Designer Crush: House of Harlow 1960

I love Nicole Richie's House of Harlow jewellery collection. I love everything about it so hard. The shapes, colours, materials, all perfect. I could make this into a picture post with all my favourites but I would likely go overboard, so I'll keep it simple and tell a quick story instead.

Despite my love I only have a couple pieces (the black pyramid station necklace making regular appearances in my Etsy listings). They're a bit pricier and with shipping, duties and exchange rates, I must choose my pieces carefully. However, yesterday I discovered that not only is there a store in Toronto that carries HOH jewellery, but that it's walking distance from my home! WHAT. How did my frequent Googling keep this crucial knowledge from me? I had quite an emotional reaction when I realized that the jewellery I was browsing at Poor Little Rich Girl was ALL House of Harlow because I was just that excited. Maybe I overreacted, and maybe I'm overreacting now by blogging about it but dayum, gurl, I was thrilled. Imagine! The novelty of being able to shop a favourite brand in person. The shop owner released the kraken when she told me she'd order any pieces I wanted if they didn't have it in stock.

Anyways, I collected myself and left with a modest purchase of a pair of earrings and what was left of my dignity. But I'll definitely be making monthly visits because it would be unreasonable not to.

Pic swiped from shopbop.com

Happy girl!

SALE

It's SALE time! Out with the old, in with the new! 

Head on over to the shop to check out the deals. $5 and $10 off select items!

CHECK IT OUT.

DIY Spike Necklace

When a good friend of mine was visiting recently we made it a priority to visit Queen West which, for those who don't know, is Toronto's craft mecca. Tons of stores dedicated to fabric, beads, yarn, buttons and ribbon...mmm... My friend spotted these spikey beads in one of the stores and bought a few in gold. I thought they were so fabulous that I had to follow suit and voila! A DIY was born.

What You Need:

Pliers, wire cutters, small spikes, large spikes, jump rings and a clasp.

We found these spikes at Arton Beads in Toronto. They came in gold and silver, plastic or metal. These ones are plastic so the necklace is light and less of a weapon. Each pack came with roughly 25 beads at only a few bucks a pop. Not bad!

Cut two lengths of chain: 17 inches for the short spikes, 18 inches for the long spikes.

If you think you might want a different length for this necklace, always always always cut more chain than you need. Then you can trim to your heart's desire.

To attach the spiked pendants to the chain, you'll be using your pliers to open and close the jump rings.

Starting with the smaller spikes and the shorter chain, string the pendant onto the jump ring and slip it through one of the links in the middle of your first chain.

I started from the middle and worked my way out to ensure that my cluster remained centred. It's a massive pain to do all that work only to have to redo it!

Space them out about two chain links. The spacing totally depends on the size of the links of your chain so test it out. For my chain, I found 1 space left in between looked nicest.

Try to keep your chain as flat as possible when attaching your spikes.

Keep going until you have 2.5 inches of spikes (17 spikes), or, really, however many you want. You don't actually have to listen to me ;)

Once you get a ton of them on the chain they start to fall into a big cluster.

Move on to adding the longer spikes to the longer chain. Repeat the steps above in attaching the pendants however this time I left 3 spaces in between spikes, having a total of 3.5 inches of spikes (13 spikes).

When you are happy with how the spikes are looking, use two more jump rings to attach the chains (again, careful not to twist them) to your clasp and pow!

Ways to change it:

- Increase the number of spikes per chain.

- Increase/decrease the length of chain, creating more a different shape in the final necklace.

- Add a third strand of spikes, maybe a different colour.

- Paint the spikes using a bright nail polish.

Hope you enjoyed this tutorial!

Favourite Purses

I have a thing with bags, surprise surprise. Anyone who knows me knows that I have a LOT of purses, and that I think it's always a smart idea to buy more.

Warmer weather I want brightly coloured bags with thin straps. I tend towards smaller bags even though I am technically carrying way more things (sunglasses, water bottles, kites etc.) but cold weather for me means cross-body straps are mandatory. I cannot stand struggling to keep a purse on my shoulder while grocery shopping in a giant jacket. It usually ends with tears in the produce aisle.

Anyways, here are some pretty pictures of pretty purses.

My go-to summer purses. Both from Danier.

My favs. I use these whenever I can! L: A gift. R: Fossil.

Leather battalion. L: Gap, R: Hoakon/Helga (Etsy)

I've never been able to find the perfect black bag, however. It remains forever elusive to me. I guess that just means I'll have to keep an eye out to add to my collection!

Shop Update: Ikat

It's certainly been a while since I've added things to my shop. I had an explosion of inspiration lately so I can assure you that this round is just the beginning!

Click here to check out the new goodies!

