summer prints and refashion

It's going to be lots and lots of print this summer. Last week at Salvation Army, I was so thrilled to spot a cute paisley print skirt amidst a whole rack of gaudy floral print ones . I mean... not that this 90's Ann Taylor skirt looks very exciting but the print is fabulous, and the fabric feels soft and breezy. So I saw the potential of refashioning it into a mullet (high low) skirt. Adin at Chetopian Family refashioned her vintage dress into a gorgeous mullet dress, so I am very inspired to try it myself.

the original skirt didn't look too cute on me, and for some reason, 

the lining kept peeping from under too, which is also not very cute.

thrifted tunic ($1, refashioned, Hi-thrift)

thrifted Ann Taylor skirt ($5, refashioned, Salvation Army)

Zara shoes ($15, sale)

belt ($7)

 do you like mullet skirts? 

if only my skirt is a little bit longer, it would be perfect!

paisley print, so delicate and pretty

DIY mullet skirt (almost no sew):

Lay the skirt flat with the side facing you. 

Estimate how short you want the front to be. 

Then cut a curve from the front of the skirt all the way to the back.

You don't need to hem it if the fabric doesn't fray. 

As for the skirt lining, cut a straight line across.

Linking up at Thrifty Thursday, Recycled Fashion Finds and Ta-dah Tuesday.

Thanks to Kezzie from KezzieAG too for the lovely Versatile Blogger Award, she is one of the kindest and sweetest person I have ever known in this bloggy world. She has got a cute modern vintage style and her blog contains interesting musing of her life in London. Check out her blog!

I am leaving this saturday for our family vacation , I will see you after 17 June.
Have a wonderful week!

inspiration monday

I am back! It has been such a hectic week. I could have done some outfit pictures in the car actually, since most of the time I was on the road. If I could set up my tripod in the car, I would. This is typically what a mom does during the school vacation: zipping from places to places with the kids for their activities. So finally, before I zipped away again, I stole some time for inspiration monday outfit.

This week's inspiration at Two Birds is Jenna Dewan-Tatum, she is a model and a dancer. I am smitten by her floral flowy jacket. It puts me in a mood for a summery outfit. I tried to put on my jeans...only for two minutes and it was back in my wardrobe. The heat was just too much. So I pulled out a hand-me-down romper from Linda. 

 romper (hand-me-down)

thrifted scarf ($3, NU&O)

Zara sandals ($15, sale)

Vinci wooden bead necklace ($7, sale)

super moms have speed like lightning...

inspired by Jenna Dewan-Tatum

I bet she doesn't have speed like a super mom

 Linking up at Inspiration monday, Visible monday and Thrifters Anonymous.

Thank you for dropping by, my friends, new and old. 

inspiration monday

Happy monday! It's the start of the school holidays this week, no more "peaceful" mondays. The house constantly feels like it's going to collapse anytime, I am trying to be tuned out to the noise.

This week the outfit that Two Birds chose for inspiration monday is Halle Berry off shoulder top with capris. Nice casual chic outfit. Capris is all the rage this summer. Maybe people has forgotten that it was also on trend seven or eight years ago. I have got a hand-me-down capris that I kept for that long. It's time to bring it out! Yay...

top (hand-me-down)

G2000 capris (hand-me-down)

Zara shoes (hand-me-down)

necklace (gift)

ring ($2)

inspired by Halle Berry

Linking up at Inspiration Monday and Visible Monday. 

Thank you for dropping by dear friends!

Also special thanks to Catherine at Not dressed as Lamb for the lovely Sunshine Award, 

Catherine is a real style icon, and always a fabulous fashionista, 

you have got to check her blog out!

Also,  I am featured at 40+ Style, I enjoy reading Sylvia's great styling and beauty tips,
she has a chic contemporary style and I love her remixing posts!  

ruins and refashion

dear friends, what have you been up to lately?

I did a refashion of a hand-me-down dress from my friend Linda. She is moving to Taipei, so she saved a big bag of her clothes for me. 

The original dress looks rather ill fitting for me, and it clings to my body at all the wrong places. The long tight sleeves also felt very uncomfortable. So I snipped off the sleeves and did a diagonal cut along the bottom of the dress to make an asymmetrical top. It's a NO SEW! The best part about jersey fabric is that they don't fray. Easy as a pie refashion.

do you see beauty in ruins?

Bershka  dress (hand-me-down, refashioned)

thrifted H&M jeans ($3.50, Salvation Army sale)

Charles and Keith shoes ($14.90, sale)

Mphosis cuff ($2, sale)

Mphosis necklace ($5, sale)

 this house looks like a place for kidnappers, kind of creepy...yet beautiful because of the ruins

does pillar and ropes ring a bell? 

Happy weekend!

Linking up at Thrifty Thursdays, Ta-dah! Tuesday
and Recycled Fashion Finds.

inspiration monday outfit

I felt as if I have been away from this bloggy world for a long time even though it was just four days. I have been enjoying my "free" time. My kids are done with their exam papers so the school holidays are  just around the corner, I am so looking forward to a short holiday soon! Are you planning for your summer vacation?

