Exposed kitchen shelving has been something that we've talked about doing in our home for a while. We've been very hands on when it comes to renovations since purchasing our own home and, I can tell you, there's nothing quite like seeing the finished product everyday and thinking, "I did that."

Summertime DIY

To me, summertime is the best time for some DIY. Whether from sea shells at the beach, or bright colors from your garden, there's inspiration everywhere and my creative juices are flowin'. As you know, we love us some Sauza and when we saw their latest YouTube video, "Make it With A Cowboy," we were inspired to do a little DIY of our own. What better way to get into the summer state of mind then over a fresh, Sauza-rita and a little DIY? Below are a few basic steps to turn an old pair of jeans into your own DIY shorts ("jorts"). But, if crafting isn't your thing, you can scroll all the way to the bottom of the post to watch the video I was telling you about. It stars a hunky cowboy who makes his own pair of jorts, whoohoo! Also, I have a few more of the best Summer DIY's I've found, so be sure to check those out too (you can find my complete list on Pinterest)!

How To: DIY Denim Shorts

What you'll need: jeans, scissors, tape and a (not pictured yet) fork

Lay your jeans out flat, matching up the seams, and place a piece of tape across each leg. The tape will be your cutting guide.

Make sure when you're measuring, you decide if you want the top of the tape or the bottom of the tape to be your cut line. Otherwise, you might accidentally shave off an extra inch!

I'm a huge fan of the boyfriend trend, so I decided to keep mine a little bit on the longer side and make a pair of boyfriend shorts. These same instructions will work for a shorter pair though.

Using a fork, scrape downwards, against the seam to create a more distressed hem line.

My shorts already had a light distressing, so I just roughened them up in those pre-distressed spots with the fork.

Voila! My new distressed, DIY, boyfriend shorts. What do you think?

Get Extra Crafty With Five More Summer-Y DIY's:

DIY Rope Necklace | All-Natural Summer Beauty Recipes | DIY Shell Hair Pins | Embellished Sunglasses | DIY Twisted Back Tee

Ever think you could make jorts with a cowboy? Here's your chance to meet a man who crafts his heart out. Okay, so maybe he's not the best DIY-er. But what he lacks in cutting skills, he more than makes up for when he makes the perfect Sauza-rita. Watch him in action for ideas for your next ladies' night in: http://bit.ly/1juaLln.

Disclosure: Sauza® is a registered trademark of Tequila Sauza S. de R.L. de C.V. (“Tequila Sauza”) and is used with permission. The information, comments and ideas expressed on this website do not necessarily reflect the views or opinions of Tequila Sauza, its affiliated companies or any of their directors or employees. Tequila Sauza does not sponsor, authorize, or otherwise endorse this website.

Polish Play

Nail polish; So many options, so little time! It's like a hobby for me, trying out new colors. My nail color can even determine my mood, so much that it's hard for me to chose one a lot of the time. As a result, my new thing has been playing with different color combinations. Recently Sally Hansen asked me to try out their new Triple Shine collection. They sent me five, Spring hues to try and the first thing that came to my mind was how I could mix and match these gorgeous, bright colors. I came up with three, punchy color combinations, all inspired by things that came to mind when I think of Spring and Summer.

My favorite combination was Reef-Raf (Pink) and Dive In (Turquois). You can see above how I went about mixing the two by applying one color on my first three nails and another on the last two. Speaking of applying, the thicker, flat brush Sally Hansen has created might be the best thing I've seen all year. It made for such easily application, perfect for those of you who enjoy at-home mani's, like me. The polish painted on smoothly and even and is left looking so shiny that it looked almost wet after it dried. I seriously love it! See below for all three color combinations that I came up with. I hope that you give them a try, and if you do, be sure to use the hashtags #TripleShine or #TurnUpTheShine so we can check them out!

Disclosure: This post was sponsored by Refinery29 x Sally Hansen

America

I hope everyone had a great Memorial Day weekend! I am back from the lake, feeling refreshed as ever. I even got a little tan going, wahoo! I thought in honor of yesterday's holiday de America, it seemed appropriate to share a fun, clothing DIY that I did last summer - DIY American Flag Shorts. Now you have just enough time to get them going for the Fourth of July.

Check out the full outfit post and tutorial here!

DIY american flag shorts

see the full outfit post here!

1. Supplies: Jean Shorts, Star Stencils (we used Simply Stencils), Painters Tape, Red + White Fabric Paint (we used Simply Spray), and a Paint Brush (a foam brush works well)

2. Chose your denim wisely. I used a pair of jeans i picked up at a swap shop and cut and frayed them myself. I've already been getting questions on how to fray denim, so I am working on a tutorial post, but i can tell you now that i just use a fork!

3. Place a peice of newspaper inside the shorts so that no paint bleeds through on to the back side of your shorts.

4. Spray the fabric paint on to another peice of newspaper, enough to coat your paint brush over and over. Apply paint to your foam brush, and using your stencil, paint on your stars in white.  Make sure to hold down the stencil (or even tape it down) to ensure crisp edges.

5. Tape off the right side of the jean, one stripe at a time, and paint on stripes with the red paint.  Make sure your tape is firmly attached to the jean to ensure crisp edges.  (I can't stress this enough. I messed mine up the first time because my tape wasn't attached well enough, so I sprayed the entire right side red and applied white stripes once the red had dried entirely.) Also, make sure to tape off the pockets, belt loops and waist band.

6. Let it dry!

 
7. Have a Happy Fourth of July!
xx
n&e

Image via What I Wore

american flag shorts

finding a pair of american flag shorts was harder than i thought. in my troublesome search, i realized, i can totally make that (something i say far too often). i researched a few DIY's and came up with my own DIY for my pair of american flag denim. now, i couldn't be more ready to sport my fourth of july fashion tomorrow! what's everyone doing to celebrate?

a quick tutorial on how to make my flag cutoff shorts will be up soon. feel free to email/comment with any questions you may have! it was definitely a tricky one for me. my game plan changed a lot throughout the process, but i just love how they turned out. i especially love that i can say, "i made them." and don't my red, white and blue chucks just match them perfectly?

White Tee Dress (worn as shirt) | White Bandeau Bra| Tommy Hilfiger Jeans (DIY cut and frayed by me) via the last Dew Drop Clothing Swap | Converse Chuck Taylors | Sephora Cream Lip Stain (01)

a DIY dress

{do} hike up your pleated, maxi skirt.   what does one wear to meet Bravo Andy (Cohen) at Bethesda's Front Row event?  a DIY dress, if you're me.  and no, i'm not a master seamstress, i was just apparently feeling extra creative on this joyful day of getting to meet Andy, and decided to wear a skirt as a dress.  ever since the madness began back in february, when i bought anything and everything Missoni for Target i could get my hands on, this Missoni (for Target) maxi skirt has hung in my closet, pretty much just collecting dust.  we all have those untouched pieces hanging in our closets, right?  the reason this super cute skirt hasn't had any action though is because i just don't enjoy the way it hangs as a skirt, or maybe i've just become bored of it.  either way, i decided to hike it up, and i made myself a dress.  i enjoy it's new length, it's chevron pleats, and the simplistic-chic look it creates.   

Missoni for Target Maxi Skirt | BCBG Wedges | Zara Mini Shopper | Stella & Dot Jewlery

"it's not about what you wear, it's about how you wear it" (yes, i just quoted myself.)