The Retro Glam Girl Gets Crafty: Part 2

 

It's Christmas and like most people I have a lot of gifts to get but not a whole lot of  money to spend. Being that it's Christmas... I would love to be able to give gifts to everyone however that could be very expensive. I decided that this year I would make some gifts to give away with a card. Normally I would bake some cookies but this year I wanted to do something a little different. I have a small group of pals that meets for Christmas Cocktails once a year. Since gift giving tends to be expensive we normally decide not to do a gift exchange... but it's CHRISTMAS.... and I normally take something!

 

Since my pals have nice hair... I decided to go with hair clips this year. Since it's Christmas... I decided to go with RED ones. I found most of my supplies at the 99 cent store when I was looking for my turquoise Christmas balls. I saw the red bows...which I believe are meant for decorating the tree... and the idea just came to me. I was also lucky enough to find the hair clips there as well. Everything else I had at home. Total cost for supplies.... $2.00

 

 

 

 

I got out my glue gun and scissors along with a few other things and got busy. The first thing I needed to do was trim the gold thread in the back of the bows. I needed the surface to be smooth.

 

Snip

 

SMOOTH!



 

 

The next thing I did was hot glued the silver hair clips to the back of the bows. You need to be careful when doing this and make sure you have then going in the proper direction of where you want the bow to be on your head.. otherwise they may get glued on backwards.

 

 

Glued Down

 

I let them sit for awhile and cool. The next step is to simply decorate the front. You can do this with a number of different things like vintage buttons or trinkets. You can simply add glitter to it or small faux flowers. Because my group of gals like more of a dark theme..I went with some skulls and bats.

 

 

I had a bunch of spooky trinkets left over from Halloween crafts. The skulls and bats

were plastic rings. All I did was snip off the RING part and then hot glued them to the center of my bow.

 

 

Just like this.

 

I actually took these a step further and glued rhinestones (I had from another

craft) into the skull eyes and bat wings just to make them a tad more fancy. I also decided to make my own cards this year so I found some vintage holiday images online and printed some pictures which I then glued to index cards. I wrote personal messages on the back for each girl and attached the clips to the card. To dress the card up more ... I punched two holes on the top and then tied a bow in the center with some leopard ribbon.  Again I had the card stock and ribbon at home already so I didn't have to purchase anything but the bows and clips.

 

Christmas always brings out the crafter in me. These little bow clips were so simple and fun to make!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Retro Glam Gal Gets Crafty: Holiday Issue Part 1

 

 

I am huge fan of crafting. I love to sit at a table while sipping yummy coffee

while having a wonderful crafternoon. I get inspired by lots of things and always

love to use vintage items. I find many a vintage things in thrift stores. One of the many thrift shops I

visit has this large chest of drawers all devoted to crafts. The contents inside those drawers is

usually old and vintage. It's quite a treat.

 

Awhile back I had taken out my Christmas bins and was looking at all my wonderful

vintage Christmas décor. I have so much and not everything gets used every year. I decided to use some of these items in a new craft. My inspiration came from a vintage item I saw on Ebay.

I thought " I can do that!" and so... I did.

 

The first thing I did was gather my materials.

 

Some items were non vintage but they still had a vintage look. I was

happy that some of my vintage pieces were being put to good use. I wanted to make

little vintage Christmas trees to display as décor in that house. I bought a few extra so that I

could give them away as gifts to my vintage loving friends. The inspiration piece I saw

used vintage bottle brush trees however I did not have any so I went with white and green artificial

mini trees which I purchased at a discount craft store. My local dollar store had some great ornaments

that came 5 in a pack for 1.00. I bought some to use as stars on my trees. I especially felt the one that

said Merry Christmas was vintage looking.

 

What was also needed for this craft was a base for your tree to sit in. I had some vintage Santa mugs and was lucky to find some vintage Christmas plant holders at The Goodwill. One was a super cute boot and the other was a box with a Santa Clause on the side. While on the hunt for these things, I ran across Styrofoam cone shaped item in the craft section of the dollar store. I knew I could also use them as a tree so I grabbed two and headed on home to craft.

