Well dressed and crafty

I'm so much into little crafty projects that I didn't manage to take the time and post what I wore during the week .
I like how I wear simple basic pieces again . I seem to gravitate between simple classic a bit tomboysh look where I repeat a few basic pieces and a different persona everyday look with lots of color . I will wait and see where this style polarisation might take me.

 Like I told you it has been a totally creative weekend . You see , I had many projects on my mind and I managed somehow put them together this weekend .
First it was this ethnic bag that I found in the local market for 2 euros. I didn't like everything about the bag but I knew I could work on it and make a few alterations . I know that ethnic bags are a trend and I wanted to give it a try without breaking the bank ( Hey ! I live in Greece and we might go bunkcrupt any day now , or so they say).
So ,  I took the ugly straps from the back as you see in the first photo and replaced with an old belt of mine as seen in photo number 3.In the middle photo you see how I replaced the fabric around the opening of the bag . It's the bag you see me carrying above .

After I tackled the bag I decided to make my house look a bit more beautiful . I had cleaned it and had decluttered my home during the whole month and it felt like the right time to decorate. Beleive me ...you can't decorate a messy , clutterd home.
So, I went out in the garden and cut  the leaves ,secured them in place to get the round shape and tied a simple garland around .
Now , my front door looks so much more nice. But that's not all.

Then I transformed  these green ugly bottles with left over fabric and glue . I have to say the jute stuff is amazing . It's cheap and easy to use . For the flags I used the the material you find around the neck of a wine bottle wrapped around a tooth pick .

I had some unfinished business with the pillows in the living room . I meant to make covers for them for a ...gasp couple of years  ...I bet you know the story.
That's how the pillows look now . The red one I made from scratch... the filling ( from old huge teddybears)  and all !

And here is how I made the covers ! It's the easiest way you can imagine and it ivolves no zippers or buttons. Beware though ...it can be addictive !!!

 1. Place the pillow on the cloth to take measurements . Take the measurements on the tight side so the pillow looks stuffed and fluffy.
2 . Put the right side of the cloth to face the table and make a seam of 1-2 cm
3-4-5- . Just to make sure every thing fits and the two ends of the cloth overlap. 
6 . (I have no clue why no6 became invisible but it's the last photo ) Now sew again at each end parallel to the measuring tape. Turn inside out and stuff your pillow into the cover .

Once you get the hang of it you can make a case in less than 5 minutes !!!
I plan to tackle a few more projects this weekend . Nice weekend to you all and get crafty it's so rewarding , creative and it saves a lot of money.

Blue shirt , white shirt

Shirts for me is an aquired taste . Until recently ,when I fell in love with tomboy style not even once in my life had I worn a shirt . How little did I know !!! Shirts are so classy and versatile and so easy to style be it for casual looks or for formal occassions.I  can wear them buttoned or unbuttoned ,with sleeves up or down tucked or not and get different but always elegant looks with just one shirt. I especially like the white  and the light blue shirt and occassionally the denim shirt.
How do you go about shirts ? Do you find them as classy as I do ? Do you think they are versatile?

p.s : There is a catch ,though . As much versatile and classy shirts are ,they are so difficult to find the perfect fit . I'm on the quest for a white one and I'm begining to despair.

Simple

This is a very simple outfit I wore in a very complicated day . The more I blog , the more I start seeing patterns in the way I dress. Like in the summer time that life is more simple I love to wear more visible clothes , weird combinations ,colors and tend to experiment more . On the contrary when the busy season starts in September ( I teach for a living ) I love to go as simple as possible in my clothes.
Have you noticed your style changing according to season, too ?
Today's outfit was inspired by this photo and was made more age appropriate but I hope it captures the look .
skirt : zara
shirt :chinese market
shoes : elite shoes ,suede carefully cleaned recently

Bracelets

You've probably noticed how many bracelets are piled up on the wrists of stylish people the world over this summer. Well , today was my turn to have a go. I made team with my daughter , we gathered material from all over the house and we followed these instructions . Much less than an hour later we had our bracelets . We made small alterations like we used rope instead of leather cord and beads instesd of brass hex nut but you can use anything that can do the job .
We are both very proud because we accessorized in no time spending no money at all . Plus ,this is a good starting project as it requires zero skills.
This actually was meant to be  my  Visible Monday post but blogger decided otherwise . Never mind I'll give it one more try . I strongly believe that accessorizing is the epitomy of personalizing an outfit . Many times accessories make the plainest outfit visible and all the more if the accessories are self made . My personal experience is that  a sense of pride is infused into the way I carry the outfit that makes me more visible. I strongly suggest that you find ways to incorporate some diy projects into your style.

DIY paradise

As you can see I'm totally in love with my new bag ,  the one I made . I'm slowly entering the DIY territory and I feel enthousiastic about it . The internet is filled with great affordable and easy to make ideas and my wardrobe collection needs accessories . I feel like I have covered the basic clothes chapter and I'm moving to the next step which is infusing personal style through accessories . And I can't think of something more personal than make things myself  that no one in the whole world has . How do you feel about DIY projects ? Have you ever tried to make accessories yourself ? How that felt ? Do you love accessorissing ? Do you also feel that many times accessories make or break an outfit?

inspiration : thebudget babe
shirt & trousers : chinese market
shoes : leather and locally handcrafted
bag : self made , instructions here

I made this

Wonder what I've been doing the last few days? ( I know you don't but it's a nice opening line ). Either way I'll tell you. I've been making my own (fake) leather bag . After seeing this post and following these simple instructions I had a bag ( I still don't beleive it!) and I'm in DIY heaven.

This is how it looks in an outfit . I challenge you to make your own as you can use any fabric. I will make a new one if I can put my hands on a nice soft black suede piece of fabric.

Husband's pants

When I went through my tomboy period ,which by the way is not over but a bit sleepy at the moment , I searched for men clothes in the nearest and most obvious place ... my husband's closet. I've cleaned and ironed and tidied and sometimes ,though rarely , I even bought his clothes but I had never thought of wearing them before.
What I realized for the first time as  soon as I opened his closet was how little clothes he owns .It's a very small amount and still he only  wears half of it most of the time.
The second thing I realized was that he owns no prints , it's only basic colors in there . He owns the exact amount of 2 belts . One black and one brown the kind that looks even better with time. He has 5 pairs of shoes worn the whole year ,one suit and a leather jacket.
I lived next to a minimalist master all this time and I hadn't known . It took me many years and lots of reading and experimenting to build a basic wardrobe and learn the tricks and he did the exact things under my nose  .
When I asked him how he managed to build this basic wardrobe he thought I was speaking chinese ...he couldn't understand what I was asking him . He build a...what ?
It took me more pondering and more reading on the web to come to the conclusion it's just the way men are conditioned to shop ( which is changing fast for obvious reasons ) very few items of good quality in basic colors that co ordinate well . Only when something is worn out  ,only then it gets replaced to something similar of good quality.
So simple but like a riddle to me. Then, after I solved the riddle did I felt entitled to borrow his pants . They produced many nice outfits and they are high waisted which I don't find so easily anymore.
To tell you the truth last night I notice a pair of chaki trousers that get minimal wear from him and I think I might try those out as well . What would you do ???