There are plenty of other really interesting home decor items that would be totally transformed just  by a fresh coat of paint, like picture frames, small figurines and sculptures, pots for plants and small furniture items like end tables and book shelves. This is the week that I start [...]]]>  

There are plenty of other really interesting home decor items that would be totally transformed just  by a fresh coat of paint, like picture frames, small figurines and sculptures, pots for plants and small furniture items like end tables and book shelves. This is the week that I start moving things into the new studio space and am sure there will plenty more decor pictures and ideas to be found here over the next few weeks. I also imagine you will be seeing me live a lot more too now that I have this fancy dancy iPhone I can share a quick video from anywhere. I realized today how stressed out I get having to use multiple devices to share a simple idea and how many more of them may actually reach you now. Now go forth and paint some things and send me your pictures.

Hey rebels! So apparently summer is here in the mid west and I am NOT complaining at all. Not to mention all of this sun has me bursting with lots of plans and ideas for additions to my warm weather wardrobe.  So this week I got started by going after one of the items from [...]]]> Hey rebels! So apparently summer is here in the mid west and I am NOT complaining at all. Not to mention all of this sun has me bursting with lots of plans and ideas for additions to my warm weather wardrobe.  So this week I got started by going after one of the items from last weeks thrift haul . Do you remember the emerald and black printed button down?

I love the color and print of this shirt but wasn’t so sure how I wanted to make it more my style. I knew I wanted a dress/tunic out if it and after playing with some different variations in my head I ended up with this TWO PIECE Bustier and Skirt set.  And I love love love it!

I decided to keep the button fronts on both pieces and return the collar to the new and plunging neckline. So there is still a hint of the shirt remaining, but the more I worked with the fabric the more I loved it and was feeling like making just ONE thing from it wasn’t enough.

Making it two pieces let’s me wear it as a matching dress or as separates with other items.

I am really pleased with how it turned out and will definitely start considering more of these two piece items for future projects. What a great way to keep your wardrobe simple but interesting by having just a handful of interchangeable pieces. The other thing this project brought to my attention was how much I learn about the technical parts of sewing with every project that I do and thought I would start adding a small sewing lesson post soon after each one that teaches or explains about something that I learned during that project. Would you be interested in such a thing? Are there sewing questions or skills that you would like to know more about to improve your own projects? Leave some suggestions in the comments and keep a look out for a sewing lesson post soon.  Until then enjoy the rest of your week. xo

Yeah I know, total bad ass right? Well I sure felt like one during my lunch date with my man, who took me out on his motorcycle today. I felt it only necessary to dress the part of the lady on the back of a beast, referring to both the man and the [...]]]>

Yeah I know, total bad ass right? Well I sure felt like one during my lunch date with my man, who took me out on his motorcycle today. I felt it only necessary to dress the part of the lady on the back of a beast, referring to both the man and the bike. wink wink. My shorts are freshly cut from vintage, mid-rise, faded to grey, black jeans. And it was my theory that if I turned my tights so the run was in the front it would look intentional, maybe even trendy. Vintage shades and belt, over the knee socks, my favorite spring jacket from Hellz Bellz (it’s many years old) and my stand by boots, The JC  Leather Shifter are what tie this outfit together and make me born to ride. Hahaha so cheesy. But wait, I can’t leave out what’s under the jacket.

This top is a reFind Project from what seems like forever ago and still my love for it is fresh. It came from an ill fitting turtle neck, but I just couldn’t walk way from the color or print which is how it came to have a peter pan collar and lace bib cut-out.  Now this project happened before I knew about sewing stretchy things so the collar is actually a separate piece. Lucky for me, seperate peter pan collars are all the rage right now, so keep your eyes out for it with other outfits in the future. In the mean time you should make one for yourself.

You will need

tracing paper, pen, scissors, pins

and a machine or hand sewing tools (i.e. needle and thread)

fabric for your collar

lining fabric for your collar

closures like hooks, snaps or ribbon.

