D.I.Y Dolce

Oh, what a world..

Growing up my mother used to take me shopping for school and give me a very strict budget about what I could spend. She almost always said yes but it had to fit the price range including tax. For example, if we went to Target and I would ask for makeup and she would be like “ok but you can only spend 5$” I would get so excited about being able to get something that I didn’t care about the budget limit. But when I was shopping around for my first mascara’s there wasn’t as many affordable brands like E.L.F. so I would always have to get creative or find a way to make things work.

I still stick to the same methods of shopping even now as an adult because I wanna be as cool and fashionable as anyone but sometimes my pockets can’t meet the needs of my dream wardrobe.

Like most, I spend an unreasonable amount of time scrolling through Instagram adoring the lives of the rich and famous, mainly to adore their accessories and amazing wardrobe. On a more recent binge scroll I came across Kacey Musgraves who is a country singer/ fellow glitter lover. I usually stray away from anything country related but she has such a fun wardrobe I couldn’t help myself.

 

Any who I came across a post she had with the most fabulous pair of sunglasses I have ever seen and I wanted them immediately! Fortunately, and unfortunately for me they were a result of a D.I.Y. she did. The inspo was Dolce and Gabbana’s SS16 sunglasses that are over the top and fabulous. After giving up on ever being able to remake my own version I was suddenly curious about where she got her materials. She didn’t list any of them online so I decided to put my googling skills to the test and see what I could find.

Straight away I knew I could find a pair of plain white frames on ebay and there they were! The same exact pair for only 2.79$!! Of course I had to wait a while since they were being shipped from china but I figured it was worth the wait. After finding the frames on ebay I decided to try finding some sort of rhinestones flower pieces there as well and I ended up finding mostly all of the same pieces for either .99 cents each or in a multi-piece set. It took a little over 2 weeks to receive all of the pieces  and around 15$ all together but so worth it! My version came out a little different and a little blingier but I’m cool with that.

Don’t Look at My Aura Like That

“There’s always been a rainbow, hangin’ over your head”
– Kacey Musgraves

This week I did something that was soooo me. I got a photo of my aura taken! I have always been interested in the metaphysical so getting a picture of my aura sounded perfect for me. I was always curious about knowing what color my aura would be or just to understand a little more about how it could be possible to photograph your energy. So when I saw that the Radiant Human or Christina, would be in San Francisco I bought a ticket ASAP!

I’m still not sure about the specifics but she read me pretty accurately. She saw that I’m an adventurous perfectionist that’s debating making a big decision. Which was sooo true! I was so startled by her ability to read that from some pretty colors in a photo that I started to tear up and I didn’t know why. She explained that it was a normal reaction to having a stranger completley read you. I guess no matter what wall you put up, energies don’t lie, and auras never lie.

Peaceful Crafternoon

“Nothing can bring you peace but yourself…”

My latest craft obsession is wreaths. I recently have become a fan of changing my door decor to either match the season or my creativity. I have been wanting to create a peace sign wreath for the longest time but thought that I needed pricier materials to make my creation come to life. One of my favorite places to find crafting supplies is the Dollar Tree! I found some reindeer moss that I thought could work for this project so I bought two bags and then decided to make the peace sign stencil out of cardboard. I just used some pot lids that I felt were the size I wanted and used a ruler and a cutting mat with a grid to determine the size of the outline. I also used some green paint to be a background filler in case the moss didn’t cover everything, I didn’t want any cardboard poking through. I then started hot gluing the reindeer moss onto the sign. After filling most of the wreath I found that filling in the smaller spaces with e600 glue worked better than the hot glue.To hold it up I taped some jute yarn to the back and to add a little flare I added a couple of flowers. And TAAAA DAA! That’s it!

 

Unintentionally pink

“Iconic” – Joanne the Scammer

My whole life I have been obsessed with clothes, anything and everything fashion related and over the top glam. I was always styling up my Barbie’s imagining them in a larger than life wardrobe even if they were just wrapped up in toilet paper toga and since then I have spent a lot of time figuring out my style.

I like to say that I owe that up to my own imagination but in reality it has been crafted by my style icons. I have found inspiration through fictional television characters like everyone’s favorite Carrie Bradshaw. She was a collection of old and new and reaaaal expensive. She paired so many textures and elements and pulled it off and that is what I love about her. Another one of my favs is Iris Apfel. She is a very real fashion icon with the most insane bracelet collection who taught me that more is more when it comes to accessories.

