My $3 Vanity Mirror

Hello!

Let's skip the small talk and get right to it! I bought this little vanity mirror and a junk shop for 3 big ones. I know, I know. So expensive ; ) I forgot to take a picture before I got started, but I remembered soon enough to be able to show you what the original finish looked like!

It was black with hints of gold and I really wasn't feeling it. It stayed that way for a little bit while I decided what to do with it. I contemplated a bright glossy color, but decided I wanted to give gold a shot. I looked in to gold leafing but decided that was more money and time than I wanted to invest.

I picked up a tube of rub 'n buff for a few bucks and went to town.

In progress.

This ^^^ was the finish before. Too dark/gothic looking for me. Here it is after the rub 'n buff:

It stayed like this for a while too. I liked it, but I never really used it. I usually stand up at my vanity to do my hair and make up so I never even looked into this mirror.

I still liked the way it looked so I decided, while doing this project, to give it a little chalkboard love.

I considered writing some confidence-boosting-esteem-building-tyra-banks-ish quote on it. 

Like so:

But then I decided to keep it real and write something a little more useful: 

Am I the only one who doesn't notice an annoying stray eyebrow hair until I get into the driver's seat and look in the rear view mirror? No?

 

 

This is crazy! I saw my mirror in a boutique in the Short North this past weekend. Theirs was painted a creamy white... and I kind of like it!

I think, for now, mine will stay the same.

Sincerely,

Ashleigh

PS:

giving a second life to lace

So it all started, when I visited a friend and saw this beautiful necklace made out of lace. It was in a gallery in Holland, MI and rightfully so. It was a beautiful work of art. Ever since, different ideas have been percolating on how to give lace a new life in other ways.

It's such a delicate material to work with. There are so many different patterns making each one you come across so unique. When I have a house of my own I want to display them more like my grandmother does.

This past Sunday, my ideas actually were brought to be by a vendor at a flea market in Brooklyn. It was a sweet old lady and her husband. I'm sure she had been a costume designer in the past. I like knowing where items like this are from. Each thing we buy has such a history when it's not bought in stores, but in places like this. Anyway, I will later post about this beautiful place, but for now this is what I saw. 3 dollars a yard. Eh maybe a bit pricey if you have a lot of sewing to do. But for me, perfect.

I bought three different patterns...and more soon I'm sure

The only supplies I need are a tiny travel sewing kit, (I'm going to have to upgrade soon. I left so much back at home!) the lace, scissors, & unwanted sports headbands (I seem to have so many just laying around) or any other ones you would like to use.

I chose a simple pattern.

A more ornate...

And a large banned lace.

For the first headband, I just measured the desired amount on my own head and then cut and sewed it together. You can choose colors that might blend in to the lace or I chose a quiet blue color to accent. Most of them it won't be seen if you just wear the overlapping part in the back. But it's up to you! (Normally it would depend on how much sewing practice you have!)

For the second, I separated the pattern thus creating a new image.

As you can see, the sewing doesn't have to be perfect!

For the third, I wanted to use the lace as is because it is so beautiful, but I wanted to add color as well as a little more support, so I found a thinner sports headband that fit perfectly in the space as seen above and just sewed about every couple inches down the line with a matching red thread. Too much color and variety would fight against the simplicity of the design. (You could also try super glue, but it would be more noticeable and wouldn't last as long!) For this method, you might have to cut the headband and then bobby pin in hair. If you're using a headband that is normally stretchy, it will no longer be once the lace is sewn. (see picture of final below)

No. 1

No. 2

No. 3

The whole process of making all three took no time at all. Just a playlist of your favorite music, a cup of tea and an inspired mind to put together your findings. Look around...lace is everywhere in vintage stores, flea markets, thrift stores. You don't even have to use lace that is older, you can buy it newer of course! I just like to find pieces that have more of past.

I hope you enjoyed this simply elegant look...happy Monday!

Sincerely,
Sarah

You should really diy

I went into this bakery a couple of years ago and saw one of the workers in the back wearing this adorable headband. My first thought was, why are you dressing up just to throw some flour around? Then I looked a little bit longer to see what materials it was made out of and realized, that's what it's meant for! After I stopped staring and making mental notes on how to make it, I stopped by the nearest Jo-Ann's and... that bag went straight to the back of my closet!

This summer though, I brought the idea back to life and finally put some pieces together...

match any of your favorite color combinations..old or new!

black, gold, silver thread? choose to let it blend in or stand out!

As you can see it's really only made out of three things..thread, buttons, and any headband that's soft enough to stick a needle through. The most durable here were just found at target.

I made several others, but gave them away to friends! ...Literally they take twenty minutes to make and they look casual enough to go to the grocery store or you could always dress them up as well.

Never mind the messy hair (trying to grow it out!)

I have so many more headband creations to share in future posts...Be creative not in what you make, but what you wear :)

Sincerely,

Sarah

PS: Linking this post up to Good Life Wednesdays @ A Beach Cottage !