Dream Escape

 

 

So, what do you do, when you are given the freedom to create your very own outdoor oasis. A place that you have only dared to dream up in your head? You know the one, the one you secretly think of escaping to with a bottle of your favorite Rose’. Oh! and did I mention you also have all the beautiful CB2 furniture to play with. Well, naturally you create a modern Spanish Jadrin, with a touch of Cabana,

Because why not?

I wanted to create a calm serine space filled with yummy texture, lush plants and of course in typical Life in Mauve fashion a touch of boho glam.

I kept the color pallet very neutral, mainly using sandy beige shades to accent the iron frame of the Breton sofa. This is one of those furniture pieces that I can see myself loving for years to come, no matter what style mood im in.

Opted to pair the sofa with these  Capiz coffee and side tables (Yes, these are outdoor!) Which tie in perfectly with my neutral color palette, the angular gold legs bring a touch of  modern.

 

I love how they pop against the black slate floors, which can we just take a moment to admire this beautiful tile. OMG this tile is giving me life, it’s that touch of edgy that elevates this space.

Of course I have to include plenty of live plants to keep the space fresh and bring in positive energy. Recently I’ve been loving creating these succulent arrangements with garden clippings. They give the feel of fresh flowers, however with the right care they will last for seasons to come.

They are like roses but better!

Another element I used to keep the look light, and airy are these beautiful linen curtains they add the perfect amount of romance. I can see myself and Steven sharing a glass of wine at sunset curled up under a cozy throw blanket.

Hung from this floating frame they instantly give the illusion  of a cabana, or in my mind my perfect escape.

To tie everything in and give some serious Jardin vibes I created this fabulous stucco wall. I used hexagon tile sheets (so easy to use)  arranging them in a diamond shape, not only to create a focal point but to also create repetition and pattern.

There you have it, my perfect oasis.

Also if you are in the Bay area, be sure to stop by CB2 Berkeley Wednesday June 6, 2018 at 5:30 for Design your Escape event filled with giveaways and FREE WINE!

Join me on Instagram @lifeinmauve

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Florista Blooms x Life in Mauve Collab, Flower Crown Tutorial

Hi guys, I’m SOO excited to share the first installment of mine and Amy, from Florista Blooms wedding series. I have to say Amy is just as lovely, as her whimsy floral arrangements, her attention to detail is simply amazing making her arrangement feel like art work. She is a master at marrying texture, and romantic hues and turning them into something that makes your heart skip a beat. If you aren’t following her on Instagram I highly urge you to drop what you’re doing and stock her page for an hour or two (you’re welcome) @floristablooms.

We had so much fun getting to know each other while she shared her technique on making a pintrest worthy flower crown. Not to mention her adorable back yard, which is surrounded by cactus, bushes of blush hydrangeas and the sweetest veggie garden I have ever seen was our work space for the day. In the middle of it all is an equally darling pale blue shed which we took full advantage off, and used as our back drop for our perfect boho garden set.

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She shared some really great tips for any bride (or if you just happen to feel like rocking crown, on the regular) wanting to give making her own flower crown a go, im pretty hooked. 

In Amy’s words “You can’t go wrong with a flower crown”.

On to the tutorial!

For this DIY you will need:

• Fresh blooms in different veriites
• Floral tape
• Floral wire
• Silk ribbon
• Pruning shears
• Sissors

*The amounts needed will depend on, the size of your head, and how full you want the crown to be*

Step one:

Start by taking your silk ribbon and wrapping it around your head, adding roughly 6″ on either side. Snip and set aside for now.

Step two:

Take the floral wire and measure it exactly to the size of your head, snip.

Step three:

Stretch the wire and lay it on top of the silk ribbon, try and center it as much as possible.

Step four:

Take a 3″ strip of tape and start tightly wrapping the wire and ribbon together, wrap around 2″. Once you have reached the end of the tape, give it a good squeeze this makes the tape extra secure.

Pro tip * if this is your first time using floral tape, it adheres by stretching it gently and wrapping it around itself tightly*

Step five:

Now start to wrap the ribbon around the wire in a long twist, don’t worry about this step looking perfect as it will all be hidden once we add our blooms. Once you have fully wrapped the ribbon down the entire length of the wire, take another 3″ strip of tape and finish securing the wire and ribbon together.

