GIVEAWAY: Neon Vinyl Clutch

aaaand for all of you who can't or don't want to make this clutch themselves... it is giveaway time :)

ok, here is the deal:

this giveaway is closed!

to enter you must be a gfc follower of the forge and chose one other way to subscribe. Leave me a comment saying how you follow and also leave your email. (if you don't have gfc just choose two of the other options to follow along)

for additional entries you may:

subscribe via email 

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leave a separate comment for each one you do! 

tweet about this giveaway and leave me the link in your comment

@theforgestyle is giving away a neon vinyl clutch http://tinyurl.com/cxwwthw #giveaway #freebie #fashion 

pin this giveaway to pinterest and leave me the link in your comment

enter @theforgestyle #giveaway and win this neon color block clutch http://tinyurl.com/cxwwthw

post this giveaway to your facebook page and leave me the link in your comment

that's a total of 9 entries per person. just leave a comment for each one that you do.

i will draw a winner via random number generator on may 18th. 

US residents only (sorry everyone else) 

good luck :) 

{she made it} neon vinyl clutch fashion diy

this is a simple clutch diy for anyone who has basic skills using a sewing machine. i am by no means a professional and if i don't use the right terms please don't get offended. i am completely self taught and most of the time just learn by trial and error.

here is what you'll need:

sewing machine
about 1/2 to 1 yard of vinyl depending on what size clutch you want to make
fabric for liner (you don't have to line it)
zipper
rotary cutter
ruler
thread
paint (i used patio paint)
possibly some fabric glue
masking tape
foam brush

Cut your piece of vinyl to the desired size. Mine was about 22" x 16.5". Cut your piece of fabric for the liner just slightly shorter on the zipper side so it wont show after you sew it together.

i then added some fabric glue and glued the liner onto the wrong side of the vinyl piece. my fabric was very silky and because you can't really use pins to keep it in place i just decided to add some glue.

i did the same thing with the zipper. line it up right side of zipper facing wrong side of vinyl and then sew down the side with your zipper foot. do the same thing on the other side and be careful because you won't have much room to work with. i opened the zipper a little bit because it was easier to sew that way. 

once the zipper is attached, make sure you open it about half way. DO NOT forget this step or you won't be able to turn your clutch right side out when you're done sewing. then simply sew down both sides right over your zipper.

your clutch will then look something like this: 

if you have some excess fabric you will want to trim it now. also cut off the excess zipper. turn your clutch right side out and it'll look like this: 

now you'll need your paint, foam brush and masking tape.

tape off the stripe that you want to paint on both sides. 

i painted two coats and let the paint dry over night before removing the masking tape. 

it didn't seep through at all and covered perfectly. i used patio paint because it is weather proof so i figured it would stick to the vinyl.

the lined inside will look like this.

then you're all done and ready to take it out on the town. 

i am happy to answer any questions you may have, just shoot me an email or comment. 

if you'd like to win this clutch just enter the giveaway here

and if you want more diy check out my feature post over at love stitched today for some neon jewelry to go with this clutch :) 

huffington post feature

image via stylelist home

hope you're all having a great weekend. It's pretty rainy and cool here but I can't complain because we just had a super nice week so I am just hoping the weather will turn around again soon.

i am just dropping in quickly to let you guys know how excited i am to be featured as a pinner to watch, over at the Huffington Post's Stylelist Home blog today!! i am so honored that they picked out my painted jar candle diy project from among thousands of wonderful pinterest pins :)

see what they had to say here.
you can also follow me on pinterest here.

{style files} neon color block clutch

sweater: old navy, shirt: f21, jeans: ae, watch: michael kors, clutch: the forge

i totally love the neon trend and color blocking right now, as long as it's not too crazy or 80's looking, that is. i am proud to say i made that clutch myself. it is lined turquoise on the inside as well and hand painted and sewn by yours truly. it's a great size and can hold a ton of stuff or even a small laptop. i don't have the diy ready yet but it's coming. i am thinking about doing a giveaway soon and this may just be the item for it. what do you think? would you love to have this clutch? 

