Wow, time flies!

I can't believe it has been a week since I last updated!  I never meant for it to be that long between posts! I can make all kinds of excuses, like my new work out routine, work, etc, but they don't really matter because I guess I could have made time if I had wanted to...so anyway, for pretty much the same lame excuse reasons I have not really had time or energy to make many necklaces this past week, so tonight's post actually relates to clothing instead.  

I am completely obsesseddddd (even though that doesn't really describe how I feel) with www.newdressaday.com and http://www.goodwillhuntingg.com/ ..... I have been reading these blogs for months.  I love how Marisa turns thrifted muumuus into amazing dresses with a few changed seams and hems, and how Stacey buys something at a thrift store that I would automatically ignore and styles it up into something that I would die to own!  In homage to these awesome blogs, I want to share a blouse that I made with inspiration from these thrifty ladies!  

On a trip to Goodwill over a month or so ago I purchased an old, 80's looking pirate shirt, that was 2 sizes to big for me at the time.  But, following in the footsteps of Marisa and Stacey I knew that I could make it look amazing with a few easy changes.  So I took it home, took off the sleeves, and took in the sides to make it fit more snugly.  Then I took the original "wrist ruffle" off and reattached it, (and re-ruffled it) on the arm hole to create a cap sleeve.  The blouse turned out so cute, I actually wore it to my recent interview with a high waisted black skirt and one of the necklaces I designed from an earlier post shown here I think it was definitely a hit!  Good night!

Inspired by Express

I love Express' jewelry, and clothes for that matter, but I just don't have the extra cash right now to support my love of that store.  As I was browsing the Express website recently, I saw this necklace, or more accurately, fell in love with it:

So I decided to make a similar version!  Except mine does not have as many chains......chains are surprisingly expensive!!!!  But I loved the black ribbon and dangling charms on the necklace, so I couldn't resist including those on mine too!  I used key charms as my motif, along with faux pearls!

It's hard to show from the pictures, but it looks a lot different when on, just looks kind of awkward laid out on the table like it is in the photos!! :)  Hope you enjoy and have a good night!

Green Fabric Flowers!

Today's necklace inspiration did not come from any particular necklace specifically, but I have had it in my head to create this necklace for a long time, due to my love of fabric included in jewelry.  I started with strips of green fabric, and braided them together, and I wrapped that braid in chains, because if there is anything that I love more than fabric in jewelry it is chains!  I also love the frayed, unhemmed edges of the fabrics that I used for the braid,  and I left them showing on purpose so the necklace has more of a natural look.  Then I used more green fabric to create 2 flowers, and sewed beads and a button into the centers of the flowers and sewed them onto the braided bit, and I was  almost done, except for the addition of a medallion and some beads to give the impression of another flower and leaves, and that was it!   I finished this necklace yesterday while waiting to go to Oktoberfest Zinzinnati, which by the way was amazing!  And today's Bengal's game was a great time too! All in all, I would say that we had quite an awesome weekend!  Tonight I plan on relaxing, creating another necklace, and preparing for work in the morning......

Design Night Out :)

I had an adventure tonight, for sure!!!  I just had a great time networking with other creative people at the ADC unveiling event tonight.  It was nice to be around other creative people, and feed off of their creative vibes!  I miss that!  In my cubicle day in and day out I do not really get in touch with my creative side much....if at all, which is sort of why I started this blog in the first place, so that I had a creative outlet!  At this event I met a lot of interior designers and artists and art lovers, like myself, and I felt at home around them....I know it's super cheesy but its definitely true! 

Any way, it was a fabulous time, and I met a lot of awesome people!  I wish I could have stayed and chatted with them all more!  But I had to come home, and update this blog, and get to bed so I can wake up early for work tomorrow at my DAY JOB........

Here's tonight's piece.  I did not really model this necklace off of any particular piece, but a combination of many pieces, really.  I kind of just made it up in my head, and ended up loving it!  I love the chains and pearls combination, which gives an edge to an otherwise classic feeling piece of jewelry.  I am obsessed with the addition of fabrics into jewelry as well, so I incorporated the ribbons!  I hope you enjoy!  Now its off to make a new necklace after being inspired by my creative night!!!!!  :)

Interior Beauty, Kitchen day 2

In the post “Interior Beauty day 1”, you got to see my idea for an easy to make and inexpensive candle holder, and like that piece today’s piece can easily be changed to match any décor, or any season for that matter!  Today’s focus is on window coverings!  I can’t take all the credit for this idea, because it was my mom who came up with it years ago. 

