Sunflowers & Spears: January 2012

Tuesday, 31 January 2012

Paper Hearts

Just in time for Valentine's Day here is a treat. Make your own paper hearts and use them for any of these cute ideas... Frame a bunch of baby hearts as a gift, decorate a romantic table for two in your own home with a back drop of paper hearts, make a super large one to put cupcakes on, fold up your love letter in this lovely shape. Here is a great step by step on how to. PS. I love that new wedding site.

ZARA Lookbook

I am so over the moon that Zara is coming to Durban in a short while. I walk past the tall poster in Gateway opposite Sissy Boy and my heart sings for the beauties to arrive. I mean I may NEVER purchase any of the items as they are way pricey but maybe I will score a bargain or two. Even if I don't I am sure it will add to my life just being pretty as I walk past... I love these items from their Look Book on Facebook.

LOVE the dress on the right. And the large gold bangle.

Sequin cardi? Qui. (Left) Lovely feminine LBD! (Right)

Mullet dress with pleats in the front. (Left) Very cute office look with soft pink blazer. (Right)

Whoo! Stunning one shoulder LBD with a very futuristic feel.

Alexa Chung for Madwell

What a great collaboration! Alexa Chung styles Madwell fashion. And this is the outcome? A little old (2010) but I feel that fashion isn't dropping many of the trends it has created over these past few years.

Love this.

See her new Look Book for Madwell here. Images from Elle.

Fashion 101 : Sequins vs Paillettes

So New Years 2012 saw many hot blinging outfits featuring many fancy sparkles. The funny thing is we all just referred to these as sequins or a nice "shiny top". Well there is a huge difference to a top with large sparkly round discs and a top with fine detailed shimmery circles. Here is the low down...

Such a fun summer dress for a great evening shindig. Image source.

Paillettes (pronounced pail-lette) is a slightly larger than a sequin disc. They are usually used to trim items such as shoes and dresses. Although many times they have been used for whole tops and are then placed one above the other and not layered. Paillettes are used in small portions of a garment as a feature.

Stunning sequin embellished new years dresses. Image source.

Sequins are much smaller (as we all know when we lose a billion at a time). These little gems are sewn very intricately in garments and are used for much larger coverage of items such as dress tops, skirts and even accessories. You can buy an entire garment covered with sequins for a more understated yet very "wow" look.

DIY Rope Bracelet 2

Remember the post I did about the DIY rope bracelet here? Well here is another GREAT tutorial and some more fun twists to wear. Have fun!

Monday, 30 January 2012

Gossip Girl, Season 5

Tuesday, 31st January marks the start of Season 5 of Gossip Girl in South Africa. Back on VUZU at 19h30. For those of you who have sneaked a peek at the new season you know you are itching to stop wasting your internet and watch on a nice big TV the fashion, drama, style, sophistication and gossip of this season 5. EEK!

Fashion 101 : The Peplum

Have you seen them? Have you heard of them? Peplums are all the rage and are a come back from the 1900's. WOW! Here is a little fun info on peplums...

Here Blake Lively sports a mild black peplum inspired skirt at the Jason Wu for Target Fete. Image source : here.

1. Peplums originated from Greece and was the Greek word for tunic.
2. Peplum films are the title given to the genre of films which incorporate old Greek history and style.
3. In the 19th century a peplum referred to a short overskirt that was originally (and sometimes it is still) attached to the bottom of a jacket. It usually drops at the waist on a womans' body.
4. The purpose for a peplum was to add to a womans' figure and enhance her hips and therefore make her waist appear smaller.

From the runway to the stores...

From the runway (above) : Badgley Mischka, Jason Wu, Cushnie et Ochs & Rodarte. Image

To the stores (below) : J-Crew, Aqua(LOVE this one), XOXO and Modcloth(my pick). Image

The key to buying a peplum to fit your figure is to go for a more fitted peplum if you have a more healthy, curvy figure. This will cinch in the waist and flare just enough on the hips so as not to add to your already banging hips. If you are petite then go for a slightly more flared peplum that will play on your proportions nicely. In the end it is a stunning look for a good dinner date or a great professional look for the office.

Get to add onto this post... I just got myself a cute little black one from Mr. Price that looks very much like this. Unfortunately I couldn't copy the pic I have here so had to steal this one that looks very similar to the skirt. The littlr folds on the skirt are pockets. SO nifty. Now owning one I know why you'd want one. Such a great fitting piece of clothing! Go see the image at Polyvore.

