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!

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What the Art Teacher Wore #14

Floral, Gingham and Dots Monday: This photo was taken as the UPS man drove by, honking and waving at silly me and my tripod. sweater: vintage and thrifted; skirt: Anthropologie, last summer; tights: Target; shoes: Dolls by Nina

Kids, you'll have to forgive me, but I've gone a bit berzerk. Not only did I find some super groovy masterpieces that kinda-sorta coordinate with my ensemble...but I've also found The Missing Link. I'm not talking about some neanderthal-looking dude (though I'm pretty sure that guy was standing behind me in Goodwill yesterday telling his kid to, "Git over hair, nay-ow!"). I mean, The Missing Link to completing my look. I'm adding each to my Christmas, birthday and Arbor Day wishlists (what, you don't get prezzies on Arbor Day?). Thanks for indulging my silliness. Enjoy!

Red, White and Blue Cherries created by the husband and wife team at Just Plain Pix.Cherries are my absolute fave fruit. You?

I really really want a bike. Not to ride or anything. Just to look at. I promise I would look at it every single day. Can I have this one, pretty please?

Surprise! Evaluation Tuesday: Erm, yeah. My dear principal came about 30 seconds before my kids did for my surprise evaluation. No word on how it went. But there was no rolling around on the floor, crying or fit throwing, so that's good. I was on my best behavior. dress, jacket and belt: vintage, thrifted; tights: Target; shoes: Lucky, purchased on the cheap at Marti and Liz

The browns and golds in my outfit reminded me of this painting. Do you recognize it? It's kinda famous. But it's a little difficult for me to see...

Oh, that's better. I just needed my fancy smancy brown and gold cat eye glasses that coordinate with my outfit to help me see. Now I recognize her, it's Mona Lisa by "Vincent da Vinci" (a direct quote from one of my students this week).

Seeing Spots Wednesday: On this day, I just happened to be wearing an apron...which was good because I managed to pour a ton of paint all over it without even noticing. Afterward, one of my kids told me that my name should be "Mrs. Messy". dress: vintage, thrifted; sweater: thrifted; shoes: thrifted and altered by me...I had to add the blue fabric just to keep the shoes on.

Explosion, Roy Lichtenstein ... this is pretty much what my apron looked like after the paint attacked it.

Wonder what the UPS man would say if he saw me in my polka dotted ensemble on the steps of this  red spotted house with the teal blue steps?

Thursday: sweater: Paris Market Vintage for $4! ; dress: Talbots, thrifted; belt and flower: H&M; fishnets: Target; shoes: Indigo by Clarks; kid sunglasses: ebay

Love Angie Lewin's work. She's got a book out of her prints as well.

You see, I won't be riding the bike because I'll be driving this! I really want a vintage car. But hubs has had his share of old cars: a Bronco and a couple of Mustangs and says his days with the oldies are over. Sigh.

Friday, My Love: sweater: Ann Taylor, thrifted; dress: vintage, thrifted; belt: made by me; shoes: BC Shoes

My outfit reminded me of ketchup and mustard. So did this painting by Henri Matisse.

And what better way to handle one's ketchup and mustard than with these incredible gloves. I went through a phase in high school wear I wore sweet lace gloves until my giant man-hands busted out of them. Oh well. One can dream.

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(Flower) Pothead

Oh, hey neighbor. Yeah, I'm taking pictures. Of myself. With a tripod in the front yard. What? These America's Next Top Model photos ain't gonna take themselves.

It's spring and I've officially become a Flower Pothead. I've spent hours on flowers: planting, painting, wearing, embroidering and decorating with them. This spring thing better stick around because I'm in deep. I thought I'd share with you just a bit of the flowery fantasticness I've gotten myself into:

Flowers in my Hair: Saw Casey wearing flowers in her hair on a recent post and just had to do the same. Mine are fake flowers purchased at JoAnn's hot glued to a hairclip.

