I'm a Mermaid ^_~

When I was a child, my favorite thing in the world was to visit the Disney Store! Does anybody remember the animatronics that used to decorate the ceiling? I LOVED those! And, of course, I would always gaze wistfully at the merchandise - especially princess dresses.

I had a Cinderella dress when I was about 8 and I was OBSESSED with it, and haven't had the heart to get rid of it. The other day when going through my old clothes, I found it again and while holding it up to myself, I decided to (try) and make a new dress that would fit me again.

That night I cut off the top and skirt puff (I'm unsure of what to call it haha!), and sewed the skirt puffs together to make half of a top. Not having much material to work with, I cut up an old white shirt in half and sewed the two halves together. The next day I glued sea shells on the front and let the glue dry overnight. Finally, I sewed the new top to the skirt and was done!

This was the first time I have ever tried to reconstruct a garment out of an old one (or even really sewed a piece of clothing), so I made just about every single rookie mistake (sewing up the armholes for one X_X) and not perfect, but I am so pleased with how it turned out!

Have you ever done a D.I.Y. project like this before? ^^

♥, Kailey
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How To: Make Your Own Valentines

Personally, I have always LOVED Valentine's Day! I take this holiday as an opportunity to give my loved ones Valentines and show them how much I appreciate them (I firmly believe that this holiday shouldn't be ~exclusive~ for couples!) and eat wayyy too much discount chocolate on the 15th. I thought it might be fun to share with you how I make these valentines, and hopefully inspire a few of you to make some as well!

You Will Need
1. Multicolored cardstock/construction paper (and lots of it! Use any colors you would like, but be sure to have white on hand!)
2. Glue
3. Scissors
4. Fiskars Paper Edgers (optional)
5. Sequins and rhinestones
6. Magazine clippings of your favorite people/things (optional)

Begin by cutting out heart shapes - don't worry about making them perfect!

Glue this heart onto white paper, and using Fiskars Paper Edgers, cut around the heart. This will give the paper a white patterned edge (if you do not have any of these scissors, you can hand cut scallops out, but this will be more time consuming).

Now, line the colored heart with glue, and place sequins around the entire valentine.

(This might take a while)

Once you are finished, we have these beautiful bases! You can decorate these any way you want - I have a few examples of what I did below!

For the valentines on the left and middle, I cut out magazine clippings of Edward Scissorhands and Saved by the Bell and used sequins to add some ~pizazz. For the valentine on the right, I sketched out Siouxsie Sioux and then cut out the shape of her hair, eyebrows, eyes, and the mouth with paper.

For this pink one, I simply glued rhinestones onto the heart. Instant pretty!

And lastly, I made this card by cutting out the shapes and assembling them into the image of Batman and Superman. As a particularly fitting finishing touch, I added this mushy line: "You're My Kryptonite".

And there you have it! Pretty please let me know if you use this tutorial to make your own (I'd absolutely love to see them), and if you have any questions feel free to leave me an email or a comment!

♥, Kailey
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MAKE-UP LOOK: Une Femme Est une Femme (1961)

photo source Film Stills

Anna Karina's role as Angela in Jean-Luc Godard's UNE FEMME EST UNE FEMME (1961) has lived on in cinema and fashion history: her character's look - consisting of a wardrobe filled with primary colors, tights, and bows - has bewitched movie enthusiasts for decades.

Whilst I am not usually a fan of Jean-Luc Godard's movies, I can't help but be charmed by this one! Anna Karina is undeniably adorable, and I really love Jean-Paul Belmondo's performance as Karina and Jean-Claude Brialy's friend - not to mention the adorable 50s musicals nod!

The other day I decided it would be fun to do my make-up in a loosely based take on Angela's signature look in the movie.

I pinned the sides of my hair up, put on some bright blue eyeshadow (I used Make Up For Ever's Flash Color Pot no 20), applied black eyeliner in a cat eye style, and wore a red cardigan.

What movies to you turn to for beauty inspiration? And, as a side note, Happy New Year everybody! I hope you have an incredible 2012. ^^

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Beauty Icon: Elizabeth Taylor

How does one even begin to write a post about Elizabeth Taylor? The iconic woman who had her first break-out role at the tender age of 12, has been attributed as being the most beautiful woman in the world. Indeed, it is not hard to see why: her signature look, consisting of perfectly shaped eyebrows, gorgeous dark hair, and violet eyes have captivated film lovers over the course of many different movies, husbands, and eras!

Images courtesy of tumblr & simplyclassics

Elizabeth's incredible filmography proves she had the talent to back up her star status - Suddenly, Last Summer being an incredibly haunting and claustrophobic film. One thing I truly love about Elizabeth is she used her fame to help people - she has raised more than $270 million for HIV and AIDS-related projects.

Do you have a favourite Elizabeth Taylor film?

♥, Kailey

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Favorite Films: Marie Antoinette (2006)

While I feel like the plot and character development of this movie leaves something to be desired, MARIE ANTOINETTE (2006) is definitely one of the prettiest movies I have ever seen. The pastel hues, floral patterns, costumes, and sets make this movie such a treat for the eyes! Meanwhile, who else is so excited about Kirsten Dunst's "come-back"?

♥, Kailey

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On My Bookshelf: Girl on Fire

Edie Sedgwick's status as an icon is undeniable - her influence in style and beauty is still very apparent. The artist who rose above her rich family's stifling grasp into Andy Warhol's infamous muse is intertwined with tragedy for me, her downward spiral that eventually lead to her death never far from my mind.

In EDIE: GIRL ON FIRE, the author collects quotes and stories into a truly beautiful and poignant portrait of the star. But what really impresses me about the book is the design - filled to the brim with full-page, high quality, glossy pictures of Edie, and sprinkled with dashes of color and incredible typography.

This book is an absolute must have for fans of Edie, fashion, Andy Warhol, and the 1960s in general!

I am always on the lookout for great coffee table books, do you have any favorites?

♥, Kailey

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