livforstyle

Sparkle On

Although the holidays have quickly come and gone, Christmas decorations are slowly coming down, Santa has already slid down our chimneys (well only if you were good this year), but it doesn’t mean its time to put away the glitz and glam just yet.  In my fashion rule book, sparkles can be worn any day, any time, and any season.  I love finding subtle ways to incorporate some shine and sparkle into any outfit and today’s outfit perfectly achieves that look.  So keep on scrolling to see how I’m leaving a little sparkle behind everywhere I go.

I feel like I have talked up all the glitter and sparkle in today’s outfit, but really the sparkle is just coming from my H&M sweater, but this sweater has the right amount of twinkle.  Plus, this sweater is not itchy like other glitter sweaters I have worn in the past, which is very important because who wants to spend their whole day scratching an endless itch.   Also, I love the silver metallic shade of this sweater because it looks great paired with denim, which brings me to my next point.

What’s a Liv’s style post without a pair of Zara jeans?  So today I am wearing my distressed boyfriend jeans from Zara. I love adding loose fitting, relaxed denim to any outfit to dress it down.

Even though, the sweater certainly makes a statement on it’s own, I threw on my favorite black faux fur vest from Macy’s.  Especially, in the winter time you can never have enough layers.  Not to mention the faux fur and glitter combo looks amazing together, don’t you agree?

My hunt for the perfect pair of black booties concluded after finding these sparkly star printed Kenneth Cole booties at Marshalls.  Although, my hunt might begin again because I’ve been wearing this booties non stop, I think I am going to have to replace them soon.

For jewelry, I am just wearing my go-to silver spiked pendant necklace from Forever 21.  Now that I think of it, I wore this necklace with another faux fur vest outfit here.  What can I say when I like something I wear it constantly, just like this outfit.

Forget the phrase keep calm and carry on, now it’s all about keep calm and sparkle on.   And with a new year quickly approaching, there is no better time to wear some sparkles.

Jeans: Zara (SIMILAR) (SIMILAR) (SIMILAR) (SIMILAR) (SIMILAR) | Sweater: H&M (SIMILAR) (SIMILAR) (SIMILAR) (SIMILAR) (SIMILAR) | Vest: Macy’s (SIMILAR) (SIMILAR) (SIMILAR) (SIMILAR) | Shoes: Kenneth Cole (SIMILAR) (SIMILAR) (SIMILAR) (SIMILAR) (SIMILAR) | Necklace: Forever 21 (SIMILAR) (SIMILAR) (SIMILAR)

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DIY: Mason Jar (No Water) Snow Globes

If your house is still not decorated for Christmas or you still have a few more people left to buy Christmas gifts for, it’s time to put on your crafty tool belt and get creative.  Today, I will be showing you a festive DIY that will put anyone in the Christmas spirit.  These “No Water Mason Jar Snow Globes” are super easy to make even for those who don’t have a crafty bone in their body.  Display these mason jars all around your home or wrap them up and give them out to family and friends.  Whatever you do with them, you will have people asking “where did you get them and how much did they cost.” But it will be our secret that it actually took only a few cheap supplies and a couple minutes to make these Christmas wonderland mason jars.

Let’s begin!

SUPPLIES:

  • Small Christmas themed figurines or ornaments
  • Small (pint sized) mason jars
  • Glue gun
  • Scissors
  • Fake snow
  • Iridescent glitter
  • Decorative ribbon

First, go through your collection of small Christmas inspired figurines or ornaments.  You can buy these type of Christmas figurines or tiny ornaments anywhere from a craft store to a thrift store or who knows what you might have lying around in a box in the attic filled with last year’s Christmas decorations.

Next, put together a little Christmas scene with your figurines.  Usually no more than 2 figurines fit in the mason jar, so I would pick a bigger, statement-like piece.  For me it was the teddy bear and then a smaller accent piece like this North Pole sign or even one of those Christmas trees.

Then, warm up your hot glue gun and apply a good amount of glue on the edges of your figurines.  I had to first glue the bear and sign together to make it one piece so it would be easier to place, but I found this is not necessary.  You can easily plop the pieces in the mason jar separately.

Now, this is where I got innovative. I wish I had a pair of longer tweezers because that would help me hold the figurines together to place on the bottom of the mason jar, but leave it to my mom to give me a nutcracker with tape on the edges to make it less slippery.  It did the job because my hands were a little too big to put inside the jar to stick the figurines down. If your hands are tiny weeny and can fit all the way in the mason jar, you are lucky! But if you need a little assistance, I recommend a pair of tweezers, pliers, or get creative and use whatever you have around the house, like a nutcracker.