Set aside for now.

Set six:

The next two steps are probably the most important and also the most time consuming, however it is very important that you take your time and don’t rush.

Start to “clean” up each individual bloom, you want to expose around an 1″-1 1/2″ of stem.  I recommend, cleaning up a nice amount of blooms vs cleaning them up as you go, this speeds up the rest of the steps.

Step seven:

Once you have everything cleaned up, take two to three blooms ( mix and match)  and group them together to create small bunches add a small piece of tape to the ends.

Pro tip *avoid using more than 3 blooms at once, to many stems together will make the crown too thick*

You should end up with small bunches like these.

Pro tip *If you have larger flowers you may want to leave them as singles, same goes for any leafy greens that come in multiples ( far right).

Step eight:

It’s time to start building your crown, cut a 10 strip of tape and start wrapping your bunches to the wire and ribbon. Make sure you wrap the entire length of the stem, once you reach the end give it a good squeeze and move on to the next bunch.

Pro tip *start off with your leafy greens first, and then layer on the flowers on top”.

Step nine:

Continue to layer on all of your blooms, don’t be afraid to play with the placement of the leafs and flowers, move them around as needed.

Pro tip * We recommend creating  a pattern, to make a solid design*

*flowers with thicker stems may require you to continue to wrap past the stem and onto the ribbon to really secure it in place.*

Step ten:

Once all of your blooms are attached to the ribbon you should have something that looks like this. You want to stop 4″ shy of where the twisted wire and ribbon end, at this point you want to reverse the direction of the bunches ( when you close the crown, this step creates continuous flow)

Step eleven:

The very last step is to take a long piece of tape and weave down the entire length of the crown, this step makes the crown nice and sturdy and ensures the crown will keep a nice round shape. Wrap the crown around your head and tie off with a bow, or a knot for a more boho feel.

And that’s it you are ready to rock your crown all day every day! Store it in the refrigerator to keep it looking fresh ( it should keep for a few days).

 

In the comments below let me know what other type of tutorials you would like to see as part of our wedding serious.

Thanks for stopping by and don’t forget to follow Amy and I on Instagram, for daily inspiration pictures. @lifeinmauve @foristablooms

Xoxo

-Nayeli

Style with me “dining room edition”

Hey guys welcome back! Today I’m really excited to share a step by step of me styling our dining room, hopefully this will be a little more insight on my process. Along the way, you will see that once the room is almost pulled together I often make minor adjustments to fully perfect the room.

One thing that is true no matter the space, I always have a general idea of the look I’m going for, or one piece of furniture I want to highlight. In this case I just score this awesome white lacquer dining table from the Salvation Army and wanted to style it, in my own way. I also knew I wanted to use this baby quilt (also thrifted, actually almost everything shown is thrifted) as a table-cloth, the boho pattern really spoke to me and the rest played off of the pattern.

I first started off with the shelving, I wanted to give the feel of open cabinets like you would see in a kitchen. I wanted to show off my recent obsession with pottery and chose very neutral tones that would compliment dark woods.

I went back and forth quite a bit,  especially with the bottom shelf since it’s round I’m always very limited as far as what I can use. I finally settled on a plant, it filled the bottom shelf very well and the green brought a little life to everything.

I then decided to add these starburst mirrors, they look very similar to the embroidered flowers on the quilt. Plus the black is a nice contrast to the gold shelf, and the style adds that mid-century modern feel.

I then moved on to the table scape, I knew I wanted to introduce dark woods and a few plants. I opted for this rather large cactus, which ended up being way to tall it was blocking a large portion of the shelf from a straight on view. I was pretty happy with everything else, I really like the pop of gold that the flatware brings to this whole look, It ties back to the shelf, and although you can’t see the top of the salt and peppers shakers they also have gold.

Since I was at an ok, spot for the table I decided to tackle the shelf again, this time I rolled a handful of kitchen towels which I really liked but later found a better use for them. I also ditched the small copper bowl and filled a crisp white bowl with succulents to brighten the shelf.

I really love the pattern one the dish towels and wanted to show case them more, so I decided to hang them off an accordion style rack. I LOVE this, not only did it fill the space without being too over powering but the blonde wood from the rack ties in nicely with the legs from the table.

