Style Sample magazine is partnering with do-it-yourself resource heaven (and brainchild of Jenna Colombini, featured in the current issue) New York Design Shop with a challenge: 10 DIY bloggers were each given one basket of materials and permitted to let their creativity run wild!

Check out some of the amazing projects they came up with, and vote for your favorite. One lucky voter will win a Create Couture original piece!

Check out the rest of the blogger tutorials and vote for the blogger you think deserves to win the Create Couture DIY Design Challenge!

Many social media gurus say that a blog also serves as an online resume of sorts–and that’s pretty accurate. If you’re into visual arts like photography, illustration, styling, modeling, graphic design, or anything else that shows off your creative skills, a blog gives readers and potential clients insight into your personality and work ethic, as well as the caliber and quality of your work.

However, if you’re dealing with agencies, educational institutions, or more traditional clients, they may want to see your work presented in a more traditional portfolio style–well, as traditional as it can be online. If you find yourself in need of an online portfolio, here are some of the best options:

Free

Carbonmade

Carbonmade‘s no-frills setup makes it easy to get started, though customization is limited. For busy creatives, the site features fast and easy batch uploading, video hosting, and web analytics. The free service (called “meh”) allows you to upload 5 projects and 35 images, while the paid (“whoo!”) service costs $12 per month and includes room for up to 50 projects, 500 images, 10 high quality videos, and your own custom domain name.

Behance

One of the best known online portfolio sites out there, Behance allows you to create a free portfolio that incorporates text, image, video, and audio as well as embedded media from sites like Flickr, YouTube, and more.

Deviant Art

The other well-loved and well known online portfolio creation tool, DeviantArt‘s basic service allows you to use their wizard to create and publish your work. You can host up to 100 images for free, or pay for the Premium portfolio service for more benefits.

Coroflot

Coroflot includes a personal URL, traffic reports to see how many hits your portfolio gets, and unlimited file uploads. Bonus: if you’re available for freelance work, you can sign up for job alerts.

Create a separate page on your blog

If you want to keep everything in one place and set up a portfolio on your current blog or site, it can be as simple as creating a new page and uploading images of your work. This method will likely require more design and formatting work to look professional, so it helps to know basic HTML and CSS. You may choose to organize by project, client, or skill.

Paid

Dripbook

Dripbook makes it easy to create your portfolio using their drag-and-drop organizer, saves countless hours of tedious work by automatically reformatting and resizing your images, instantly synch updates to external sites, blogs, and social networking sites. The service costs $10 per month for a standard portfolio, but you can sign up for a free 30-day trial.

Viewbook

The Viewbook platform makes it easy to you to create unlimited portfolio pages and albums to target to different audiences. You can publish galleries on blogs, social networking sites, and other websites. A standard portfolio costs $9/month and gets you up to 2500 images. You can also sell prints of your work (as a hard copy or digital file) through the site.

Design Taxi

Design Taxi is a paid service (9.99 or 19.99 per month), but it is a service. The platform allows viewers to export your portfolio to PDF (much more efficient than emailing a large file), and the company conducts portfolio reviews, publishes interviews with users, and sponsors events that showcase subscriber portfolios.

A few additional tips:

• Your portfolio should be a representation of your best work, so choose carefully. It’s not necessary to include everything you’ve ever done, as long as the overall body of work presented is a clear depiction of your style and skill.

• When including photography, illustration, or other visual work, use high-quality images and scans. You want your creative to look as crisp and clear as possible on screen.

• Make sure your portfolio is accessible (all-Flash sites are more difficult to index) and easy to navigate.

• Include a way for people to contact you. Either a contact form or an email address will work– both is best. The easier you make it for potential clients to get in touch, the more likely they will.

Must-buy fashion from our favorite blogger-run online shops:

A’N'D Belted Shirt Skirt , $340

Just when you think the fashion gods don’t answer prayers, A’N'D designs a Fall transition piece that incorporates buttery leather, a cinched waist, and shirting details all in one. Hallelujah!

Pauper quilted cropped jacket, $45

We can so imagine Brenda Walsh wearing this jacket as she fights back tears watching Dylan and Kelly share fries at The Peach Pit. Perfect for pouting, glowering, and storming out of the room.

Poison Ivy Smoke lace earrings, $26

Amazing statement earrings that go with anything and are light enough to wear for hours? Yes, please!

In the personal styling feature in the current print issue (buy it here!), we spoke to Beth of B. Jones Style (she’s doing big things over at her blog–check it out), who wisely advises aspiring stylists to develop relationships with local boutiques.

Making the right connections and cultivating trust with area retailers can help you create a base of stores from which to pull clothing and accessories for photo shoots, fashion shows, and other opportunities that may arise.

