2 Aqua Summer Outfit Ideas + DIY Paper Bracelet Page to Bead Examples

I have been meaning to get this post up for a couple of weeks but life has been a bit hectic between work deadlines and my seemingly never-ending bead re-organization project! But we still have a lot of summer left, so I hope these aqua OOTD can give you some style inspiration. I also share another way to personalize upcycled catalog/magazine paper for making beads. Let's get started.

Outfit #1: I created this weekend outfit around my Cheshire Cat tank and this peacock blue/teal drapey cardigan I've had since 2014. This is one of those pleasing pairings in my closet that I go back to again and again for early summer/late summer outfits.

I have worn this pairing before with the colorful ball necklace and the orchid flats (though not together), but this was the first time I wore it with the denim ankle pants or the lightweight teal/aqua oval print scarf. I really like how the scarf brought some lightness to the overall dark look and repeated the aqua color from the cat's stripes and the necklace.

I have worn my orchid ballet flats three times since I posted in February that the shoes had been untouched in my closet for over 1.5 years. I'd predicted that after that break, I would reach for them more often this spring, and I'm happy to report that I'm wearing them again this summer also.

I created this DIY paper bracelet set to coordinate with my Cheshire Cat tank, pulling the accent colors of bright pink and aqua/teal, plus silver to represent the grey fur of the cat. The four other bracelets are DIY bead bracelets that round out the stack.

For the top bracelet, I used a page from a Coldwater Creek catalog that featured a trio of dresses in bright pink, teal, and teal print. I thought this paper was perfect for making some striped bicone beads. (There is a bit of navy on the edge of 4 of the strips, but I figured correctly that it wouldn't really even show on the finished beads; I could have covered it on the edges with black marker if it bothered me.) I really liked the interest that the teal print and the folds in the fabric image brought to these beads.

For the second bracelet, I did not get so lucky as to find another bright pink and teal page, so I made my own! I started with this image of a woman wearing a bright pink fleece in a Lands End catalog. Because the other parts of the image were light colors (white, light grey, beige skin tone), it was easy to paint over everything but the bright pink with teal acrylic paint. I cut the painted paper into strips for making 0.5" bicone beads.

These beads rolled up beautifully with the intense color I was hoping for. Because the bright pink sections are a photograph and the teal sections are paint, each bead has a variegated quality to the color, lending a wonderful depth and visual texture that you just don't get when rolling up scrapbook paper or the like. There's nothing wrong with using purchased paper for making beads, but I really like that upcycling catalog/magazine paper is not only more sustainable for our planet and our pocketbooks, but also allows us to create more personalized beads that have a rich visual appeal. I like using markers to change the colors of small sections along the edge of paper strips, but the acrylic paint works wonderfully for covering larger sections of paper.

Outfit #2: I was interested in pairing the lace tank with the cardigan for a tonal modern twin set look (i.e., with similar but not matching colors). The top is somewhat lighter and brighter than the cardigan, but I was satisfied with how they worked together. I added a print skirt with hints of the same bright aqua color as the top. I've worn this skirt with tights in cold weather with mixed success, but it truly comes into its own in summer.

You know it's summer when I start pulling out the layered necklaces in place of a scarf! This is a very simple 5 piece layered look with 4 coordinating silver chain necklaces (which I bought as a set) and a longer silver/gunmetal necklace with beads in various shades of teal/aqua/blue. (This photo also better represents the true color of the cardigan.)

Yes, my daily bracelet stack features another new DIY paper bead bracelet set custom-made to match my clothing...this time, the skirt. All the other bracelets except the silver one are also made by me.

The top paper bead bracelet with the butterfly bead was made from a calendar page showing a rose-breasted grosbeak in a pink flowering tree. I cut my bicone strips across the paper the long way, starting at the bottom and ending just below the red chest of the bird. Because this was thicker paper, I colored the cut edge with a silver marker to cover up the white paper core. This made lovely mottled pink and taupe beads with very subtle hints of blue.

When I saw this gorgeous drawing of a girl reading in a fantastical ocean/sky scene (oops, I photographed it upside down!), I knew I would make paper beads from it. I cut it into 1" bicone strips and covered the paper core with silver marker as in the previous beads. While none of the motifs from the image are visible in the beads, of course, the paper made some wonderfully colorful and varied beads. I love that both papers turned into mottled-looking beads because the mixed chevron-floral print of the skirt has a mottled appearance as well!

I wore my light pink DIY 5-braid headband made from a t-shirt and one of my world's easiest DIY hoop earrings featuring glass pearls in a variety of aqua tones on silver hoops. (In the first outfit, I'm wearing the close cousin to these earrings; darker aqua glass pearls on gold hoops.)

Here is a better view of the "mottled" chevon-floral print of the skirt. It has an indistinct, smudgy quality to it, as if someone had put paint on a stamp and stamped the print onto the skirt in a hasty fashion. It's a nice effect.

Do you like wearing bold color combinations like teal/aqua with bright pink/orchid? Do you own/wear any necklace layering sets? Are you a bracelet stacker?

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