I don’t have money to afford custom curtains, by any means!  The curtains in my home I for the most part found new in the package at goodwill!  This was an amazing find, because they were originally $80 a piece and I got them for $2…and, they matched my décor exactly and were totally what I had in mind!  So I definitely lucked out with them! 

But in my kitchen I did not really want full curtains on the window above the sink but rather just something to add some pop and color to the space.  I thought back to my mother’s idea, and knew it would be perfect!  Her idea was to use table napkins and hang them over the curtain rod to create a custom valance.  Yes, napkins can be expensive, but I have bought mine on clearance at walmart and at dollar stores, and I always keep my eye out for more on sale, because, since it is so easy to change them at any time, I always want to! 

I also got the curtain rods at big lots, really cheap, and was able to find beautiful beaded grape napkin rings at Sur la Table on clearance for $1.99!  I placed the napkin rings on the ends of the curtain rods to create the look and feel of more decorative, beaded rods, then draped the napkins over the rods, points down. 

I chose a chocolate brown as the base, and then I change out the center one depending on the season.  Usually during the summer I use a pretty yet simple brown, green, and yellow stripe, and during the winter I have holly napkins to use.  Currently I have my fall leaf ‘napkins’ up, and I feel so happy when I walk into my kitchen and see them….I love fall!  I also have some plaid ones as well.  Like with the candleholder, your possibilities are endless, because whichever color or print suits your mood and your own personal décor you can usually find, and use, for a very decent price!

Interior Beauty, Kitchen day 1

While I am in the process of creating some more necklaces, I wanted to post today about some home-related fun things.  After all, I do love a good interior space. :)  I mentioned when I created this blog that I would use it to show how to DIY things in all aspects of design, not just jewelry, although that is my main focus.  So today, we are demonstrating an interior decorating idea that is inexpensive but looks like it cost a lot more!

My Kitchen!

Over the weekend, while I was relaxing at home, I also happened to feel very accomplished, since I got a lot of things done around the house, and one of those things was decorating my house for fall!  I know, it’s not officially fall yet, but with the cool temperatures and all the leaves that have been falling lately due to lack of rain, it feels fall-ish, and makes me want it to be fall!  So with today’s post I am focusing on my kitchen and showing you how to create the first of three extremely cheap, yet beautiful kitchen décor ideas for the approaching season. 

The first décor idea is a candle holder centerpiece.  All you need is a vase or clear glass container, I got mine at the dollar store, and some glass bead/marble pieces, which I also got at the dollar store, but any craft store would have both.  Either can be in any shape or size you prefer.  I love the simplicity of the tall cylindrical vase I found, which I feel will easily compliment any decor.  Then you need a votive candle, (I got one at Walmart for less than $1!) and a ‘filler’ to go in the vase with the candle and glass pieces.  In this case, I used two sprigs of little fall-colored foam berries that I bought for a dollar each, and I cut the berries off of the stems. 

Just put the glass pieces and ‘filler’ pieces in together to create an interesting arrangement, and then put the candle in, and continue to fill the sides of the vase around the candle.  Be careful that your ‘filler’ is not near the candle flame if it is flammable like mine!!!  You don’t want to have a fire on your hands!

The completed candle holder...

The awesome part about this piece, besides that is is extremely inexpensive and simple to make, is that you can easily change it to accommodate  any holiday or season, and therefore it is something you can get a lot of use out of!  For example, just change the filler to acorns or pebbles for a more natural look, or for winter you could use holly berries, battery powered mini lights, or potpourri/cinnamon, which would not only look cool but smell nice also!  The choice is up to you, and the possibilities are endless!

Gold Times....

Wow, my weekend went by wayyyy too fast!  It was great though!  It's really the first weekend in over two months that Drew & I have not had to go out of town or have events scheduled for like every day, so it was really nice just to stay home, get things done around the house (like cleaning, haha) and relax.  I did make it out to the bead store, though, after I went shopping for my sister's birthday present.  I bought some great jewelry making materials for new necklaces!  

Yesterday, after getting home from bead shopping I was a little overwhelmed trying to decide on a necklace to make with my assortment of new supplies, so I do admit I kind of went the easy route and made one that was fairly simple.  You remember the Oscar de la Renta necklace from Friday's post?  Well, I loved it so much I wanted to make my own version, and it proved the easiest of the bunch to make while watching season 6 of The Office with Drew!  We have been waiting forever to buy this season so we are super excited!  I was also baking a couple of loaves of homemade bread at the time, so I wanted something easy to handle (lol).

