A BROKE GIRL's DIARY

A BROKE GIRL'S DIARY

I have publicly put myself out there as a “broke girl “and I don’t regret it. Sometimes people assume I am all about being cheap, well the answer to that is “Yes” and I am not ashamed, many of us are broke.

I consider a broke girl, someone who is still trying to make it in life. Maybe you have just finished school and looking for a job. Someone who is still in school; Someone who owns no property of their own with their own income; A person who is still dependent and anyone else thinking and worried about their future financially. To me, it doesn’t matter what your parents earn, how you live and who you hang out with. At the end of the day, as my mother always told me “it’s not yours, it’s mine”. Think about it, when you are stripped of all that, what do you have that you can call yours? Personally, I got my clothes, my computer and my phone and my savings that can last me maybe a week or a month then I am fucked.

As a broke girl, fashion is a big thing to me. Looking good is something I love to do, getting compliments for looking good is like the icing on the cake confirming that “ Yes gurl, You killed it” . But how do I do it on a broke budget, not low budget, broke budget.

The first thing you need as a broke girl is;

CONFIDENCE. Nothing will look good on you, if you don’t believe that you are all that. No matter how expensive or cheap what you are wearing is, if you are not feeling yourself, nobody will feel you. Sometimes I wear about 800Ksh or less from head to toe, (Yes from hair to shoes) but I trick everyone into thinking I am around 10geez. CONFIDENCE IS A STAIN, WEAR IT EVERYWHERE DON’T WASH IT OFF.

CREATIVITY. Only my true broke girls will understand this one. Recycle, resuse and restyle. Those are the three economic R’s of a true broke girl. I live by them every day. If you are not a broke girl reading this right now, I challenge you to step into our broke girl shoes, take a walk into my world. Choose one item of clothing in your closet. Wear it for 7 days and if anyone asks “ is that what you wore yesterday? “ You fail. It can be a jacket, a vest, a pair of shoes, a scarf, a hat, jeans… etc. To make it more interesting, you can document your week, and tag #b4bg or #beautyforbrokegirls. You will be surprised just how amazing and exciting creativity is. If you are a fashion blogger/ trendsetter blogger/ stylist blogger, why not do this too? Let’s have some fun.

BROKE GIRL BUDGET a.k.a BGB. You need to take your broke girl budget everywhere you go. Don’t be embarrassed, nobody will care when you rock that celine handbag you got for half the price. Have that bargaining attitude with you always. Quick story, I am a born bargainer, I give my mother a PHD on getting good deals and I overheard my dad one time bargaining my school fees. Yes it’s that serious, runs through our DNA. But remember that there is a code to a Broke Girl Budget guidebook. Always bargain good stuff, no fakes, and remember fake has stages.

THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR VISITING 

<3 <3 <3 

DON'T FORGET TO TELL ME WHAT YOU THINK.

FACEBOOK: R-shan Phonci Shasha

TWITTER: @Rshanphonsi

INSTAGRAM: Rshanphonsi

E-MAIL: rshanphonsi@gmail.com

FACEBOOK PAGE: Beauty4brokegirls - B4BG

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STAY FABULOUS EVERYONE!

D.I.Y SHEER SKIRT TUTORIAL

D.I.Y SHEER SKIRT 

TUTORIAL

Hey my loves. I am so happy to be here with you guys once again. And when I am this excited, be sure that I am bringing you something HOT! Because we are gonna drop it like it’s hot. First of all, let me ask you all, how was your valentine? Well, to me I had an awesome day J follow me on Instagram to check out the pictures (Rshanphonsi). My day was so awesome it began with this dope tutorial, I woke up and angels told me that today was the day, I was planning for when to drop this tutorial for a month now, and the voices told me. Baby it’s today! So I took my time and slowly turned nothing to awesome; because that is what we do here, and if you are a first visitor to my awesome blog. Welcome!

Today being valentine, if your plan is to relax at home like mine, I am bringing you some sexy dust and I guarantee you, you won’t be single for love. Raining men everywhere

So let us talk about the sheer skirt, of course it rings a bell. You have probably seen it before and been dying to have one. Well I have, the reason I didn’t buy is because I knew it’s something easy I can make for less expensive  and I will definitely have fun making it and saying I made. Anyway, I hope I am not boring you yet with my long introductions as always but I love talking to you guys. But let’s get down to business.