So, what’s the best way to go about doing such a thing? Let’s go over some basic tactics:

Know the shops in your area

Do a good ol’ Google search, ask around, or–really, if you’re into fashion, you probably already know the local hotspots. Subscribe to store’s email list, set up a Google Alert for “(your city) boutique”, or subscribe to the feed of a publication that covers local retailers to stay up to date on sales and events.

Make contact

Plan a trip! If you have a blog, contact owner ahead of time and let them know you’re interested in writing about their store or covering their event. I ran into trouble at an event when there was a paid professional photographer there who felt threatened when I took photos (even though I’m not a photographer), so make sure it’s okay to take pictures.

This blogging thing is still pretty new for a lot of people, so you may need to explain what you do. Send a link to your site so they can check it out before you arrive.

Take a trip

Dress the part for your visit, and when you arrive be friendly and professional. Bring your camera (or your photographer if you’re lucky enough to have one) as well as plenty of business cards to distribute.

Take pictures of the shop, the merchandise, the owner and employees, or whatever images best fit your site content. When taking pictures of other people, make sure you have their permission to post their photo and be sure write down their names–with the correct spelling!

If they’re not too busy, chat with the people running the shop. Ask when they get shipments in, what services they offer, and if they have any special sales or events coming up. The more interested you are, the better!

Buy a little something if see something you like and you can afford it–people support people who support them.

Blog it

If you had a good experience, post a write-up on your site. Talk about your visit in first person, and make sure the post is attractive–use clear pictures and proper grammar and spelling. If you use a direct quote, make sure it’s accurate.

Easy things to write about include the location, store setup/atmosphere, clothing brands, your favorite finds, good deals, and how you’d style certain pieces. Always write in your own voice and keep it real–your readers are still your first priority.

Follow up

Send a follow-up “great meeting you” email with a link to the published post to the shop owner. It also helps to attach a few pictures if you got any good ones–people love to receive pictures of themselves. I usually email one or two images of the store owner and employees, along with a link to a Flickr set with the pictures taken. If you’re open to it, let them know they’re welcome to use the photos as long as they’re credited to you.

Keep in touch

If the boutique has social media accounts, follow them on Twitter or Like them on Facebook. Send a quick request to link to the shop owner on LinkedIn. If you’re forgetful (welcome to the club!), set up an email group list of all the shops you’ve contacted, and set a reminder on your calendar to contact the list every 4-6 weeks. Sending a quick email to ask if they received anything new or interesting is a simple way to stay in the loop!

This is a guest post by Kristen of Style Wax Poetic. If you’d like to write a guest post for Style Sample, check out the guidelines and submit your idea.

I had the opportunity to speak with the lovely Valerie, aka the genius right-side conversationalist of BLEACHBLACK.  I stumbled upon the great BLEACHBLACK.com through a coworker and I remember being captivated by the concept of a conversation online between two fashion designers, best friends and most importantly, two seemingly very cool girls!

Anticipating my meeting with Valerie, I wasn’t sure what to expect. I knew she had a love for 60′s and 70′s-era style (she counts Jane Birkin as her ultimate muse), that she had amazing style (product features off the hizzy), and of course, she was talented (Who else knows how to paint on a pair of shorts without making them look like a kindergartner got their hands on them?) What I came to find after speaking with her was that she is nothing short of lovely to work with and had the sweetest, kindest nature about her.

What is your history with fashion?
I’ve been sewing for years, starting with matching navy blue wrap dresses for my Barbies. I’ve also always been tearing my clothes apart, buying vintage, and trying to personalize it. My day job is in men’s apparel design, in the skateboard industry, which I completely love.

How do you manage the time between blogging, your professional life and personal life?
It’s hard, I don’t have much downtime. Actually, I have no downtime! I try to make time for friends a few nights a week, but otherwise I’m always working on a project, reading, sewing, making something, blogging, etc. I recently bought my first (fixer-upper) condo, which is the ultimate do-it-yourself project. It’s been a ton of work, but I love it!

Name three things that you can’t live without this summer:

1. Evian Brumisateur Spray (www.shopevian.com) — It’s the BEST at the beach and only $8.00!
2. Missoni Beach Pants — Obnoxious? Maybe, but believe it or not, they are ridiculously versatile! I wear mine with a grey vintage tee, or pile on a ton of necklaces for dinner with friends.
3. Clarins SPF40 UV – Mandatory.

Tell us about some of your favorite trends this season:
Sheer, flowy kaftans and turbans and anything white macramé/crochet.

Shopbop via BLEACHBLACK, American Archive via BLEACHBLACK

Where did the success of BLEACHBLACK come from?
We really have no idea, but we do work really hard to find our own unique content every day.

What advice would you give a fashion blogger just getting started?
Original content, clean imagery, frequent updates. Also, use a name that everyone can say and spell.

Do you and Kristin actually speak now that you have a daily conversation through email?
Haha, yes! We talk every day, sometimes twice! She’s the best.