How to dress down and still look stylish?

I am going on a camping trip to upstate NY. I will be staying at a camp ground while we visit with my stepson in the Army. 

orange-red top

So usually I overdress for these occasions this time I am going to base my capsule on denim. I picked out all of my jeans and decided to find tops by looking at all of my knit tops. Voila I had two group of prints and solids and surprisingly they fell into two color groups. Navy prints and neutral solids. The only color was an orange-red with navy in the print.The trip is for ten days so I will be posting the outfits each day. 
Since it will be way cooler there than it has been here I will be adding sweaters to each outfit. My challenge is to look stylish yet casual for this trip, for me it is easier to look stylish when I have to dress up than when I have to dress down. Do you find it difficult to dress down and still look stylish???

Crafty me:Vogue 8790 and 1292

I wanted to do a post of things I have made recently so I took a photo of my skirt and top and bracelet.

The skirt pattern was Vogue 1292 the top was Vogue 8790.

The skirt was so much easier to make than the top because the sizing was so easy. It has many pieces which are tedious to sew together but the hardest part was finding an appropriate weight knit at my local fabric stores. They had nothing in a striped except for a powder blue/white stripe. So I had to go with what I could find in colors I would wear.  

The top was another story. There was no way I could increase the bust for cup size as it was printed. So I just made the largest size and kept taking in the side seams. I ended up with very droopy shoulders and a larger arm whole than I wanted. So I banded the arm whole opening and folded up the excess length. I think it came out okay. 

I love to sew because the process is so much fun. I like to fix the problems I have with fit and hope it works out. I am planning my next project now for spring. Yes it takes me that long to finish something. Do you get things done fast or slow?

DIY: What to do with those old coins from other countries.

I was inspired by "What I Wore blogger", Jessica Quirk. http://whatiwore.tumblr.com/post/20791295255/diy-charm-bracelet

I made my own coin bracelet

I added more coins than she did because I had a heavy chain to use so it would support more weight. I had my husband drill the wholes with his drill press. This was much easier than trying to do it with a hand held drill. My fingers aren't strong enough to keep the coins spinning while I was trying to drill. I used regular jump rings as well I didn't want to fuss with the double jump rings too hard to put on.  I did clean them in a sonic jeweler machine to get the dirt off. Have you ever made a coin bracelet? My question is should I polish the coins or leave the brass and copper patina old as it is?

COLOR BLOCKING: purple and orange

 I am having a go at color blocking. I am wearing the darker color on top to help balance out my disproportionate top heavy body. Other than that fact I like this trend and feel I can carry it off. I am wearing neutral shoes and a neutral purse in black. Since I have warded off wearing black clothing because I don't think that color is flattering I can wear it as an accessory.
I have also given up for the time being trying to straighten my hair. I cant fight the weather any more. Cooler days are to come and then I'll go back to my Sassoon inspired hair do with smooth sides.
Notice that I have color pattern texture and shine in the elements of this outfit, Stacy and Clinton would be proud of me. (I am counting the purse as texture and pattern, the top has shine although I am not sure it shows in this picture.)