Look of the Day #72

Can I ever get enough of this lovely lady's fashion? I don't think so after this golden look. If I could I would just go to my closet and put this on right now. LOVE yellow so much.

Canary by Tuula.

Good Hair Day

How cute?

Image from here.

DKNY Spring 2012

Whoa. Some stunning designs from the DKNY Spring 2012 collection. I love the neutral tones paired with bright spring colours like Cobalt Blue and Cabaret Pink.

Images sourced from Teen Vogue.

Sunday, 29 January 2012

While Listening to Music...

How cute are these inner ear headphones from KarmaLoop?!

Saturday, 28 January 2012

Chocomania : A Valentine's Day Treat

Just a few more winks and we will be seeing this new delectable range in The Body Shop stores. I must say I am so excited for this tasty body treat and will definitely have it on my wishlist for Valentine's Day.

DIY Tips for Natural Beauty

We all know nature knows best when it comes to health and beauty and we always feel that bit better after an apple or a good glass of water. So why keep your skin, body and hair from that same feeling? I have just read some great DIY tricks for healthier skin, hair and body. Here are a few of my favourites. See more here.

Face:

Keep to your face skincare routine and you should be good. Cleanse, tone and moisturise. A good face mask is definitely the key to keeping up a fresh face. Here are some great ideas for face masks for your skin type.

Dry : Avocado & Honey mask. Mix 1/2 a mashed avo with a 1/4 cup of honey. Leave on for 10 minutes.

Oily : Banana, honey & lemon. Blend 1 ripe banana with 1 tablespoon of honey & 1 teaspoon of lemon juice. Leave on for 15 minutes.

Normal Skin : An exfoliator is great to remove any dead skin cells and increase vibrance in your skin tone. Blend 3 tablespoons of olive oil, 2 tablespoons of honey and half a cup of sugar (brown would make a harsher exfoliator and white will be a soft exfoliator). You can use it at least 2 times a week.

Hair:

During this hot summer season you will need to keep your hair hydrated and well looked after. A good conditioner or hair mask will protect your hair after a day at the beach in the harsh African sun.

Conditioner : Mix 1/4 plain yogurt, 1/4 cup mayo & egg whites of one egg. Cover your hair with the conditioner - use a comb to spread evenly. Leave in for half an hour and rinse out under warm water.

We all want a bright beachy hair colour this summer. Here is a easy DIY technique for natural highlighting.

Lighten hair : Dilute 1/2 cup of fresh lemon juice with 1/4 cup of water. Put the mixture in your hair for half an hour. Sit in the sun for the duration if possible to increase the effects.

Skin:

Baby soft, supple skin is each of our desires. I know I want to constantly feel touchably soft. Here are to quick, natural ways to achieve this.

Milky smooth : Add a carton of milk to your bath with a few drops of extra virgin olive oil. Soak in the goodness of easy beauty.

Exfoliate : Mix 1 cup of coarse sea salt with 1 cup of olive oil. Add something with a sweet scent if you desire. Scrub away that dry summer skin for a smooth finish. Make it feel more beautiful by using pink himalayan salt for the scrub with a dash of vanilla essence.

There are some other great tips online where I found these at College Fashion.

Valentines Day Love Cards

Saw these cute DIY Valentine's Day cards with love song lyrics on The Pretty Blog. Yes, you heard right.

DIY Valentines Day cards. Just click right here to download this printable PDF and choose your preferred lyrics. These are SO perfect for Lee and I as muso's. YAY for Valetine's Day.

Enjoy! Let me know if you use any of them and which one you like the most!

I love the Moldy Peaches, Band of Horses and Semisonic lyrics. Oooo. So amped!

Friday, 27 January 2012

Chalkboard Typography

As a graphic designer I am a huge fan of typography and the creativity is adds to a simple design or a cute phrase. I absolutely love these great chalkboard typography walls.

Images from here, here and there.

Lace Hearts

The lovely ladies at Do It Yourself Divas posted this tutorial on how to make your own lace heart top. I would love to do this with a twist and make the heart go over the one shoulder and be sheer. Hm. So cute and so fit for Valentine's Day day wear. Click here for the tutorial.

Taylor Swift Rocking Vogue

I am in love with this very rocker styled shoot Taylor Swift did for Vogue. So different to the usual sweet Taylor we see on TV. Some crazy fashion and insane location. Love it.