Since the cactus was too tall and interrupting the styling from the shelf, I switched it out for a smaller plant. I also brought it some limes, and a small cactus to re-enforce the green color story. I layered a faux fur throw to add texture as well as brighten the over all look, laying it across both chair creates a seemless looks and gives the appearance of a bench.

Once I was happy with the table scape I revisited the shelf once again, sometimes I end up moving things 30 times before I get it right. I decided to bring another wood element to the shelf with this stacking keepsake box, and added a few extra touches to the second shelf, like these gold measuring cups and a bit of quirkiness with this Russian stacking doll. I then removed both for the final look lol.

The wall also needed a little bit more so I flanked two additional wall pieces that were similar in scale. I typically fan outward, with the largest items towards the center but I actually really like the smaller mirrors toward the center. The two lighter pieces really balances out the wall.

Here is completed look, I hope you guys enjoyed following me along my styling process. In the comments below let me know what you guys think, also if you aren’t already following me on Instragam please show me some love, I post twice a day! @lifeinmauve

One Chair Styled three different ways

Hi guys! I feel like it’s been way to long since my last post, maybe because it has but please forgive me, as mommy life was calling all week-long non stop. I finally have an hour to myself maybe because it literally 1:32 am and I’m now just starting this post. Any who that was too drawn out of an explanation for me to say baby was sick and I had my hands full lol.

For today’s post I wanted to challenge myself by styling my beloved CB2 Parlour arm-chair in three completely different ways, by simply changing up the accessories. In a way this was also beneficial for me, it reminded me that a little refresh goes a long way. Maybe next time I’m tempted to switch out all of my furniture, I’ll look back to this post. For all three of the looks I also kept another one of my most beloved pieces, my giant gold Ikea floor mirror this thing has been with me just as long as the chair (it’s one of those pieces that I don’t think will ever leave my collection). All three looks are extremely affordable, most of the accessories used were thrift ed or bargain shopped.

On to the post!

Boho Chic

To achieve this first look, I used different metallics and layered in pinks and blues. Laying down a soft faux fur rug, grounded everything and gave it a touch of elegance. The fringe wall hanging layered on top of the mirror make this look feel relaxed and added a little bit of the boho feel I was after. Over sized flowers help re-enforce my pink color palette, while a fringe throw add a but more blue.

Granny Chic

To achieve this look, I started by switching out the metallic for wicker and brought in plenty of plants to liven a more muted color palette. I opted for a basket wall to really make the wicker a focal point, and once again to balance out the oversized mirror. A plaid rag rug gives this look that granny feel and is a good opposition compared to the modern silhouette of the arm-chair.

South Western Chic

To achieve this look Modern South Western look I switched out the wicker for dark woods which are off set by light linens. I laid down a small white embroidered quilt, which really lightens the over all look. On the wall I hung this accordion wine rack to act as a sculptural piece but also as a hat rack, the dark wood ties in with the C table. While the blue tassel runner hung over the mirror bring a dash of blue from the chair upward. I used to same copper drum table, but this time I add a faux fur pillow to make it appear as a stool. 

I’m so happy with the outcome of every look, I think the first is my favorite follow by the third. I’d love to hear which is your favorite, let me know in the comments below and as always thank you for stopping by.

My Baby Saved my Life

I’m getting a little, well, actually very personal with today’s post I’m  sharing part of my pregnancy “story.” This is the part of how I found out I would be, under going major surgery at 14 weeks to remove an Ovarian cyst. So I guess, I should start from the beginning of my pregnancy, I found out I was pregnant very very early on, roughly around 3 weeks (at that time I thought I was closer to the 8 week mark). So when I called to make my first appointment, my OB had me schedule my first trimester scan prior to my first official visit with her. My now fiance and I were so excited for our first visit, we couldn’t wait to see our little one for the first time (and in a weird way get validation that we were REALLY pregnant).

The day of the ultrasound, I was given instructions to basically drink my weight in water and reframe from using the restroom (cruelest test ever! if there was ever a time I thought I was going to pee myself as an adult, this was it). I was laying in the ultra sound room, with a full bladder and full of excitement, the tech started to scan my belly and instantly her expression changed. I knew there was something wrong right away, I waited a few seconds before I asked “is everything ok”? She very calmly asked, if I had a history of cysts, I didn’t. She continued to scan over the same area and take several pictures, she let us know the Dr would be with us shortly.