You know what I like about inspiration monday? It saves me the trouble of "wondering" what to wear. It's nice to be inspired on a monday morning. Two birds chose Gwyneth Paltrow's boho laid back chic outfit. With Gwyneth's good looks, even a sack will look fabulous on her. I have to drop the slouchy sweater because it will look sloppy on me. So here's my version, with subtle floral accents.

 thrifted shirt ($4, SOSN)

thrifted dress ($6, New2u)

thrifted clutch ($3, NU&O)

shoes (hand-me-down)

ring ($2, Thailand flea market)

necklace ($2)

 I like the floral embroidery details on this dress

inspired by gwyneth paltrow

Linking up at Inspiration Monday, Visible Monday and 

Thrifters Anonymous. 

I am guest posting at The You Are project with an interview and a thrifty DIY. The You Are project is a really cool website for women. Check it out! 

floral invasion and refashion

Are you getting enough of florals? My wardrobe has been invaded by florals lately. I thrifted a pair of vintage floral cropped pants last week, kind of like the print but don't find it cute on me. So I took out the scissors and cut away the dowdiness.

 Anna Molinari Top (hand-me-down)

thrifted vintage cropped pants ($4, shortened, SOSN)

Kate Spade bag (gift)

thrifted shoes ($6, SOSN)

bangles ($2, Cotton on)

belt (gift)

 I seem to like red a lot

 are you thinking of floral shorts for summer?

Linking up at Thursdays are for Thrifters, Thrifty Thursdays, 

Ta-dah Tuesday and Recycled Fashion finds.

Special thanks to Maiken for honoring me the Awesome blogger award! She lives in Estonia, a beautiful country,  check out her blog for some amazing style and photography! 

Thank you for dropping by!

inspiration monday

We had a sweet mother's day celebration at church. My older boy gave me a jar of candies and my little one gave me a cute drawing. I felt a tinge of sadness because this is the first mother's day without my mom. I still think of her a lot. But at the same time, I am filled with heartfelt thanks for my boys. Happy mother's day to all mommies out there!

The weather is awful... the heat was really unbearable. It took me less than 10 minutes for the outfit shots. As soon as I felt sweat trickling down my forehead, I couldn't wait to get home. And I couldn't bring myself to put on the cardi because it would be insane! This week's outfit inspiration at Two Birds is Reese Witherspoon, pregnant. Maybe Nora was trying to inspire us to have a baby?... I think I am pretty happy to have just two boys. I'm more excited by her cute striped dress.

 thrifted dress ($3.50, Salvation Army sale)

thrifted bag ($8, Salvation Army)

Vinci shoes ($2.50, factory outlet sale)

belt ($7)

ring ($2)

 it was extremely difficult to smile under the intense heat

inspired by Reese Witherspoon

If you are inspired by the striped dress, go to Inspiration Monday. 

Or share your outfits at Visible monday and Thrifters Anonymous

refashion earrings to collar accessory

A few days ago, while I was tying up my drawers, I found this pair of earrings. They were a gift from a friend and I have totally forgotten about them. I rarely wear earrings due to my sensitive skin. Then I remembered pinning a cute picture of a collar accessory. I decided to reinvent my earrings.

my inspiration

 thrifted Club Marc blouse ($1, Hi-thrift)

thrifted Zara skirt ($1, Hi-thrift)

thrifted vintage bag ($14.50, Salvation Army)

Mitju wedges ($18.90)

collar accessory (DIY)

ring ($2)

materials you need: a pair of old earrings, chain, 2 small ring attachments and wire cutter

attach the small rings to the chain and to both the earrings. 

Then cut off the excess metal sticking out at the back of the earrings with a wire cutter.

It's a no sew DIY and really fun to make. 

By the way, thank you for all your sweet comments in my previous posts, will be checking out your blogs real soon. 

Linking up at Thursdays are for Thrifters 

ThriftyThursdays 

Recycled Fashion Finds. 

inspiration monday outfit

Yesterday, I checked my email and saw this note from a lady from Wichita, Kansas. She was so encouraging and sweet, I was touched to tears by her words, if you are reading this Starwhite, I just want to say thank you again! Thanks to all of  you who have been dropping by my blog with such lovely words, I really appreciate them a lot, it keeps me blogging. The best part about blogging is the beautiful connections that I made with people from all over the world. Of course the number of followers do make me happy, but being able to connect with people makes blogging even more meaningful! 

I also want to thank all the friends who have been blessing me with clothes, thank you ladies, you are fabulous! I can't explain this blessing from God, it's just so amazing. And my blog was God inspired and started because of these second hand clothes. You can read about it here if you like. 

Now back to inspiration monday! Two birds chose an outfit from Carrie Underwood. I love her songs and her style, she is so beautiful in every way. Here's my interpretation of her look:

 polka dot top (hand-me-down)

thrifted Levi's jeans ($8, Salvation Army)

thrifted Nine West shoes ($3, High Point)

thrifted clutch ($8, Salvation Army)

M)phosis cuff ($2, sale)

I thrifted these Nine West shoes last week, I like the zebra stripes so much!

these sequins and polka dots are really cute!

inspired by Carrie Underwood

Linking up at Inspiration Monday, Visible Monday and Thrifters Anonymous.