Outfit of the Day - Wedding Shower

One of my oldest and best friends is getting married to a fantastic man, and last weekend was her wedding shower! My other best friend organized it, and it turned out so beautiful! This is what I wore. It was a hot, muggy day, so I wore the thinnest, lightest dress I own. By the way, this is my room back home at my parent's house. These curtains from Ikea act as our closet doors.

I paired the turquoise dress with my new coral lip color, which I am now obsessed with for summer. It's one of the new Revlon Lip Butters, and they're amazing. The one I'm wearing is Tutti Frutti. The color looks shockingly orange at first, but it goes on slightly sheer, yet expertly pigmented, and feels like a lip balm.

I went for relaxed waves, although I could have used a bit more volume, or perhaps a braid along the front. I also wanted to paint my nails, but working in a restaurant again, I'm not allowed :(

Dress: Heritage, Forever21
Shoes: Novela
Lip color: Revlon Lip Butter in Tutti Frutti

How do you guys feel about coral lips? have you tried any other shades of the Revlon Lip Butter? I'm thinking about trying the Peach Parfait shade next.

Pretty Handmade Jewelry

Hey there! The last few weeks I've been really busy with school, and my blogging has really been sparse. But I'm back with another Handmade Stuff feature! This time I'm featuring some unique jewelry from some creative Etsy artists. Enjoy!


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{ONE}
If you haven't heard of White Owl's stunning and delicate lace jewelry yet, the time is now. The way they use each piece of lace is so creative! You MUST check out their shop, I wanted to add every single one of their pieces to my favorites.

{TWO}
There are three things I love about this bracelet: the combination of gold and jade green, the combining of different textures, and the tiny bell - which probably sounds like a fairy has come to play every time you move your arm. For an Etsy shop, BrassLady has A TON, and I mean A LOT, of items up for sale. And to put the cherry on top, everything is priced really well.

{THREE}
I find this necklace rather unique. It is a chevron shape, but unlike most other chevron necklaces out there, which are very straight-edged and geometric, FriedaSophie's is made of natural-looking, rough-edged beads. Plus, the colors are amazing.

{FOUR}
What more can be said about embroidered jewelry?! It's so pretty, it doesn't need explaining. Visit Abbey Vanderlin's shop!

That's all this month! Please visit their shops and show them some love by favoriting, buying, or pinning their items! Let's help support the handmade community.

Black, White, and Color all Over

I've had this scarf for years now, but I never wear it. I don't really know why though, because I really love the colors! I paired it with this lovely dress, and if you look closely, you can see that the polka dots are square, which I think is really quite unique! I wore some opaque tights for a wee bit of extra warmth, as the days are flip-flopping between sunny and warm one day to chilly with an icy breeze the next. I didn't like how any of my cardigans looked with it, so I just left my arms bare.



My favorite thing about this outfit is the mixing of patterns. I love pairing florals with either stripes or polka dots, you can never really go wrong, as long as the patterns don't compete for attention.



I wish I would have tied my scarf differently, it looks a bit too limp. I should have took some advice from this video, all about the nearly infinite ways to tie a scarf.





Dress: Marshall's
Tights: HUE
Scarf: Forever21
Flats: Old Navy
Belt: Thrifted

Color Palette - Sea Breeze

Color Palette time! I love these soft blues, browns, and taupes, so serene. I actually have this image for sale in a set of two in my Etsy shop! I thought it would make a great color palette.


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Doesn't that turquoise dress look really fuzzy and comfortable?! And that Anthropologie throw is calling my name.

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Clothing/Sandals from ASOS
Blanket from Anthropologie

DIY: Paint Swatch Art

Don't you love all those paint swatch DIY projects you see on Pinterest? Well, I've decided to make one of my own! Introducing Darla Dear's paint swatch art. It's super easy, and there are a million variations in color, composition, size, and shape, that no one will ever be identical.


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First off, I dug out my old paint swatches from an art class I took a while back. I painted these swatches using gouache paint, a highly pigmented watercolor, but if you don't have paint, or don't have the energy to paint your own (it takes a while), you most certainly can use the paint swatches you get from hardware and home improvement stores if you like.

Next, I cut each of my paint squares into irregularly-shaped ovals, which remind me of smooth pebbles in a river.


I then played around with composition until I found something I liked. I had to cut down my paper size to match the amount of color swatches I had. You don't want too much negative space, unless that's what you're going for.


Once I found an arrangement I liked, I glued each piece down, starting from the bottom and working my way up, so that each piece layered on top of one another like scales. I like art that has dimension.

I thought it looked a bit empty just with the color swatches, so I drew in some lines.


And, that's it! Have fun with this, and if you do any sort of art project, add a link to your blog post about it in the comments! I'd love to see your creativity! Happy DIYing! (as a side note, check out my nail! I painted them all fancy)



This is my first diy tutorial, and I'm afraid I may have accidentally left an important step out. If you have any questions, please comment!

(arrow in top image from hello vanny)

Cute as a Button

Every time I drive to work, I pass this little antique shop, with sparkling lights in its large windows, through which I see glimpses of the cutest. shop. ever.

FINALLY, after months of driving past, I scavenged a parking space and paid a visit to the store. Boy, had I been missing out on something special. Not only does she have a great selection, but her prices are fantastically affordable. The one thing I like (yet mostly dislike) about antique/vintage stores is the tendency to overstock every square inch of space with stuff, but her shop was refreshingly well-visually displayed. She also runs an Etsy! Rustic and Refined

While there, I bought some milk-glass vases, some decorative glass candle holders that look like curvy test tubes, a beautiful frame that looks like gold lace, some wee little doilies, and a myriad of buttons. All of these things I bought as photo props, to better experiment with Still-Lives (Lifes?), you see.

As of yet, I have only explored the buttons, placed upon the doilies and a few of my favorite dresses with their colorful prints.









These aren't buttons, although they would make any blouse proud, they are in fact earrings, which I bought from Francescas!