Here are some of my favs:

Hope you like them! More to come in a couple weeks ;)

Tour de Mississauga // Apple Picking

On Sunday morning I did something I've never done before. I participated in a cycling marathon. As a sedentary person, this is a big deal. My parents and I did the 30km route in the Tour de Mississauga along with 700 other people and it was spectacular.

We started at Celebration Square in Mississauga and did a full loop of the south half of the city. The majority of the route was on multi-use trails, with the exception of some residential areas and the first part of the Tour, where cops shut down streets as we all poured out at once from the starting line. It was nice to see which major roads had designated trails (Queensway and Burnhamthorpe) so we felt safe the whole time!

Right up at the start line!

We were following the purple arrows, the green ones were for the 60km!

Along the Queensway, irresponsibly taking photos.

The first chunk was mostly downhill, as we were heading south towards the lake, and east on Queensway was flat and lovely so everyone was feeling great by the 20km mark. Then the uphill started. It was a gradual incline but that combined with an aggressive wind, I had a rough time. But I finished and honestly didn't feel too stiff! How naive I was...

I spent the rest of the day apple picking (because who on earth says no to an apple picking invitation, marathon or no?) and it was delightful.

Superb Royal Galas.

This orchard had the cutest signs!

After sitting down for dinner, something was off. My knees have always had issues so pain is received with exasperation and not concern. This time it was my knees and the lower half of my thighs. I waddled around for the rest of the evening, but the pain escalated to the point that I couldn't sleep because I couldn't move but also couldn't lie still. How the heck I fell asleep, I don't know, but amazingly, everything went away by morning. I have since discovered that it was a build-up of lactic acid that was causing the insane pressure. Now that I know what it was, I can prevent it because good lord that was enough to put me off physical activity!

Now that I am thankfully back to normal mobility and a pain-free life, I can get back to more exciting things, like updating the shop! Sneak peek:

Stamp!

Thanks for reading!

Camera Day

A little while ago, my friend and I took a stroll through my neighbourhood with our new(ish) cameras. It was green and delightful. Commence photo-heavy blog post:

The trail just south of my apartment is one of my all-time favourite walks.

Menacing tree roots.

It was sunny. And lush. And quite sunny.

Secret (okay not really) steps to Casa Loma.

Sneaking a peek at Casa Loma before heading back.

Psst! Shop update is happening by the end of this week! Excitement!

Itching to Knit

With the cooler weather comes the uncontrollable urge to curl up with a cup of tea to make cozy things with colourful yarns. Last year I made seed-stitched cowls, cabled boot cuffs and braided headbands. What should I do this year? I am leaning towards stocking up on pillow forms, thick yarns and whipping up a batch pillows for my bed, but for now here are some fabulous patterns I've come across lately that would make amazing gifts:

Devonshire Cream pattern by Laura Aylor

Chic Easy Shrug by Fine Craft Guild (sign up to view the pattern)

Herringbone Cuddler by Kara Mayfield

Follow me on Pinterest to see more of my favs!

Wednesday Wishlist - Fall

We have had a nothing summer here in Toronto. July had some exciting storms and stifling heat, but August was mostly cool October weather. I don't mind and neither does my AC-less apartment, however as we experience some humidity again, I find myself permanently in Fall Shopping Mode.

Case and point:

1. Avery Buttondown - Anthropologie

I tried this on in the store and fell in love with how soft it was! But alas, it's a wee bit out of my price range.

2. Driving Mocassins - Gap

Okay, confession time. Between planning this post and now, I bought these shoes and they are just the best. Why should I wear anything other than mocassins from now on?

3. House of Harlow 1960 Gypsy Feather Necklace

I have a mild obsession with HOH. This necklace needs to not be sold out anymore so it can never be taken off my body.

4. The Buena Vista Social Bag - ArcOfADiver

In love with this girl's style! Fabulous fabrics and designs.

This week is my birthday week and while I have already done quite a bit of fall shopping, it's very difficult to not buy the rest of the items on this list! Stay cool, Toronto!

Welcome Back!

Well, hello again! I am officially back in business after my Summer Hiatus. Sometimes it is so necessary to give yourself some time off, to recharge, relax, to step back and take perspective. Also, my apartment doesn't have air-conditioning so sewing was just not an appealing activity for a while. Anyhow, the time has come to get to get back into it!

I've bought tons of new fabric, I have many new ideas for the store, the blog...and maybe even something else entirely. You'll have to check back and see!

For now, here's a peek at what I've been up to.

Hanging out with Feathers of Gold at her craft show last month.

I got a glue gun so I promptly glued things to other things.

I recently moved into a new office at work and so decorating was in order!
More on that later, I promise!

Getting inspired to try some new packaging ideas...

Sneak peek at one of my lovely new fabrics!

See you soon!