 

I had vintage balls and tinsel holly leaves along with beads, garland  and vintage ornaments. I also had a Styrofoam brick left over from another craft night. When I had everything laid out on my table, I began by taking the plastic base off my mini tree. This was easy as it simply unscrewed. Next I took my Styrofoam brick and sliced a small piece off. This is what would hold my tree inside the cup. I hot glued it inside my Santa mug and let it cool a bit. The tree had a wire point bottom, this slid easily into the foam base in the cup and held it tightly in place. When that was done I got busy decorating the little tree. I hot glued everything onto the tree. I thought it came out super cute!

 

 

 

 

 

Some of my vintage items were not perfect but I simply hid the imperfections

by either gluing the bad side of a ball to the tree so the pretty side showed. My Santa mug

had a small chip near the handle so I glued a cute mini red bow over it.

 

Next I decided to make a tree out of the cone shape Styrofoam piece I got a the dollar store.

I had a smaller Santa mug for the base which was perfect because it fit the foam tree nicely.

I glued the vintage silver tinsel around the foam, added some vintage red mini glass balls

to that and then glued a sweet vintage angel to the top of  it.

 

How cute is this?

 

 

 

My vintage Santa mug was not in the best condition. I didn't mind his imperfections

and thought they added to the charm of the piece so I left it alone. The hubs really loved this

one so we decided we would keep it.

 

I finished off the rest of the trees and then took a group shot.

 

 

I still have some left over pieces to used on another craft.

I think they came out great and I can't wait to gift them to my friends!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Retro Christmas Tree

 

 

We normally do a big green Christmas tree with lots or keepsake ornaments. This year I really wasn't feeling it. I longed for something sleeker, cleaner, crisper and... Mod. I was able to talk my husband into going with a smaller tree. One less bushy so ornaments could hang nicer. Then I talked him into going with a WHITE tree. I felt at this point I was on a roll so I took it a step further and suggested we do only ONE color ornament on this tree. To my surprise.... he said ok!

 

I wanted a fake tree and knew we would set out to purchase it. Because Christmas is so expensive we knew we could not spend too much. Since I also did not have Christmas ornaments in the SAME color.... I knew we would also have to... gulp... purchase these as well. The hubs said he had seen trees out in East LA and suggested we try it out. So we did. They have all these little five and dime stores around. We tried a couple stores and only found green trees. The third shop was the charm.

Inside we found a 6ft white non bushy tree for..... $14.99!

 

We took it home and set it up.

 

 

Oh Christmas tree!

 

It was exactly what I wanted and the hubs even approved! We went out in search of non expensive

ornaments for our tree. We ended up finding them at the 99 cent store! The colors were so pretty that it was hard to choose just one. Our color choice was Turquoise.

 

I purchased 3 tubes of pretty plastic turquoise balls for 1.00 a piece. I also ended up finding a Retro tree topper in silver there so I nabbed that as well. We took it all home and decorated our tree. I threw on a vintage Ray Conniff Singers Christmas album. The same one we listened to as kids. When all was done I turned off all the lights and admired our little tree.

 

 

It was perfect!

 

This little retro tree fit so well with our décor and it all cost less than 20 bucks.

 

Getting Ready For Christmas

I love getting ready for the holidays! I always get excited when I pull out my big bin of Christmas décor. Most of my Christmas décor came from thrift shops or estate sales. I seldom by anything new to put up around the house because the vintage items fit our style so much more. I don't really put out much as I don't like a lot of clutter but I do like to be festive!

Christmas Cocktails anyone?

 

 

I had everything already. The vintage glasses I got at a thrift store many years ago and the glass martini pitcher was part of a set my mom gave me awhile back. The tree swizzle sticks I got at the 99 cent store last year and the paper Santa coasters I got at an estate sale. The bamboo tray I had and do not remember where I got it. I just added some silver garland inside the pitcher for a more glitzy look.