WHAT YOU NEED:

-      Sheer material

-      Scissors

-      Elastic

-      Needle and thread

The brown sheer material is actually a really large piece I got for only 50ksh. Yes too good to be true but that’s the kind of deals I love. They say cheap is not always good, but I am in the percentage who usually find good cheap things. Luck I guess. I bought it at kawangware market, I was buying vegetables and this woman is selling scarves and I spot this large piece of sheer material and she tells me it’s 50. I am like “God bless you”. The elastic you can get for 60Ksh a meter. But I bought 2 meters because I will definitely need it in the near future.

STEP 1

Measure how long or how short you want your skirt to me by wrapping it around your waist. And proceed by cutting it.

STEP 2:

Fold where you will put the elastic and sew it with your needle and thread. But leave about 5 of the fabric, don’t sew it together, you will do that in step 3. Then measure the elastic and insert the elastic inside.

STEP 3:

You have to join the sides together. So first join both ends of the elastic together and then take the left sheer you left aside in step 2 and sew it over the other end of the elastic. If you want a flat out maxi sheer skirt, you can sew the opening until the end, but I decided to leave my side open for a little vavavoom as I like it. If you wish to have a double sided opening sheer skirt, cut another piece of fabric and sew it in the front part of your skirt.

THEN YOU HAVE YOUW OWN SHEER SKIRT

You can wear it with a short bodycon skirt inside and have it look like the skirt came with the sheer. And again you can decide to wear your sheer skirt only, preferably at the beach. Looking sexy and in style.

You can also wear the skirt with high waisted shorts. Mine is brown, luckily my sheer skirt is brown too, so it looks like it came like that, “flawless”.  And I paired it up with the polka dot cropped top I made in one of my tutorials, you can check it out here, click the link: http://www.beauty4brokegirls.blogspot.com/2013/11/how-to-turn-your-stockings-into-top.html

Overall I am wearing 200Ksh except for the shoes! But I can attend an event like that; no one will know that I am dressed that cheap because obviously, it doesn’t look cheap. When I had this outfit on, I couldn’t stop dancing to drunk in love by Beyonce and Jay-z. 

THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR VISITING 

<3 <3 <3 

DON'T FORGET TO TELL ME WHAT YOU THINK.

FACEBOOK: R-shan Phonci Shasha

TWITTER: @Rshanphonsi

INSTAGRAM: Rshanphonsi

E-MAIL: rshanphonsi@gmail.com

FACEBOOK PAGE: Beauty4brokegirls - B4BG

OR

COMMENT BELOW

STAY FABULOUS EVERYONE!

AM I HAPPY? RELATIONSHIP TAG ( VALENTINE'S SPECIAL) Mid-week post

Am I happy? 

Relationship Tag (Valentine’s special)

Someone randomly asked me this week; are you happy? That question got me thinking hard almost all week long. Am I happy?

We spend our lives complaining of what we don’t have and wishing we had this and that. Personally, I am guilty of that! I complain about almost everything, I complain that I am short, I complain that my parents are overprotective, I complain that I go to school, I complain that I don’t have thousands of friends and so much more. We spend our lives being ungrateful for what we have; if only we could take a second to realize, hey it’s not really that bad. So last night I was watching criminal minds and in one episode, an ungrateful family was murdered because they did not appreciate what they had. I learned one thing from that episode. There is always someone somewhere wishing to be in your shoes and having what you have. If you don’t appreciate it now, you may just be wasting a good life. Remember that happiness is a choice. But sometimes I choose not to be happy, I refuse to see how lucky I truly am or how blessed this life has been to me.

So for this Valentine’s, I choose to take this opportunity to thank you all for being a part of this, a part of this awesome blog that I am in love with. It being the week of love, the month of love and butterflies, I bring you “Relationship Tag Valentine’s special”. I also want to thank my mother for being my mother and my all time role model. Appreciate what you have, today tomorrow and always, make something out of it, don’t just sit back and say Thank you God, but instead think of how you can use and maximize your blessing, someone somewhere wishes to have just half of what you have. With all that said. Let’s talk about relationships, love, crushes and secrets.

