Summer Thrifts and DIYs

This necklace holder is an older thrifted-DIY. I put it together several years ago and just painted it black a few months ago. It's been a great organizer, though. I like having all my necklaces on display - it makes it easier to choose one. It also looks nice on the wall. This display only has 9 places and I limit my necklaces to its capacity.

I can't take credit for the idea of using screw eyes in corks on a frame. I saw many necklace displays like this from various sources, and since I had all these components, it inspired me to create something similar. 

I acquired a gaudy thrift store frame, removed the glass, mat, and contents, and cleaned it.

I glued a small piece of sturdy cardboard to the back of the frame, and after it dried, I glued the corks in place. After the corks dried, I added three screw-eyes per cork. 

Guys - I'm a terrible DIY'er. I can't remember the glue I used to put this together. It may have been wood glue. But the display started coming apart a few month later and I repaired it with an epoxy glue. It's been sturdy ever since.

Here's my vintage swimsuit for the summer. The print is so not my style, (can I paint this black?) but I love the fit so much I can look past the neon colors. I've dyed over swimsuits before, but with the print and all the colors I'm pretty sure I'd end up with something weird and muddy. Anyway, it's still kind of cute.

I turned some thrifted jeans and shorts into light-wash cutoffs. My favorite jeans are skinny and dark, but my favorite shorts are just the opposite - light and over-sized. You probably know how to cut off your own jeans - if you want - and if not, there are plenty of tutorials online. But I've been doing it for years and just realized I could distress the hem more efficiently by using a box cutter (with a light touch).

I've heard the best way to get an even light wash on denim is to use bleach, but I don't like messing with bleach much, so I used Rit Color Remover. This type of color remover is not made for the indigo used in jeans, but it still lightened mine and left them splotchy, which I think is a great look for cutoffs, so I recommend using the color remover if you don't mind experimenting and getting uneven results.

Please share your favorite summer thrifts and diys in the comments, because I'd love to hear about them and am always looking to be inspired. I apologize for not always responding quickly here. I really do appreciate your comments. I usually see things and respond sooner on Instagram.

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