To make a collar that matches your top, seek out a turtle neck you like and remove the neck. Other wise find a fabric you like and trace out the shape of your collar. You can use the tracing paper and follow the neck line of the shirt, then create the shape for the  collar. You only have to do one side and then fold your paper in half to trace the other. This ensures it will be even, or use a pattern like this oldie but goodie from transient expression.  Also if you chose a closure, like ribbon, you’ll want to pin that in during the right sides together step.   Then stitch around the edges leaving a portion open to turn your work right side out. Stitch slowly as curves can be tricky and you want every thing to lay flat. Turn out, press and enjoy.

Sundays for me are always a balancing act between just relaxing and attempting to start AND finish every project idea I’ve ever had. So this Sunday I made it a point to keep my to-do list light and enjoy the perfectly warm day in this cute little mod dress Mr. Jones picked out [...]]]>

Sundays for me are always a balancing act between just relaxing and attempting to start AND finish every project idea I’ve ever had. So this Sunday I made it a point to keep my to-do list light and enjoy the perfectly warm day in this cute little mod dress Mr. Jones picked out for for me. It’s something I would never have grabbed for myself, but he swore it would be great and as is often the case with him, he was right. I even cut my bangs to match. I didn’t get a great shot of the neckline, which is a folded over boat neck, but when I realized I had forgotten to take photos and dusk was setting in, I just pulled over on the side of the road on the way to dinner to take these. My profile shots are me watching for cars and my camera was crooked, sitting on the hood of my car, Ha.

Now, when I said I wouldn’t have thought to grab this dress myself I meant, I love polka dots, but am not a big fan of yellow. In fact when I was getting dressed I looked for some complementary item I could wear like a belt, pair of socks or even something for my hair, but literally the only thing I own(ed) that had any yellow on it was this can of Coconut Juice with Lime (which, by the way, is a current favorite of mine). I do think I will start looking for a pair of old 8 eye lace up Dr. Martin Boots with yellow stitching now though and I wonder if yellow is a color that will creep into my wardrobe now that my hair is dark.

But here’s one thing that goes with everything I own.  A vintage ” franken leather” carry all turned camera bag.  I gasped when I found it buried in a purse bin while thrifting as I knew immediately what it was destined to be  and was totally fed up with using the cheap and useless bag that came with my camera. On the up side, that cheap piece of junk did end up being good for it’s padded inserts. I made only minor adjustments and transferred them into this beauty. If you think about it, the most important part of what makes a camera bag different than any other bag are those padded inserts. Thus making it possible to make just about any bag your own custom camera bag by cutting thin pieces of foam into the sizes needed and cover them with your fabric of choice. I found a very in depth tutorial over at Lil Blue Boo. But if you’re not down for all that but still  want to support handmade Martilena is a shop on Etsy that makes custom inserts for you. And per usual, if you make a reFind Camera bag send me a picture. I would love to see it! refindrebel@gmail.com

Hello again, I am a bit pinched for time, but I feel like I am on a roll with staying in touch with you that I don’t want to break the momentum. Today is about running errands and getting organized for me, so jeans and a hat it is. This particular hat has [...]]]>

Hello again, I am a bit pinched for time, but I feel like I am on a roll with staying in touch with you that I don’t want to break the momentum. Today is about running errands and getting organized for me, so jeans and a hat it is. This particular hat has been coined the “patchouli lovin’ smurf hat” by a friend and I agree with what it’s 70′s color and floppy fit might suggest…….but I genuinely like it. I also reDiscovered these vintage clip on earrings I found long ago in a Ziploc full of jewelry at an antique store. Unfortunately at the time my gauges were too small to wear them thru but I couldn’t get them to stay on over my plugs. I considered attaching plugs to them via super glue and am glad I never got around to it because they are just perfect now hanging through my tunnels. I was also so excited to realize that they match perfectly with the LSD Secret Garden Ring Mr Jones gave me over the holiday.

I added a little flare to the denim jacket I wore in my last outfit post by adding a couple of my favorite pins. One of which is from some new friends we recently met when our friend Derek from The Homeless Gospel Choir (watch for a new album soon) came to visit last weekend. He and a band called Harley Poe are on a short, but jam packed house show tour right now and we were more than happy to put them up for the night. Seriously fun guys, and the show was great. If you like vampires, blasphemy and the stand up bass as much as I do definitely check out there music and if you can catch a show.