1-   Do you have a date for Valentine’s?

Yes! February 14^th

2-  Which famous person will be your ideal date?

Mmmmh so many to choose from… But I will have to say OBAMA! Yo! He’s the president. So I will have him obama self.

3-  Have you ever been hearbroken?

Oh yes! My heart got stitches all over it.

4-  Who is the ex you regret leaving?

None! Lesson learned! Thank you! Bye bye!

5-  Are you currently in love?

There comes a time in life when you just can’t get someone out of your thoughts, no matter how hard you try. I hope I answered that.

6-  What do you like in a partner?

Patience .  Because I am nuts, don’t Let this pretty smile fool you.

QUICK BROKE GIRLS GIFT IDEA: Are you in a long term relationship with your partner? Are you more than just lovers and now best friends? You can laugh out loud, play together. If so then here is a quick idea. It’s quite a lot of work but it’s worth it, your partner will never forget it. Buy a set of playing cards, and on each card write one thing you love about your partner, do not repeat a single one. For more fun, you can choose to cut out words out of a magazine or newspaper and stick them on.

7-  What turns you off in a partner?

Drama, insecurity, boredom!

8-  What are your best qualities?

I am confident, I am crazy, I am determined, I am extremely loyal, I am traditional and I am very honest.

9-  If you could say something to your ex, what would it be?

Hope you good!

10-               What is the greatest thing about being single or dating?

Freedom + savings. Lol guys its true! You save more when you are alone. Dating is fun, that’s all I can say about it. Lol

11-                If you could receive any present for valentine’s. What would you want?

Nothing really... Experiences are better than material things. They last forever. I am a broke girl (hence my blog) so experiences are more precious to me. You don’t need to spend to flatter me.

QUICK BROKE GIRL GIFT IDEA: For this second Valentine’s Day cheap idea. Get a big piece of paper; I think they are called A2. If you have pictures of special places you have been to or special moments, cut out the pictures and make a collage. You can also do this with an A4 paper. Write down places and memories that is only special to the two of you. For a little more touch. You can frame it.

12-               Ever had a one night stand?

Let me put it like this…. I will update you. I am not dead yet! Not losing hope.

13-               What was your longest relationship?

A year

14-               Have you ever been cheated on?

Yes

15-               Do you believe that Age is nothing but a number?

Of course. Personally I am an old soul, so got to be older than me by about 5 years, that’s perfect. Maximum 10 years older. I know you are all wondering, why do you like old people?. Games!  Ain’t nobody got time for that. Plus mentally, I am really old. Lol

QUICK BROKE GIRL GIFT IDEA: For this next idea, if you are both music lovers, make a playlist of your favorite love songs or just songs in general, but they have to mean something to you and your partner, then burn it in a CD. If you want to do a bit more than just give a CD. Make sure ya’ll get down with the playlist. Like beyonce says; “I do it like it’s my profession “ ;-)

HAPPY VALENTINE’S EVERYONE!

Well now to answer the question. Am I happy? It really is a difficult question. I am still working on some things, wishing I didn’t have to, but that’s life, it’s not a bed of roses. So I will say; I am content for now! So I’d also like to ask each one of you, are you happy? Take a minute to think about it, not just one factor. You can drop your answer in the comment below.

 DON'T FORGET TO TELL ME WHAT YOU THINK.

FACEBOOK: R-shan Phonci Shasha

TWITTER: @Rshanphonsi

INSTAGRAM: Rshanphonsi

E-MAIL: rshanphonsi@gmail.com
FACEBOOK PAGE: Beauty4brokegirls -B4BG

OR

COMMENT BELOW

STAY FABULOUS EVERYONE!

