insta love

Setting up for a fashion show

Frozen Yogurt!

Cowboy Boots <3 DIY for the pair on the left here

Jewelry-making

A clay skull I made for an art class

Flowers from one of my best friends

mean muggin' ha

 Follow me on Instagram! Username: Holeh

lovely bones

The skull cut-out t-shirt has been all over blog-land for the past year. Instead of using the popular skull motif for my cut-out tee, I decided to use vertebrae as my inspiration. This project was so easy, and the perfect tank for summer.

 You will need:
T-shirt
Scissors
Disappearing Ink or Washable Marker

 Step 1: Cut off the neck and sleeves of your t-shirt. My shirt ended up being too long, so I also ended up cutting the bottom hem into a hi-low silhouette.

 Step 2: Trace your design on the back of your shirt. Make sure that your cuts won't be too close together, then cut!

 Step 3: Stretch the cut-outs, or throw your tee in the washing machine, which will also get rid of your tracing marks. Style your tank with a contrasting colored bra or cami, or leave your tank a little longer and use it as a swimsuit cover-up.

where the wild things are

One of the newest trends in festival fashion is the Spirit Hood. Worn by celebrities and every-day music lovers alike, spirit hoods aim to connect the wearer with their spirit animal (and to look really cool and keep your head super comfortable!). I couldn't part with the dough for a real one (about $110-$160), but I managed to make something very similar for under $20. Get ready to roar!

Vanessa Hudgens as a fox source

 You Will Need:

1/2 yd Faux Fur

1 sheet Felt

A large old or thrifted sweater, or soft fabric for lining

Needle, thread, scissors, etc.

Hoodie to trace around

Scrap Fabric and Grommet (optional)

Vaccuum (to clean up afterwards!)

 Step 1: Lay your faux fur out, doubled over, with the fur to the inside. Lay your hoodie on top, with the top of the hood lined up with the fold in the fabric, and trace the hood. Underneath the hood shape, leave about a 6-inch wide strip running straight down to the end of the fabric.

 Cut around the shape you created, leaving the top fold of the fabric un-cut where it met your hoodie. It should look something like the picture below. 

Step 2: Put the fur on your head and decide how long you want the "scarf" part of your hood. I wanted the pockets of my hood to be a little longer, so I had to add extra fur to the bottom of mine. To do this, cut 6-inch strips of your fur with the nap (the way the fur goes) in the same direction as the rest of the hood, place right sides together and sew. Once you smooth the fur over, you wont be able to tell that there is an extra piece.

Step 3: Using the body of your sweater (or your lining fabric), trace your hood shape and sew around, leaving 6 inches on either side of the bottom open. Cut the sleeves of your sweater off of the sweater (or use your lining fabric) and cut again lengthwise so that you have long strips about 6 inches wide to line the "scarf" part of your hood. Sew these strips to the open ends of your hood lining.

Step 4: Pin the lining to the inside of the hood so that the right side of the fabric shows. I then rolled the faux fur over the unfinished edges of the sweater and hand stitched them in place all the way around my hood, except for the "paws". If you have a sewing machine, you can put the right sides of the hoodie and lining together, sew, and turn right-side-out, but I found that the technique I used worked better for hand stitching.

 Step 5: To create pockets, cut 2 6-inch strips of faux fur and 2 of lining, a little bit longer than you want your pockets to be. I wanted deep pockets, so I cut about 12" for a 10" pocket. 

Put the right sides of your fur and lining together and sew across the top of where your pocket would be. Next, line your pocket material up on your scarf, making sure that they are even with each other. Sew the lining of the pocket to the fur of the scarf so that the seams are on the outside of the pocket, then use the same roll-over and hand stitch method to attach the pocket fur to the scarf lining so that the seams are hidden.

Step 6: Cut out 4 triangles or half-circles for the ears of your hood. Place right sides together and sew around, leaving the flat side open. Sew the flat sides of the ears to the top of your hood. Don't worry about messy stitches, lucky for you, they will be hidden by the fur!

 Step 7: If you would like, use felt to create details like contrast in the ears, or paw prints on the lining of your scarf. I also created a place to hang charms and feathers by doubling over a scrap of extra felt, cutting out a hole, hammering in a grommet, and sewing it to the back side of an ear.

 Step 8: Inspect your hood and gently pull out any fur that was stuck in your seams. Fluff everything up and put on your hood for it's first adventure--vacuuming up stray fur!

