait and the rules of the art room. 

During our study of all things French-y, we will be covering some of the biggest and baddest French artists that there ever were. I thought I'd throw them in among my outfits this week. Since we will be studying France for a while, you can expect to see a coupla weeks of French-themed looks. Pretty sure the kids and I will both be French-fried by the end of our study. C'est la vie.

I know that there are a million silly perspective photos of the Eiffel Tower, but this one really got me. A Young Man "Painting" the Eiffel Tower, 1970.

"Are Those Real?" Tuesday: Yep, I was asked that question this week...sadly, he was inquiring about my eyebrows. Huh? I explained I had on eye makeup, like what his mom might wear. I was informed she doesn't wear make up...like that. Er-kay. French smock: vintagedame via etsy. So much cuteness in one shop!; pencil skirt: Target; mini-beret: made by me from a doll's hat

There are all of these super cute mini berets on etsy and they are seriously in the one hundred dollar range. That's just crazy talk. When I was decluttering one of my storage closets at school this week, I found this doll's beret. I cut a piece of stuffing to place inside and give it some form, covered the bottom with a circle of stiff felt and hot glued a giant hair clip to the bottom. It was received with wildly mixed reviews but I kinda love it.

Luncheon of the Boating Party, 1881 by Pierre-Auguste Renoir. The story goes Renoir was tired of just painting these commissioned works of society women. The owner of a local cafe suggested he paint the river-facing terrace of his cafe. So for several Sundays, Renoir picked up the lunch tab for his 13 best buds while they wined and dined. I love the festivity he captured. Remind me to get invited to one of these painting parties, would ya?

"Hello, Crazy Art Teacher" Wednesday: As one of my first graders was walking past me and a group of teachers in the hallway, she greeted each one by name...except for me. Although I suppose it could be argued that while it's not my name, it's a pretty accurate description. top: H&M; belt and skirt: vintage, thrifted; necklace: Pangea; shoes: Frye, TJ MAXX

Because the hair just wasn't tall enough, I had to throw in a bouquet of flowers. I can't explain the logic, it just seemed to make sense.

So lovely. The Girl in the Red Beret, 1906 by Harold Harvey

New Dress Thursday: I was surprised how curious the kids were about how I created this dress. My working mom did not have time to sew when I was a kid and I'm guessing some of my students have a similar experience. dress: DIY I-See-London-I-See-France Dress; headband: Peachy Tuesday; sandals: Target

Self-Portrait, 1890, Henri Rousseau. Henri was this toll booth collector turned self-taught artist. During his life, he was ridiculed for his naive style...which, of course, is now what makes him so famous. It's said that Pablo Picasso saw paintings by Rousseau being sold on the streets as canvas to painted over. Recognizing Rousseau's genius, Picasso bought them up and had a banquet in his honor.

Friday!: I'll admit, this dress is more Mexican Fiesta than French Soiree, but I figured if I put on a beret, it'd be okay. I'm thinking that's going to be my new Portlandia-inspired philosophy: Put a Beret on It. dress: I.M.P. on etsy...a seriously sweet vintage shop. This is absolutely my new fave vintage dress!

Allies Day, 1917, Childe Hassam Hassam was this American Impressionist that was in love with all things French-y. So you can imagine that he was just a little freaked out when the Germans invaded France in 1914. He began painting depictions of the American flag hanging alongside the French even before we entered the war. His painting is like some sort of Impressionist premonition.

Thanks for dropping by, friends! I'm curious, which look to you think is the most French-esque? Do you have a favorite? It's been fun getting French-tastic in the mornings, I'd love to hear what you think.

Read more »

DIY: Anthropologie Style

Dress: thrifted Issac Mizrahi for Target, anthropologie-ized by me; belt and hair clip: by me

Tell me if you do this: you go to Anthropologie determined that you are going to avoid the full retail at all cost and head straight to the sale room. Do not pass go, do not collect $200, you are on one cheap-o mission.

And then, you see It. That dress. The One and Only. The Dress that would complete You.

