Summer Fashions on Full Plate

I had the opportunity to film another segment for Rebecca Regnier's Full Plate on 13ABC.  This time, we discussed some of my favorite summer fashion do's and don'ts!  The episode aired this weekend, but if you missed it, you can check it out here!  Special thanks to Rebecca Regnier, and to my models Kelsi and Nikita.  Also, the dress and fashions modeled on this segment can be found at Sofi Stella Boutique in Monroe, Michigan.  Such a cute shop with fashions for children and women with very affordable prices! Check them out and make sure you mention that you saw this episode!

I'll be heading back next month to join Rebecca and a SPECIAL GUEST will be coming along with me, so stay tuned to find out who!!!

  13abc.com: Breaking News, Weather and Sports


Hope you enjoyed!

It's Spring - Now What?

Ahhh...Spring has sprung!  The days are getting longer and the nights are getting warmer, so you know what that means...time to update your look!  Are you ready for spring?  Is your wardrobe?  Don't have time to shop for the latest spring trends?  No worries, here's a few quick fixes that you can do now that will help you easily transition into the new season!

1.) Brights - don't feel like you have to put away those black skinny jeans or get rid of your brown leather skirt just yet.  Bring them with you into the spring, but add a pop of color to them.  So, instead of wearing a black sweater with your leather skirt, add that coral blouse you bought last year to it to brighten it up.  White is always easy to do and pretty much in everyone's wardrobe.  Adding a white tunic or white blazer to any darker, fall-like outfit can instantly brighten it up!  Don't be afraid to pull out those bright, floral printed heels you bought on sale at the end of the season last year too, those will be perfect still for this spring!

2.) Hair - Just reworking your hairstyle can help you transition from winter to spring.  No need for those winter hats anymore, so hop on pinterest and play with some new do ideas.  Throw it up in a perfectly polished sock bun, add some cute waterfall braids, just have fun with it and that alone will make you feel like a new woman!  Gone are the days of static cling and dry locks.  It's time for that hair to say hello to the warm rays of sunshine and let it fly in the wind!  There are so many creative ideas out there, so if you aren't ready to update your wardrobe, you can at least update your hairstyle every single day!  Best part of that is, playing with hairstyles looks is always FREE and I don't know about you, but I like free!

3.) Makeup - again, no time to shop for new clothes, no worries, pull out those eye shadow palettes and have fun!  Updating your makeup look is an easy way to move you forward into the warmer temps.  No longer a need to wear those browns and taupe eye shadows, instead play with the untouched blue hues or green shadows sitting in your makeup kit and brighten up your overall look. You'll feel fresh and ready to take on all that spring has to offer!

4.) Scarves - this is one accessory that you can pretty much find ANYWHERE!  I have a billion scarves from wool to silk to cotton, throwing on a weather-appropriate scarf is not only a great transition piece, but a lovely accessory!  Leave the wool for winter and fall, but pull out those cotton and silk scarves for your spring collection.  We all know that as the seasons change, the weather often takes some time to catch up and realize that, so keeping those scarves around can really help when the weather guy says it will be 65, but in reality, it's only really 50 degrees out!  Stick with bright colors too and you'll hit two trends!  I personally love to wear my with a jean jacket for a nice casual, spring look.

5.) Layers - winter always has us dressing in layers upon layers, but did you know spring can be that way too?  You just need to change them up!  If you are used to dressing in layers, then keep with the trend, but spring it forward.  Instead of the tank, layered with a long-sleeve tee under a wool cardigan, throw on a soft camisole under a three-quarter button down.  Light layers is always a spring trend, so keep layering up those colors and prints, but just keep the fabrics light and flowy, just like the air outside!  Have fun transitioning and enjoy the weather! :)

Golden Globes 2014: My Hot and Not Lists

Well, the 2014 Golden Globe Awards show has come and gone and I must say, yet again, the SNL duo did a fabulous job hosting.  These ladies are witty and just down right funny!  Though I didn't love Tina Fey's gown when she arrived, I did appreciate some of her outfit changes during the show.  And congrats to Amy Poehler on taking home a big win!  Not only was she a fab host, but now a fab GG winner...how exciting!  I just love seeing strong women in show biz doing some amazing things.  Seems like many of the SNL alums were there and winning in big ways, so kudos to them for making something of their careers, even though their time with the popular late night sketch comedy show has ended.   

