Faux-hem. How-to.

I'm short. Like 5'4" if I haven't just come out of the dryer, short. So pants, jeans especially, can run long on me. As a wee one, I embrace heels. I love heels. But sometimes, a girl just wants the comfort of flats. I'm anti going anywhere but the gym when it comes to athletic sneakers, and I think the times friends of mine have seen me outside a workout situation in my sneaks is all of 2 times. I moved in flip flops. I'm that anti-sneaker. So sometimes my jeans run long, and I want to wear flats, and until just last spring, I just dealt with it. I let my jeans get walked on, which always ends up with ratty, torn, jean bottoms. Nothing ruins a pair faster. I would sometimes tuck my jeans under, but then you lose the hem stitch, and it can look a little funny. I've seen contraptions to work on your hems and shorten them, but again, you mostly lose the hem, or you have some flourescent, bedazzeled device hanging out at your hem and that's just not me. After googling "faux hem", "fake hem", "shorten your jeans keep the hem", and about a dozen other phrases along those lines, I've seen my fair share of how-to's, video tutorials, and weirdo contraptions to use on your pants. I've finally found a way that works for me, and it's really quite simple. So here goes. 4 easy steps to faux-hem your jeans.

Okay, not so much a step, but as you see here...long jeans, flat shoes. Your shoes that you want to wear...you'll want those on. It will help dictate your length to faux-hem.

Then, cuff your pants to the length you want them to be. I do both legs at the same time, to help ensure they're even.

Then (and this is the tricky part but once you get the hang of it, you're golden) hold onto the hem of your jeans and tuck the cuff underneath into your leg.

Viola! Adjust hem, bunching as needed. You can see here in the close up a little fold line, but once you stand up, it's really hard to notice. And the closer the fold is to the hem, the harder it is to see even close up. (As seen with the back part of the leg in this shot).

Optional: Use a safety pin or a regualr pin to pin the inside to hold it more secure. Just be sure to hide the pins as well. I haven't had any issues with my jeans coming undone. I think if I was doing this with a pair of dress pants, I may want to use some pins to hold them.

Easy peasy. Now you'll be able to wear your favortie jeans with heels or flats. And if you're doing the 30 for 30 challenge, you may be able to squeak out a few more outfits with this little trick.

My boots. For less.

I've been meaning to share this. I was shopping at the mall with my mother not too long ago. (It was day 1 of the 30 for 30 challenge to be exact. I was worried about being strong and shopping and ruining it all on the first day. I was good, and didn't buy, but my wallet was really confused.)

Anyway, I was shopping and as I walked through the shoe section with my mom (the torture!) she pointed to a pair of boots and said "Aren't those your boots?"

Madden Girl Zoiiee boots ($63.96 at Zappos)

Wow. Kind of. Yeah. They're actually really close! Contrast zipper, buckles, ruching at the bend, very close indeed.

My boots (from DSW in Black here) are a more cognac shade, and have 2 buckles at the top, and are genuine leather, not a man made synthetic. However, comparing the two prices, the Madden Girl ones are less than half! If I had paid the full $150 for the ones from DSW (I paid $30), I would have been upset. I can't vouch for the comfort of the Madden Girl Zoiiee, but I absolutely love my SM ones, and the comfort is there in those. I wear them all day, and never have had any problems with them.



If you're looking for a similar pair without the buckles, check out these ones by Mix No.6. I wasn't impressed with them in person, but they may work with your budget/style choice.



Days 18-20

10 more days left. I think this is the part where I start going a little bit crazy. Or maybe it's the onslaught of all things Holiday for the next month that's coming on...either way, here's what I wore for days 18-20!

Day 18: Top, Cardigan, and Skinnies: Gap. Boots: Steve Madden, socks: Target, Neckalce: Forever 21 (or 29 in my case. *wink wink*)

Where: Thanksgiving dinner (house hopping for the best eats!)

