hand applique elbow patches...

i love valentine's day! 

hearts, flowers, glitter, pink, lips... what girl wouldn't love this holiday?!

so i wanted to put together some diy projects just for valentine's day.

one trend that i have been seeing all over pinterest is the diy elbow patch.

and in honor of this special holiday, i thought that it would be perfect to make some heart patches.

i didn't have to spend a dime on this project because i already had all of the supplies.

but if you don't have a shirt that you want to alter with patches- just stop by a thrift store and i'm sure that you can find plenty that will work.

i also luckily had some gold sparkly fabric on hand for my patches.

but if you don't have any fabric either, you can look at a thrift store for any clothing items made out of cute glittery fabric or any other type that you may want to cut up and use... {or just hit up your nearest fabric store!}

 ok, so here we go...

what you will need:

1.shirt

2. fabric for patches

3. iron and ironing board

4. paper

5. straight pins

6. needle

7. thread

8. freezer paper

9. scissors

10. pen

first, you are going to take the freezer paper {and i will explain why this is used later}, and make your heart template.

pin your template onto the fabric and cut around it. 

the fabric that i used unravels easily so i left about a half inch of extra fabric around the heart.

freezer paper will lightly stick to the fabric, making it much easier to iron the edges down.

if you are using a fabric that will unravel, it is important to iron the edges to prevent unraveling.

mark your shirt where your elbow patch should go.

slip your paper into the sleeve so that you can pin and stitch without catching the bottom fabric.

pin all around the heart.

start stitching!

if you aren't sure how to hand stitch- there are lots of tutorials on youtube.

i used a very small stitch to prevent unraveling.

but feel free to use a larger stitch if you are using more heavy duty fabric.

{this took me a while but i just turned on gossip girl and it was actually really relaxing.}

and you're done! 

faux fur...

does anyone else love this purse???

i found it at h&m before christmas and it was on clearance!

i could not say no.

anything made of faux fur kills me.

that is another style staple that i hope doesn't go away anytime soon! 

along with my leather leggings.

ohh my gosh i practically live in them! 

i try to limit myself to wearing them once a week.

how bad is that?!

seriously, they are my absolute favorite.

and i got them at a thrift store!

i have never been able to find a pair that i love more than these.

if anyone knows of a good affordable brand though- let me know because i'm definitely in need of some new leather! 

top: rue21

faux leather leggings: miley cyrus {thrifted}

shoes: mossimo {thrifted}

hat: forever21

purse: h&m

bracelet: charming charlie

boho love...

the boho chic headband is seriously one of my favorite things ever!!

i desperately hope that they don't go out of style anytime soon. 

one of my favorite places to get the pretty bejeweled styles is francesca's.

they have so many to choose from it's almost impossible to just pick one! 

i put together five hairstyles to go along with the boho chic headband. 

you can achieve so many different looks which is what i love! 

~~~

hello, 2014...

well happy 2014 everyone!

i decided that this super girly, sparkly, and leopard print outfit was perfect for the new year. 

i got these bottoms {as a christmas gift} from charming charlie.

and i discovered that leopard leggings are extremely hard to pull off when you are short and curvy! 

i completely wish that it was still as stylish as it used to be to wear skirts over leggings. 

a large oversized sweater would have been perfect but of course i don't have one!

i really should have one- everyone has one and they are so cute. 

so i had to get creative and go shopping in my own closet.

and i have to tell you- just about every single item i own was on my floor! 

it took me so long to find a top that went well with the leggings and was still flattering. 

so anyways, this is what i came up with! 

overly feminine outfits are the best- don't you think?

oh, and also- this scarf is from wal mart!

it's really hard to tell from the pictures but there are little gold sequins scattered all over it. 

i absolutely love it.

all of the scarves at wal mart were really cute actually.

sometimes that store can surprise me! 

pink top: petticoat alley via t.j. maxx

underneath top: collective concepts via nordstrom rack

leggings: charming charlie

boots: soda via t.j. maxx

headband: monroe & harlow {here}

scarf: wal mart 

necklace: charming charlie

have a wonderful first week of 2014!!