 

 

 

The sounds of Christmas

 

I know I bought this album mainly for it's awesome cover. I had it for years and felt it was just what my bar needed. The vintage Santa was a candy dish. He sort has Gnome like qualities but I love him all the same!

 

 

Mistletoe and Holly

 

I has this vintage plastic wreath in a box in my garage. I believe it's actually meant for

a table centerpiece in which you put a candle in the center. My kitchen needed a little Christmas-ing.

I thought this looked like a wreath and so it is. The vintage gold Mod angels I found this year at Goodwill.

 

 

Vintage Art

 

I had found this sweet vintage card in a thrift store and wanted to send it out to my

BFF. I never got around to doing it because I loved it too much to write inside it. I figured it would look great as some art work on my bare wall. I just placed inside a vintage frame and added some

green felt like material.  Now it hangs above my record player.

 

 

Decking the shelves

 

More purchases from thrift shops many moons ago. I decked out one shelf on my little bakers rack in the kitchen.

 

 

 

Feeling crafty?

 

I had this Santa tray that I knew I wanted to do something with. I decided to turn it into a wreath. I used a mixture of vintage glass and non vintage plastic silver balls. The Merry Christmas and silver star on top I bought in packs at a dollar store.

 

Just a few simple vintage things to bring the Christmas feeling and spirit into our home!

 

 

 



Thrift Haul

 

 

It's true. I'd rather be doing this any day of the week! Lately I have found some really great things. It's always nice to be able to switch out a few things for some new to me thrifted items. I have bee working on ways in which I can wear a few summer things in Fall and Winter and I think I have it nailed! I have a basic black spaghetti strap dress and basic black strapless dress. Both cotton. When the weather gets cooler, I tend to stay away from arm bearing items. I have found that by wearing a blouse over these items and tying it in the center, I end up with a more polished work look that's perfect for the cooling temperatures.

 

 

 

Sort of like this cute gal

 

 

I liked this look SO much, that I went out and thrifted 4 more blouse to wear with the two dresses.

I got a polka dot one, a striped one, a sheer floral and a navy one. I believe they were only 4.00 each although 2 were half off so I got all 4 for 12.00! The skirt on both my dress is A LINE like in the photo above and with tights it's sure to look great!

 

I thought I would post some of my recent finds for some inspiration:

 

 

Vtg Halter Tiki Dress

 

This was all wrinkled up and even though it was made in the

1980's, I felt it had a more retro vibe about it.

 

 

Vtg Red and White Polka Dot Blouse

 

This also is an 80's piece with a much more

Mad Men vibe. I love that it has bow accents

and the color is wonderful for Christmas!

 

 

Vtg Red and White Print Dress

 

Once again, probably 80's. I saw the potential and

slapped a mini petti underneath.

 

Modern Dress

 

This sweet dress had the BEST print. I loved the Fall color of it

It is non vintage but I think it's super cute!

 

 

Modern R&K Originals Dress

 

I love when I find vintage or non vintage R&K.

The florals and polka dots are soooo sweet.

I can wear this with a little sweater on date night!

 

Modern Denim Look Dress

 

This one may have to wait til next summer!

 

I had all the accessories at home already and had fun playing dress up.

 

These are just some of the gems I scored recently. Stay tuned for more

as I am planning a thrift stop right after work today!

 

If I find some real great things I just may do another post!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Channeling Your Inner Lucy Ricardo and Betty Draper

I have always adored watching I Love Lucy. Not only was she funny, she also had such great style! Her outfits were always so well put together and she looked so marvelous in them! Whenever I see polka dots I am always reminded of her. I have a few black and white polka dot print items, a dress, a jacket and a blouse. I even have a red and white polka dot top. While out at an estate sale I ran across this little number and I just had to have it.