D.I.Y PETER PAN COLLAR NECKLACE, BRAIDED NECKLACE AND AFRICAN PRINT NECKLACE

D.I.Y

PETER PAN COLAR NECKLACE

 BRAIDED NECKLACE

And

 AFRICAN PRINT NECKLACE

Hey my loves! You can’t begin to imagine how much I missed you. It’s been 7 days and I haven’t posted anything. I miss you guys so much! It’s just a few days to Valentine’s and I have a little present. ;-) They say diamonds are a girl’s best friend; well I believe, jewelries are a girl’s must haves. Now imagine if you could make your own customized neckpieces. Not only does it sound cheap but extremely fun too. Before we start, let me update you all on what I have been up to. What I love the most, thinking of the coolest D.I.Ys for the next few weeks, and I promise you they are going to be “THE BOMB”, make sure you follow up so you don’t miss anything. I will see you guys back here on Tuesday for a little surprise.

First of all let me just say that, I have never celebrated valentine’s ever, but this year, I will, with you guys. If you have no valentine this February, I got you. Let’s treat ourselves like queens and princesses. They say if you don’t love yourself, nobody will, it all starts with you, and I learned it the hard way, never really loved myself until I was 18. So for this weekend’s post we gift ourselves stylish neckpieces. Let’s get started. Honestly speaking, sometimes I just feel like skipping the introduction and just getting right to business, sometimes it gets that much exciting. Anyway, let’s do this! Happy valentine’s everyone!

WHAT WE NEED:

-         Pliers

-         Chains (Golden, silver is preferable. A meter or 2 )

-         Earring hoops / Fabric ( depends on your taste)

The reason I even included old necklace in the picture, a zip and all other things is just to give you guys an idea of how you can turn nothing into something. I hardly throw away anything that I can think I can make something with. Such as, bows, jewelries on clothing, studs, charms, brushes, coins, buttons… etc!

The chains you can purchase a meter for 60Ksh and 2 meters for 120Ksh. I got 3 meters because I had too many ideas in mind; I needed a bit more than that. I got the earring hoops from old earrings I don’t wear anymore, and the fabric from a piece of gitengue I have. I made the hoops about a year ago when I didn’t have a blog yet, and with the same material, I made a few bow ties and bracelets.

PETER PAN COLLAR NECK PIECE

STEP 1: Have 3 short pieces of chains, the one that goes around your neck should be longer and the collars about half that size.

STEP 2: Open the chains and link them together, you can do this with your bare hands by twisting the chain. I used pliers. You can add a little vintage feel to it, or anything else you think will look nice. Such as a zip to give it a vintage. Do not forget to put it around your neck for measuring and also when attaching the other two parts, do measure.

 
 

You are done with your first design. I chose not to add anything to mine, you can also do the same.

AFRICAN PRINT NECKLACE

STEP 1: This is a very straight forward tutorial. We are going to need a small piece of material, any material, preferably African material and you can get that from a tailor for free, you don’t have to spend money. You will also need earrings… hoops preferably; I used old earrings that I no longer wear. Link all the hoops together using the chain and that is all.

Please do note that, I don’t have any pictures for the hoops tutorial because I actually did the hoops last year and put it away where I usually keep all my craft junk. Yes junk! It’s like a lot of nothing but only I know the value of everything.

BRAIDED NECKLACE

STEP 1: This is the easiest of them all. Braid the chains together then link it to the neck chain and that is all you have to do. I can be lazy sometimes, so I decided to put the full necklace together before braiding and thought that just twisting it would do. Well… I was wrong, I wasted 10 minutes, untwisting and trying to make it work. Sometimes the fastest way is not always the easiest way.

You can do all three in about 30 minutes. I love all 3 of them. But my favorite is definitely the Peter Pan collar neck piece. I just love everything about it. It’s different and very unique. Please don’t forget to let me know which one is your favorite; number 1, 2 or 3? Comment below :-*

See you guys on Tuesday! Feels good to be back

 DON'T FORGET TO TELL ME WHAT YOU THINK.

FACEBOOK: R-shan Phonci Shasha

TWITTER: @Rshanphonsi

INSTAGRAM: Rshanphonsi

E-MAIL: rshanphonsi@gmail.com
FACEBOOK PAGE: Beauty4brokegirls -B4BG

OR

COMMENT BELOW

STAY FABULOUS EVERYONE!