What I Wore: One more year and growing!

 

Hey yall!

I actually had these pictures stored on blogger for a week or so but had nothing to say. Pure writers block...ugh!

Today is a little different being my BIRTHDAY!!!! So i thought i'd find a little something to say.

Let's see: It's my Golden Birthday as my cousin Ebony has told me. I'm 27 on the 27th and life is definitely going in the golden direction right now. In the last year I've learned so many things about myself and took chances that people would call absolutely crazy. This has definitely been the year for my growth!

One major lesson learned career wise is that it's important to "Do What You Love". That's my motto and it has motivated me to open A2Style Boutique online and .......a real store! Yep, holding the keys in my hand now. We hear too often that you should do what makes the most money and keep your passion on the side. Honestly I think your passion will not only drive you to happiness but also to a comfortable financial life.

Of course with taking the risk, there's a chance the road may not be easy. Heck, this is usually a gurantee. But with every hard road is progression if you don't quit.

Plus with faith everything is possible!

Outfit Details:

Skirt worn as dress; Belt: Sustainable Style

earrings: FABstamp

shoes: Steve Madden

Thank you for supporting me over this last year

and you can count on much more from Avid Accents and A2Style Boutique.

Find AA on Facebook ** Follow AA on Twitter ** Shop A2Style Boutique
Thanks for stopping by
~L~



DIY: twisted colors necklace

Hey everybody! (picture me waving fast with a cheesy smile on my face) I'm excited to be back with a nice little DIY necklace. It's pretty simple all you need is some colorful rope, wire and chain and necklace findings.my colorful rope came from an old belt.  

 Yeah, it doesn't look like much but all it takes is a little creativity.Lets get right to it then i'll let you see the finished product. Step one: Cut your rope in different sizes but large enough to fit around your neck. 

 Step 2: thread the wire through each rope piece. 

This step can take a little time. I barely noticed the time while i was being caught up on the Housewives of NY and thier DRAMA! it's so entertaining....... but back to the DIY.
 Step 3: make a small loop and wrap the remaining wire around the rope.  

  Step 4: connect the other ropes by wrapping the wire.  

 Step 5: add the chain and findingnow when this process was all done, i had this necklace.

  not bad but not really what i was going for. Then i took a second glance at the necklace. and twisted it to this:  

  Yeah that's more me. So when things don't turn out the way you expect, make some adjustments and you may discover something special was there the whole time. Hmmm.... who knew you could get life lessons from a little DIY :) Till next time....... Find AA on Facebook ** Follow AA on Twitter ** Shop Avid Accents Vintage
Thanks for stopping by
~L~

P.S. A2Style Boutique is open....yayyyy! be sure to check out the current jewelry giveaway and our style blogger program A2Style Advocates.

Miss Me? Well I'm Back!

Hey Everyone!  

 No DIY post today like I anticipated but I did bring a special invite to you.  I'd like to invite everyone to the A2Style Boutique Preview Party on Facebook.(You don't need a facebook account to see the party but you do have to LIKE the page to comment on the posts.) You may know that A2Style is my new online boutique that opens July 4th (just days away). Some things you'll find at A2Style Boutique:  

I'm having a fun little Facebook Preview Party to introduce some items on the site. It will be very engaging and of course there will be Giveaways (you know I love those).
I'll post the giveaway information at the Party but anyone (Facebook user or not) can enter the actual giveaways on A2StyleBoutique.com. Details on the preview party Date: July 3rd6pm till 8pm (est)status updates every 10 minutes Here's a link to the A2Style Boutique Facebook Page Enter HERE I hope everyone can make it to the preview. Maybe you'll understand my absence from blogging after checking out the work put into A2Style Boutique. Oh! I'm back on Tuesday with a DIY post. A certain necklace has been in my mind for days and I have to make it. until then I'll be blasting the new Beyonce "4" album at ridiculous levels and getting caught by other drivers singing my heart out. Please tell me I'm not the only one guilty of that :-) See you soon....Sunday @ 6pm hopefully!  Find AA on Facebook ** Follow AA on Twitter ** Shop Avid Accents Vintage
Thanks for stopping by
~L~P.S. Happy Friday!

