Guest Blogger: Spring Fever

Please welcome my first guest blogger, Rosette! She is hopelessly in love with fashion and scours print and the web for finds, so who is better than this self-proclaimed life"style" junkie to help us ladies round out our spring looks? Just try to resist her picks below...sigh...I have no willpower...the thomaspaul scarf is already in my shopping cart!

Just when we all have had enough cabin fever, Mother Nature grants our wish for longer days! Hay fever season is upon us: why not use allergies that cloud our congestion, as an excuse to also cloud our better judgment? Whether your guilty pleasures be one too many Spring splurges or perhaps the start of earlier Al Fresco happy hours (time indoors can always be made up in Winter, refer back to intro), embrace the transition. Armed and dangerous with these necessaccessories [necessary accessories] - here's toasting to an Eternal Spring!

Clubmaster Havana Orange, Ray-Ban

What better way for a socialite to be incognito than by wearing some color-blocked sunnies! Classic tortoise frames are updated with a two tone look, available in green and my personal favorite violet. These protective shades instill old Hollywood glamour, good thing since you will be running in heels from those pesky paparazzi!

Love-O-Meter Heart Spinner Necklace, Me & Zena

Ok to admit: believing in LIKE at first sight!   This ornamental pendant is a girl's traveling Magic 8 Ball.  Bonus that it has every color, no need to keep up with colors of any season! It frees the mind to wander and obsess on real important matters: Like (again, acceptable feeling) is HE your happily ever after, or happily never ever?  Just spin to your heart's content, or your heart's "?"

Elephant Voile Scarf, thomaspaul*

Choose your own Spring adventure:  City Safari anyone?  Lions and tigers and bears (in this shopping case, rhinos), oh my!  Metropolitan living often feels like our habitat is an urban jungle, with all those unpredictable office drafts and over air conditioning on public transportation, lucky we don't opt for last season's fur shawl (not the intention to scare the animals). Just wrap one around your neck, and voila (material speaking, voile), instant fabric art.

*Writer's Pick (own rhino, gifted tiger)

M.A.B Mini Natural, Rebecca Minkoff

M.A.B. Mini Green, Rebecca Minkoff

Seasonal change, perception IS reality--do keep everything stylishly together in this versatile carrier!  The M.A.B Mini will carry you, at least your stuff, through upcoming seasons, one Spring break away from Summer Lovin'.  Rebecca Minkoff's wittily named bags along with her whimsical interiors are her creative signature, i.e. Moonstruck Hobo or Knocked Up Baby Bag.  Remember, just as Spring's unpredictable weather changes at a moment's notice, at any moment's notice a gal has the right to change her handbag too!

Lavender nail lacquer remover, Deborah Lippmann

An award winning nail polish remover in an individually wrapped finger mitt, makes it so easy to toss into your bag.  Of course the name alone states, or rather bares, all.  Now you can change your Deborah Lippman polishes frequently--one Stripper cleans all ten fingers.  On to the next product rave, when a Spring go-go girl has to go, she has got to go, go, go...

Crayon Intense Eyeliner, Dolce & Gabbana

Spring Flings are usually intense-why not match those feelings with your make-up?  Dolce & Gabbana has got your lyin' (or LION, should you prefer big animal type) eyes, so ditch the black and opt for some new color.  April showers bring May flowers and in the interim brings the almighty rainbow--and we know what is at the end... These pencil liners are not a pot of gold, but they are gold with a ROY-G-BIV spectrum range.  Warning: seeing the whole palette induces experimenting away--isn't that what Spring is all about!?!

Writer's Bio:
A Life"style" Junkie (or professionally, a Freelancer) writing about my likes, I cover both Chicago and New York markets. My claim to fame is NOT a trend expert, just someone expressing what catches my eyes and thoughts. All inquiries and comments most welcome: roserube@gmail.com

Crafty Quotes

I adore gifts from the heart, in any form, whether giving or receiving them. I particularly enjoy the process of making and giving them, and I do get a bit giddy when I come across a unique handmade project such as this quote scarf on Pinterest 8 months ago. Yes, from inspiration to fruition, it took me 8 months :( Admit it, y'all, you pin all day long too but then don't execute on those amazing-looking recipes, crafts or home designs. Had I known somewhere in the past 8 months that this lovely scarf would only take 30 minutes to make, sigh, I may have tackled it sooner. However had I done so, I wouldn't have this post to share :) It's true. All things happen for a reason.

Flashback eight months ago, I saw this scarf and immediately thought of my good friend Elizabeth. She not only likes scarves, but she is a lover of literature and quotes. Jane Austen came immediately to mind and her husband confirmed what I already knew to be true. So I ventured forth with the first line from the greatest love story of all time (in my opinion) Pride and Prejudice, "It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of good fortune, must be in want of a wife." 

 

So if I haven't lost you yet, which means you are probably thinking of someone special you could do this for and you are also reassessing your craftiness skill level (really this is easy), here's how I prepared to make the scarf. I went to my favorite online friend, amazon.com, to purchase the viscose scarf (~$7-14) and a set of fabric markers (~$13). 

I grabbed a cardboard box from my storage locker, cut it open and also cut off one side of the flaps. The cardboard will help absorb the ink from the marker as it seeps through the scarf. The clips help keep the scarf somewhat in place as you write. I practiced using the marker on an old t-shirt to get an idea of the pressure and how much ink comes out. I decided on a medium pressure which gave variation to the writing between solid black ink and faded black ink. Once done, I let it dry for a few hours, peeled it off the cardboard, and ironed the script to make it permanent. And voila! 

I was happy with the outcome but all the more pleased that my friend adored it. When her face lit up as she recognized the quote from only the first 4 words, my heart sang and quickly the guilt from needing 8 months to make this gift was wiped away. Handmade gifts equal exquisite happiness for both the giver and receiver! 

Next up...because with any project I always learn and retool for the following opportunity... I'm going to try thinner markers and two-tone writing (as seen in the inspiration scarf at the top of the post). 

Happy crafting and remember you only need 30 minutes, not 8 months, to make this lovely scarf!