This DIY luggage makeover with my old Samsonite Suit cases is one of my all time favorites on this blog. It is vintage + colorful and giving me jungle fever! It is pretty easy todo, and if you already have the suitcase, then you really only need the DecoArt Premium Acrylic Paints. 

Below I share with you how to paint the perfect fern, and mix up the perfect burnt orange and muted pink colors. Oh, and of course- how to makeover a suitcase!  

Here is the before + after, below. I loved these before, but I love the new vibe even more. It screams 'take me on vacation!' 

Before you start painting a design, you're going to need to 'prime your canvas'- aka, gesso the surface of the suit case

If you're aren't lazy (I was lazy), you are going to tape off any of the hardware that you don't want to paint. (The silver parts, buckles, handle, etc.) 

​Just to be safe, I did two layers of gesso on the suitcases 

While your surface is drying, this is a good time to mix up colors. I wanted I very retro vibe, and colors that wouldn't be too matchy-matchy, but still compliment one another. So I went with a complementary color pallet of  orange+blue and pink+green. 

I wanted to keep with the vintage/retro vibe of the suitcases so I leaned into the muted shades of these colors.

To mix a muted/burnt orange : I mixed a golden yellow + orange + teal (just a dab)

To mix a muted soft pink : I mixed white + fuchsia + sap green (just a dab)

Blue + orange are opposite from one another on the color wheel, therefor, they are complimentary colors. That means, not only do the look good together- but they neutralize each other too. Same thing with pink + green. 

The fern design I painted is actually very easy to do. The paint + brush will do most of the work, you just go with the flow. Below I show you step by step how I painted the outline of each fern. 

When painting the ferns onto the surface of the suitcase I made sure I faced them different directions and let the branches flow every which way. This will keep the design cohesive and make it flow! I went for it, brush and paint straight to the suitcase, but do not hesitate to use a pencil to sketch out your design (lightly) first. The paint will cover it right up. 

To fill the fern in with color you are going to want to mix up a few different shades of the muted orange. A dark, medium and very light (almost white) orange.  The light shade is the highlights, and the dark the shadows. Add a stroke of each shade to every leaf to bring dimension to your design. 

Like myself, please practice on paper until you feel confident with your design. It will make your life easier, I promise! 

Now it's finally time to paint the suitcases! For the round suitcase, I painted it all pink first, and let it dry, then I painted on the fern design. You can see a little video clip of it in progress below. 

For the smaller green + mint suitcase, I painted the fern first, and then the background. And boy, that I was A LOT more work. #LessonLearned 

I love patterns, but I didn't want to go overboard, so I chose todo thin orange lines all along the side of the pink suitcase and mint ones on the smaller suitcase handle. Again, if you're not lazy- use tape to get a straight line. 

Lastly, after all the paint has well and dried. You will need to seal it with something to protect it from wear-and-tear.

I used DecoArt's Premium Gloss Medium, and just like with the gesso, applied two coats of it- just incase! 

Seriously in love with these and ready for my next tropical getaway, NOW! 

These Floral Palazzo Pants are one of my all time summer favs to wear. They are comfy, lightweight and flowy, perfect for summer! AND best of all, these are vintage pants from my Grandmother! So they are extra special to me! 

I've actually shot these for this blog before, in 2014- but what feels like a lifetime ago . Chris and I did a little weekend shoot with our friend Lori at a studio he use to work for. You can see that old post, here. Before, I styled the Floral Palazzo Pants for the beach, today, they are styled for the beach to the street! ;) WAAAYYY different! hehe

And you know, lounging in colorful alley ways in East Atlanta Village is what all the cool kids are doing now in days, so here's me in my natural habitat! HAH!!! I kid! Taking these pictures can be so awkward sometimes, but thankfully my husband does this for a living and can get the shot quickly! It just seems no matter what time you go, there are ALWAYS people out in Atlanta. 

OH, and this restaurant (the pretty mint wall), Gaja is REALLY good. It's a hip little Korean BBQ bar that doesn't look like much from the outside, but is always bumpkin' on the inside and has really yummy food! It's a hidden gem for sure! 

This outfit is my style perfectly. I wish I could wear a version of this everyday. It is 100% comfort but 100% style too. Nothing boring about it. I've always had a 'funky' style, but it has definitely evolved these last couple of years, and a lot in just the past year or so. 

Leaving a career in teaching, where I had to dress professionally 5 days a week, to being able to wear whatever I want has been awesome! But also filled with a lot of yoga pants, lets be real. 

My style is still a lot the same, but I have incorporated more basics, tee shirts particularly and less structure = lots of flowly things. This outfit is a perfect example. I also think it looks like I should live in Palm Springs! (I wish!) 

Get this look : [ hat : Madewell *on sale!  // T-shirt : Daisy Natives // Pants : vintage // shoes ; Swedish Hasbeens // handbag : StudiOH, Shoppe! (coming in July*)// Tassel : StudiOH, Shoppe! ] 

Psst!: I wonder if I save these Floral Palazzo Pants for my granddaughter if she will wear them and think they are as cool as I do?! 

The Rainbow Crosswalk first appeared it Atlanta fall of 2015, in Midtown, at 10th + Piedmont and in my opinion, it was one of the best things that have hit these streets. BUT OF COURSE, THEY (whoever THEY are) took it away after only 2 weeks.

BUT, rumor has it, they are back and here to stay! YAY!!! It makes me happy, because RAINBOWS, but it also makes me proud to live in a Atlanta. To let our LGBTQ community know they are loved and supported in this SOUTHERN city. It's strange times we're living in, but despite differences, one thing southerns are always good at is hospitality. As a southerner and a person who loves to travel, I know it is always nice to be welcomed. And how welcome folks must be flying into Atlanta to look down and see our rainbow painted streets! 

I love it. 

So in todays post I am sharing with you a pair of Rainbow Pants I made back in 2015, just to ware to the Rainbow Crosswalk. (True story! I don't own these pants anymore :( they got given away in a cleaning spree #regrets!!) Not sure why I didn't share this nearly two years ago, but I saved all this pictures- so here you go! Step by step below :)

• lay your jeans out flat and tape down your first straight line, from the bottom cuff of the jean all the way to the waist line.
• each color will be about 1/4 of an inch wide. Measure out 1/4 of an inch and then tape down your next straight line. I just 'eye-balled' mine, but you can use a ruler to make sure your lines a straight/spaced out evenly.
• repeat until you have 7 straight lines of tape
• decide the order of your colors. a tradition rainbow is red, orange, yellow, green, blue, purple.
  
• carefully paint in between each line of tape, cleaning the brush well between each color.
  
• let paint fully dry (probably a couple of hours) and then slowly peel away tape.
  
• touch up spots with your paint brush
  

***when you  wash these, do them inside out :)

Tahhh-dahh! Now your ready to groove across the street at the Rainbow Crosswalk in your Rainbow Pants!

AND if you're not down for a DIY then you can buy these SUPER cute Rainbow Jeans from Modcloth.