Fashion Forward Fridays: Easy DIY Halloween Costumes

If you're anything like me, you're all about dressing up for Halloween, but don't always decide on a costume until the last minute. And as you know, from Halloween's past, I'm the master of a great last minute costume. For today's Fashion Forward Fridays, here are four last minute costume ideas that I created on Polyvore for you to use with stuff that you can probably find in your closet right now!

The costume of this is easy, the makeup is the part that will take you a while. But paint your face like a candy skull,
wear a black dress and make your accessories pop with color and/or skull jewelry.

Even if you don't have the exact hat Waldo wears, as long as you have the red and white stripes, you're good.

This would be a great costume if you're going to an outdoor event!
And since I'm sure you don't have the goggles that Amelia wore, aviator sunglasses will certainly do.

Great for a rainy Halloween weekend! And you could empty out the salt container to hold your wallet, keys and phone!

Which costume idea would work best for you? I'm not sure about my Halloween plans just yet, but if I do go out the Morton Salt Girl costume is calling my name. So cute and simple! What are you doing for Halloween?

Be safe this weekend & Happy Halloween!

Guest Room Makeover

This little makeover might seem a little plain, but hear me out. Since moving in with my brother in January, the guest room has been such an eyesore to me. Eric's house is connected to the church where he is the pastor and they, 1) don't really want us to paint, and 2) left us with awful curtains, so just getting those out of the room would have been good enough for me.

I don't think I can explain how annoying these curtains were. Like a weird purple-pink color with little rhinestones pasted on in random floral designs. Not to mention, Eric and I have had a bad habit of just throwing our leftover comforters on the bed in that room and there was nothing on the walls, so it was just bad. Nothing went together and we usually left the door closed so we weren't looking at the space. Now, it looks like this. (And the door stays open.)

The bed frame and vanity were already in the room, thanks to the church donating them to the house.

I painted this little pot to match the frames and added an old alarm clock for good measure.

Pinterest told me that having a wifi picture would be helpful for guests and I thought that was brilliant.
But I don't know if our neighbors read my blog, so no close ups of the picture I made for our network & password.

This chair and a desk were bought at a yard sale for $5 - the desk is in my room acting as an over sized nightstand and
is holding my records and record player so the chair needed a home. Perfect little thing for holding towels.

Found this set of frames at a thrift shop and was going to paint them all white, but really like how they turned out.

This page is actually from a book that Eric gave me as a joke for my birthday last year called, The Art of Entertaining.
This was the only page in the book about guests and I thought it was cute to add to the room.

I've been planning to do a room makeover for awhile and since a friend of mine is coming up this weekend, I figured no better time than right now. And since my experience in other peoples guest rooms has not always been the most comfortable, I wanted our space to be different. I always feel like people put too much of themselves in a guest room. This isn't an addition to your personal bedroom, it's a room that anyone should be able to walk into and feel at home. I hope that's what this room is like to our guests.

So, who wants to come visit?

Chels Wears: Craft Show Vendor Chic

Boots: UrbanOG | Dress and & Ring: ModCloth | Jacket: TJ Maxx
Scarf and Cross Ring: WalMart | Tights: Target

I wore this outfit on Sunday to a small craft show I went to for Marion Claire Stationery. It was actually much smaller than expected, but for it's size, I did pretty well. I'm really about looking for the right places to sell and finding my best audience at this point. I know that my cards attract a younger crowd, but I still do well with older groups too, so I'm really trying out a lot of different shows and venues until I find which ones are my best fit.

This look might be one of my absolute favorites. My favorite boots, the army jacket I've been looking for forever, a new dress from ModCloth, and colored tights...winner right here. There will be a lot of remixing with this dress going on, I absolutely love it. I wasn't going to wear the jacket during the craft show but it was absolutely freezing in the venue, so the next time you see this dress, I'll try to make it a warmer look. Though I'm not promising anything because I'll probably be wearing this dress A LOT.

Fall Fashion "Needs"

Now that fall temperates are finally here, I've been noticing what I'm missing from my wardrobe for the cooler weather. Some are not really "needs" but more of wants just because with the weather, my taste is changing or I've worn out other items. Here's my short list of items I want/need for fall...

1. Wine Expedition Coat, OneStopPlus | 2. Foldover Combat Boots, Wet Seal | 3. Wrap Bracelet, asos
4. Lace Front Sweater, Maurices | 5. Knitted Tube Scarf, H&M | 6. Floral Headband, Aeropostale
7. Cartography Course Ring, ModCloth | 8. Skinny Jeans, Collective Habit

1. A fun, fitted, jacket. I love love love coats and have recently found the perfect army jacket that I feel like I've been looking for forever. So now I'm on the hunt for something with the military structure, but a cute feel to it and I think this coat from OneStopPlus is perfect. And I just love this wine color for fall.

2. Black combat boots. (Seriously a military vibe going on here!) I have a pair of tan combat boots but have been struggling to pair them with a lot of my wardrobe recently because they are so light, so I think a black pair would even that out. These ones are from Wet Seal and I love the floral pattern on the fold over part.

3. Leather cuff! I recently retired by beloved leather cuff because a snap on it broke. So I'm looking for one, preferably a double strapped one so it's not so similar to the one I used to have.

4. Sweaters. Honestly, who can have enough? I love this one from Maurices because of the lace front, it really gives it a great extra texture and makes it fun and different.

5. Plain knit scarf. I have a lot of pattern scarves and not a lot of really warm scarves. So having a neutral, cozy scarf is a necessity.

6. Headbands. I'm really loving headband looks recently and for some reason, tend to wear my hair up a lot in the fall so they help to style my bun head.

7. Rings! My newest obsession is wearing a bunch of them at the same time and recently got some lovely ones from ModCloth that I cannot wait to show off here.

