Hi there! It's Melissa of I Still Love You. I love how the crafty and DIY spirit has caught fire on the internet. Around when I first started blogging (nearly 4 years ago), I was trying to explain to older women in my neighborhood what a craft blog was. Most of them would pat me on the back and tell me that it's a dying thing, what I'm doing. "People just don't make things anymore," is what most of them would say. And that is a fat lie! Don't you agree?

 

As of late I've enjoyed going through my leather stash and finding fun ways to use it in crafts, jewelry, clothing and accessories. Leather is so incredibly easy to work with and can be very easy to come by. Heck, head over to your local upholstery shop and ask if they're discarding any leather scraps. You'll likely find yourself walking out of the shop with a grocery sack full of pretty leather that's just the right size for something sweet. And if you do this, pat yourself on the back for me for rescuing valuable resources from the land-fill.

 

With those scraps you can do a number of things, but my favorite of the moment is twisted leather! I just made a bunch of pony tail holders using the technique and decided that a headband was in order. The headband takes very little time and very few tools.

You'll want to follow the directions from the Twisted Pony Holder tutorial and make the following changes:

 

1. Use the pattern available at the bottom of this post for your headband
2. twist the right 4 and the left 4 in opposite directions of each other
3. start twisting the headband by inserting the end into the middle slits first

You'll assemble the headband with elastic cording, just as the tutorial explains. If you don't happen to have a hole punch, grab your Xacto knife and puncture the leather with that. Thread the cording through as normal. With the headband, I decided to double up the cording, but that's not entirely necessary. If an elastic headband isn't your thing, go ahead and hot glue your leather onto a headband form and you're ready to rock and roll! Click the button below to download the pattern.

 

This tutorial/freebie is free for personal use and should not be distributed/republished without my consent. Altering the file NOT ALLOWED. If you would like to use this tutorial for commercial purposes, please email me. Thanks!

 

Be sure to subscribe to ISLY to stay up to date on tutorials, refashions, calligraphy and more craftiness!

 

♥

Thank you, Melissa!

 

xo,
Ruche

images via The Industry

We're honored to introduce you to Jeni, the owner of Found. Found has an incredible selection of vintage rentals, which are perfect for practically any event. Weddings, birthday parties, baby showers, photo shoots, corporate events... We even used Found's furniture and props in our recent lookbook! Read below for Jeni's story. ♥ 

When did you start your collection of vintage pieces? 
I bought my first vintage item 15 years ago... and pretty much haven't stopped since then! The inventory collection is always growing, and evolving, which is what I love most about what I do!

What catches your eye?
Anything with chippy paint, I am automatically drawn to. I love the layers of paint showing through that prove that the piece has been around for a long time. I love things that are worn and imperfect; I feel this is what gives furniture character. I love the shape of really old chairs and couches and can always see past the fabric, because I usually have these type of pieces re-upholstered anyway.

How often do you add to your collection?
Everyday. Literally, I feel like I pick up pieces almost every single day. Even if it is just a small suitcase that I pickup at a thrift store. I am constantly searching for new pieces, and always trying to keep my eyes peeled for things that I think would be perfect to add to the collection.

How did you dream-up your business? The concept is so unique! 
Actually, my hubby had suggested it a few times (which I thought was sweet, but never really put too much thought into it). But, it wasn't until a wedding coordinator came into our studio and saw all of my vintage decor and props everywhere and said, "You should rent this stuff out to brides" that I really put some thought into it. Less than 24 hours of thought that is. The next day I walked two blocks up the street to the City Hall and filed my new business license for "Found"...which was the name that my hubby thought up and I instantly fell in love with. 

Do you have any favorite memories from previous events?
Weddings are so much fun! I really do love working with brides and coordinators to infuse the look and style that they are after for their wedding by bringing in vintage pieces that help define their style. Also, I helped style a 10 year old little girls birthday party with vintage chairs and tables for her birthday party. It was a surprise for her and when she saw it  for the first time, she smiled a smile that will forever be engrained in my memory.

What's in store for the future?
So much. I have so many exciting things in the works right now for Found that I can't wait to share. But daily, I am focusing on growing my inventory and continuing to evolve my collection in a way that reflects the current trends and styles, while staying true to things that I am attracted to and happy to add to the found collection.

♥

Thank you, Jeni! Visit her website, Twitter, and Facebook page for more!

xo,
Ruche

Enroll in another Style Studies course and learn how to transform your outfits from day to night. ♥

Shop all the looks here and tell us which outfit conversion is your favorite!

xo,
Ruche

Here's to a lovely and fashionable weekend! ♥

xo,
Ruche

I was never one of those girls who sought after "the one". In fact, I avoided relationships as much as possible. Part of that was due to the fact that I had been hurt before and the other part due to the fact that I always made fun of girls who were in constant need of a relationship. I was single and happy being that way!  That was two years ago, in January 2009. 

Story goes: I had a new friend request on Facebook with a message in my inbox from one of my parents' close friends saying, "Marcie, this is my nephew from Oklahoma, the one I've been telling you about. I really think you guys would hit it off." I hit approve on the request and quickly moved on to another task, not thinking twice. For three years I had heard about this nephew, but nothing about a long distance relationship sounded appealing to me. He emailed me a month later, and we sent messages back and forth for about two months. He asked if he could call me, I told him he could, but not to plan on this going anywhere. I had my mind made up of how my life would turn out, and at that point, a boy from Oklahoma didn't fit into my plans.  We had our first phone call, it lasted three hours, but I woke up the next morning feeling no different than I had before. He just wouldn't fit into my plans! I dodged his phone calls for the next three weeks, hoping he would take a hint like every other guy had. But something was different about Matt. He was persistent and wasn't going to let me slip away that easily! I finally relented and had a second phone conversation with him.....and that's when things changed. I couldn't believe how much we thought alike, how the things he said challenged me unlike any other person had been able to! We decided to meet in Denver, Colorado for our first date, a sort of half-way meeting point for the two of us. He was like something out of the black and white movies that I had oohed and awed over all those years. He swept me off my feet with his chivalry and southern boy charm! There was no going back for me; I had turned into one of the mushy, gushy girls that I had never understood and it was in that moment, that life as I had knew it, changed. My plans that I thought were so perfectly planned began to transform as our long distance relationship brought us closer and closer together. We had our share of ups and downs, most of them because I was still very afraid of giving up my idea of "the plan", but he stuck with me every step of the way.

In March 2010 he flew down to my hometown with a proposal unlike any other. He brought me out to the dock where we had our first kiss, which had been adorned with a red carpet, floating candles, rose petals and my best friend there to record the whole thing. He brought me out to the edge of the dock and got down on one knee saying, "These candles represent the light that you've been in my life. There are 1,500 rose petals out here, one for every time I think about you during the day and this red carpet is how I want to treat you the rest of my life." With that, he pulled out the ring and asked if I would marry him. Through my tears I managed a "YES!". We were married in August of 2010 and the chivalry and southern boy charm continues a year later! Matt has become my best friend and strength through all the twists and turns that life has brought our way.

My plans didn't turn out the way I had expected, but I've learned that life's way of changing things is always so much better than we could have ever hoped or imagined!

♥

See the previous Love Stories here! If you would like to submit your story, please send an e-mail to lovestories@shopruche.com. You may attach up to 5 photos, and we welcome creativity! Please try to keep your stories to a 1200 word limit. You will receive an e-mail when your story is selected.