5 LOOKBOOK looks

Here are 5 of my favorite looks of the week from LOOKBOOK! 

With Fall coming these poncho sweaters are great! They're comfy, warm, & perfect to throw over almost anything. Lately I've really had a soft spot for all the Native American trends going on lately such as the ponchos, feathers in the hair, turquoise jewelry, & so much more!

There's so much to adore in the outfit! The high waisted shorts with the studding on the torn back pocket, the Native America style belt, the large 60's round frame glasses, the saddlebag, & my very favorite the large floppy hat. I have a few of the large floppy hats myself, & I'm absolutely hooked on them!

This is the #1 outfit of the week! The color palate of this outfit is perfect with all the different ties of earth tones together. Also the mix of fabrics & textures is great. I love the lace top, leather bag, & cork heels all together. Another aspect that always ends up swaying my eye is the silhouette of an outfit & this tunic with leggings creates perfect shape for someone who is slender.

Just the other day I found a pattern online for how to make these sweet little shorts. Hopefully within the next week I'll have a DIY on that up! I've been seeing the shorts around quite a bit lately & I can't get over what a soft, sophisticated, yet slightly sexy look they have & just how much you can pair with them. They're such a fun & versatile piece! 

This is another nice transitional piece for the fall. You can take your favorite simple maxi dress from the summer & throw over a light weight sweater that compliments the silhouette of the dress, throw a piece of jewelry or two, do natural make-up with just the pop of color on your lips, leave your hair effortless & tousled, & you'll have a quick couple minute look that's perfect for fall!

xo. Ariel Shay

Dreamcatcher DIY craft

Supplies:

• large metal loop (wire macrame hoop)
• thrifted lacy doily (thinner fibers like doilies made of mercerized cotton work the best)
• small ball of inexpensive light weight yarn (cotton/polly blend for less frey)
• clothes pins or clips
• decorations (feathers, shells, stones, jewelry pieces)

 Instead of the traditional dream catcher method of wrapping a loop with leather lacing, I decided to cover the metal hoop with a multi colored light weight yarn. One way to do this would be tying, gluing & then carefully wrapping the hoop. If you are familiar with macrame lark head & half hitch knotting techniques, you can cover your loop as I have in my example. I like these knots because they give one braided side, & one wrapped side to the loop, & act as one long tube to securely cover the entire round. Knotting the loop took about 20 minutes in total. Here's a written instructional on the half hitch if you're interested in learning how.

 

If you've used a knotting method to cover your loop - make sure the braid is straight and decide which side will be the face of your dream catcher. Knot a loop in the yarn (or leather if you decide to wrap it with lacing) to act as the top, & a place to eventually hang on a nail. 

Lay your doily in the center of the hoop to decide which way is up. Notice how small the circumference of the doily appears in relation to the hoop? Tricky right? Now you know my shortcut... did you think i knotted all that fancy star shaped magic? Nope. & all it cost was 10 cents. Time to start browsing the doily bin.

It's time to start stretching & tying the web of your dream catcher. This is the really fun part - but if you allow the web to go slack, you'll be disappointed with the final result. Work across from each other in quadrants. Think north, south, east, west, & divide evenly until there are no sagging areas. If you find half way through that your initial tie offs are a bit slack, cut them & re-tie.

I also left all ties with two loose ends dangling. These ties are what secures the adornments you will add in the final stage of the project. Remember while tying - keep that web taught!

Finally, once all loose areas have been pulled & tied tightly, your web will be tight & ready to decorate. Using a lace crocheted doily like this one provided me with an instantly intricate design that would have been beyond my capability in creating - but in using similar fibers & colors, blends almost seamlessly into the project. 

Tips on creating a seamless look:

• use yarn with mixed fibers of a similar tone to make it easier to match that of your thrifted doily
• consider dying doily to match the yarn, or immersing the finished product in a dye bath before adding embellishments. If doing this, be sure that you are using natural fibers of similar content. Synthetics require special acid dyes & heat methods, so stick to natural cold water baths if possible.
• scout doilies which are more lacy, unstarched, & on the thin side. Thick stiff ones will not give you the stretched effect as they will not expand or contort into a natural web-like shape. 

Did you like this DIY? I hope you do! If you decide to create one for your own home, or someone you love, please send me a picture at toast.teaspoon@gmail.com. I'd love to share your take on this project.

Special thanks to Lune Vintage for this tutorial.