By the way, I made my instagram public last night so come on over and follow me there. I'm @theforgestyle  :) 

diy upcycled pallet wood and ball jar planter

i've been so busy this week. having the hubs start back to work has given me somewhat of a boost of energy to get things done and lots of extra time to scratch things off my to-do list. it's actually funny how much more productive i become once he doesn't hang around the house all day. anyone else like that?
anyway, i started the big spring cleaning. mopping all floors, cleaning windows, rearranging here and there... lots of fun stuff.

logan and i have our daily routine down pat so i can rely on his nap times to get things done and also work on some more creative projects. if there's one thing i have learned about myself over the last year or so, it is that i need to do these projects for myself. it helps me stay sane and be a better mom and wife at the same time. i love being a mom, rolling around the floor all day, building towers out of blocks that get knocked down within seconds, tickling that chubby little belly and currently even wiping a very runny nose. hey, i even enjoy doing the housework (except folding the laundry - hate it!). having some time to myself though, to get my own little projects done and out of my massively overloaded brain, makes me enjoy those moments even more.

so i'm gonna stop rambling on about my emotional inner workings now and leave you with one of those little projects i whipped up during nap time. it's a super easy upcycled pallet wood and ball jar planter you can add to your home decor or make useful in a bathroom or kitchen.

here is what you'll need:

pieces of old pallet wood or other weathered looking wood scraps. of course you can also always buy new wood and stain or distress it to your liking
pipe clamps (find these at your hardware store usually close to the plumbing section)
screws/nails
screw gun/drill
hammer
hole punch
ball jars
plants

first you want to cut your wood pieces to the desired length. i used two pieces in the back to nail the slats to. i originally wanted to screw them to those two pieces but ended up just using nails. i messed around with screws that weren't quite long enough for way too long...
you may also want to attach a couple of extra screws somewhere, if you're planing to hang this on a wall.

you can see the holes from my failed attempt to screw this together

what your front side will look like

i then decided where i wanted to place the ball jars and measured and marked all three spots for the clamps.

now comes the fun part: to make holes in the claps for your screws. i'm gonna be honest, it took me a while to figure this out. i used a hole punch but the metal just wouldn't budge so i eventually decided to just try and widen one of the already existing holes and move the clamps' locks to the side instead of the front of the jars.

to widen the holes i used the same hole punch and just snipped of the extra metal.

now all you need to do is screw the clamps to the board. i opened them up completely to get enough room with the screw gun. you may also want to pre drill the holes to make it much easier

then just place the ball jars in the clamps and tighten them as tight as you can so that they don't move. i filled mine with some succulents and phlox and plan to hang it on the wall somewhere.

you can also use this as bathroom storage for cotton balls, make-up sponges etc...
or plant some herbs and keep it in the kitchen.

now that i've figured out the best way to make the holes in the clamps i think i could make another one in under half an hour. this is really a super simple project and it looks so great.

{she made it} vintage lace inset t-shirt

today i have another sweet little re-fashion diy for you, this super cute lace inset t-shirt.

here is what you'll need:

sewing machine

t-shirt of your choice

piece of new or vintage lace the length of your shirt

pins

white thread

scissors

aleene's stop fraying

position the lace in the middle of the back of the shirt. pin it.

sew down both sides with a regular straight stitch making sure to follow the very outside edge of the lace. take your time and do it slowly. you don't have to be a pro at sewing to be able to do this :)

sew across the top as well and then turn the shirt inside out. cut out the rectangle between your sewn lines, leaving about 1/2" to 3/4". this step is voluntary. i did it because i wanted to be extra safe. t-shirt fabric doesn't usually fray so if this is too much work for you just skip this step.

now fold that fabric over and pin it again. 

sew down both sides again making sure to stay on the very edge of the fabric. that way you will sew through the lace on the other side again which will give double hold. if you're not on the very outside edge your white line will show on the dark shirt fabric, so be careful and check once in a while. 

lastly i also sewed a zig-zag stitch along the bottom edge of the lace. since you cut it there the edge is now unfinished and may start to unravel over time. i also used aleene's stop fraying on both of the unfinished edges of the lace. now turn your shirt inside out again.

you're done :)

you just turned an old boring t-shirt into a sweet little lace shirt. this took me about an hour to do, start to finish. if you make one i would love to see it sometime. 

