DIY

DIY Graphic T-Shirt in Less Than 15 Minutes

Published on January 30, 2018January 30, 2018 by PeculiarPorter15 Comments

Are you ready for the easiest DIY ever? I actually did this DIY 15 minutes before I left for a shoot with a few local bloggers. It is that easy. All you need is a crew neck shirt, iron-on patches, scissors, an iron, and a sprinkle of creativity. Slap that all together and you get a boss babe shirt. Just in case you need a few pointers here and there… I’ll offer you my words of wisdom.

If you have no idea what you want your graphic-tee to say, go on Pinterest.

I’m a big fan of quotes. I even have my own little album on Pinterest you can check out for inspirational quotes. I actually asked one of my friends what I should put on my shirt and she gave me this idea. We studied abroad in Italy and had the most incredible time. This little Italian saying means “The beautiful life.” Something that I strive to have each and every day. You can easily make fun quirky sayings like “Boss Babe”, “Just Be Nice”, or “Gobble Till Yah Wobble” (perfect for Thanksgiving). I also like the idea of making a graphic tee that says “we are all connected” and iron on the letters in a big circle. The options are limitless!

Try on the shirt and mark where you want the letters to go with a safety pin.

Before I started placing my letters to their assigned seats, I decided to put on the shirt and pin where exactly I want the letters to go. Since your fabric may stretch when you put on the shirt you want to make sure you mark it so that it is placed in the correct location it needs to be. I’m so glad I decided to do this because I was picturing the letters much higher than where they were supposed to go.

Buy more than one pack of letters.

I had no idea what I wanted to say on my shirt so I grabbed two packs of Horizon Transfermations from Michaels. They have a few different fonts online that are different from what I saw in the store (my brain is stewing with new possibilities now). If you know what you want to put on your shirt you may only need one package but I needed two because I used three “L”. Better to be safe than sorry! If you don’t want to drive to the store they have endless options on Amazon.

Lastly, be creative.

Place the words in different areas. Make the words descend downward like stairs, have them all scrunched up in the middle, iron them on your sleeve, iron them in the bottom right corner. You can do so much with different placements, colors, and fonts. I love this simple DIY just because it has so many different options. Plus, you get to show off your personality in a fun, new way.

Stay tuned for Thursday where I’ll show the full post on how to style a fun graphic like this. Plus, if you want some other wicked cool DIY inspiration click on here. I’m trying to come up with a few DIYs this year to spice up my wardrobe so stay tuned.

What kind of graphic t-shirt would you like to make? Any fun sayings? Let me know in the comments down below. Who knows… I might make that shirt next!

As always,

Instagram | BlogLovin’ | Facebook | Twitter |Pinterest

Best of 2017

Published on December 29, 2017December 29, 2017 by PeculiarPorter5 Comments

How is almost 2018? Honestly, I’m super excited because I hate sevens with a passion. Bring on lucky 18! Before I dive into thinking of resolutions and all that hocus pocus, I figured I’d reflect on all the madness that happened this year. After all, I graduated and become a “functioning” adult. Without further ado, here are my top six posts from 2017 that sum up how 2017 went.

What I’ll Remember Most About Siena College

Obviously, I had to get overly sappy when graduation was all over my mind. Now I’m eight months out of college and still miss it daily. Everything I talk in this tear-jerking post remains true eight months later. So… Siena College, can I go back now?

How to Make a Crop Top Appropriate

It was so awkwardly hot and cold throughout this entire summer that I had no idea what to wear half the time. Luckily, a crop top and a suede jacket were able to save the day. This post has become one of my most read fashion advice posts and I totally get why. If you think you can’t pull off a crop top… definitely check out this post. You can rock anything, girlfriend.

DIY Blake Lively Jeans

This outfit was definitely my most risky outfit of all of 2017, and I couldn’t be happier with the outcome. This was my most visited post from Pinterest (hellooooooo DIYs). Check out how you can recreate these pants and awkwardly put them in the oven like I did. I am definitely planning some more possible DIYs for 2018.