Styling Scraps #2: Shoe Envy

Hey, it's been a while! warning: my posts will be a little spread out over the next two weeks. I have to teach dance everyday because of an upcoming recital and I've been busy with A2Style Boutique. (so excited!!!)  I did manage to sneak in a DIY this week and continue pushing on with my Styling Scraps challenge.Here's the rules:

• No purchasing new accessories (No hats, scarves, earrings, brooches, necklaces, rings, bracelets, handbags, watches, sunglasses, shoes or belts)  
• A 1 non-DIY or non-Revamped accessory limit to each outfit this Month.  
• I must use recycled fabric in some kind of way on my DIY Accessories

When i say this challenge is a challenge....i mean that thang!I thought I had enough DIY on hand but there hasn't been enough selections so I've had to revamp items alot or go without many accessories. This outfit is one that turned out great.  

  wait i had to wear shoes right? and my one purchased item limit is up so they must be today's DIY.  

 Yep they are DIY and I Looooooove them!Even found myself peaking down at them all day.I've been envying all the fabric shoes from Aldo and Boxing Kitten so I chose to save money and DIY me some.  Since every shoe is different when covering with fabric, I'm just going to lay out some tips on DIYing these instead of a full tutorial.  Tip 1: Find an interesting fabric that can withstand a stain or two. This durable cotton blend worked well and the print....i just love the tribal print.

it's a pillowcase!

   

Tip 2: I used glue to adhere my fabric onto the leather shoes. I bought a mini pack of Tacky glue ($2.99) and tried several kinds in various parts of the shoe. The best glue was the Clear Gel Tacky Glue  

  Tip 3: watch your seams. depending on how the shoe is designed, you may have to glue your fabric in sections. plan this before you start and figure out what parts you want seamless, for me it was the wedge heel of the shoe. 

 

I DIYed these shoes last summer...time to switch it up!

   Tip 4: have a razor on hand. after everything dries, use the razor to trim all edges and make it seem like the shoe was made this way. I suggest letting the bottom sole show instead of walking on fabric.  

 Tip 6: Gently Clean the shoe with a barely wet rag when you are totally finished. This will remove any glue that snuck through the fabric. Tip 5: Spray with some Krylon Matte Finish to give the fabric a protective coating.  

 I can guarantee you will see these wedges again on this blog and I plan to DIY more shoes with fabric. I wore this outfit to a birthday celebration surrounded by the color pink and my Project Curve Appeal Team (The Derby Diamonds)  

  Curvy Girls Rock!  Find AA on Facebook ** Follow AA on Twitter ** Shop Avid Accents Vintage
Thanks for stopping by
~L~

Styling Scraps #1: After the Cut

This month I'm doing my part in recycling textiles by styling (or DIYing) damaged, unworn and scrap fabric into accessories.here's the rules for my month long challenge:

• No purchasing new accessories (No hats, scarves, earrings, brooches, necklaces, rings, bracelets, handbags, watches, sunglasses, shoes or belts)  
• A 1 non-DIY or non-Revamped accessory limit to each outfit this Month. 
• I must use recycled fabric in some kind of way on my DIY Accessories

 let's get started  Styling Scraps #1: 

 

today I'm working with the fabric I cut off this dress.

 

   

I cut the sleeves to make this dress more modern and fit better. But i couldn't trash this fabric. It has several interesting designs in it. I had the perfect solution to save it. 

   

 With the help of some of my tarnished earrings, i used a little glue (Modpodge) to make some bold earrings.

 and i wore these for my challenge.  

 

 accessories- Non-DIY or Revamped: Shoes which are some plain black flats.DIY: Earrings 

DIY: bubble ring 

One of my first blog Tutorials HERE

  Revamped: Bracelet- which is really a vintage neck scarf 

   

But wait, I still had more fabric so i tried a quick, bold chunky necklace. With a few Styrofoam balls, some glue, hardware washers and chain, I created this standout long chunky necklace.  

 Make some holes with a screwdriver and string it on a chain.

   

So many possibilities with this necklace:

• wear one fabric ball on the chain
• add some beads for more color
• string it on a shorter chain

 What else? Did I miss another way to wear it? That's all for this fabric. Moving on to my next creation. I have to get my DIY stocked up if I'm going to survive these 30 days.   Find AA on Facebook ** Follow AA on Twitter ** Shop Avid Accents Vintage

Thanks for stopping by

~L~