DIY: Halo hair extensions

You may have seen these new style of extensions when Kelly Rippa ripped her's off live on TV! I looked into this style of extensions because I have literally tried every other type out there and all of them have destroyed my hair. Including clip in's which gave me bald spots! They are really hard to find, but I randomly ran into a kiosk at the Culver City Westfield mall that carried them and this ratty old lady made me try them on. To be honest, I like them, I think they're a good idea because they literally don't hurt your hair in any way. Buuuuuut, I personally think they are a little annoying because they feel like you're wearing a headband, and I HATE headbands. This is the reason I didn't buy them for $600! So naturally I thought I'll just make them, haha. (I'm thrifty)

it's extremely easy to do!

So I bought, 909 straight hair extensions from the Hair Shop on Wilshire in Hollywood. (color 1B)

This is what they look like out of the package in one long strand, you can call it a track or weft. 

I held the strand up to my head and measured and cut three pieces that went from a little past the ear to the same spot on the other side of my head. 

I then glued, with a hot glue gun, the three tracks that are the same length on top of each other so that you have one nice thick piece of hair.

This is just a close up of me glueing the tracks together

don't mind my nasty nails and carpet:)

Then use either fishing wire or jewelry threading and sew the wire to both sides of the track so that it makes a halo for your head. You don't have to really sew it, just use a needle to get the wire through the tracks and then tie like 8 knots so it's nice and tight. Make sure before you knot it, fit it to your head!

This is the product I used

And this is how you put the halo in:)

DIY: Rocker peplum tee

The peplum style shirt is everywhere right now, and as I think about new DIY's to do, the peplum is always in the back of my mind. The problem I ran into was which kind of peplum.... there's the: (now keep in mind I'm making up these names on my own)

Sophisticated tailored peplum:

Which is usually done by adding a circle skirt at the smallest part of the waist of a shirt

Baggy youthful peplum:

Which is usually done on a baggier shirt with a short peplum lower than the natural waist

Ruched peplum:

Pleated peplum:

You get the idea.......

What I was looking for was more on the baggy youthful peplum look! I have all of these band T's laying around that are either XL's or I just never wear. I thought I'd turn them into fun peplum T's or cut them up into tanks for the summer. So here's the tutorial on what I did...... 

Keep in mind, it's not super easy. You do need to know a bit about sewing and how garments are constructed. BUT if I can do it, I'm sure anyone can:)

Inspiration>

Here's mine>

So, I took a random big T-shirt and cut across where it hits the smallest part of my waist.

Then I turned it inside out, tried it on, and pinned the shirt to fit me a little better. I sewed along those pins and cut off the excess.

Then I took the bottom half of the shirt and cut it in half long ways. I sewed those two pieces together at the two small ends to make one long tube. This tube will be the bottom peplum. 

The next step is a trick I saw online. Do a quick loose stitch along the edge of the tube where you're going to sew the bottom piece to the top piece. Then pull the thread tighter to cause it to ruche.

Turn the top piece inside out and keep the bottom piece right side out. Slide the bottom piece inside the top piece so that the two seems you're about to sew meet.

Pin them together all the way around and pull out the white thread. Sew the pieces together as you take the pins out. Just make sure you keep an eye on the ruching and that it's even and laying right. It takes some getting used to.

This is the end result! It actually looks really cute on! I cut the collar off and the sleeves a little shorter so they're capped. The only thing I'd do differently next time is I'd choose a thinner softer shirt and I'd make the peplum longer. Can't wait to make more of these!

Steal and Deals!

Now I haven't posted on this topic in awhile, but I just can't help myself! With such amazing recent purchases, and at such awesome prices, I felt the need to share. Updating your wardrobe around this time of year is difficult because of the weather. You'd think it's not a problem for us Californians, but even here the weather teases you when the suns out, and freezes you the second it sets. I personally think the solution is layers and some cute beanies!

(Clockwise from top left)

Thick thigh highs! Pair them with school girl skirts or jean shorts! For extra warmth add black sheer tights underneath... these are from the AMAZING LF sale! Each pair was about $6 each! Everything is 60% off right now and they have many locations throughout socal!

Over sized studded denim vest from Forever 21! They're really stepping it up over there, and it's only around $30! This is so cute over a sweater or even a flirty dress!

Over sized chunky leopard beanie also from LF. This was originally $55, but I stole it for just $22:)

This swing tank is loose and baggy and is perfect for layering under a vest, jacket and high wasted skinnies, $19 from Forever 21!

Baggy marled knit sweater also from LF is a must have! It just hangs on me perfectly and is really warm! This guy was originally $168! :/ too rich for my blood but as you guessed it, it was also 60% off!

Studded leather backpack also from Forever 21! With 90's all the rage, backpacks are a must, and coincidentally so are studs! This perfect bag is only $34!

