When little boys are told not to throw snow at each other . . .


It can be just as much fun to load up both fists . . .



Take aim . .


And launch it straight up in the air to land on YOU.

I made these DIY leather gold-dipped bookmarks from an old coat. Get my complete how-to at Dollar Store Crafts.

More leather DIYs coming up.

 I've been looking for some quick inexpensive DIY gifts for an upcoming trip. Search 10-minute DIY and you'll get a mess.

I should have checked out my own blog first. I have 20 right here, including my most popular post of all time, the Talbot's inspired necklace from your own stuff, which can be done in five minutes, really.


The Kate Spade mini clutch is another five-minute job.


The felt flower pins are maybe 10 minutes.


The dip dye necklace is five minutes to make, five minutes to dye.

The Anthro inspired ruffled scarf is 10 minutes.

Then there are 15 more.

• Chunky chain necklace
• Dish towel art
• Dyed lace bracelet
• T-shirt bracelet
• Rope bracelets
• No-sew curtains
• Lace tote bag
• Fashion week wire necklace
• No-sew faux fur pillow
• Scarf to bolero
• Acrylic storage trays
• No-sew ruffled tank top
• Lace frame jewelry holder 
• Modern tree branch silhouette art
• No-sew bed skirt

Sixteen out of 20 reuse something you've probably already got.

Set the kitchen timer. Go!

Some friends of mine recently moved out of the Hotel Bossert in Brooklyn  Heights, which is being converted from apartments back into a hotel.

I took the opportunity to take some photos of the now empty lobby and roof lounge. The "Waldorf-Astoria of Brooklyn," the Bossert was built in 1909 and renovated in the late 1980s.

My husband's first apartment in the city was here, which he shared with three other guys back when the place was a rat bunker.

Highlights are the ornate restored ceiling, mural, rooftop view and those fabulous fabulous chandeliers.











Manhattan reflected in the Bossert's roof lounge window.


One of the last lobby guys.


The Hotel Bossert in its new incarnation as a boutique hotel is scheduled to open next summer with rooms at $300 a pop.

The iconic and now ubiquitous J. Crew bubble necklace,which sells for $150, is now available at your local mall teenybopper store for around 12 bucks. If you actually paid $150 for one, sorry to burst your bubble necklace (har).

The bubble necklace has been knocked off by Etsy and Ebay sellers for under $20 for awhile. But now you can save yourself the cost of shipping by picking one up from Wet Seal (pale coral, mint and ivory), Charlotte Russe (red, yellow and white), and Rainbow (cobalt blue, deep coral and black).

Wet Seal currently has the necklace 30% off with 99-cent shipping. The Charlotte Russe necklace is 20% off. The Rainbow necklaces are only available in store and range from $8 to $12.

Personally I now own two and long for more due to their immense size and pleasing Fibonacci-like design.

Do you own one yet?

A few months back I picked up six yards of sequin fabric at a thrift store with some vague notion of cutting off a piece to make a sequin collar and giving the rest away. It sat around for months.



I would like to tell you I finished the edges or sewed on some backing but I didn't. It seemed just find the way it was.

For the winter it's been put on a chair as a decorative throw.


Sequin fabric can run $20 a yard, so this isn't the cheapest throw you'd ever "make". But a real Moroccan wedding blanket is about $800. 

As promised, here are a whole stack of things you can make with sequins - elbow patches, wall art, chair backs, a photo booth, camera strap, pumps, tote, skirt, pocket tee, shorts, clutch, blazer and the ever popular sequin collar three ways.

Technically, the one right below is coins, not sequins,but you get the drift.















There's a version of the sequin collar DIY using sequin trim rather than fabric at Thanks I Made It and another one from Life's Obsessions that uses sequin trim to embellish a shirt with a collar.

Here's some affordable sequin goodness for your closet or home. Some DIYs are on their way.