{she made it} embellished moleskine notebooks

today i have another easy diy for you. i love paper products and i like taking notes and keeping a little notebook on me instead of using my phone for everything. i think taking notes on paper and writing down ideas and thoughts has a special quality to it. it is much more permanent and something i will be able to go back to and look at in years to come. my phone is great and i use it constantly but it doesn't allow me to be as creative as i can be with these notebooks. 

so all you need are some moleskine notebooks (or whichever you like), lace and fabric scraps, some glue and a sewing machine (if you have one). i used vintage lace/fabric and tacky glue.

be careful with the glue and apply sparingly. i also used the sewing machine to sew some lines down and over the fabric. these covers are made of thin cardboard and your sewing machine shouldn't have any problems with it. 

it's really pretty simple and there are so many options to make this represent you and your style.
you could even make your own notebooks instead of buying pre-made ones.

hope you found some inspiration.

{she made it} instagram wallpaper

i've had a bunch of instagram photos laying around and no clue what to do with them...a few weeks back i even took the time to cut them all out with my handy guillotine cutter, thinking an idea would just pop into my head. but nada. 

then the other day i was just standing in the hallway, admiring the plain, boring staircase wall and finally that idea came to me. i didn't want to put up another gallery wall of frames like i had done in the dining room so what better way to use all those instagrams than to stick them diectly onto the wall and create a wallpaper effect? so I went to town and started covering up the staircase wall. this is not permanent and if we decide we don't like it anymore or want to switch out photos, they can easily be removed. i had some of these scotch reusable tabs and glue dots on hand and so i just stuck a couple in two corners on each photo and stuck it directly to the wall. i actually cut up the scotch tabs because they were much too big. 

make sure to use a level once in a while and then just add more photos. this is all i had on hand but i'm planning on ordering more soon so that i can keep going. it is kind of addictive and i'm eager to keep going. you can also print your pictures at home but i would recommend using matte photo paper so that you won't see all the sticky fingerprints. you know people will be touching these. if not, your kiddos surely will. so far i have no clue how i'm gonna keep logan from wanting to rip these down. 

i love it. can't wait to see the entire wall covered.

{she made it} jersey weave sweatshirt

did you all have a good weekend? we pretty much got snowed in so during nap time I thought
i'd scratch this little diy off my to-do list...

Source: pups-paris.com via Sophie on Pinterest

This was the inspiration for this diy. i've had it pinned on pinterest for an eternity. so when I came across $3 sweatshirts at wal-mart the other day i felt like it was just meant to be. i resisted grabbing more than two (i am so bad when it comes to good deals) brought them home and gave them both a good wash and dry. the other one is white and i already have something in mind for it...

i had some gray and yellow jersey fabric on hand already. jersey fabric won't fray on the edges. you can also cut up an old t-shirt and use it. i folded the fabric a few times and cut 4 - 2" wide strips. they were pretty long and i went back and forth about 3-4 times with each one. i cut off the collar and the cuffs. then i marked my first row of holes with a fabric marker that washes out. make sure to cut teeny tiny holes and keep them about 1/2" apart. then i just started weaving my fabric strips through the holes. when you come to the end of each row remember to reverse the up and down weaving motion going the other way so that you're alternating the gray from the sweater and your fabric. as you go down just cut less holes or make your own pattern as you please. when you're all done turn the sweatshirt inside out, tie all the loose ends together and weave them in. you're done.

like it? would love it if you pinned it :)

For more fashion DIY posts simply click HERE.