Now I do realize that if it is cool enough to need a hat and jacket, it’s probably not warm enough to wear sandals but I call it optimism and let my toes get some air in my studded gladiator sandals. Pretty sure these were a Buffalo Exchange find one summer in Chicago and these Vintage Art Nouveau Sunglasses are from a BE in Seattle. So that does it for  today. The road waits patiently for me to get a move on.

xoxo

Outfit Details

Slate “Dexter” Thermal – Target

DIY Black Skinny Jeans

Vinatge Denim Jacket

“I Love Mopeds”, “I am Loved” and “Harley Poe” Pins

Studded Gladiator Sandals

“Patchouli Lovin’ Smurf” Hat – Forever 21

Vintage clip on earrings

Vintage Art Nouveau Shades

I cannot even begin to imagine what number I would be up to had I started documenting my thrift hauls when I started seriously shopping at thrift stores in my teens, but I figure in the bigger picture I am really just getting warmed up so starting now will be good too.  As you already [...]]]> I cannot even begin to imagine what number I would be up to had I started documenting my thrift hauls when I started seriously shopping at thrift stores in my teens, but I figure in the bigger picture I am really just getting warmed up so starting now will be good too.  As you already know I am pretty impulsive with the scissors and often times have something totally deconstructed before I get out of the car….hahaha okay not that impulsive, but the likely hood of getting a picture of it first is unheard of. So let’s begin.

This is a pretty light one since I was on my lunch break and really only had 30 min. Typically I wouldn’t advise rushing a thing as important as a trip to the thrift store, or antique store for that matter, but I have been working these short trips in lately to help train my mind to see the best of the best in a short amount of time. Otherwise known as power thrifting.

So the first of the things I looked at and decided to keep was this black and emerald patterned button down. It’s a nice sturdy cotton weave and has interesting metal buttons. I see it as summer dress but have yet to decide if it will still resemble a shirt or if I should completely reFine it. The second shirt I grabbed was a black velvet turtle neck, which more than likely will become a long pencil skirt, but there will probably be some left from the sleeves for a velvet bustier too.

Next was this brownish/olive trench coat. It’s such a cute fit and is a color that intrigues me more now that my hair is brown. I am thinking studs, studs and more studs. Like this one from Burberry but totally agree with Kirsten at  Studs and Pearls that buying one for what I paid for my all of the cars I’ve owned in my life COMBINED is absurd.  It’s also nice to bring home somethings that only need embellishment and no structural change. DIY is the only way.

Finally is that gigantic floral skirt. I am not typically a “floral” gal, but I really like the pink of the flowers and that they are atop black. This also equals A LOT of good quality knit fabric. I immediately thought high waisted mini (another thing one should never buy) Worn with a pair of black tights and top would make for a very cute ensemble and I could make like 10 of them out of this, so there could also be a bustier in it’s future or what about a vintage inspired two piece play suit? Or all of the above! I love finding items that act as a multipurpose supply.

Well that’s it for today, I think I am really going to enjoy sharing these things and my ideas for them with you, talking about it is really motivating to get moving on them. I’d love to see some before and after pictures of your reFind thrifted projects.

Happy Thursday Rebels. I hope that what ever you’re doing today you are really enjoying it. This weather has me extra excited as it is incredibly warm for this time of year here and there is a wild wind whipping around which always gets me riled up. But the fact of the [...]]]>  

Happy Thursday Rebels. I hope that what ever you’re doing today you are really enjoying it. This weather has me extra excited as it is incredibly warm for this time of year here and there is a wild wind whipping around which always gets me riled up. But the fact of the matter is that regardless of the weather some really exciting things are happening. For beginners I am loving my new extensions! I was starting to notice the negative side effects of peroxide taking hold and decided to make a change (my changes are rarely subtle). So I went with a really long, dark brown and I LOVE it. My natural hair color is a couple shades lighter than this, as you might have seen in my last post, so this is the closest I have been to that in many years!! I had jet black extensions a couple of years ago and for similar reasons as these are sewn in, thus giving my own hair lots of protection and time to heal snugged up to my scalp. This color and length just feels SO good and I am full of ideas for new looks and projects. I do have to work at the spa, so my first outfit with them is pretty simple.