What to Wear to a Summer Barn Wedding

My cousin got married this past summer and it was an amazing ceremony. Seriously, go check out this post just to see the decorations. I fell in love with this dress so much that I bought a similar one in blue. Hey, if it’s working don’t fix it!

The Ultimate Styling Trick to Stay Warm

This post is definitely something I need to revisit in 2018. Hello, it’s going to be -7°F on Saturday. I’m literally crazy enough to agree to go skiing for my first time Saturday… wish me luck! I’m definitely revisiting this post and coming up with some new tips for the negative degree weather. Also, I’m obsessed with this sweater. It’s like wearing a statement necklace without having to think about putting one on.

How I Maintain My Sanity During My Daily Commute

After graduating, I was able to land an awesome job that is an hour commute. I decided to share some of my best tricks to maintain my sanity (hint: podcasts are key). Check out podcasts and audiobooks I love so you can keep sane too.

What types of posts did you like in 2017 and what types of posts would you like to see in 2018? Let me know in the comments down below.

As always,

Instagram | Pinterest | Twitter | Facebook

Don’t forget to add me on Instagram to get updates on blog posts. Plus, I’m slightly obsessed with the app so I want to check out your life as well… is that weird?

Spring Outfit Recap 2017

Published on June 20, 2017June 20, 2017 by PeculiarPorter13 Comments

Hello darling! Guess what day tomorrow is? The first day of summer. It is crazy how fast time flies. I’ve already graduated a little over a month ago… and guess what… yesterday, I accepted my first job. I’m incredibly thrilled and excited to start my new position as a social media coordinator in two weeks. I’m so happy I can finally delete the ZipRecruiter and LinkedIn apps off my phone. Bye-bye job search and hello working girl status.

Styling Jean Jacket

Billie Jean is Not My Lover

I was extremely excited to buy my first jean jacket. I know, it is probably super embarrassing that I’ve never had one before and I should hide all evidence that I never had one before. Luckily for you, I’m pretty open with you guys and I show how I made this jean jacket my own.

DIY Blake Lively Jeans

Okay, I’m completely biased but this post is 100% my favorite out of this spring collection… maybe even my favorite post on my blog. I show you how you can turn a cheap pair of jeans into this chic, boho pair of painted jeans. If you need some spunk in your current wardrobe definitely check out this post. You could even do it to a pair of shorts.

How to Get Away With Wearing Pastels, Pleats, and Polka-dots

If mint pants aren’t your cup of tea these ones are about to. Sometimes polka-dots can be tricked to pair with other elements, but I show you how you can add the perfect amount of sassy to your favorite polka-dot pair of jeans.

What I’ll Remember Most About Siena College

Okay, so if you click on that link be prepared for a tear jerker. I think back on all of the amazing times I had at Siena college and try not to cry my eyes out. Also, I show case all of my friends rocking their best formal gear.

Senior Cruise

This senior event was a little bit more casual than our formal but all the seniors still killed the game. I’m already counting down the day until the next time I can wear this blue dress. P.S. it is on sale right now and comes in black!

Siena College Champagne Toast

Take a sneak peak into one of the best traditions Siena College has. Plus, I show you a peak at all our graduation caps.

Siena College’s Graduation

Ahh, yes the dreaded moment where we all enter the real world. I’m not going to lie I balled my eyes out at graduation when they played a sappy video of all the moments the class of 2017 shared together. 63 days until 100 days post gradation where I get to see the lovely class again.

How To Spice Up a Graphic Tee

Let me show you a few of the tricks I have up my sleeve when it comes to styling a graphic tee. Graphic tees are definitely a key fashion piece for any fashionista.

Stripes that Flatter

I’ll admit, finding the right stripes for your body can be a tricky adventure. Check out a few of my tips on how I find the perfect stripes for my body.

Why You Need Pointed Flats in Your Life

If you don’t already own pointed flats in your life check out this post on why you’re making the biggest mistake of your life. Nuff said.

Now one of the biggest updates I did this spring was create a Facebook page where you can keep up to date on my blog posts. I’m going to start posting more on it so I’ll hopefully see you stay up to date on some of my fun posts coming up. But if you want to see the best inside scoop on what my day to day life is I would check out my Instagram. I’ve been on a following frenzy so I’ll be sure to check out your Instagram as well.