 

as featured on BTR

birchbox [may] - gossip girl

This month's Birchbox was centered around everything an Upper East-sider would need to get ready for a glamorous night out. Although my Birchbox did not arrive until just after Gossip Girl's season finale, I still enjoyed all of the products inspired by one of my favorite TV shows!

 BlenderCleanser, by beautyblender, is an earth-friendly cleanser specifically for makeup brushes and sponges. Up until now, I have always used regular soap to clean my makeup tools, but this lavender-scented sensitive formula is sure to do a better job.

 You can never go wrong by sending a thank you note when you attend an event or receive a gift. These notecards by Birchbox are simple enough to be used for a quick note that will leave a much nicer impression than a text or email.

 Flor y Canto, a fragrance by Arquiste, is a floral scent that dances the line between light and intense. It's perfect for daytime, but can also carry you into night. Flor y Canto is one of Arquiste's scents created to evoke a specific moment in history-- this one being an Aztec summer festival in the 1400's.

This Regenerative Anti-Aging Moisturizer, by Algenist, is a wrinkle-fighting cream that promotes cell regeneration with alguronic acid. It went on smooth and light with a natural and refreshing citrus-y scent.

Birchbox was what first turned me on to Stila products and the Sparkle Waterproof Liquid Eye Liner does not fail to uphold the quality I expect from a Stila product. Although the "Starry" black color was more gray than I expected, the sparkle is subtle enough to wear for day or night.

 

Want to try Birchbox? Click Here!

golden scissors

The Golden Scissors Fashion Show and Awards put on by the Mesa College Fashion Program is an event that is very dear to my heart as last year I was the show coordinator. I know exactly how much work goes into putting on this event, but this year it was so nice to be able to sit back (with Steffi) and enjoy the show! The fashion design students produced some beautiful pieces and the promotions class put on a wonderful show!

the met gala

This year's Costume Institute Gala at the Metropolitan Museum featured not one, but two, great designers, Elsa Schiaparelli and Miuccia Prada, both innovative, fearless, and fiery Italian women. Some of the trends that were noticeable on the red carpet were metallics, floral with lace overlays, black and white color-blocking, and the use of textures, like velvet and leather. Here are some of my favorite looks from the night, in no particular order.

Amber Valetta, in Prada

Anna Wintour, in Prada

Caroline Sieber, in Christopher Kane

Christina Ricci, in Thakoon

Diane Kruger, in Prada

Dree Hemingway, in Topshop

Ivanka Trump, in Peter Pilotto

Jessica Pare, in L'wren Scott

Jessica Stam, in Dior

Karlie Kloss, in Jason Wu

Karolina Kurkova, in Rachel Zoe Colelction

Kirsten Dunst, in Rodarte

L'wren Scott, in her own design

All photos from Style.com

oopsy daisy

Music festival season is upon us, and one of the major  trends this time around is the flower crown. I will be headed to the Electric Daisy Carnival in Las Vegas this summer, and I wanted a bright and colorful daisy crown to complete my look for the weekend. Here's how I made mine:

You will need:
Wire hanger or a medium weight wire
Floral tape
LOTS of fake daisies

Step 1: Cut the top off your hanger and bend the rest into a circle that is slightly larger than your head. It doesn't have to be perfect! You will still be able to bend it later, and all of the wire will be covered.

 Step 2: Cut your daisies off their stems, leaving a couple of inches of stem on each one. I also separated the leaves from my stems in case I wanted to used them later, which I didn't end up doing.
Some of my flowers started falling off the stems after I started bending and manipulating them, so if you need to, you can remove the top of the flower and put a tiny bit of glue on the stem to reattach it. Just make sure your glue is dry before you start working with your flowers again!

 Step 3: To attach your flowers to the wire, pinch the wire and the flower together right under the base of the flower. Tightly wrap florists tape from the top all the way to the end of the stem.

 Starting with your largest flowers, space them evenly all the way around your wire circle.

 Then, fill in the spaces between your larger flowers with smaller ones. Watch the placement of your flowers to make sure the different colors are spread evenly around your flower crown.

Work your way around the wire until you have the amount of fullness you prefer. I wanted my crown to be really full, so I used a lot of flowers, but this project would also look great, more like a daisy chain, if you used less flowers.

 Once your crown is perfect (or once you run out of flowers), put it on and prance around like the flower child you are!

as featured on BTR