Last Minute Style Ideas for New Year’s Eve

Hello readers! (And sorry for the terrible delays in posting. It’s atrocious, I know. Please feel free to email me and complain.)

I have always been somewhat ambivalent about New Year’s Eve/New Year’s as “holidays.” What’s the big deal? It’s just a date change on a calendar. We don’t celebrate the first of every month, do we?

Rant aside, NYE is usually filled with glamorous parties and bucketloads of sequins. As much as I am confused by the concept of New Year’s as a holiday, I will never pass up a chance to throw on a fabulous new party look. Here, in no particular order, are some of the chicest ways to ring in the new year — with inspiration shamelessly stolen from all corners of the blogosphere, of course.

1. Layering sequins. Anything sparkling and fabulous is always perfect for NYE, but it’s also possible to avoid looking like every other girl on the planet, in a plain sequined tank dress and pumps. Tracy from The Closet Shopper (one of my favorite bloggers — she is absolutely fabulous!) gave us a preview of her holiday party looks in a guest post at Tinfoil Tiaras. She smartly layered a shimmering jacket over a (slightly) more subdued black sequined dress and cinched it with a simple belt for a look that has just as much shine, but is so much more unique. Look for sparkly separates to layer and ground them with simple black accessories.

2. Ponytail cuffs. My older sister emailed me this DIY post from Oh the Lovely Things the other day, knowing I would love it. I’ve always been a fan of glammed up ponytails, and find them so much chicer than wearing one’s hair down. (My problem is that I have very fine hair, and my ponytails tend to lack volume and texture. Any tips to remedy this would be greatly appreciated.) And aren’t these ponytail cuffs just so gorgeous? Definitely one of the easiest ways to add instant glam to your NYE look.

3. Punches of color. As much as a strict palette of gold, silver, and black is observed during New Year’s, stand out from the crowd with a few bright pops of color: think bold lips, a red shoe, or colorful stacked bangles. Harper’s Bazaar offers up a few tips on getting the perfect red lip at every age.

4. …Or, just break out of the mold altogether. Who needs punches of color when you can rock a fabulous jewel-toned frock? Definitely a fantastic option for New Year’s Eve; just be sure to use sequins wisely (if at all) and accessories with some sparkly oversized jewels instead. P.S. I Made This has an awesome DIY for a totally over-the-top jeweled necklace.

5. Glitter-dipped nails. I’ve been seeing these around quite a bit lately, and, well, they are one manicure trend that I actually like. (I’m not so much a fan of crackle or magnetic nail polish.) Also one of the easiest manicures to maintain because chipping is barely noticeable. Try this simple tutorial from MaieDae and substitute your favorite colors!

6. Comfy (but chic) heels. If you’re going to be wearing heels for NYE, and you know you’re going to be standing in them all night, why would you wear a pair that is unbearably painful after half an hour? Wear your comfiest single-hued pair of heels for New Year’s (aka, your investment shoes) instead of the crazy sequined ones and you’ll be much happier. (On another note, I highly recommend the Mona pumps from J. Crew. So comfortable yet timeless, they go with everything, and they come in leather, suede, patent, and satin!)

Most importantly, though: experiment with fashion and have fun! Although it is a bit clichéd (and I will refrain from bitterness here), New Year’s is all about welcoming the new you (and all resolutions you’ll be breaking within the next week). Enjoy!

{Source: Images courtesy of Tracy at The Closet Shopper; 5 Inch and Up; Sephora; J. Crew (crystal Venus flytrap necklace, $85); J. Crew (Mona leather pumps, $198); MaieDae.}

White Nails

I had never considered the idea of using white nail polish until I saw my friend wearing it a few months ago, and my jaw dropped. It looked incredible. It takes a bit of work to get the coats to look even, but the result is a nail that is chic, clean, polished, and unexpected. If you’re fair-skinned like me, it will also make you look just a tiny bit more tan, which is always a plus.

This is a perfect shade for year-round, but especially the summer. It is incredibly elegant and looks amazing on everyone. I’m pretty sure I’ve found a new favorite nail polish — and I’m planning on stocking up on a few more bottles from Sephora for the fall season.

The key to making this look work is having a manicure that is opaque and even. White nail polish shows flaws more easily than other colors and it is more difficult to get a uniformly opaque coat. I had to do several coats on my nails (I think anywhere between 2-4), and you’ll definitely want to use a top and base coat to keep it shiny and prevent chipping. Also try sealing the edge of the nail with a swipe of the top coat to avoid unnecessary touch-ups.

I used Sephora by OPI’s nail polish in “A-ha! Moment,” $9.50, sephora.com.

What do you think of white nails? Have you tried the color before, or plan to in the future?