So what was your favorite look? I’m between my DIY post and my Graphic Tee post. Let me know in the comments down below.

As always,

Instagram | Pinterest | Twitter | Facebook

DIY Blake Lively Jeans

Published on April 4, 2017April 5, 2017 by PeculiarPorter28 Comments

Hello darling! Happy April! I’m so happy it is finally not March (my least favorite month). March just always seems to draaaag on. No worries though, it is finally April and the flowers are hopefully going to start popping out like jack-in-the-boxes.

I’ve been wanting to try and DIY a pair of jeans for the longest time. I always see this epic post from brit.co floating around Pinterest, so I decided to try it out for myself. After hunting high and low for a pair of distressed boyfriend jeans at Marshall’s, I finally found this pair made by Abercrombie Fitch. If you want to find my exact pair you can look high and low for it at Marshall’s or find a similar pair here, here, here, and here.

Since I already had acrylic paint, I decided to use that and paint on my jeans. I started out with a glob of white paint and just splattered it all over the front and back of my jeans. To get a more “painty” look I started just rubbing the faded paint brunch of the pockets and edges of my jeans.

Tip: Make it easier to splatter the paint get a big brush and glob a ton of the paint with the brush tip. Also, it is going to fling back at you so be prepared!

For the tree branch, I decided to use a thin brush to make the branch first. I put one on my left back pocket, bottom left leg, and right upper thigh. To make the flowers, I mixed 4-5 pinks and purples in order to get a colored contrast.

Tip: It is really hard to use a brush for this process (trust me, I tried), so I tried a plethora of Q-tips instead. They really helped blend the different colors together.

After I painted my jeans, I wanted 24 hours for it to dry. Since I used acrylic, I wanted to figure out how I could make sure the paint wouldn’t wash off or flick off when I washed them. This blog recommended that using heat can actually set the paint. So, I really didn’t want to use an iron because I didn’t know if it would ruin it. The blog recommended putting it in the the oven for a very low temperature. So, I did and now my paint is pretty secure.

As for the rest of my outfit, I wanted to keep it really light like my pants. I opted for a white button down from American Eagle and a lace bandeau from Francesca’s (the white is sold in stores). I also wanted to add a little bit of fun with my pointed flats.

Would you ever paint a pair of jeans? My next adventure would be trying to recreate the Ralph Lauren painted Jeans. They look as if an artist kept touching his or her leg because the paint is coated on the thighs in various colors. Also, the rips in the jeans are also strung together with string. Let me know in the comments if you would ever paint a pair of your own jeans!

As always,

Instagram | Pinterest | Twitter | Facebook

New Year’s Eve OOTN

Published on January 6, 2017January 12, 2017 by PeculiarPorter4 Comments

Hello darlings! It didn’t feel right to not show my wonderful pictures from New Year’s Eve on my blog. Although we didn’t take many picture of the night, it was definitely a night we won’t forget.
I’ve never really done the New Year’s Eve to the movie standard. Usually, I end up at one of my wonderful friend’s homes and we just have calm night. This time we decided to do it a little differently. One of my college friends got the brilliant idea to go to Hoboken, NJ for New Year’s Eve. At first we were all pretty reluctant because of the heavy $90 ticket that would get us.. and I quote “umlimited bar, party favors, food, and a champagne toast” at Mill’s Tavern. Eventually, we sucked it up and shelled out the money. Goodness, I’m glad we did. Although the food consisted of one chip, the night was definitely worth shelling out the money. We danced, laughed, and had an all over great time. Plus, what better time to celebrate New Year’s Eve in a loud bar than with your close friends and in your 20’s?

I ended up wearing this dress from Boohoo. I’ve never ordered from them but for the price I spent on this dress I was pretty impressed. I decided to alter it… a lot. I put a safety pin on the high leg slit and low slit on my bust. I actually closed up about 5 inches of skin on each end. I decided the dress need a little.. something so I sewed on a bunch of beads from an old, cheap necklace around the waist. I’m pretty happy the way it came out.

