Six Ways to Style---Printed Shorts!

This six ways post is kind of our last hurrah to summer where we live. Squeeze every lost drop out of this short wearing weather is what we say! If you live somewhere where you get to wear shorts more than just three months out of the year, I must say, I am jealous. If you took even a tiny look around stores this summer you had to have noticed a HUGE trend in shorts....printed and patterned shorts. You could find everything from bold florals and aztec prints to subtle dots and stripes. Holly and I both enjoyed this trend and thought we could give you our take on styling these fun bottoms. I stuck with the same denim polka dot pair from the Limited while Holly played around with plaids and prints.

1. Cut it Out!
I picked up these chambray-ish polka dot shorts at the Limited and have found that they go with just about anything. I first paired them with this cool cut out shirt, also from the Limited. The shirt has the cut out layer and then a colored layer underneath. The colored layer is the ever trendy hot orange and I love it with these printed shorts. Watch out though--necklaces tend to get stuck in the little cut-outs!

Top: Limited (no longer available)
Shorts: Limited (similar)
Sandals: Marshalls
Necklace: Forever 21(similar)

2. Say it with Layers
These shorts have a small multi-colored plaid pattern. I just picked out a couple of colors and layered my tanks accordingly. The lime green accents are the perfect added detail to make this look pop.

Tanks: Gray- Old Navy (similar)
            Lime- Target (similar)
Shorts: Target (similar)
Necklace: American Eagle (similar)

Sandals: Herberger's


3. Dot your I's
I ended up purchasing this Lauren Conrad shirt from Kohl's after I saw the gray version on J's Everyday Fashion blog. It was super inexpensive but has high end details. The turquoise color looks fantastic against these printed shorts. I pulled it together with a navy light weight cardigan and a cream statement necklace. I went with nude flats to let the color on top have the limelight.

Sweater: Limited (similar)
Top: Kohl's (same) They have it in coral too!
Shorts: Limited (similar)
Shoes: Kohl's (similar)
Necklace: Groopdealz

4. Scarf--meet shorts
Love the color combos possible with these shorts. They have dk brown, lt brown, beige, mustard, and blush tones. These colors ease into the fall season, so I chose to grab a scarf. This outfit would be super cute with a mustard shirt and a cardigan if it gets cool out but you're still committed to wearing shorts. Heels to kick it up a notch! Pun intended...haha!

Shirt: Target (similar)
Shorts: Kohls (similar)
Heels: Target (similar)
Scarf: Home made by yours truly (Pinterest)

5. Belt it Out
One of my favorite color combos is mustard yellow and blue. In this outfit I use the mustard as my color pop and then accented with several shades of blue in the shorts, shirt, and necklace. The cognac belt and shoes are the perfect accent to this color palette. 

Top: The Limited (similar)
Shirt: Kohl's (similar)
Shorts: Limited (similar)
Shoes: Target (similar)
Belt: Von Maur (similar)
Necklace: Groopdealz

6. Tee it up
Turquoise Tribal print!! Love tribal print! All these shorts need is a white T and some color poppin' accessories. The shorts carry the entire look. It took me like two seconds to get ready... EASY!

Shirt: Target (same)
Shorts: Old Navy (similar)
Belt: Old Navy(similar)
Necklace: American Eagle (see link above)
Sandals: Herberger's

Trend Watch: Origami Owl

I have to admit. I was upstaged by my husband by something that had to do with fashion and accessories. Yes, I'm admitting it. He gave me the most thoughtful gift this past Mother's Day and I could not believe that I had never heard of it before then. It's an adorable home party based business--Origami Owl--that sells jewelry with a twist. Their main line of jewelry is a set of Living Lockets. You get to build a locket by adding charms and dangles that is super personalized and gorgeous.  Here is a pic of the one my hubby designed for me~

 

There are seven charms in mine (two are hiding in this pic).

Apple~ My teaching job

Camera~ My photography business

Treble Clef Sign~ My love of music

Mom heart~ My four ladies 

"I love you' sign~ Our special sign from his basketball days

Wings~ My business logo and fave symbol in general

Fish~ My faith

I eventually hosted a party soley in the hopes of getting some free Origami Owl loot from my ever growing wishlist. Several of the ladies at my party designed necklaces of their own and fell in love with this trend too--including Holly! I ended up with a stunning gold locket as well as a chocolate one and a rose gold one. I love that I can mix and match and change and add to my lockets whenever I would like.

If you are looking for THE PERFECT and UNIQUE gift to give someone in your life--this is it. I get asked about mine all of the time and love sharing my story of how my husband knew about a trend before I did! (I honestly get nothing for talking about this. I simply talk about trends I love and this is one of those...big time.)

Check out the Origami Owl story! It was started by a 14 year old girl hoping to save for her dream car. 

Want to order one? My O2 designer would love to help you out! kelleystiele@gmail.com

Trend Watch: Statement Accessories!

One of my favorite trends of late has got to be statement accessories and jewelry. If you are not familiar with the trend, statement accessories are bold, large, and colorful pieces of jewelry. Check out a few examples:

http://www.page-thirteen.com/2012/04/loving-statement-necklaces.html

These types of accessories really add a jolt of awesomeness to any outfit! I have purchased my share of statement pieces over the past few months. (Groopdealz is going to be the financial end of me!)
However, I have struggled a bit finding statement bracelets that fit my wrist. I tend to have to wear elastic bracelets in order for the bracelet to not dangle like a handcuff. Sometimes a statement necklace is not what an outfit needs, but a bracelet would do just the trick. While putting outfits together with my style partner in crime, Holly, she kept coming up with these stellar statement bracelets that added a simple finishing touch to her outfits. I begged her to tell me where she got them. Well lo and behold the little crafty gal MADE them. We immediately set up a necklace making playdate so I could have my own set of ready to wear statement bracelets. We even took pictures of our little escapade! Now you can make your own statement bracelets too and join the statement jewelry bandwagon!

Materials:

scissors--various statement beads in various colors--accent beads--stretch jewelry cord**--

**Do not make the same mistake we did. At first we went with elastic jewelry thread but it was nearly impossible to get it to stay tied in a knot. We finally found what we needed (and what Holly had used before) at JoAnn's. It is in the picture below.

1. Measure about 10 inches of the cord. We doubled ours for strength and durability. Elastic bracelet sizing is really up to the individual wrist size. 10 inches allows you plenty of cord to work with. You will then adjust, tighten, and tie it off to fit your wrist. It may take a few tries to get it just right, but you will! 

2. Lay your beads out in the pattern and number you would like in front of you. Thread the first bead to the end and tie a knot around it too hold it in place and to keep all the beads from slipping off the end and going EVERYWHERE. (Yes, this happened once. Or twice)

3. String the beads onto the cords in your pattern order.

4.  When you have strung all your beads, untie the bead at the end and carefully hold both ends. Gingerly slip your wrist through to determine the size you need your bracelet to be to slide on easily and stay put on your wrist. Once you have the size you want, tie the two ends (this is tricky because your cord is doubled so there are several strings in play here!) and cinch the bracelet down until it is completely rounded and the size you want. Secure this tie with a double knot. 

This mint is my fave. Swoon!

5. Once your are completely satisfied with the sizing, you can trim any excess cord. Rearrange the beads a bit so the knot is hidden inside a bead or two. Now put that bracelet on and work it!

See how many you can make in one sitting! Holly and I cranked out 12! We spent about $50.00 in supplies for our 12 bracelets. We still have plenty of cord left to make many more. Less than 4 bucks a piece and the exact colors and designs that we wanted!

We were so excited about our new bangles that we were wearing some when we took this pic! Ha!