She said I could use the restroom (finally!), while she called the Dr. in. By this time all I could do was pray, that our baby was ok, all of the excitement of seeing baby for the first time had vanish. I turned to look at my fiance and I could see the worry deep down, although he tried his hardest to hide it.  Finally the DR. walked in and performed a second ultra sound, he confirmed that I had a tumor roughly around 5cm growing with-in my right ovary. He explained that, it did not look cancerous (phew) but there was a small chance my OB would recommend surgery while I was still pregnant. Or best case I could carry out my pregnancy and remove it post delivery. I was so devastated, I remained silent throughout the rest of the appointment, it wasn’t until we got back to the car that I finally could say my thoughts out loud. My fiance reassured me that everything was going to be ok, and we would get through it together. The days leading up to my next appointment were just pure torture, while I didn’t want dwell on the previous appointment, it was nearly impossible not too.  

Finally the day came, and we met with our OB (my forever hero). Unfortunately she didn’t have the results we were hoping for, the mass was too large and she strongly suggested surgery at 14 weeks. I was shocked, I couldn’t believe I had this thing, this tumor growing inside of me and unknowingly. I never experienced ANY type of pain, there were no noticeable signs how was I unaware, how? This is why I titled this post “My Pregnancy Saved my Life”  if It wasn’t for that ultra sound, I would have found out too late. During this visit we discussed both options and neither was ideal. Choosing to not have the surgery, meant my chances of a miscarriage would be tripled, waiting t oo long could result in the tumor erupting and cause serious internal bleeding. Not to mention general complications through-out the entire pregnancy. Option two, came with risks as well, removing the cyst could overwhelm baby and cause a miscarriage. If the surgery was successful, I could have a healthy pregnancy which seemed like the only gleam of light. We put our complete trust in our Dr. and decided to go through with the surgery, we knew all three of us were, in the best possible hands.

After leaving our appointment, we left feeling devastated 14 weeks was right around the corner and up until now we had not shared the news with anyone. So we were faced with sharing the very exciting news with our loved ones only to hit them with horrible news seconds later. Prior to the surgery I felt as if I couldn’t allow my self to get too attached, or even feel excited, there was a constant “what if”. Naturally I already felt a strong connection to our baby, I constantly talked to him and asked him to stay strong I let him know we loved him everyday.

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Finally I entered 14 weeks and it was the day of my surgery, my fiance and I made our way into the prep room and we waited. Our Dr. came into the room and did one last ultra sound before the surgery. I didn’t want to admit this but I was staring at the monitor thinking, this could possibly be the last time we see our baby. It was the worst feeling imaginable, even typing it now gets me teary eyed. She explained that there would be a total of 6 people in the room with her, an assistant surgeon ( who actually delivered my sisters baby, so we felt very lucky to have her as well) the anesthesiologist and 3 nurses. The goal was to get in and out as quickly as possible, the whole thing would hopefully only last roughly around 2 hours. I took a deep breath and gathered as much courage as a possibly could, as I said good-bye to my fiance.

The surgery room was cold, and extremely bright full of people all awaiting my arrival everyone looked so calm, yet the room felt so eerie. It was time to perform the epidural (We wanted to avoid having to put me fully under) the nurse had me crutch over while pushing my out my spine first attempt no luck, second, no luck, third no luck. By this time I was crying in agonizing pain, my Dr. held my hand and said I would need to be placed fully asleep. I nodded my head while trying my hardest to hold back the river of tears running down my face. That was the last thing I remember before waking up in the recovery room.

I felt like I had closed my eyes for just a second, unknowing that it was 4 hours later. The tumor was so big, and so high up that she had no choice but to make a vertical incision. Once it was removed it measured 15cm not 5. I remember looking around the strange room searching for my fiance, I wanted to see a familiar face to feel some kind of comfort. I tried to call for the nurse, but I couldn’t get any words out, not a single one. The nurse must have seen me struggling because she rushed over and held my hand told me I was ok and that I would be moved into my room with-in the hour. Second longest hour of my life, I finally was brought into my room, my parents and fiance sat nervously waiting for me. I finally felt brave enough to ask how the surgery had gone, I wanted to know if baby was ok. My fiance full of joy said the surgery went wonderfully, baby was one strong little fighter he held on. His heart beat was strong throughout the entire 4 hours, I cried so hard it was the best news I could have gotten. Shortly after my Dr’s assistant walked in to check in on me, she explained that I had one talented Dr. who fought hard to save both of my ovaries.

