Saint Salvage

This weekend allowed me a little bit of free time, so I did a "quicky DIY". I bought a tunic top earlier this week from Village Thrift, in Pennsauken NJ. This top was brand new, with its original tags, by Dana Buchman. I don't know what price Kohl's was asking, but Village Thrift wanted $9.90. But.... lucky me.... the orange color tag was one of their three color tags that was on sale for 50% off! Woo hoo!!!! I really liked the look of it.... nice color, nice cut, and a linen-cotton blend. It even came with a belt. But, it reminded me of Tory Burch tunics I've seen, and I wanted to modify it a little. So, off to Hobby Lobby.... and I found this cute package of daisy flower trim on clearance.  I attached the trim to the tunic top with permanent fabric adhesive. I have plenty left over to be used with a latest project. Ta-dah!!! Saint Salvage strikes again! It took me about 30 minutes to pin the trim, glue it, ...

I have the pleasure of visiting Long Beach Island, NJ at the beginning of each summer. I have special places that I "must visit" while I'm there. But the highlight of every visit is stopping by Just Bead It. The location closest to the beach house we use is on 1305 Long Beach Boulevard, in North Beach Haven. They have a dizzying array of beads and findings, kits, tools, books and videos, and pre-made jewelry made by local artisans. They also have workshops ! I want to take one soon. Anyway..... I bought Red Coral, 16" Chip Strand, a 2" long chunk of turquoise , a silver hook clasp, and 18" of Beadalon.  I really liked the contrast of the cool, soft and bumpy turquoise with the orange-red spiky coral chips. This is what I did: I put on on end of the clasp on the Beadalon, along with a crimp bead. Then.... on went half of the coral chips. The turquoise chunk went on as the focal point, followed by the other half of the coral chips. ...

Ah, what a fun flashback..... One of the things that stoked the fires of my passion for fashion: I looked forward to watching MTV's "House of Style"  almost as much as I enjoy watching Project Runway and E's Fashion Police and of course, TLC's What Not to Wear. I need my fashion fix! Well.... "House of Style" is coming back on August 7, 2012 as a documentary, and then the host will be revealed on September 6, during the VMAs. Finally the show debuts on October 9. Whooo hoo!!!! Thank you, Hollywood Reporter ! I have something else to add to my DVR schedule in the fall!

I'm not normally a trend follower, but I've pinned a lot of the "Inspired by Tom Binns" DIY necklaces on Saint Salvage on Pinterest , so I decided to put my crafting where my mouth is (hah hah...), and do one. I checked out a couple of the pins I had, because I wanted to do my own take on it. First, to Swellmayde.com's DIY Painted Rhinestone Necklace Then, to Little Pink Monster's DIY Neon Necklace Tom Binns Inspired Finally, to Dream and Dress's DIY Painted Necklace I also liked Prada's rose and crystal necklaces and earrings. Honestly WTF  did an awesome DIY. So, when I was in the Cherry Hill mall's H&M store, I spotted a crystal and resin rose necklace. I bought some nail polishes, and also decided to use some other polishes I already had. I painted my crystals, just like everyone else.... Here's my mash-up: Here's what it looks on me: Ta-da!!!!! Saint Salvage strikes again!!!! I took aout 10 minutes t...

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Here's a DIY/ upcycle project I just finished. I bought a purse at the Millville, NJ Goodwill store about a month ago. I liked the shape, and the fact that the strap was removable and adjustable. BUT.... ugh, it was "pleather"... a super-shiny squeaky plasticy pseudo-leather. Also, it had this monogram of "DMM" on it. So, I threw down $2 (it was originally $3.99, and on the "special color" 50% sale), and set it aside for a future project. I came across this adorable suede "Minnetonka" style suede cross body bag at Frugal Resale for about $5. Then.... it hit me.... do a mash-up.... a "Frankenpurse" as it were! I ripped the bags apart..... Glued on the fringe..... Glued on the suede..... Glued on the lining from the suede purse to make an extra pocket on the flap on the bigger purse. I love pockets! Removed the snap from the suede of the smaller bag.... Cut that suede.... Punched hole...

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Time for another gel manicure! I went out to my local CVS over the weekend, and bought these Sensationail  colors: Amber Lights and Tahiti Sunset . I decided to hop on the tangerine color trend, and also attempt my first ever "French style" manicure. I followed the same steps as before.... doing the prep (shaping, buffing, applying the primer and applying the base coat, curing with the Sensational LED light. then, a THIN coat of the Amber Lights. Cure, add a THIN second coat of Amber Lights.  Then, I added Tahiti Sunset on the tips and cured it. Then, back to the clear top coat, cure, and alcohol pads. Done in approximately 15 minutes! Easy, peasy, with no STINKY odor! Here's what the finished product looked like..... a fresh, tangy "French" gel manicure!

I have a lamp and lampshade I bought in May 2012 from an estate sale. I really loved the size of it, because it's perfect for a night stand. I loved the glass bottom, but I really disliked how heavy the lampshade looked. It just looked like it was too much for the bottom. So, I got a lovely sari in a swap on  Rehashclothes , and I thought it would be an awesome replacement for the lampshade. Here's the original lampshade:  I cut the lampshade to reveal an airy framework, but I kept the "bones". I glued the framework after cutting the sheer sari fabric to size...... I cut the fabric to match the angled sides, and lined up the patterns.  I glued the top edge down and wrapped it around the top edge. Then, after letting it dry..... the shade went back on, and then..... on with the light! Ta dah.... another successful upcycling project! Saint Salvage strikes again, in about an hour!

I was really enamored by this necklace I spied in the December 2011 issue of Marie Claire magazine. It was admired by many others, including  JCK Magazine But..... considering my budget, I could not afford the price tag. If something says "Price available upon request", it is out of my league. so, I pinned in on  Pinterest , and started collected the medals and charms to make it. It took me a couple of months, but I had rounded up a collection of chains, authentic religious medallions, charms and "pearls". This is what took me no more than an hour to assemble. Not bad, huh? Saint Salvage strikes again, and for less than $20, instead of thousands! These were mostly all vintage parts, too!