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Family halloween costume idea

November 3, 2014 |

Halloween has always been one of my favorite holidays. Of course as a child, then as a partying 20-something and now as a mom. This one was no exception but it might go down as my favorite for a few reasons. One, it was on a Friday so Mike could take a day off and be part of the whole process-getting dressed, taking pics, trick or treating. Two-the girls were old enough to trick or treat with us at a safe distance, which meant we could wait at the end of the driveway with our roadies and then follow stealthily behind and listen in as they compared candy notes and complained about tired feet. Really, kids? It’s two blocks. Three-pulling off this family Halloween costume idea and dressing up all together. This was the second year we’ve done it. Last year we had a Little Mermaid theme but we never got Mike in the pics wearing his crab (Sebastian) outfit. This year Elle called out Catwoman and being big fans, Coco and I fell right in line. As we usually do with Elle. Naturally Mike was fine with it, what little boy turned man doesn’t want to be the Dark Knight for an evening? He was my hero in many ways that night keeping track of Coco and her cousin while I stuck with Elle and the big girls and of course bringing the whole thing together with his epic portrayal of Batman. I don’t know how much longer we’ll all be able to agree on a theme, or if the kids will still think it’s fun for their parents to dress up so I soaked up the experience as much as I could. The kids got a huge kick out of it and as you can see, so did Mike and I. Til next year, Happy Halloween.

The key to a good family costume…lack of ego.

Strike a pose.

Not gonna lie, Coco had this one nailed.

Finishing touches.

Special thanks to my mom, BooBoo, for the red lips and great photos.

diy distressed denim

October 3, 2012 |

If I truly love a piece of clothing, jewelry, shoes, etc. I tend to wear it into the ground. It usually takes several failed trips to the tailor or shoe repair to persuade me to finally retire a beloved member of my wardrobe family. So when Elle got permanent paint (Note to self-duh! The five-year-old does not need permanent paint) on my favorite jean skirt, I went into crisis mode. (Pause for drama) After many attempts at stain removal, I turned to this not-so-drastic method of diy distressed denim, in this case to mask the stain, and I’m so happy with the way it turned out. It worked so well, I’m tempted to transform some of my more boring pairs of jeans with it. Here’s how I did it.

First make two straight-line cuts where you want your hole to be.

Then insert a wood block underneath your new hole to provide a backing for the next step.

Use a pumice stone (above), sand block or sand paper to gently rough up the edges of your hole.

With a pair of tweezers remove the blue threads to reveal the white underneath. This may take a minute to figure out, but once you get it it’s super fast. Sometimes it helped me to pull from the center vs. the end of the thread.

My stain was still very visible after removing the blue threads, so I used matte fabric paint in white and linen (off white) to paint over it. I liked the linen better, it blended in more. The white looked a little too clean, too white. Follow directions for drying time on paint bottle, then wah-la! Like it never happened!

skirt/paint

leather to suede

June 25, 2012 |

I’ve been coveting these boots for months, but I couldn’t rationalize the purchase because I already own these (above). I know you understand, they’re different but the same. So yesterday I decided to dive into the aging kit I used to use on set and go to town trying to make a new boot out of an old one. Here’s how I did it.

Stuff the booties with crumpled magazine pages to keep the shape while you work on them. Spray them with rubbing alcohol to soften the leather and grab any scratchy surface you have to start “sueding” them. Did I just create a word? I used a medium grain sandpaper, a wire brush and an old pumice block. If you can’t find these in your garage or cupboard already you can easily find them at a hardware store.

Rub the soles of the boot on a rough ground surface to create a true worn-in effect.

Bending and twisting the boot helps as well.

Make sure to pay special attention to the heels, creases, zippers or laces for a more authentic look. If you want a more distressed leather look versus suede, rub a bit of shoe wax over the boots after you’re done beating them up.

Now throw them on with your favorite pair of jeans, a long skirt or just about anything else you want to add a rustic look to and enjoy the compliments.