The Anthro version. On sale this time last year.

And you think to yourself, "you know what, forget the sale room, I've earned this! I've worked hard, I've earned my keep, I watched someone pick his nose AND eat it today. I don't care what the price tag says, that dress will be mine. It belongs in my closet!"

And then you do it.

You look at the price tag.

And the back pedaling begins.

"You know what, I don't really even like that dress.

"I mean, look at it...it's just too perfect. And awesome. Not to mention amazing. Why on earth would I want that? Geez, what was I thinking..." And then you drive off to the nearest Target and try to forget the dress with bottles of nail polish, a tube or two of lipstick, a pair of tights and three Kit Kats...or maybe that's just me.

But this little tale has a happy DIY ending. After seeing that little navy number and being scared off by the price tag, I recalled an Isaac Mizrahi dress that I'd thrifted some time ago. Sadly, it's permanent place had become my closet as I didn't really care for the spaghetti straps. With the out-o-my-price-range dress on my mind, I anthropologie-ized my dress with some sear sucker fabric fashioned into shoulder bows...and viola! $148 still snug in my pocket book.

Anthro sandals, also from last spring.

And then I got all crazy-like and decided to try my hand at recreating these bad boys.

Ya'll would you please get yourself some of these Sseko sandals already? It's for such a great cause...and I know you are tired of hearing me yap about them!

With my favorite sandal bases by Sseko. I love that I can create custom shoes in less than a half an hour with these sandals as my base.

Please pardon the toes...they's a little gnarly.

Oh and what do you know? The sandals match the dress. I've become so stinkin' matchy-match in my old age.

There you go, an Anthro-DIY. Just for kicks, let's do a rundown on cost:

dress from Goodwill: $7.99
hair clip and belt: made by me
sandal base: $39

Total: $46.99

Yippie!

Now I know I'm not the only one that's created an Anthro-inspired DIY...what have you created? Dying to know, leave a comment below!

Read more »

DIY: Floral Embroidery

So, do you remember that floral embroidery sneak-peak I shared with you here? Well, I finally finished it! But if you want to read more, you'll have to head over to one of my favorite blogs, The Little Red Squirrel.

Sweet Katie, the creative mind behind The Little Red Squirrel, is on vacation in Paris (I had to photoshop my green-with-envy face) and asked me if I wouldn't mind being a guest blogger for her. I shared with her readers my floral embroidery DIY. I do hope you'll take a look and add her blog to your blog reader, it's fantastic!

And thanks again, Katie, it was a delight. Enjoy your holiday!

Read more »

DIY: Conquering the Dynasty Dress

At the Hollywood Drive-In Golf at Universal Studios. I loved their putt putt courses which were based on 1950's B-movies. This one was called The Haunting of Ghostly Green.

While in Memphis last weekend, I was taken to a gem of a place called Park Avenue Thrift. And while it was far from being even remotely Park Avenue-esque, we did make a new friend (one whom attempted to try on her size 20 bathing suit over her clothes, asked us what we thought and paid the cashier with a wad of wet cash brandished from her bra). I also found this lovely floral dress.

Before hacking into the dress, I thought I'd give it one last hurrah in all of it's shoulder-pad, big-hair-with-bow, blue-eye-shadow, and-pointy-shoe glory.

As soon as I slipped the dress on, I immediately had images of Dynasty pop into my head. The shoulder pads were mammoth. It's no wonder we did our hair up so big in the eighties. If we didn't, we'd look like a shrunken head between those pillow-sized pads.

As a kid, my cousin, my aunt and I used to watch Dynasty, Falcon Crest and Dallas curled up with my grandma in her bed. The plot was over our heads so we usually had our noses stuck in some Sweet Valley High book.

More pictures from the putt putt. I've not putt putted in ages and we had so much fun. If you've not been lately, I say go.

