Last week was all about beautiful wooden objects, and the rustic charm they can bring to any home, workspace, or dining table. Today, we’re turning our attention to another sort of ethereal, old-world material. Lace!
And we’ve got news for you. Lace isn’t just for wedding dresses and lingerie – it’s actually an awesome, stylish material that can be used to upgrade your garden, jazz up your boots, or add a little flirty femininity to a pair of denim cutoffs. Here are 30 lovely projects to get you inspired to DIY with lace.
Anthropologie-Inspired Lace Dress
How gorgeous is this dress? We seriously can’t believe it’s a DIY hack, and we definitely have to try it. (via Our Life is Beautiful)
Lace Infinity Scarf
This is great way to dress up a scarf you already have, using found pieces of lace or doilies from the flea market. (via Urban Threads)
DIY Lace Tape
Similar to our DIY Ribbon Tape, this tutorial shows you how to create your own decorative lace tape! (Free Pretty Things For You)
Lace Princess Crowns
Sorry, we had to include something princess-y, especially because these crowns could not be cuter. Our inner 5 year old at a birthday party is seriously swooning. (via Girl. Inspired.)
Lace Denim Jacket
The ’80s called – they want their jacket back. But for real, we love the Gem and the Holograms gone modern look of this jacket. (via Fashion Salade)
Ombre Lace Jewelry
These dipped pieces of lace scream summer staple accessory. (via Glamour and Grace Blog)
Pretty Lace Flower Pots
Add a bit of romance to those potted succulents by wrapping them up in lace trim, lace scraps, and doilies. (via A Beautiful Mess)
Lace Tiles
Lace also makes a great stencil, as illustrated in these beautiful painted tiles. (via Martha Stewart)
Lace Doily Dreamcatchers
These lovely dreamcatchers are simple to make and will bring you good slumber. (via A Beautiful Mess)
Lace Painted Toms
Another tutorial that uses lace as a stencil, these painted toms are totally to DIY for. (via Lil Blue Boo)
Lace Patterned Notebook
This looks like the perfect kit for getting your doodle on. (via A Beautiful Mess)
Crocheted Bull
Obviously something you need in your home, this crocheted bull is the real deal. (via Makezine)
Crocheted Stones
We’re not really sure what you would use these stones for besides decoration, but you can achieve a similar look by wrapping lace scraps around found rocks. (via Free People)
Lace Washer Bracelets
Washers and key rings meet lace and make friends in this easy-as-pie tutorial. (via Brit + Co.)
Black Lace Accessories
Head to the fabric store and start thumbing through all the different lace trim they have – some of it is so beautiful just on it’s own. (via Plan B)
Faux Lace Aviator Sunglasses
Guess what was used to create these lacy designs? Lace-inspired nail stickers! (via Studs & Pearls)
Lace Doily Table Runner
Featured in our roundup of doily projects, we couldn’t resist including this beauty again. (via Ashley Ann Photography)
Lace-Edged Scarf
We love any hack on a basic scarf – this one shows how to turn a regular jersey knit scarf into a whole different piece with a bit of lace trim. (via A Beautiful Mess)
Lace as a Fabric Paint Stencil
Use lace as a stencil for pillows, canvas wall art, and even mugs! (via Martha Stewart)
Anthropologie-Inspired Gilded Lace Bow
We think this gilded bow would also be a great way to jazz up a pair of flats. (via Small Good Things)
Lace-Backed Hoodie
Make your favorite hoodie a little more stylish by adding a peekaboo lace back. (via Brit + Co.)
Lace Stencil
Once you turn those jeans into cutoffs, you’re going to find yourself with a whole pile of denim. We turned ours into cocktail napkins with bleach-dyed designs. (via Brit + Co.)
Welcome to Selfmade Finance School, our new money series with Block Advisors to help small business owners with their tax, bookkeeping, and payroll needs year-round. This week, we explore the tax implications of bringing family members into your business.