It's a vintage 1970's sheer poly navy polka dot print dress but to me, nothing about this dress screamed DISCO.  It has a V neck with faux white shell and belts at the waist. I loved the full skirt. The belt was attached to the hanger although I do not think it's the belt that originally came with it as the polka dot print is larger than the print on the dress but I did not mind at all.  It reminded me of Lucy and I just had to have it and at $1.00 who could blame me?

The sale was wonderful and it was stacked with many dresses and shoes most of which where from the 70's and 80's. While looking through them I was surprised at how much the prints and shapes reminded me of this lady.

The elegant housewife, Betty Draper!

I knew with some simple styling these dresses would be close to something she would have in her wardrobe so I was sure to snatch them up and yes, they each were only $1.00

This is a 1980's Vintage dress by Orvis. It's a rayon blend with a gorgeous aqua floral print.

It's full skirt is pleated and it buttons on the bodice with these amazing sparkly lavender buttons! It belts at the waist with original belt and has short sleeves. 

This one is also from the 1980's by Draper & Damons. It has a semi geometric print

in muted colors, full skirt, belts at waist with original belt, v neck and 3/4 inch sleeves.

This one is from the late 60's to early 70's by Willi of California. It's got a lovely floral garden theme is pastel colors. The fabric is a cotton sheer. This dress has long sleeves and a button up bodice, V neck and belts at the waist with a full skirt. 

I added small petticoats to these dresses to give them a bit more volume and give them a more retro look.

I also found this sweet apron which I think paired with the polka dot dress gives a perfect retro housewife look:

Once again my bargain hunting was successful. 

Til next time

The Retro Glam Girl

Retro Glam Styling....on a budget

 

thrifted retro embroidered peasant blouse $3.99

thrifted retro basket bag $5.99

thrifted denim like pencil skirt $4.99

 

 

Lately I have been tossing things out of my closet. I had so many items that I just did not wear anymore and they were taking up too much space. So out they went. It was a little scary to do this but in the end I was able to focus on having a better wardrobe. The items I kept were staple items.

I had day dresses, work dresses and fancy dresses. I had blouses for work and play. I had 3 pairs of jeans and a bunch of tees. I felt good. I did notice however that I what I did not have was a pencil skirt. I browsed online for the perfect pencil skirt and found one. It was 17.99 which I considered good (it was on sale) however there was 6.00 shipping and tax and the whole thing would be close to $30.00. I couldn't justify spending that on just one skirt.

 

A few days later while on my lunch I headed out to a little thrift shop. As I browsed I stumbled across a very nice black pencil skirt.... IN MY  SIZE! I took it into the dressing room for a quick try and wouldn't you know it... it fit like a GLOVE.  It was black and had little to no wear to it. It had a bit of a stretch to it, was a cotton blend , zipped in back and had a little slit. It was by Jones New York and was only $3.99. I snatched it up quickly and took it home to see how many outfits I could create with it!

 

The hubs and I ventured out to a few local thrift shops recently. I was looking for some sweet summer like staples ..vintage or retro. I was able to find a retro white embroidered peasant like blouse! I had been wanting one for awhile and was so glad to have found a pretty one in great condition. I was also able to find another pencil skirt but this one resembled denim! Skirts are so great for summer and I think having two retro pencil skirts is perfect!

I normally look at the handbags first when I thrift. I was looking for vintage or retro summer basket bags to take on my Vegas trip next month. They had a retro one however the clasp was broken and it was not in very good shape for 5.00 so I passed. While in the knick knack section I found this sweet cresent mini pic nic basket. It had a handle and a latch and it was in GREAT condition! It was 6 bucks but I didn't mind so much it was sooo cute. I was thinking of putting some faux fruit on it like cherries. Will do a post on that soon! I can't believe the money I saved and I didn't have to compromise my style. Sometimes its not easy to find exactly what you are looking for but I have found that if you frequent the thrift stores...you will be surprised on what you do find.

 

 

I also stumble across some other goodies I bought for my shop so stop on by!

http://stores.ebay.com/delovelydelux