How was your New Year’s Eve? What did you do and what did you wear? If you wrote a blog post about it I would love to check it out. Link it down in the comments.

As always,

Monthly Favorites: January 2016

Published on February 4, 2016February 4, 2016 by PeculiarPorter12 Comments

Hello darlings! I used to do monthly favorites a couple of times last year. I want to start doing them a little bit more frequently. They’ll range from favorite recipes to new videos I have found. I hope you enjoy!

I’ve always loved the “100 years of __” and I found this wonderful one showing 100 years of fitness! I thought it was so cool.

I’m obsessed with this candle from Bath and Body Works. It smells like if you put happiness into a bottle, filled it with red apples, and then sprinkled cinnamon on top. I am aware that it is a fall scent, but I’m someone who loves fall smells. I really can’t get enough of them. I’d be totally okay if fall lasted all year long.

This month I’ve been obsessed with the color Bobby Dazzler by Butter London. I wore this color for New Years Eve and loved it. It’s such a statement nail polish because it looks like you put tin foil on your hands. All night long I kept looking a my hands admiring the color.

My favorite jewelry of this month has to be these three rings from Francesca’s. I received them for Christmas and I have worn them very, very frequently. When I do a look book you’ll definitely see some of these rings in the pictures.

Favorite DIY of the month: My dream catcher! Mind you I only did one DIY this month, but I’m literally obsessed with how this came out. Every time I go in my room I look at it. If you missed my post on in click here.

Favorite photo of the month has to be this one. It was the first photo taken this year and I love it. It pretty much reflected how little I did over the winter break… thinking about that now that I have a few essays due next week!

What is your January recap? Did you do anything fantastic or did you fall in love with a new product? Let me know in the comments down below!

As always,

DIY Dream Catcher

Published on January 29, 2016 by PeculiarPorter2 Comments

Hello darlings! I’ve been wanting to get a dream catcher for quite some time now. I looked on etsy and eBay and they are actually pretty expensive and none that I really loved enough to buy. So I figured I could probably make one myself… I mean how hard could it be?

Step one: Go to A.C. Moore or another craft store and pick up your supplies.

Supplies

Giant spool of string
Beads of your choice
Fake flowers
4 different styles and sizes of ribbon
Super glue or hot glue
Wood Embroidery Hoop

The total should be around $15-$20.

Step two: Separate the outer circle and the inner circle of the Wood Embroidery hoop. It’s up to you which one you want to be the hoop. My dream catcher is made with the inner circle and my friend is doing one with the out side hoop. You can use the clasp for hanging the dream catcher or you can make a string to hang it.

Step three: Wrap the string around the hoop so it covers every part of the hoop. Warning: This takes a very long time. It took me about an hour.

Step four: Put as many beads as you want on the string you are going to use to create the web. Depending on the size of your dream catcher you may want to do more or less beads. I put about 100-125.

Step five: Wrap the spool of string loosely around the dream catcher. While you are doing this, space out the beads evenly.

Step six: You then put your string though the middle bead of each loop. This is going to create the outside circle of your web.

Step seven: You’re going to put the string in the hoop you just made. You are going to continue all the way around the circle. After making the first lap around the dream catcher, you’ll want to continue putting the string in the newly made circle until you cannot do it anymore. The picture below shows the beginning of this step.

Step eight: Put a bead on the last hoop you made. This represents the “spider.”

Step nine: Super glue the last string to another piece of string on the web… that is how I did it. Many websites show that they tie the last piece off. I couldn’t figure out how to do it, so I ignored their instruction.

Step ten: Cut your ribbons at different lengths and tie the longest ones in the center. This creates a more voluminous look (thats why people get layers in their hair). Make sure it’s not too drastic of a different length or it will look choppy.

Step eleven: Cut the fake flower stems and tie them on the dream nature with one of your ribbons. Feel free to wrap them all the way around, both sides, or just one side like I did!

Step twelve: Tie an extra piece of ribbon to the top of your dream catcher. This will be used to hang your dream catcher.

There you have it! If you have more questions on how to create it you can look at the guide I looked at or you can comment on this post! I’ll be sure to answer any of your questions.