8. Jeans, especially skinny jeans! I love skinny jeans anyway and it just makes so much sense in the fall and winter because they easily can be worn under boots.

What items are you in need of to complete your fall wardrobe? 

Fashion Forward Fridays: BLRG Gets Some Roots

You guys! I'm so excited about today's Fashion Forward Fridays post because Sam, from Broke Little Rich Girl, and I have been planning and talking about it all summer and now we've finally brought it together. I am such a proud little friend for Sam and her business that I cannot even wait to see the new addition in person the next time I'm back home.

If you remember a while back, Sam and her BLRG truck were featured on Fashion Forward Fridays and she's been on the rise ever since. Here's an updated interview with her about her next step with her fabulous business.

How did the idea for BLRG gaining a brick and mortar store come about? Was it always a part of the plan?
The original plan was to franchise my truck and I'm still open to that, however the store came about because my customers were always asking if I have a spot where I am most of the time so they can find me more easily to shop. I realized that women weren't just stopping by the truck to shop once in a while - they actually wanted to shop quite often and check out my new styles. I was also turning over inventory in my truck very quickly, which is a great thing, but women wanted new things and more of it so I opened a store! Now I'll have more of what women have come to know and love of Broke Little Rich Girl with even more size options, which was another request I get a lot. 

How does the truck play into this new role for BLRG? Will it still be traveling? 
The truck will absolutely still be out and about! I actually have events already scheduled for the truck after my grand opening day. The truck will continue to do home parties which is something a lot of people don't even realize I offer. I bring the truck to you with wine or cupcakes and the host gets 10% off their purchase at no charge. I have a few scheduled for the Fall. 

Do you see more trucks or buildings in the future of BLRG...or both!?
I would love to franchise the truck in the future and if I ever get to the point where I could open another store I would definitely do it. If the opportunity fits my brand and business and helps me achieve what I'm trying to accomplish then I'll always be open. 

What can we expect from the store that is different than the truck experience?
The style is still the same - very trendy, contemporary styles at an affordable price. That's the base of what my customers love about BLRG so that won't change. I will however have more pieces to share, more size options for my curvy Broke Little Rich Girl's, and the space is just awesome. Its of course filled with pink, black, and white fixtures, but its also very inviting and allows for a great and still intimate shopping experience - similar to the truck. The store will just be at one location at all times so everyone can always find me on 3816 Butler Street! 

So if you're in the Pittsburgh area, be sure to check out Broke Little Rich Girl!

This is a partnered post, I was not compensated and all opinions are my own.

I just happen to love Sam's business and stand behind her and BLRG 100%

Chels Wears: Warm Autumn Pattern Mixing

Bag, Jeans, Scarf, Necklace & Ring: WalMart | Top: Peebles | Boots: Urbanog

So recently, it has been pretty warm for fall around here. I don't mind because I heard that this winter is supposed to be the worst ever for this area (trusty Old Farmer's Almanac), and I thought last year was AWFUL. I hate snow and ice. But I really do like fall and the slight crisp feeling in the air, so it can start to ease it's way back in, just not full blown winter yet, please!

I have been in love with this top since I laid eyes on it. I really like the little zippers on the shoulders and the high-low look. Not to mention, it's really easy to do simple pattern mixing because the back has stripes but the front is plain. I'm a big fan. It's one of the only items I've bought from Peebles that I've been overwhelmingly pleased with. Usually I get something from there and, while it will do, it just slightly misses the mark for me. To be frank, I've bought a good bit of times from them, yet can only think of four items I have in my closet and actually love to wear from them. That's actually pretty sad, considering I have more items from the dollar store that I consider to be better clothing. Time to up your game, Peebles.

What favorite pieces have you fallen for recently?

Chelsea Lately: Fall Edition

I have really been awful at blogging lately and I hate to claim "busy" as an excuse, but that's all I got. I miss this community though, so I'm doing my best to prioritize and squeeze back in here. But, of course, it would help if you all knew what I've been up to since my last post. That's fair! If you're not following along with me on Instagram, get on it. It's my favorite app since becoming a smart phone user and best describes my day to day. Lots of greeting cards, lots of coffee, lots of my cat. Pretty much sums it all up. But here are some more fun things in between.

A lot of custom projects have come across my desk lately and I couldn't be more thrilled. The cards above have to be my most recent favorite though. They were made for a sweet couple and their little guy who is soon to turn one! I love this family and was honored to make these invitations for them for little Joshua's first birthday and baptism party. I like when clients have ideas and plans but also really enjoy when they give me free reign and that's what these guys did. For custom work, I always provide three different design drafts and then they pick a favorite and we make any necessary changes. So the final invitation really was a collaboration and I love how they turned out.

Besides custom work, I've been working a lot on my expanding greeting card line for Marion Claire Stationery. I recently realized eight new designs, four of which were these ones for the fall holidays. I'm almost ready to release my winter line, but want to hold off until November 1st if possible. I know that puts me behind in a typical retail sense but I really hate skipping over the fall holidays. Even though Christmas is really important, I wish we could give them all their proper amount of time.

I also recently started teaching a blogging class up here near Erie. It's really exciting to see blogging through the eyes of a newbie again. I have such a long history with blogging that I sometimes forget how exciting and interesting the whole concept is and it's fun to be able to teach a new skill to people who are all older than me. We've only had two classes so far but I've really enjoyed it so far and am thrilled to have been asked to lead this class!

And honestly besides that, I've been serving a lot of beer to people and renting out movies. I've been working so much lately and while it's good for the money, it really is tiring while trying to get my own business off the ground. There has been some good times with thrift shopping, and going to weddings too this fall so I can't say that it's been all busyness that's kept me away from blogging, but now that I'm teaching it to other people I feel like I should get back in the game!

What have you guys been up to?