Day 19: J.Crew Jackie Cardigan, Anthro top, Gap skinnies, Steve Madden boots

Where: Running errands

Day 20: Anthro Cardigan, Gap Forever Straight Jeans, Steve Madden Flats

Where: My parents house

Thoughts: First of all, I tweeted on Thanksgiving about wearing my black dress and this cardigan. But, I really wanted to wear those boots. I live in them. But when I put them on, the proportions were all off. So I tossed on this instead. The cardigan was still great when it came to hiding the extra servings of cheese potatoes, rolls, and cake/pie gallore.  Also, I'm now a day behind on the challenge. You see, the day after Thanksgiving...I don't leave my apartment. I have always taken the day after Thanksgiving as a sort of mental health day. The most strenuous thing I did all day was shower and put on clean lazy clothes. And I'll tell you this...It. Was. Glorious. I also REALLY love outift 19. I love the way the boots and teal go together. I also think that I wore this outfit in a way, that made it look new to me (on me?) I don't know. All I know is that my husband asked me if this was a new shirt. 1. I wore it last week. 2. It's over a year old. Either way, I'm taking it as a win for the challenge!

I faux hemmed my pants again today. I will have that how-to for you later on this week. I have currently over 160 pictures to go through. I was a beading machine, and created a ton of new jewelry and photographed the hell out of it. I also have the DIY steps for my earring holder to go through, and the faux hem. My computer and I will be inseperable over the next few days. However, if you follow me on twitter, you've seen a few of the pieces I've created for my etsy, and the final product of my earring holder/display. And if you don't follow me...these are the kind of things you're missing out on. Well, that, and my giveaway. ;)



Days 14-17

For days 14-17, this is what I wore:

Day 14: J.Crew Jackie Cardigan, Banana Republic top, Gap skinny jeans, Steve Madden boots (Target boot socks over jeans), Tiffany & Co bangle

Where: Errands and laundry

Day 15: Anthropologie top, Express Editor pants, Nine West heels

Where: Work

Day 16: Gap cardigan, Express lace trim cami, J.Crew Matchstick vintage style cords, Steve Madden flats

Where: Work, walking about the city on my lunch break

Day 17: Express ruffle fly away cardigan, Express lace trim cami, Gap skinny jeans, Naughty Monkey Detective boots, necklaces by me.

Where: Work, running errands after work.

Thoughts: There isn't much I have to say about many of the pictures. However, day 16...I had a 2 hour ride home and needed to take the picture of my outfit. So, I got home grabbed my camera, turned it on, only to find out it was on...and my battery was drained. I threw the battery on the charger and stuffed my face with Triscuits while waiting for a slight bit of a charge. I was hungry, and cranky. So that was me in a post Triscuit, 2 hour commute haze. I actually had better pictures but I got a little delete happy and this was the only picture I had left. Luckily I caught myself when I had this one lonely picture left. I wouldn't be happy if I had to change to retake a picture!

In general, I'm going through withdrawal from the rest of my wardrobe. My other clothes are calling to me, and I miss them. I suppose I could take a day off, but I know if I fall off the wagon, it's going to be hard to get back on it. I'm going to push through. I will make it. I may have to remove all my clothes for this challenge from my closet, but I will get through it! Accessories, I'm calling on you now. Help me push on!

In other news, I've got free shipping going on in my Etsy shop for Thanksgiving weekend. (Including "cyber Monday") so if you're looking to get a start on your Holiday shopping, be sure to check it out. The free shipping extends into any custom orders placed in these days.

Also, be sure to check out the giveaway I have going on now. I've reached my twitter milestone!

1,000 follower giveaway!!!

I've reached a twitter milestone! I now have ONE THOUSAND followers on twitter!

Back when I realized I was close, I decided I would do a giveaway for hitting it. It's taken longer than I thought, I mean I think I'm pretty interesting, not all of the twitterverse does I suppose. But I've made it. My way of thanking you, my little twitter followers is with at giveaway! I'm offering one lucky winner a pair of earrings! You can pick one of the three following pairs. They're all my personal favorites, and I wear them quite often. Your picks:

Icicle

Little Black Dress (pick from black, clear or pink)

Indigo-go

The deets:

• This giveaway will be open for one week. At 11:59 pm (EST) on Wednesday, December 1, the giveaway will close, all entries after that will not be valid.
• There are 3 ways to enter, you may enter once a day by each method. Any multiple entries within the same day will be disqualified.
• Most importantly, you must follow petal & pink on twitter (@petalandpink).

How to enter:

1. Leave a comment on this post including which pair you want and your twitter name (so I can make sure you follow me).
2. Tweet this: @petalandpink is giving away a pair of earrings, find out more here: http://bit.ly/hJblj7 (or something similar. Be sure to include @petalandpink and a link to this blog post since twitter doesn't like you tweeting the same thing more than once)
3. If you have a blog, blog about this giveaway, and leave a second comment here linking back to your post

The winner will be announced here (and on twitter!) on Thursday, December 2nd.