Flowers in my Patterns: We dropped in my favorite vintage shop in Orlando, Paris Market Vintage, where I swooped up this sweet 1970's era skirt for a mere $4. If you are ever in the area, it's a great shop with the sweetest ladies working there.

Flowers on my Doorstep: I took these $10 plastic flower pots, turquoise spray paint and cheap acrylic paint and did 'em up Bob Ross style last year. They've sat outside all year with very little wear. I decided to try trailing petunias in the pots this year. I'll share with you how I painted these pots in an upcoming post.

Flowers on my Hoop: My embroidery hoop, that is. I managed to make some headway on our recent trip. I'm about half way finished now...you'll have to wait and see the result when it's complete. It might be a while.

Flowers in my Foyer: I don't care that they might be weeds, they are flowery just the same.

Flowers in Miniature Bottles: Hubs came home from a recent adventure with a sack full of these miniature jars. He'd been off-trail hiking and stumbled upon a cache of vintage trash. Such a great find, don't you think?

Flowers in the Sunshine: Nuff said. Hope things are coming up roses where you are!

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What the Art Teacher Wore #7

Workin'-on-Prez-Day Monday: sunflower sweater: Anthropologie picked up for cheap at Buffalo Exchange; skirt: Anthropologie; tights:  Target; shoes; Anthropologie. Holy cow! I'm head-to-toe anthro!

Well, hello there! This week's wacky is-it-winter?-is-it-spring? wardrobe is a reflection of the weather. One day it was a summery 78 degrees and the next there was a 30 degree temperature drop and a sky full of spooky clouds. As Lauren put it, "I'm waiting for the sky to turn green or purple or something."

In other news, since we did have school on a holiday, one of my favorite coworkers and I dressed as ole Abe and George for the school-wide morning announcements. We have more fun hamming it up than should be allowed. A word to the wise: Abe hats and bumpits do not mix.

Well, here's hoping the weather where you are is a little less wackadoodle, Yankeedoodle.

George and Abe: This is right before my friend George looked at me and made me lose it to a case of the giggles. On George: shirt: I know you can't see it, but she's wearing one of my wannabe goth shirts from high school; wig: handcrafted by Lauren from fake fur and toilet paper tubes. On Abe: beard and hat: Party City; jacket and shirt: thrifted

You know you're meant to be an art teacher when you look this happy on a Monday! I believe both Lauren's shirt and skirt are thrifted. She created her own bow. She's holding her example for the fourth grade lesson on sculpting heroes and standing in front of her lesson on Kandinsky's circles.

Cowgirl Tuesday: I just realized that annoying neighbor who walks her dog through our yard saw me snapping pictures of myself...and then tripped over her dog. Tee-hee. jacket and belt: thrifted; dress: Target, embroidered by me; tights: Target; boots: Frye, ebay

Well, I know she snagged that sweater at Goodwill...I was with her when we were doing a little pre-Valentine's Day wardrobe shopping. I love her pencil skirt, don't you? Target, people.

Wainy and Wet Wednesday: I've been waiting for a good spring day to wear this jacket and my new rain boots. However, wearing rain boots with no ventilation makes for janky feet syndrome. jacket: Anthro; boots: Hunter, ebay

Under the jacket: sweater and dress: thrifted; bow belt: made by me

Look at this outfit! Love...

Spring Chicken Thursday: I'm proud to say that with the exception of the belt and undergarments (like, ew), this outfit is head-to-toe thrifted! I've never worn this dress before as it's knitted and a little warm. Perfect for spring.

Totally diggin' the burnt orange. I've got to get some in my closet -- she's totally rockin' it with the green and navy.

Lions, Tigers and Bears, Oh, Friday!: sweater: thrifted; tiger striped dress: BCBG; lion buckle: gift from a friend; fishnets: Marshall's; shoes: Dolls by Nina

Look at that Kandinsky-esque scarf she scored! I love how it matches the project she did with the third graders...and so did they. And check out those splatter paint shoes she made. Awesomeness.

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