DIY Cutout Halter Sweater

Okay, so anyone who follows me on Twitter, (which is like six people) know that I love Pretty Little Liars a whole bunch. I have no shame.
Emily Fields, who is simply gorgeous and my favorite character, wears something I want to own pretty much every episode. Unfortunately, I am super poor. If I'm going to spend money on clothes, I'm going to get it on super sale or at a resale shop.
When I saw this Alexander Wang sweater, I knew I needed to have it.
Imagine how sad I was to discover it originally retailed for $365 from Neiman Marcus.

(she wears it so well. swoon.)

I decided to attempt making my own.

I used this (the one on the right) pattern as a jumping off point, and got two yards of a heavy and soft black rib-knit.
About $26 and four hours later, this is what I ended up with!

I'd like to try it again and do something different with the neckline to make it lay a little better, but I'm really pleased with how it turned out.
And I saved about 320 bucks!

DIY Suitcase Chair

While I was online yesterday morning, (looking for a cool vintage satchel), I came across a photo of a suitcase THAT WAS ALSO A CHAIR. It led to a rapid and frantic search for photos of every other suitcase chair on the internet. I found a simple tutorial here.
I decided I had to try it ASAP, but I was a little underwhelmed with that how-to. I wanted to make it passable as a real, legit chair. That wouldn't, you know, fall apart when I sat on it.
I immediately went on a search for all the supplies I thought I'd need, and kind of made it up as I went along.

So grab your drills and old suitcase folks, because its time to get crafty.
I spent about $50 on this project total, which isn't too bad for such a rad piece of furniture. It took me longer to get the supplies than it actually did putting it together- finding a cheap, hard-backed suitcase is more difficult than I thought it would be.

I never know how I want to introduce a thing like this. I know the name is hokey, but I like it and that's what matters. I really like to make things. I love to dance. I find more life inspiration in trees than I do anywhere else. I want to keep track of interesting things in a more linear format than clogging up my favorites folder. (because really, I never go back and look at those things ever again anyway.)

Stan Hewitt Birch Tree Allée, 2011