I wore a button up poly shirt dress I picked up during a recent thrift store excursion, It has a tie belt and is totally “witch meets librarian”, so it’s pretty much perfect. Over it I wore another second hand gem, this dark blue denim jacket and a pair of black on black leather Keds I snagged on sale at Karmaloop.

Oh and I can’t forget this all leather backpack I found for a mere 6 bucks and have been toting around everywhere since I got it. Love.

The next exciting thing has been starting to work a bit with the South Bend Roller Girls on a calendar project they are working on.  I met with one of the girls this week and will be getting started on a Pin Up inspired Wonder Woman outfit this week end…..eeeekkkk I am so excited and grateful for this opportunity, this is just the kind of thing I dreamed for The reFind Rebel to become.

And finally, if you have been by the shop lately you might have noticed it’s look pretty sparse. This is because… are you ready, I’ve rented a STUDIO SPACE!!!!! Yep that’s right, GutsGlamGlory will have a small brick and mortar location combined with my studio/workspace. So stay tuned as this will allow me more time for reFind Projects and room to expand the shop. I have so many vintage and handmade clothing, accessories and home decor items that have just been waiting patiently to be shared.

Not to mention the countless ideas I haven’t even broken the surface on yet. Thanks for all the support this far, I am so close to living a dream I’ve had for such a long time it seems surreal.

Recently, as I was fussing over the settings on my camera, cursing at my computer and damning my cell phone all in an attempt to capture my outfit for the day, I found myself reminded about the good ‘ol days. The days when what I wore was determined purely by creativity and imagination. When blogging, [...]]]> Recently, as I was fussing over the settings on my camera, cursing at my computer and damning my cell phone all in an attempt to capture my outfit for the day, I found myself reminded about the good ‘ol days. The days when what I wore was determined purely by creativity and imagination. When blogging, the seasons’ trends and  wondering if I will be comfortable for 8 hours at work weren’t even on my radar.  These were the days when draping bed sheets into elaborate gowns, loading my thin small arms with bracelets and feeling like dressing the part was all I needed to transform myself into anyone I could dream of was how I  filled my idle time. So the timing of the IFB project, A walk Down Memory Lane, really couldn’t have been better. It was fun to look through all the other entries and to look back through my own photos…..I really had it all figured out you know. I was also inspired by my younger self and her fearlessness,

Of all the photos I found,  this is by far my favorite and from what I hear neon is on it’s way back……Ironically, today I returned to long, brown, banged hair for the first time in years. It’s like I’ve gone full circle. I just wish I knew where that Groucho mask was.

I imagine that by now some of you who requested styling tips for maternity clothes no longer need them as you’re probably not pregnant anymore, but for the rest of you who are still eating for two here are some links, projects and style tips I’ve collected to help keep a little edge in your [...]]]> I imagine that by now some of you who requested styling tips for maternity clothes no longer need them as you’re probably not pregnant anymore, but for the rest of you who are still eating for two here are some links, projects and style tips I’ve collected to help keep a little edge in your fashion when everything otherwise seems soft and round.

1. Dinner Party Dress from Hatch 2.  Chic Savage Anti Tank Top from Mama San Maternity 3. Buffalo Plaid Dress  source unknown 4. Maternity Pencil Skirt from ASOS

So a great resource I found for sewing projects was this DIY Maternity site, and although her style isn’t super rebellious her projects are spot on and can easily translate to many different looks depending on the garment you choose for the project. Like these tops made from button downs. They would be super cute made from vintage men’s flannels and paired with leggings, like these, and combat boots. Wear a stocking cap and cropped leather jacket and you’re set.

The tutorials for both are here.

Probably the most common request I got was for pants, I hear good ones are hard to find and they are generally pretty stupid looking but I found this pattern and think the fit is pretty darn cute and classy.