OK. Now the shoes in this picture are not really a steal.... They're Soiree's from Jeffrey Campbell. I just HAD to include them cause they're so gorgeous and a valentines day present from my sweetheart. I haven't even worn them yet. haha

The sick white shirt you see is from LF and is a major find. It was the last one in the store and I grabbed it for only $60. the lace up peplum and braided shoulders are unlike anything I've ever seen. It's also great to layer for warmth or wear by itself once it gets warmer and your exposed tummy doesn't freeze.....

What are your great finds this season!? Please comment below:)

DIY: Leather armed jean jacket!

Been seeing these all over lately? Ya, me too. Good news is, they're super easy to make! I literally went through my closet and stole the oldest (p)leather jacket I could find, just to rip the arms off! You can create this look with any two jackets you own or find, especially at the flea markets. You may remember the custom denim vest DIY I did awhile ago, well this is the vest I decided to pair with the old jacket's arms. Here's the process....

(please excuse the picture quality, I should probably buy a camera)

cut off the arms, not right on the seam. Give yourself some extra fabric for sewing onto the new jacket body. 

If theres an inside liner, which there will most likely be, use a seam ripper to just cut that out and discard. you don't need extra layers to be sewing. 

So you have an arm.

turn the arm and jean vest inside out and pin the two together. 

You may be able to sew the two together with your sewing machine, but I have a very old one so I just hand-sewed it. Just make small loops going through both layers. 

This is the end result. It's kind of hard to see, I'll post a better picture soon. There are different ways to do this DIY but the way I chose was so that the arm looks as though it's coming out from under the vest. Almost like you're wearing a jacket under a vest. I left the vest edge very ripped and destroyed looking. If you want more of a polished look, I recommend turning the jacket body inside out, leaving the arm right side out and slipping it in the jacket body then sewing the two together with a sewing machine. When you turn them right side out, there will be no viewable edges. Just like this tutorial here. Hope that makes sense! Aaaaaand one more idea I thought could look cool is taking a jacket (like say an army style jacket) and giving it the look of leather arms by dyeing just the arms black! 

Super easy with a great effect! like this v

Go make some jackets!

DIY- Lace up leggings

Not the easiest DIY you'll ever do, but may be one of the coolest. Stylestalker has a version that costs $238, Nastygal has a version that costs $134...
This version will be $25!

What you will need....
*Black leggings, any kind will do!
*A grommet gun
*About 200 small grommets (silver, gold, or black)
*Something to lace them up. I used satin chording
*Ruler
*Scissors

First, take leggings and measure two lines, surrounding where the knee would be, about five inches apart. Cut those...

Draw a line down the center of the front of shin on the leggings and cut that line. Be sure to not go through both layers. Just the front, where the shin would be. 

Take the knee pieces- turn them inside out, fold down edges about a half an inch and pin. I wrote an L and an R so I can remember which one is for which leg.

Do the same thing to the shin piece. Along the top where the knee piece will connect and along the sides. NOT along the bottom. 

This is what the knee piece should look like after sewn and turned right side out. Make sure you use a zig zag stitch because the fabric will need to be able to stretch. 

Now this is the thigh part. Cut a line stretching up towards the waist about 7-10 inches. It can go as far up your thigh as you wish. Fold the edges back a half an inch and pin. 

This is the annoying part... haha. Measure along the edges every inch to inch and a half and mark a dot. This is where you're going to put in a grommet. The instructions on how to use a grommet gun are on the package, but if you don't know how, HERE is a tutorial. 

Once all of your grommets are in, start lacing up from the top of the thigh on down. 

And this is how you start on to the knee part. 

And continue around to the back, one lace in each direction, not criss crossing. This part can get very confusing...

This is what the back should look like. A little bow:)

The bottom part of the legging is just like the top. Start lacing from the bottom of the legging in the front of the calf by the ankle, and up to the knee and around to the back, anding with another bow. 

This is the end result! looks rock n roll, edgy, and sexy! Pair it with chunky black ankle boots and a baggy white T! Keep the laces nice and loose so you don't rip your grommets out! The whole process took me about a week and it's very tedious, but the end result is so worth it! Try it out............

Subject to fashion on INSTAGRAM!

I've been using Instagram for quite some time, so I figured I'd bug you bloggers to check out my pics! With an emphasis on fashion, I also follow day to day boring shit and Cali life:) Follow me and tell ya friends...

@withoutatrace

Mood Board: Glam Grunge

For this mood board, I figured I'd just take my two favorite era's and put 'em in a blender. You'd thiiiiink these two era's kinda clash.. the free spirit vibe of the 70's getting all confused by the dark and angst-y vibe of the 90's. But you're wrong. They were meant for each other.

It would look a little something like this....