The following morning my Dr. came in to see me, she explained that the cyst was much larger than expected. She could only assume I had been living with this thing for at least 3 years, it had began to grow second. Had we waited one more month, this thing would have erupted, without a question I knew then that my baby had saved my life. To this day I’m still so shocked that I under went surgery while carrying another life inside of me. I’ll forever be grateful, to her and her teamed because of them baby and walked away healthy she saved my baby. The weeks following my surgery were difficult, I experienced a lot of pain doing basic tasks felt nearly impossible. But that didn’t matter to me all I knew was that baby was healthy.

I wanted to share my story with all of you for one reason, prior to my surgery I searched high and low for women who had undergone the same surgery and it was nearly impossible. The stories I did find helped me tremendous, so I in return want to help the next mom who maybe feeling that same fear I felt. Trust in your Dr, you will make it through this difficult time, and try to enjoy your pregnancy.

I hope I answered and covered everything, I’d be happy to answer any questions. Thank you for allowing me to share my story.

 

 

Thrifted Style

I’m always amazed when I manage to style an area with completely thrifted items; It reminds me why I love to thrift so much, and that you don’t have to spend $$$ to have a stylish home. I managed to buy everything shown (plants excluded) for under $30.00 so I thought I would do a haul of sorts, and along the way share a bit more design tips as well as some thrifting tips (check out my previous How to Thrift like a Pro Post) for more thrifting tips.

My first step before going into a thrift store is to think of what I’m shopping for, whether it be a broad category like, home decor, kitchenware or furniture. This trip I was looking for pottery, for this Blog post/ Instagram post (shameless plug, but if you would be so kind as to follow me here @lifeinmauve). I didn’t have a specific color way in mind,  but as soon as I got to browsing I was drawn to blues and teals (surprise, surprise). It all started coming to life, once I found this awesome painting (only $2.70) I knew I had my color palette and I continued to play off of it.

Once I got home and it was time to style, I decided to group everything together rather then sprinkling pieces here and there, because placing everything together would tell a stronger story. The White bookshelf, allowed the colors to pop and also kept thing light and somewhat modern.

The top shelf really sets the over all tone, all the colors are represented and the painting makes it all pop. I Typically I would never place the largest  items on the on a top shelf, since it can be too heavy on the eye. However since there is only three items it balances out with the rest of the unit and the low profile of the bowl paired with the clear glass lantern keep it from over powering the rest of the shelf.

I knew going into this that I wanted to add in a lot’s of plants to  liven everything up, and introduce a third color as well as texture. Using plants on every shelf creates repetition, which in my opinion is key to successful styling.  I like to pair items in a set of three, making sure I place the larger or taller items at the edge. Stacking books in different ways gives the area movement and height.

My second shelf I kept a bit simpler, lining up a few books to fill the shelf but facing them away to create a more uniform look. I placed my plant on the opposite side to further add movement, and threw in a small tray to ground this cluster. Again my largest item is at the end and creating  a waterfall or gradual steps to carry the eye through-out the shelf.

On my last shelf I started by placing my plant on the opposite side of the previous one, to complete my pattern. I created two clusters but made switched things up by displaying the teal cups in a straight line and the pitcher and mug in a small triangle.  I used a book to ground the three cups and give some needed height  and hung a frame to create a solid background. I recommend using pictures/art with-in the same color story to create a cohesive look.

Just a few final pointers, try breaking up sets like the teal cups I placed one at the top and three down below to create a strong sense of  repetition and carry the eye throughout the shelf. . Stick to two or three color families and introduce varies shades of that color.

Overall these all work together because essentially it’s all pottery and every piece has the same feel, weight, and similar finish grouping them together in a small area creates a bigger impact.

I hope this post inspire you to check out your local thrift store, I’d love to hear of your latest decor finds.