The question for today is this: Does hiring your family members make sense for your business? Let me be clear. This is not a piece about whether hiring your family members makes sense for your relationships with those family members. As someone who is part of a family business, I could fill up a lot more than 600 words on my opinions about that. For today's purposes, we focus on whether it makes sense from an overall "good business and tax implication" perspective. As it turns out, there is a decent amount of tax nuance when it comes to employing your family. Let's break it down based on relationship to the employee:
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Spouses Who Are In Business Together
Personally, if I had to be in business with my husband, it would not go well. However, many couples build viable, strong businesses together and I say, good for them! Depending on how you have your business entity structured, it will make a big difference on the tax treatment of you and your spouse working as partners. Because a business jointly owned and operated by a married couple is generally treated as a partnership for Federal tax purposes, the spouses must comply with filing and record keeping requirements imposed on partnerships and their partners. The election to file two Schedule C (Form 1040) forms, (one for each spouse) permits certain married co-owners to avoid filing partnership returns, provided that each spouse separately reports a share of all the businesses' items of income, gain, loss, deduction, and credit. Under the election, both spouses will be subject to self-employment tax and on net earnings from self-employment and receive credit for Social Security earnings.
One Spouse Employs Another
If you have a dynamic where your spouse is an employee of your business, then your spouse's wages are subject to income tax withholding, Social Security and Medicare taxes. If you are self-employed (not a corporation or a partnership), your spouse's pay does not have to be included in your federal unemployment tax account (FUTA) contributions and payments. However, if your business is a corporation or a partnership you must include that spouse's pay in your unemployment tax contribution calculation.
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You Employ Your Child
First, let's be clear. I work in my family business, but I am an adult, so I am treated just like a normal employee. However, if you, for example, run a family restaurant and want to hire your children under 18 to work for you, there are some tax benefits. But first, you should check with your state for rules on how many hours minors can work (in non-agricultural jobs) and reference the Fair Labor Standards Act for information on limitations on the kinds of work children can perform.
"This is an often overlooked or under-utilized strategy. Paying your children for true services they provide in your business can be a powerful tax-saving tool," says Cathi Reed, Block Advisors Regional Director. "If you are a sole-proprietorship or single member LLC, and the child is less than 18 years of age, the business is not required to withhold FICA or payroll taxes. The child can use his or her standard deduction against income you pay."
You Hire Your Parent
Oh dear. If you are brave enough to do this, know that you will need to pay Social Security and Medicare taxes on your parent's wages and make the appropriate withholdings, but you don't have to pay unemployment taxes. Now all you have to do is convince your parent that you are the boss. Have fun with that!
Is Hiring Family Members Worth It For The Tax Benefits?
"There are some positive tax advantages to hiring family members. It's important to treat a family member like any other employee. Hiring your children can result in substantial savings for businesses. Make sure your child has real, age-appropriate work to do and a reasonable pay rate, comparable to other employees. Consult with a Block Advisors small business certified tax pro to ensure that you are complying with all requirements," advises Reed. "Block Advisors, a team within H&R Block, is dedicated to meeting the tax, bookkeeping and payroll needs of small business owners year-round. To start working with the tax experts at Block Advisors, visit blockadvisors.com."
In my opinion, you should not hire a family member solely because of the tax benefits. You should always hire based on whether that person is right for the job and keep in mind how this hire could materially impact your relationship with that person and others in your family. Finally, as I mentioned, make sure you have a tax professional on your team when making these determinations. As you can see, things can get a little tricky!
*All details were sourced from IRS.gov and blockadvisors.com
The opinions expressed in this commentary are those of the author and may not necessarily reflect those held by Kestra Investment Services, LLC or Kestra Advisory Services, LLC. This is for general information only and is not intended to provide specific investment advice or recommendations for any individual. It is suggested that you consult your financial professional, attorney, or tax advisor with regards to your individual situation. Comments concerning the past performance are not intended to be forward looking and should not be viewed as an indication of future results. Securities offered through Kestra Investment Services, LLC (Kestra IS), member FINRA/SIPC. Investment advisory services offered through Kestra Advisory Services, LLC (Kestra AS), an affiliate of Kestra IS. O'Keeffe Financial Partners and any other entity listed herein is not affiliated with Kestra IS or Kestra AS Investor Disclosures: https://bit.ly/KF-Disclosures