The Original (So much money I don't want to remember how much)

My version does not look exactly the same, but cost only about $5 to make.

plus I made mine clasp on the side because I thought it was cooler that way.

Also, after buying my sister her birthday present yesterday to give to her at her birthday dinner tonight I realized that I had no wrapping paper to wrap her gift in except for Christmas or Wedding....I didn't want to use either for her gift.  In a bind, as I was already so last minute, I wrapped it today using pages I tore out of old issues of my magazines.  I loved it so much that I think I am going to start doing this more often now!  I mean, I'm never going to read all those back issues again, what else am I going to do with them?  It seemed a nice way to recycle, plus it makes a cute gift for someone who is a fashion lover, and my sister definitely is!  

My other sister and I pooled in to get her an amazing Betsy Johnson bag at TJ Maxx, and it is super cute and she loved it!  She also loved the wrapping, so we were all really happy!  It was a fun day!  The picture is terrible, because I took it at the store when we were trying to decide and sending pictures to my mom to get her opinion, but the bag is hugggeeeee and really adorable.

It's Finally Friday! :)

Today I am going straight home from work and getting started on some new necklaces. 

I don't know why but I always get my inspiration in that half-awake/half-asleep moment after my alarm goes off, and this morning some amazing ideas just came to me, as I laid there trying to force myself to get up and face the day.  But at least its Friday!  And I'm thinking that maybe my inspiration came from some of the necklaces I viewed yesterday on Sak's Fifth Avenue's website and on Express's Website..........

Vera Wang <3

Oscar de la Renta

Juicy!  and all of these too....

I love it!  I am so excited now to make something!  As you can see, I am lovingggg anything with chains/metal right now.  It's my new fave!  We will see what I come up with!!!  :)

Design on LESS Than a Dime....

Always wanting to remain "Up to Date" with fashion and interior trends, but not always having the money in my pocket to spend on these 'necessities', I have found out that I can easily remain ahead of the rest of the world with a little secret known as....DIY....that's right, Do It Yourself, or in my case, Design It Yourself.  By having a little inspiration and a dash of creativity you can easily transform the mundane into must have; or create your own version of something that caught your eye in the design world.  My first example of Frugalicious DIY that I would like to share is my "Talbots" necklace.  Taking inspiration from the original necklace, which I saw in the new September 2010 Talbots Catalogue, (and which costs wayyy more than I can afford...it costs $129) I decided to immediately run out to Michael's and grab what I needed to create my own version.  Not exactly alike, but you can definitely tell the simlilarity in look and feel of the piece.    And the cost of my "copycat" piece?  Less than $10.

here is the original (its a photo of a magazine cover so it's kind of grainy)

Here is my version!  Less than a tenth of the price..... :)

My portfolio website is finally up!

My website is up and running!  

It has definitely been a challenge, I have stayed up late wayyyyy too many nights working on it!  But I like the outcome! :)  

My portfolio!!! 

Please visit!

What is Frugalicious Style?

I am a corporate cubicle employee with a passion for the creative arts.  I wish I had all the time in the world to do the things I love, like make jewelry!  I am very interested in the art of fashion, and will attend any fashion show or read any fashion blog or magazine I can get my hands on.  I love seeing the interesting ways that designers create and expand upon clothing designs that become the trends in the industry.  I also majored in Interior Design in college...the love of design penetrates my life in all aspects.  

If there is one thing that I have learned, it is that fashion trends and color forecasting really have a deep impact on the design of the interior as well, any trends in color or style will be replicated and reformed straight from the runway to the interior.  I strive to stay on top of these trends, and create a recognizable clothing "personality" for myself, as well as express myself through designing my own home's interior.

That said, having just graduated college a little over a year ago, money is not exactly something that I have a lot of right now, but I still find myself craving the most innovative and interesting clothing, home furnishings and decor pieces for my house, and fashion accessories.  

I created this blog to showcase my love of  affordable design, and most importantly, my jewelry designs.  I want to demonstrate how easy it is to find a trend you enjoy and turn it into something you can wear or showcase in your home at a fraction of the cost of the original item.  We all want to be stylish, but most of us don't want to spend the big bucks for the designer items....and that's why Frugalicious Style is here.....to help everyone achieve the must-have styles we all crave at a price everyone can afford!