As always thanks for stopping by,

xoxo Nayeli

 

South Western, Boho Vibes

I’m going to apologize ahead of time, as I think this might be a rambley post and maybe a little all over the place. But I promise to make it a quick one, I just wanted to share a few exciting finds with you all so you can all RUN to Target and get in on all the sale action. Seriously, Target has some crazy sales going on, so naturally I went ham!

The second part of the post is to share how glad I am that I decided to start Life in Mauve. Its provided a creative outlet that I felt was missing, ever since leaving my career in Visual Merchandising and deciding to become a full time stay at home mom. Once I became a little more comfortable and maybe even got the hang of this whole mom thing, (ha!) I found myself missing running around all day styling product. While at home I mostly style with vintage, one of a kind pieces. I also want to start doing posts like this, were I pull products together just to show inspiration. Of course along the way, I’ll start sharing my styling process.

The first thing I gravitated towards were these woven wall hangings, I fell in love with the texture and scale of the this piece. I had originally thought I would pair it along side of a neutral fringe wall hanging, but once they were side by side it was too much texture and not enough contrast. So I decided to use a kitchen towel, and hang it at an angle to make it look more interesting. The dark forest green color of the towel, layered behind the light fringe makes everything pop, and brings the green from the plants upward grounding the entire look.

Once my art pieces were hung, I decided to make green my color statement by using a mostly green product, layering in different textures and shapes from the plants kept things visually interesting. I used brown as an accent color to bring a little warmth to the overall look. Like this glass lantern, the leather strap not only adds a different texture but the glass itself helps lighten the area. The varying heights of the plants draw the eye back up to the wall art as well as start a cascade allowing each item to shine on it’s own.

On the opposite side I brought in this copper plant stand, which added height and the copper also made this look feel a bit more modern. To balance out both sides I mirrored the opposite side with another cacti, creating visual repetition helps make the look stronger and is pleasing to the eye.

All of the products used are still available at Target, and are all one sale. In the comments below, let me know if this is a series you would like me to continue.

Thanks for stopping by, don’t forget to follow me on Instagram for daily inspiration posts.

OOTD: Embroidered Midi Dress

I’m so excited to share this look with you all today! In particular, I’m excited to share the star of the OOTD this embroidered midi-dress, it’s one of my absolute favorite go-to dresses. I can seriously live in it, as it works for so many occasions; I can pair it with strappy heels for a dressier event, or throw on some gladiator sandals for the perfect causal brunch look. Not to mention it’s an exact dupe for one of my favorite, Free people dresses (I might even like the quality of this one a little more) and at only $36.99 vs $168.00 I really couldn’t say no.

 

One of my my favorite colors to pair with black during the summer is camel. I love the contrast and warmth it brings to a black outfit, and the warm tone makes black summer appropriate. So I knew that my Steve Madden espadrilles, would be the perfect shoe for this look. Not only did they match perfectly with my, Jessica Simpson purse, but the wedge gave me some much needed height, to successfully pull off a midi dress. The finishing touch was to throw on my new hat obsession, this straw hat I indefinitely borrowed from my mom ( I mean does anything say summer like a straw hat)?

For jewelry I kept it super simple and minimal, layering my favorite Old Navy dangle necklace and a simple dainty gold chain, mom gifted me from her recent trip to Mexico. For earrings I kept with the dangle theme, throwing on these disc style gold earrings, that catch the light perfectly. On my hands, I went with my two favorite Madewell bracelets, my engagement ring (of course) and a bar Madewell ring as well. I wanted to keep everything simple, to not take away from the beautiful white embroidered flowers.

This look, is something I will have on repeat so expect to see it in future posts hopefully you guys don’t get tired of it.

As always thank you for stopping by.

Share your favorite fashion, or beauty dupes in the comments below, I’d love to check them out.

DIY: Let’s make summer Clutches out of Placemats.

With Summer right around the corner, I’ve been looking for ways to add fresh new accessories to my summer style. And what better way to complete an outfit, then by adding a fun bag! So, instead of going out and spending $$$ on three new bags ( I spent under $10.00 for each one) I decided to revisit an old DIY I did a few years back, in which I turn placemats into clutches. Seriously you guys, this is such an easy DIY and the outcome looks boutique quality (even better there is no sewing!). With so many cute placemats out there, you have to give this DIY a try, I’ll be sharing three different styles in the tutorial (placemats are all from  Target)!