Edible Art

{Chocolate Spice Moroccan Market Table for Brides Magazine | Amy Atlas Events}

As anyone who has kept up with this blog for some time (and you are champs!) would know, I do seem to have a certain penchant for desserts (don’t we all…). And I’m also a huge fan of stylish decor. When hosting parties, I’m always nitpicking over every single detail to make the atmosphere perfect — and so, these beautiful dessert tables are a huge inspiration to me. The displays are stunning and definitely help set the tone for the event. And the food looks delicious, of course!

Here is just a sampling of some of the yummy dessert table inspiration I’ve found — be sure to check out the designers’ websites for even more photos! (Trust me, their portfolios are drool-worthy…)

{Bridal Brunch Dessert Table | Amy Atlas Events}

{Poolside Dessert Table in the Hamptons | Amy Atlas Events}

{Missoni-Inspired Dessert Table for InStyle | Amy Atlas Events}

{Candy Shop Dessert Table | Amy Atlas Events}

{Graphic and Glitz Dessert Table | Shauna Younge Dessert Tables}

{Bridal Party Dessert Table | Shauna Younge Dessert Tables}

{Ice Cream Dessert Table | Jillian Event Design & Styling | Source: 100 Layer Cake}

{Lemon Dessert Table | Design 2 Decor | Source: Sweet Tooth}

I am blown away by the creativity and detail that goes into crafting these tables. The results are simply stunning and I wish I could post tons more photos. (If you want more inspiration, be sure to check out the portfolios of the designers featured in this post.) As you can see, there is quite the mix of styles out there, and something to suit every taste. I can’t wait to draw on these photos for inspiration when the opportunity comes for me to make my own dessert table!

{Sources: All images are property of their respective owners, as noted.}

DIY: Fun Magazine Bowls

You’ve most likely seen magazine bowls before in craft or fair trade shops. When this post popped up in my inbox the other day, I knew I had to make these immediately! There are many different techniques for making magazine bowls, but I used this one from The Art Sandwich — one of my new favorite blogs. It’s packed with fun DIY projects (this mural is next on my list) and design inspiration … be sure to check it out!

I pretty much followed her instructions, although I added and changed some minor details, so I’m reproducing hers (with my changes) below.

For this project, you will need:

• Magazines (I used one issue of Marie Claire)
• Scissors
• Hot glue gun
• Mod Podge (you can also use a glue stick, but I find that Mod Podge holds better, plus it has several different functions)

I was very unwilling at first to cut up my magazines (I really, really dislike destroying anything unless I have a second copy), but then I realized I had a bunch of old copies of Seventeen that I hated and an issue of Marie Claire (which I don’t read). Long story short, I didn’t have to sacrifice any precious issues of Teen Vogue or Elle. And in the end, I really only needed one magazine.

STEP ONE: Go through your magazines and pull out pages to use for your bowl … t.a.s. from The Art Sandwich recommends using colorful pages (from ads and fashion spreads) and staying away from the thicker paper in perfume ads. I would also try and stay away from pages that could be potentially awkward — you don’t want someone’s cleavage (!!), Tim Gunn’s “Make It Work” face, or a “Mother Nature’s Monthly Gift” ad poking out from your bowl, do you? (If you do, that’s fine.)

I came across this strange ad (no, I didn’t use it), which for some reason has always creeped me out:

Anyway, that’s irrelevant. Moving on…

STEP TWO: You’ll need to cut each page into thirds. What I did was fold one page into thirds (like one would do with a letter to fit it into an envelope). Then I unfolded it and placed it over a stack of pages and cut them into strips all at once. I had a pretty decent pile in under 5 minutes.

STEP THREE: Fold each cut strip into smaller strips (as shown above) and secure with glue. I made about 100 … let me just say that you definitely won’t need that many unless you’re planning on making a pretty large bowl. I used 72 total for my bowl, which was almost exactly 6 inches across at the end.

Click to enlarge.

You can fold and glue them however you like, but above is the specific method I used. It looks a little complicated, but it’s really not and you always have a clean line.  This part takes a while … hang in there; the more you make the faster you get!

STEP FOUR: Create a base for your bowl — mine ended up being 2.7 inches across (which was actually fairly large and could have definitely been used for a bigger bowl, as mine had fairly steep sides). Start with one strip and roll it into a coil, securing with hot glue and leaving the very end of the strip unglued so you can tuck the next strip into the coil. Keep glueing it down with hot glue quite often, to keep the coil held tightly together. Also be sure to do this against a flat surface so the bottom of your bowl is flat (its okay if some of the thicker strips pop up on the top side of the coil).