My friend, who I made the dream catcher with, was joking and wants to sell them on Etsy now. Maybe with practice, haha!

If you have any fun DIYs let me know! I had fun making this

As always,

Sunday Snapshot: First Week Back

Published on January 24, 2016 by PeculiarPorterLeave a comment

Hello darlings! I hope you all had a marvelous week. This week I went to Boston to celebrate my Granddaddy’s 90th birthday. We ate at one of the oldest buildings in Massachusetts. It was so lovely seeing all of my family because it’s been a few years since we were all together. Sadly, my uncle has the group shots of us all so I can’t post them. Here are some pictures of what I ate. Yum.

The next day (Monday), I left to go to school. We pilled many, many things into the car. Butch was obviously devastated when we had to say goodbye again.

This year I’m living in a wonderful townhouse. It already feels weird living in a house instead of a dorm. I feel a little grown up because I can actually cook and not shower in a public bathroom. I haven’t taken many pictures yet because we’re still putting things together. I ordered a tapestry from India on eBay and I’m super excited to put it up. Don’t worry, I’ll post some pictures of everything once it’s all organized. For now, here is my desk with little Christmas lights.

I also made this wonderful dream catcher Friday/Saturday. I’ll be posting about it this week so be on the look out for that!

I picked up these awesome cupcakes from Cocodots for my friends and myself. If you’re a student at Siena they give you a free cupcake for every one cupcake you buy. One of my friends was feeling a little down so I was hoping a cupcake would cheer him up.

I also made my favorite crock pot dish. Woohoo. It’s rice, black beans, red beans, chicken, salsa, and spices. I love it. I always get super excited when my dad makes it at home and now I can make it whenever I want!

I didn’t have a very exciting week on the blog, but I’ll be sure to make up for that soon now that I’m getting back into the swing of things. How was your week?

As always,

DIY College Sweatshirt

Published on May 15, 2015March 20, 2017 by PeculiarPorterLeave a comment

Hello darling! There is something about making yourself stand out in a sea of people wearing the same thing. When I go to the Siena basketball games, I want to stand out. That is how I thought the crazy idea… why not revamp my college sweatshirt?

Everyone at my college loves wearing Siena sweatshirts. I mean why wouldn’t you? They’re comfy, soft and super cute. My bookstore was selling this sweatshirt for a wild $15. I’m such a big spender aren’t I? I ended up buying beads in Siena’s green and yellow colors for about $5 and then white beads for the boarder for about $5. You can find similar beads at Michael’s and they have them in so many different colors.

Advice: Buy beads in different shapes and colors so the final product had as an interesting texture to it. However, make sure the bead opening is still the same size or might be difficult to sew on.

To attach the beads you’re going to need a toooooooon of string. I put all of the different beads in one big ziplock bang shook it up. That way when I put on the beads it was randomized. I then sewed on a couple of beats at a time and stuck them on directly to the sweatshirt.

Advice: Make sure you’re not sewing too many beads on at once! If you do you’re going to have to go back and fasten them on more carefully by stitches over them vertically. The heavier the strand is the more likely it is to droop. Try sticking to 2-4 beads at a time.

Once you are done sewing on all of the letter beads make a boarder! The boarder makes a huge difference! I recommend a basic color like white, black, or navy for this. The boarder will definitely make the colors pop!

P.S. It is a very time consuming project so watch TV while you do this, do it while traveling in a car, or even at the beach. Just know that it does take a very, very long time. (I hope your college doesn’t have more than 5 letters like Wesleyan, Roger Williams, or Lafayette).

Let me know if you try out this awesome project! I’d love to see pictures of the final out come!

As always,

DIY Pearl Bead Straps

Published on January 4, 2015May 8, 2015 by PeculiarPorter4 Comments

The other day my strap broke in the wash machine. This shirt was one of my favorites so you can only imagine how reluctant I was to throw it away. So I thought… What do I do? I ended up cutting both of the straps off the shirt and then sowing on strands of beads. Now this shirt I thought I had to throw away is now one of my favorite shirts times two.

As always,