*Pro tip: When choosing out a placemat be sure it’s double lined meaning there is two pieces of fabric already sewn together; this allows you to skip adding a lining to the inside of the clutch ( Can you guys tell I like to do the least amount of work, lol) .

The Tribal Clutch

For this DIY you will need:

• One Double sided placemat
• Liquid Stitch
• Fringe trim
• Seam Ripper or scissors
• 2 pieces of 12×12 card stock

Step one:

Start by taking a seam ripper (in case an exacto knife lol) and cut all along the bottom and top seam, this will create an opening for the cardstock.

Step two:

Next insert your card stock, making sure it is centered with the bottom and top seems. The cardstock will give the body of the clutch structure, and keep it from sagging once it’s filled with all your goodies.

Now lay your trim on top of the cardstock, at this point you should have a “sandwich” (placemat, cardstock, trim and placemat) add a generous amount of liquid stitch in-between each layer apply pressure to the edge to close everything up. 

Take the second piece of card stock and glue it along the opposite seam.

*It should look like this, allow to dry for 5 minutes before moving on to the next step.

Step 3:

The last step is to create the actual pouch area (the size of the pouch will be determined by how far up, you fold the palcemat).

Simply add a generous amount of glue to both sides along the seams, leaving enough space for a flap, hold everything in place with paper clips while its’ drying  (24 hrs).

*Pro tip: I used paper clips rather than pins, because pins tend to get glued making it hard to pull them out.

Your  all done, the end result should look like this.

Styling your clutch:

I love the bohemian vibe this clutch is giving off, I would style it with a pair of light denim cut-offs a simple white tee and my new favorite Steve Madden wedges. Keeping everything simple, and letting the print become the focal point for a relaxed boho outfit.

The Palm Clutch

For this DIY you will need:

• 1 double lined placemat
• Wooden purse handles
• Liquid Stitch
• Exacto knife
• Paper and butterfly clips

Step One:

Start by taking in the sides of the placemat, do so until you can slide the bottom through the slits of the handle. Once I lined everything I used several clips to hold everything in place

*Pro tip: Hold off on adding glue, until you have everything set in place.

Step Two:

The final step is to add a generous amount of glue to the pre-existing side seams, stopping an inch from the top. Add glue to the underside of the seam running along the handle as well.

Step Three:

Line up the sides, and run your finger along the glued areas applying plenty of pressure secure everything with butterfly clips allow 24hrs before using. You’re all done!

 Styling Tip:

I’m getting resort vacation vibes from this clutch, I would pair it with white denim skinnies, a white flowy top and an oversized sun hat for fun tropical weekend look. 

Fiesta Clutch

For this DIY you will need:

• one round placemat (choose a flexible one)
• Embroidery floss in several different colors
• scissors
• Embroidery needle
• Liquid Stitch
• Set of Purse handles

Step one:

Making all the mini tassels is time-consuming so…. I recommend watching an episode or two of you favorite show . For this size purse you will need a total of 14 mini tassels (one bundle of floss makes two tassels, just fold in half twice).

*I’m not showing this step, but will link a previous tutorial here.

Step two:

Thread your needle and sew on one of your handles to the placemat.

Step Three:

Fold the placemat in half, use paper clips to hold everything in place, then line second handle to opposite side.

Step Four:

Pull the paper clips out, and lay placemat on a flat surface.

Arrange the tassels into your desired pattern, using a ruler to help space everything evenly.

Once you are happy with the pattern and placement, lift one tassel at a time and apply a dot of glue to the backside. Allow tassels to dry for 10mins, before moving on to the next step.

Step Five:

Apply a thick layer of glue along the entire placemat, then use several paper clips to hold everything down and prevent it from popping back up. Allow to dry over night and you’re all done.

Styling Tip:

This clutch is so fun, that I would go full rainbow pairing it with this embroidered Zara button up, my favorite denim shorts and my pom-pom gladiator sandals. This is the perfect outfit for a summer backyard party.

I’m so happy with how these turned out, styled outfit pictures to come very soon. If any of you recreate this DIY I please tag me on I.G @lifeinmauve and use the #lifeinmauvediy and while you are there don’t forget to give me a follow :).

In the comments below let me know which one is your favorite, how would you style it?

XoX Nayeli