STEP FIVE: Once you’re reading to start building your bowl up, continue with the method you used to create the base coil. Just incrementally start glueing the strips a little bit higher than the last — eventually it will start to flesh out into a bowl shape. For a steeper sided bowl, glue the strips higher; for a more shallow, dish-like bowl, use smaller height increases when adding strips. (My bowl ended up being steeper, mainly because I was impatient. The Art Sandwich’s one was much nicer-looking, in my opinion.)

STEP SIX: Once your bowl is the size and shape you want, glue the last strip down. I finished my bowl off by giving it a healthy coat of Mod Podge inside and out to help hold it together and give it a more durable finish.

… And you’re done! These bowls are small (unless you’re willing to invest days into creating a larger one), but as t.a.s. at The Art Sandwich points out, a magazine bowl “certainly packs a punch and is a great desk or vanity accessory.” They are well worth the effort! Mine is a little messy, but I look forward to making more in the future when I have some extra time. I’m planning on using it for displaying fun bracelets or holding some of my makeup:

What do you think of these fun bowls?

{ Source: Images by me. Feel free to use — just leave a credit/link! }

diy: bulletin board chic

Let’s just say I have a certain infatuation with bulletin boards (hence my Twitter background). I absolutely adore anything corkboard — it’s a great way to organize your thoughts, hang up your jewelry, keep in mind quotes that inspire you, etc. The list is practically endless. There is one problem with the typical Staples bulletin board: it’s pretty ugly. And I prefer my corkboard to be aesthetically pleasing.

Enter bulletin board makeovers. It’s quite simple to make your own bulletin boards or revamp one of your old ones: I’ve included both ways here.

Option #1: make your own!

Making your own bulletin boards is super easy and allows you to get as creative as you want with the final result. If you do end up making your own, be sure to go for a smaller one or at least have a piece of corkboard big enough to fit the frame you’ll be using. Also, I do recommend glueing two pieces of corkboard together if they fit behind the frame (just make the one closest to the wall a bit smaller if you need room for nails to hang the final result), as store-bought corkboard sheets can be a bit flimsy.

For this project, you will need:

• Frames (I used a few 8×10 inch wood ones I picked up at a discount price at a arts and crafts store)
• Paint (whatever color(s) you want your frame to be) & brush(es)
• Corkboard sheets (I got a a couple 12×12 4-packs at Staples for $10)
• Hot glue gun
• Scissors, newspaper for the floor, masking tape, frame decorations, etc.

I started off with these white and green frames I had picked up from an arts and crafts store:

I decided I didn’t really like the colors for my room, so I used this gorgeous metallic gold paint on the edges to create for matching gold and white frames. (Of course, if your frame is already how you want it, you can skip this step.) I did start painting the whole frame at one point — as you can see below — but a little white paint worked perfectly as a touch-up. From then on I used masking tape to make sure I didn’t get any excess gold paint on the white section of the frame and kept a clean line.

To fit the corkboard into the frame, I didn’t use a specific method, but I traced the relative outline of the frame on the corkboard and trimmed it with scissors, narrowing down the shape until it fit inside the frame. Since the cork was pretty thin, I then traced the cut sheet onto a new sheet so I ended up with two sheets the same size that I glued together for a thicker piece. I then glued this into the painted frame.

The final result:

I now have three matching bulletin boards that I’m going to put up next to each other to keep notes, reminders, and quotes in. And it was all pretty easy! (Especially because, although I’m crafty, I don’t like any projects that involve sawing wood, electric screwdrivers, sewing machines, irons, and the like.)

Option #2: upgrade!

I don’t have a photo of what it looked like before, but let me assure you: it was quite horrendous. I had redone it in the past (far, far in the past) by painting the corkboard background white and stamping primary-colored fleur de lis’ on it. And then I taped the edges with green electrical tape. Not so pretty.

For this project, you will need:

• Old bulletin board
• Paint (any color(s) you like) & brush(es)
• Hot glue gun
• Fabric (to match the paint)
• Lace trim (to match)
• Scissors, newspaper (to protect the floor), etc.

First, I stripped off the tape and then painted the edges with the gold paint from Option #1. Then I cut a piece of fabric slightly larger than the corkboard section of the bulletin board and used a hot glue gun to fold the edges over a bit (so they wouldn’t fray later). Once I had a piece of fabric to fit the board, I started by glueing down the top edge and then stretching the fabric to fit perfectly (it’s good to use a slightly stretchy fabric and have a final piece that’s a little smaller than the space you want to fit, so it ends up taught). I finished it off by softening up the gold edge with a little bit of lace (again, I just used a hot glue gun!).

And . . . voilà! A perfect place to hang my necklaces:

Here’s a close-up of the lace detailing:

What DIY projects have you done recently?

{ Images by me. Feel free to use — just leave a credit/link! }