So, here's a breakdown of how I conquered the Dynasty Dress:

• Removal of shoulder pads. But I didn't trash them. They'll come back in style someday, right?
• Removal of 8" from the hemline. I mean really. It was like a floral parachute.
• Addition of yellow scalloped collar. Seen best in the final photo.
• Removal of belt. I love it, but you can't see it. So I am wearing my bow belt instead.
• Addition of matching sandals. I used the excess fabric to create the straps for my Sseko sandals. If you are not familiar with Sseko, you might want to check them out.

Another show we watched with grandma as kids. I always thought of my grandma as being like Dixie Carter's Julie Sugarbaker. Doesn't Charlene look like she's wearing my floral dress?

It's not the biggest dress overhaul but this one didn't really need it. I was sold on the full skirt, the floral and the pockets. It just needed some de-eighties-izing.

Dynasty Dress, consider yourself conquered, bwahaha.

When I asked hubs what he thought of the end result, he said, "It's nice. It looks like an Easter dress. That's the look you were going for, right?"

Erm, yeah. And that's the last time I let him win at putt putt. Enjoy your weekend!

Read more »

What the Art Teacher Wore #4

I-Forgot-It-Was-January-And-Wore-Sandals Monday: Not like it matters, we've had one of the warmest winters on record. And I couldn't resist...these John Fluevog's I picked up in San Fran were demanding to be worn. sweater: gift from mother-in-law; dress: Four Seasons Cottage Vintage in Knoxville; belt: made by me; fishnets and tights: dunno, Target?; shoes: Fluevog

Hiya, all! I'm sharing with you this week what I chose to wear. Which, as you can tell, involves closing my eyes, plunging my hand into my closet and just throwing on whatever mildly matches. You think I'm kidding? Check out Thursday's number. Plaids and stripes? That only happens when the light's out in your closet and you pick your clothes in the dark. Trust me.

I'm so excited that my incredible student teacher has allowed me to feature her daily outfits as well! Isn't she a doll? I do have a photo of her lovely Monday look but blogger was being a booger and refused to post the photo right side up. So you'll just have to take my word that she looked just as cute as she does in the following photos. I do hope you enjoy what's left of your weekend. I plan to change that bulb in my closet...but don't expect any change in my look next week.

Totally Tuesday: So last week I was told by one of my second graders that I needed to invest in some Red Hot Lipstick...and I did! I was so excited to show her. However, she was not the least bit impressed. "That's not Red Hot enough for you!" Man, kids these days. So hard to please. red shirt and mustard tights: Target; dress: thrifted, altered by me; collar and belt: made by me, I chatted about it here: http://cassiestephens.blogspot.com/2012/02/how-to-dress-like-kindergartener.html; shoes: Clarks

This is the look she gives the naughty kindergarteners. Ha! Just kidding. We NEVER have any ill-behaved children. On Lauren: floral top: thrifted; sweater and shoes: Target; pants: Express; belt: For Love

It's a Perry the Platypus Belt Buckle kind of Wednesday: sweater: BCBG , thrifted; dress: vintage, thrifted; blue fishnets: dunno, Marshall's?; shoes: Dolls by Nina; Perry the Platypus belt: created for a custom order then was never purchased. So now I get to wear it!

Look how adorable she is! dress and shoes: Target; tights: Express; shirt: H&M

Trust me, I find this photo as annoying as you do. Thursday: sweater: thrifted; skirt: gift from a friend; shirt and tights: Target; shoes: originally black thrifted shoes but I painted them into pencil shoes. The kids always ask if the eraser works...but never if they pencil does.

The Calm After the Storm: Here's Lauren after she and I did bubble printing with four kindergarten classes back to back. She's still smiling! dress: I think she told me Banana Republic; sweater: Philanthorpie; shoes: Toms

Friday, you don't know how happy you make me: sweater: thrifted; dress: Cactus Flower in Bloomington, IN; apron and flower brooch: gift from mother-in-law; fishnets: Marshall's; shoes: Indigo by Clarks

Sorry, we were so involved in our lessons for the day that I forgot to ask for outfit details. I do love how Lauren layers her sweaters. I am so stealing that idea!

Read more »