Enough about that the hosts and awards...blah, blah, blah, let's get down to business and discuss what we really care about, the fashion of the night!  

So, what were some of the trends?  

My word for the night was simple.  I noticed a lot of simple styles, cuts and colors.  Don't get me wrong, there were some outrageous looks, but it just seemed that many kept it classic and elegant, that's what I really mean when I say "simple."  Reese looked stunning in this very simple and elegant turquoise number.  She wore the dress, the dress didn't wear her!

Lots of green and black on the red carpet.  I do always love the red on the red carpet look, but green is a new one!  Emerald was the color of 2013, so maybe the color just struck a cord with some of the stars and they just had to continue the trend on into this new year.  I don't know what it was, but I LOVED it!  Black is always a classic and I loved seeing it done in easy and gorgeous ways.

             

The other trend, which is something that I discussed last month, was the tiered hem length.  For this coming year, I mentioned that longer length hems, such as the tea-length style, would be a big hit and we were definitely noticing that on the red carpet last night!  Instead of going with a traditional gown, some of the ladies opted for a "high low" style where the front just kicked up a bit to their mid-calf and followed down in the back to a beautiful train or longer length.  I love this look especially when the ladies are wearing some amazing shoes, what a great way to show them off! 

                  

Alright, enough about the trends...here's my TOP 5 HOT list.  These ladies get the Best Dressed Award in my book!  My favorite of the night definitely goes to Kate, the trumpet style silver gown is STUNNING and she just stole the show in that beauty!  Hello, nobody could pull off that STUNNING Ralph Lauren cape dress quite like Lupita has and I couldn't resist the black lace with a gorgeous open back on Cate Blanchett. Amy Adams definitely knows how to do red on the red carpet with her two-toned simple cut low-plunging gown.  Margot has done the "green on red carpet" trend so beautifully with her classic gown with emerald stones, and I love that she is rocking that high slit!  As I said, the feel for the night with simple and classy and my favorites definitely fit that trend.  

                    

Honorable Mention:  Love the gorgeous artwork, stunning royal blue (my favorite gown color choice) and chic style of these looks, so had to show them off as well.  I guess I just had too many favorites last night! Shout out to Julia Roberts and Diane Keaton for rocking my "masculine meets feminine" trend that I discussed last month...thanks for making me look good! ;) 

                    

So, now that I've showed you my favorites, here's some that made my NOT list.  Sorry ladies, you may be fabulous on screen, but I was just not loving your choice of gown last night.  I know everyone loves Jennifer Lawrence and I think she is the most level-headed actress out there now, but really?  I'm not sure what she was thinking with this one, it's so not flattering!  I also didn't love the "hawaiian tropics" dress, big puffy sleeves, velvet shoulder pads or the just plain weird dress that Zoe wore.  I think these ladies need to have a "come to Jesus meeting" with their stylists! 

                     

Best Accessory of the night?  Definitely the baby bumps.  These ladies were absolutely glowing!

                                     

How to Rhinestone Shoes

My first DIY post and I'm so excited to share this one with you! 

Okay, so anyone who knows me, know that I LOVE to add bling to just about anything.  But, what most people don't know is just how easy it is!  Love those rhinestone heels, but not in your budget?  No worries...I'm here to help show you how to make your own!  For this tutorial, I'm going to show you how to rhinestone your own heels, so here's a photo of mine.  I bought them on ebay for $20.  They have some glitter to them, but that doesn't really matter because I'll be covering that up with lots of stones! 