The pattern for these is for making them from scratch, but there are instructions here for converting a regular pair of your choosing to be functional/comfortable with your tummy. Depending on how far along you are the DIY pair may not have enough of a knit band added so I would use the picture above as a reference for how it should look with more support. I am thinking a large t-shirt added to a pair of black jeggings would work well. You could also add a knit panel like this to skirts.

When in doubt, add a belt. Over sized tops are abundant at the thrift store and make for a great no sew option when finished with a belt at the empire line. Cuff the sleeves if they are crazy big. Add a long cardigan or infinity scarf an you are all set.

(image via Hatch)

And then there are skirts and dresses, which seem like they would be the most comfortable but also could be the most difficult to keep flattering. But Melissa from The Dear Baby Blog nailed it with her ladies room fashion shows, like in this one

A great no sew option using a large skirt (preferably with elastic in the waist) and wearing it with a knit top/tank. Pull the skirt up over your belly and belt it just under your billowing bosoms. It seems that empire wasted looks are the best to avoid looking like a tent. Wearing vertical stripes is also brilliant for adding pattern action while adding a lengthening look. For fitted dresses or tunic tops like this one from the maternity section at TopShop try gathering or “ruching” your side seams so you can show off your curves but have plenty of fabric to move in. This would be a great way to transform your man’s old band t-shirts into tops for yourself.

and I know it would seem funny to look for a mini anything, but a cropped sweater or jacket would be a nice addition. Like Jessica Alba in this Burberry Prorsum Cropped Biker Vest.

I can only imagine how crazy it must feel to try to keep up with fashion when so many thing are changing in and around you, so try keeping your wardrobe simple with some basics and adding interest through your accessories. Like this dress it’s so cute and just adding accessories makes it really versatile.

Additional thoughts.

Go Boho. Lightweight, flowy layers always look great on pregnant ladies. Like with maxi dresses, asymmetrical skirts, scarves and long jackets.

Wearing platforms let your feet stay flat while adding length to your leg and femininity to your outfit…..although I suppose it doesn’t get too much more feminine than pregnant.

Check out Top Shop, ASOS and Mama San for more style inspiration.

Happy Sunday! I am happy to announce that I am still in my P.J.’s and with the exception of a quick snack this morning I have spend the day thus far, in bed. So this outfit is actually from Friday.

The past two weeks have just seemed so jam packed that I have [...]]]> Happy Sunday! I am happy to announce that I am still in my P.J.’s and with the exception of a quick snack this morning I have spend the day thus far, in bed. So this outfit is actually from Friday.

The past two weeks have just seemed so jam packed that I have fallen behind on some things, but I have been so pleased with how well The GutsGlamGlory Spiked Headband Collection is doing that I haven’t minded committing my free time to filling orders.

1. Rebel Girl Tiara 2. Baby Penteratops 3. Penteratops

4. Little Miss Liberty 5. Lady Liberty  6. Tipsy Tiara

So now that I am fully stocked and prepared I had a chance to get back to the sewing machine for some personal projects, which I decided to wear all at once.

This bustier top is reFind from two thrifted knit shirts, I used the solid black one for some contrast and really like how it turned out. The knit makes it really comfortable, which is something I try not to trade for sexiness.

My pants are yet another pair of vintage mid risers turned skinny, and this time I added some leather patches to the knees. I am a big fan of knee patches and come to think of it, elbow patches too. The important thing to remember to make this project work is to put the patches on BEFORE you narrow the leg otherwise it will be too hard to sew them on. You could even use a patterned fabric for a more standout version.

and last but certainly not least are my newly Studded Oxfords.

I loved these shoes before, but now……mi amour. Here’s the thing about studding shoes though…..if they are coming all the way to the inside, you need a screw backed stud or spike so it’s smooth against your foot. Pronged studs aren’t great for this at they are pokey (learned this the hard way which resulted in a shoe causality this summer).

And I know you know this about me, but I love it when I have had a hand in every piece of my outfit, so from the head to toe this one is a winner.

So now I am headed into my studio to sift through the many projects that have been on hold but  will leave you with a few of my recent favorites from around the web. xo

Freezer Paper Heart Top by Lizzie from Cotton and Curls

DIY Boots on Emma from A Beautiful Mess

And thinking about summer……