When you get your little ornaments to stick, I would gently press them down to make sure they aren’t going anywhere.

Next, it’s time to make a winter wonderland inside of your mason jar by pouring some of this fake snow in a cup and then carefully coating the bottom of your mason jar.  Use as much snow as you want or like (we all know how much I hate snow) so I only applied a small coating but just enough to lightly coat the bottom of the mason jar.

To make the snow sparkle, generously sprinkle iridescent glitter all over the inside of the jar.  Unlike with snow, you can never have enough sparkle.

Now, put the cap back on your mason jar.  I decided to leave out the middle part of the cap, because I want a little light to shine through the jar, but it’s up to whether or not you want to seal your jar completely up.

Finally, we don’t want only the inside of the mason jar to be the center of attention. S o, I decided to tie a cute little bow around the lid of the jar.  I chose this Christmas decorative trim which features this red and white stripe candy cane like pattern, but you can choose whatever color or ribbon your heart desires.

And that’s it! Sure, this is not a “real” snow globe because it’s missing the water, but who has time for an extra step or extra mess.  These jars still resemble that authentic snow globe feel to me, but the best part is they are a whole lot easier to make.

There’s no better time to DIY than the holiday season.  Let me know in the comments below what you think about this craft or if you have any other fun holiday crafts. If you are looking for more holiday DIY inspiration, check out my wine cork reindeer craft from last year.  Remember, if you try out this craft don’t forget to tweet me a picture of your mason jars waterless snow globes.  Happy holidays!

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Holding Onto Fall

Now that Thanksgiving has come and gone, the frigid temperatures seem to be here to stay, and it got me thinking that snowy weather is just around the corner.  I’ve never been a fan of the snow. Yeah, the first snow fall always looks beautiful and peaceful but after a few snow storms I’m over it.  Plus, have you ever walked through the streets of Manhattan while it’s snowing or after a big snow storm?  It’s a slushy mess that just makes my commute unbearable.  I’d rather an autumn wonderland than a winter wonderland, so before the snow arrives, I’m holding onto the fall season a little longer.  Keep on scrolling to read all about one of my favorite autumn inspired outfits.

Chenille is all the rage this season.  To be honest, I never really heard knew much about this unique type of fabric until recently.  After doing a little research on this fabric, I learned that the word “chenille” is French for caterpillar because the threads resemble tiny caterpillars.  My mind was completely blown away!  But it does make sense because the threads are very thin and rigid.   My favorite chenille sweater is this oversized sweater from Zara.  I love the burnt orange color which to me is the color of autumn.  The chenille fabric is so soft and cozy you never want to take it off!

The burnt orange, rusty, color looks best when paired with a dark wash colored denim.  My distressed boyfriend jeans from Madewell are the perfect match.  I’m not sure how long these jeans will last because every time I wear them the holes get bigger and bigger, but I still love them.  I guess they served me a good 4 years, but I’m still not ready to retire them yet.

To add a little more of the autumn color palette, of course, I had to wear my metallic gold slides from the brand Restricted which you can find at  Marshalls.  The metallic color really completes any look and pops against anything, like the pile of leaves in this photo.

Since my sweater has a low neckline, a choker style necklace is the best for pairing with this sweater. I’m really digging the mixing of metals like gold and silver so this cool spiked necklace from the brand Design Lab sold at Lord and Taylor’s has a mix of gold and silver that pairs nicely with my rust colored sweater.  Plus the spikes add an edgier vibe to this somewhat classic outfit.

Let the season begin of anxiously checking the weekly forecast to see if snow is on the way.  Am I totally weird to hate the cold weather and snow this much?  Let me know in the comments what kind of weather you prefer.  See you all in my next post!

Sweater: Zara (SIMILAR) (SIMILAR) (SIMILAR) (SIMILAR) (SIMILAR) (SIMILAR) (SIMILAR) | Jeans: Madewell (SIMILAR) (SIMILAR) (SIMILAR) (SIMILAR) (SIMILAR) (SIMILAR) (SIMILAR) (SIMILAR) | Shoes: Restricted (SIMILAR) (SIMILAR) (SIMILAR) (SIMILAR) (SIMILAR) (SIMILAR) (SIMILAR) |                 Necklace: Design Lab (SIMILAR) (SIMILAR) (SIMILAR) (SIMILAR) (SIMILAR) (SIMILAR) (SIMILAR) 

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