Next, glue.  This is essential!  I have used different types of glue, but of them all, GEM-TAC by Beacon has proven to be my favorite.  You can purchase this at your local craft supply store for just a few bucks.  I have used Jewel-It by Aleene's and that works fine, but I've had more success with stones not falling off with GEM-TAC.  Do not use E-6000!!!!  Though it's a great glue for many things, it's often too stinky, stringy and just down right messy for most projects!  GEM-TAC goes on white, similar the old school Elmer's that we are used to using as kids, but dries clear.  I like it because when working with shoes especially, you can move the stones around as you are working because it doesn't dry instantly, which is good thing for this project.  The spray adhesive shown in the last photo is great for adding glitter to the bottom of the sole or heel.  Just spray on and dump the glitter onto the surface. Make sure you lay down paper underneath to catch the excess glitter that falls so you can continue to reuse it!
 

Next, you'll need your stones.  How do you know what to get?  Well, it all just depends on budget and project.  If you have a tight budget, then the acrylic rhinestones are perfect for you.  They aren't the most sparkly, but they are cheap and will still give off some glimmer when on stage.  I like using inBloom by Bead Design.  I purchased this one pound tub at Hobby Lobby for $9, thanks to coupons!  They sell them in all sorts of colors, sizes and shapes.  I usually just get the variety pack of round ones and have purchased in clear and colors.  For these shoes, I'm making them for a Valentine's pageant, so I'm going with reds, pinks and purples.





RGA stones in ab crystal and jet ab

If you want a more "expensive" look, then Swarovski is really the way to go.  I will warn you, though you can typically buy them in bulk, they can be a bit pricey.  So, the cheater version are RGA stones.  I use these often.  They are less expensive, but give the same effect and actually, for stage and longer distance viewing, they tend to be better because their surface cut is typically larger, so picks up the light nicely.  If you are working on something that will be viewed up close, then Swarovski is still the best option.  Here's two bags of RGA stones that I currently have.  I found them online, 1440 stones for just $15! 


Now it's time to stone!  The glue has a nice needle nose tip, so you can either apply the glue directly to the stone or directly on the shoe.  I usually use my fingers, but it can be messy, so tweezers are good to have on hand.  Don't worry about applying too much glue because remember,  it will dry clear.  I'm kind of an over-gluer, but it's never failed me!  When stoning with colors, I usually just place them randomly so they create a nice multi-color effect.  You'll want to use different sizes to cover the whole shoe and sort of fit them in like a puzzle...find the size that fits the area you are working.  The toe, especially if more pointed, can be the most difficult part of the shoe, so I usually use the smaller stones to fill in that area.  Continue until the entire shoe is covered.  You can create patterns, stone the heel, don't stone the heel, stone parts of the shoe...it's YOUR custom creation, so do what you want! 

Once you are done creating the look you want, it's important that you let them dry overnight.  Set them somewhere where they won't be bumped into or bothered so they can fully dry, untouched.  And...THAT'S IT!  Yep, that's right....it's just that easy!  So basically for under $40, I have my very own custom rhinestone heels.  I've done these even cheaper with less expensive shoes because it doesn't really matter what they look like on the outside as you'll be covering them anyways, so this is also a perfect way to re-furbish old shoes and bring new life to them!  Here's my finished product...

You can take these tips and really stone just about anything!  When adding rhinestones on fabric, you won't be able to move them around in place though like you can with shoes, so I suggest laying out your pattern ahead of time and then adding the stones one-by-one in their exact spot. 


Check out the other things that I've rhinestoned!

Rhinestone swimwear using blue RGA

purple acrylic stones in various sizes

jet ab RGA stones on lace

rhinestone gown using red and ab colors

randomly placed Swarovski stones on nude peep toes

crystal acrylic stones

acrylic



Made these for my friend, a breast cancer survivor.
I just used smaller stones to spell out the words!



Still not sure if you can do this on your own?  Contact me and I'd be happy to custom stone for you or help answer any questions you might have! :)  Happy Blinging!