Good luck to all!

New items!

Man, it has been a month for me. Times have been crazy, and I'm looking forward to the fact that aside from a work holiday party, and a dentist appointment, I have absolutely nothing planned for the next few weeks. (Although I'm sure Holiday crazy will take over soon).

I've been beading up a storm, and I've fallen way behind on listing new items on Etsy. I've also fallen behind on renewing items there, too. It's hard to keep up sometimes! I have taken pictures this past weekend, and I promise new items are coming almost daily moving forward!

La Mer. Deep Blue Bracelet

Days 6-13 of the challenge

Whew! It has been a week for me! I'm both sad and happy it is over. I've run the gamut of emotions, and I'm looking forward to some stability. Not to mention that Thanksgiving is coming up fast! I've got plenty to be thankful for, but I haven't quite caught the holiday cheer. Here's hoping this short week at work will help me along. And if not, I'll get the holiday "spirit" via Pumpkin Pie Martini's at my aunt's house. (if you know what I mean...and I think you do.)

Now, onto the outfits!

Day 6: Anthro blouse, Gap skinnies, Steve Madden boots.

Where: A baby shower. Like the hundredth it seems within the past few months. (or third whatevs). This was husband saying "Show me happy to go to a baby shower!" I think my sarcasm is obvious.

Day 7: Gap top, Gap skinnies, Nine West flats, Coach Tote, DKNY sunnies

Where: Road trip with the husband, errands.

Day 8: Anthro sweater, Express lace trim cami, Gap skinnies, Steve Madden Flats, petal & pink bracelet

Where: Work. We were moving files from one cabinet to another. I work in HR, there's a lot of files. We all dressed casual Monday for this.



Thoughts on these days: My hair looked way better in person on Day 6. Looking at it in the picture though, you'd never know! I also swear I washed the skinny jeans Sunday night (Day 7). I live in my skinny jeans, and I actually own 2 pairs of them. I considered just switching to the clean pair, but felt it might be cheating. lol. I love the sweater in Day 8. It's comfortable and the colors are fun. I don't know if it's the angle of the picture or not, but seeing it in a picture, I question the proportion of the print though. I guess we'll see what else happens during this challenge and that sweater.

Day 9: Anthro top, Gap Modern Boot pants in grey, Nine West pumps, petal & pink bracelet

Where: Work. It wasn't too much of an eventful day, honestly.

Day 10: J.Crew Jackie Cardigan, Express Editor pants, Target Mary Janes, DIY bracelet via Beadin' Path

Where: Work. Running a few errands after work.

Day 11: Gap sweater, Express lace trim cami, Ann Taylor Loft pencil skirt, Target Mary Janes

Where: Work, Training session, drinks with husband.



Thoughts: Day 9, I was inspired by another piece of jewelry I've made. I don't know why I never think of mixing jewel tones with my dark grey pants. It was a really warm day, and I enjoyed not having to wear a cardigan or jacket at work. Day 10, I really wanted to wear my coral toned layered bracelet, and love the combination with a silver-grey shade. Day 11, I'm not sure of the proportions of the outfit, but my calves look diesel! Thank-you, Body Pump!

Day 12: Gap Cardigan, Express lace trim cami, Gap Forever Straight jeans, Nine West pumps, petal & pink earrings

Where: Work. Casual Friday. Not feeling color. It happens

Day 13: J.Crew Jackie Cardigan, Express lace trim cami, Gap Forever Straight jeans, Nine West flats, T&Co bangle.

Where: Errands, errands, and a few more errands.

Thoughts: I purposely wanted to post these two pictures together. It's the same pair of jeans, but the hem is different lengths. I've found an amazing trick to hemming long jeans to make them flat-appropriate. You even get to still see the original hem on the jean so it looks really natural. I've also been slowly working on mixing prints. The leopard print with the print on the bangle were big for me. The bangles print is subtle, but the shape/design of the print actually compliment each other nicely.

Overall 30 for 30 thoughts: So far, so good. I really feel like I need to start kicking it into gear with the accessories. Scarves, belts, etc. I've got them all. I don't know why I'm so lazy with them lately. 

Coming up: I still need to do the DIY on the jewelry holder, and I want to also show you how I do the hem on my pants, so that will be coming up too. And I'm preeety sure that there's a giveaway this week since my twitter is at 1,000 followers!! I'm just waiting to maintain that number for a few days since twitter counts can vary often!