I could actually go one forever about all of my favorites. They are people who I look to for inspiration and when I’m unsure about how to style something new I scroll through their pictures and come to the conclusion that more is always more.

 

Sparkle and Shine

 

A how-to on wearing sequins confidently during the day.

Sequins are a neutral for me. I wear them for every occasion and I have come to realize that most girls save sequins for a night out or a special occasion. But for me, glitter and a little sparkle are my go to for day time fashion because it can add a little something extra to your look without really trying. You can glam up your week with a glitter manicure or pedicure. I know it’s on trend to do a solid color and leave one finger for sparkles but try a full set of all glitter and you’ll catch yourself smiling at the glimpse of your mani in the sunshine (or maybe that’s just me). Try a sparkly flat to jazz up or work or school wardrobe. If you’re feeling like you’re in a rut when it comes to your everyday fashion options, try something new with something old it’ll feel like a whole new selection. Or if you want more you can opt for a sequin bomber jacket. By paring it with something relaxed like a v neck and girlfriend jeans it just gives the outfit a little pop.

This is a vintage cheetah sequin sweater that I found on poshmark and immediately fell in love with. I recently wore this to the Color Factory in San Francisco and paired it with ripped boyfriend jeans and pointy flats and never felt more comfortable and stylish at the same time. My cousin asked me during this outing about my choice in clothing and I was like “what? This is casual, these sequins are matte”

 

Making Up My Mind

 

“The only person you are destined to become is the person you decide to be.”
-Ralph Waldo Emerson

For my first photo project this semester the subject was a self narrative so I had to communicate who I was through a story of pictures that would try to explain the superficial outer layer of my deep complicated personality. Through the process of capturing one side of myself I realized that if I wanted to truly convey a side of me I would have to completely ditch the staged perfectionist side of myself and just capture a moment that will more likely explain how I see myself. So this is who I am… at least who I believe I am. I took series of pictures of one of my favorite routines, one that I dreamed about my entire life to be ready for, makeup. Growing up I was so excited to be the right age where I could explore my creativity and to be able to express myself through makeup like some of my favorite idols. I remember being eight years old and sneaking into my mother’s makeup bag and applying all of her lipsticks on at once to see how this marvelous transformative tool would work its magic. I also remember being bullied in high school for wearing makeup on a regular basis because people thought I was insecure which I think is hilarious now because I was wearing gold craft glitter on my eyelids and neon pink eyeshadow, which is anything but insecure. If anything I would say that it takes guts and confidence to walk out into daylight and truly express who you believe you are.

My makeup skills have since evolved and my taste for what I see as wearable has changed from when I first began. I still see makeup as a useful tool that when used correctly can enhance your confidence and is worn like a badge of honor. Since competing in my first pageant a couple months ago I soon realized that in that world it is so easy to compare your beauty to the beauty of others, so easy to doubt yourself and put yourself down because you’re flawed differently than your competitors, and essentially it came down to a mind game that you must overcome in order to do well. So makeup is an important tool for me, it helps me transform on a stage into the best version of myself. I love makeup because for me it is more than just a way to conceal my imperfections, it is a part of my personality. But there was a period when I let go of makeup for a little bit and I had stopped my usual hour morning routine completely, and it was a big warning sign that I wasn’t ok. As dramatic as that seems it became like a chore and ultimately it was easier to just stop the routine all together. It has been a long process to find myself again and slowly I have been finding my way back to makeup. Everyone has something that helps define them and for me that’s my makeup. So I decided to take shots from every angle even if they were unflattering because it is how I see myself up close in a magnifying mirror. I know myself from every angle, every lighting situation and I know the way I like to be portrayed. By capturing myself in this way I feel like it helps the viewer see me through my own eyes. My flaws are what make me, me and it has taken some time for me to accept myself as I am, with or without makeup.

 

New year new art

So this is the collection of images I used for my blog this year. A majority of my pictures were taken on my iPhone and improved with some Photoshop. I have always loved taking interesting pictures of what inspires me and having this blog has helped me create content for images that I hoard on my phone. I can’t wait to see what I will be able to capture in 2017. To a new year and new art.

xoxo