I am in-love with the mystique and elegance of Cecilia Parades’ work! It’s very vintage-meets-graphic design… and the two definitely make a happy a happy couple. She uses body paint and makeup to create the effect… saying her work is “about longing.”, which I also find very beautiful.

Alright, I’m going to be honest – I feel rather proud of myself. I just finished redesigning the Cactus Flower website, and it was no easy task! I painted a new background, added a new header, installed stream-lined jQuery sliders and went for an overall light and airy design for a girly vibe. And not to toot my own horn or anything *ahem*,  it was my first professional photo-session on my own. Needless to say, I’ve put a lot of hours into it all – meaning I am also very sleepy. Now I am off to work on a portrait of a very lovely girl, and then off to bed. Good night, my sweets.

(Yes, so definitely check out the new look on the CF website, as well as their new look book! There are tons of cute dresses that are certainly sure to steal your heart and break your wallet!)

After reading a tutorial for DIY coasters on eHow, I had to try it myself. Good news! Not only are they super-duper easy to make, but they’re also strangely therapeutic and relaxing. What’s more, they are a great way to express yourself artistically. I chose some simple scrap-book paper, but can you image using music-sheet paper, sewing patterns or even your own artwork? Sky’s the limit!

You will need…

• ModPodge (or some type of glue that dries clear). Find it in any craft store.
• Foam brushs. It’s best to have several brushes, or you will have to wash it between coats of glue.
• Ceramic tiles. Find them in any home supplies stores, such as Minards or Lowes.
• Paper or fabric. Anything is good, so long as it’s paper-thin!
• Felt. Any fabric will work really, but felt is very soft and works well to protect your table.
• Scissors. Or your teeth, but I prefer scissors.

1. Cut your felt into small circles or squares, enough for each tile and roughly 1″-2″ smaller than the tile itself. Don’t worry about making them perfect, as they aren’t viewable. Use your brush and glue the felt to the bottom side of the tile, using short-shuffling strokes. Let that sit for 10 minutes.
2. With long, even strokes of your brush, glue the top site of the tile with a thin layer of the ModPodge. Cover the whole top.
3. Work fast. Lay your fabric or paper carefully onto the center. You can’t really move it once it’s down, so envision the placement as you lay the paper/fabric. Use your fingers to press the paper down, and lightly run your finger-tips all over it until the bubbles are worked out.
4. Use your brush again to add a new layer of ModPoge. Let it sit before you do any more layers, and I recommend at least 3-5 coats.

And WA-LA, pretty coasters! I plan on making a bunch of these for my family this Christmas, a little stack of four per family member with a gauzy ribbon tied around them in a pretty bow. Also, the coats seem dry when they actually take a couple weeks to fully cure. If you want to use them/gift them right way, just spray some sealant over them (which you can also find at craft stores).

While we were out taking photos for the shop, I had Thomas snap a couple of me and Lucien for kicks… the sunflares were just too perfect to resist! Oh, and I’ve been wearing these shorts all the time lately! They are half way covered up, but I’m quite sure I’ll wear them again soon for all of you to get a better look at them. Pretty hilarious though, they were my grandmother’s when she was a teenager. She cut them out of jeans in the 50s, and there is a sun-patch on the backside… Too awesome.

…Anyway, is is a sneak peek at what’s going into the shop. Katie models dresses for me quite often. Well, she just loves to come over and play dress-up with my closest… so I always make her model some things for me in the process, ho ho. These things will be available soon… so keep watch!

As for Lucien… he just loves to ham it up. Look how cute he is with his funny little creature-mittens!

…On a completely unrelated note, I am dancing right now because the slider on my front page is fixed. (if you allowed it to load on a separate tab while you viewed other tabs, it would slide super-fast to catch up). Glitches and imperfections BAD.

These photos were taken just before it snowed in our area… it was warm and sunny, and almost made me feel like Spring was here. Of course it’s cold and frigid out now, but I enjoyed it while it lasted and it’s getting me all excited for Spring to come!

…I am really excited for this Spring, because we are planning a road trip of some sort.We haven’t figured out the details yet, but I expect there will be tons of photos and hopfuly an amazing vintage haul for the shop. Have many of you rented an RV before? We’re hoping to “go that route” instead of staying in hotels, which sounds super fun and adventurous to me. We’ll take the kids, a bunch of snacks and our lap top and just make it a week ordeal… as you can imagine, this is something we’ve been daydreaming about for a while and I’m getting more and more excited to put the plan into works!

…Lately, I’ve been feeling like my style has accidentally strayed away from authentic vintage pieces, but I think I’ll be putting an end to that. The best thing about buying vintage, is I can always resell it if need-be, but I am forever stuck with “new” items. I’d like to make another resolution to refrain from buying as much “new” and stick with more vintage than anything else… unless it is truly unique. Besides all that sweetness, I love getting the types of compliments you receive from old women when you wear an amazing vintage dress… such as, “aren’t you just a doll!”, and “I used to wear dresses just like that in my day!”.

Here are some fancy-smancy dresses I have my eye on… can’t you just imagine wearing one of these gems to the grocery store or to run your errands? No?! I do. I just love the idea of over dressing. What could be more classically vintage than that?! 

….While we’re on the subject of dresses, I just have to share a little fancy dress that Ayla was kind enough to let me list this evening. It doesn’t fit me so well, or I would keep it for myself… sniffle!

I lost a night of sleep over this hair, but I wish I would do it every night! Perm-rods are like sleeping on vicious little biting creatures. The bigger and curlier my hair is – the more I love it. Really, I love all types of hair, which is why I try to change it up so often… but having it like this, is my absolute favorite way to style my hair…

…Also, I am discovering that I will be one of those little old ladies with a theme for my kitchen. I have become obsessed with anything bearing strawberries as a print or shape. This little scarf is covered in adorable strawberries, although it’s hard to tell… and I think it is the perfect size to wear in a variety of ways. On that note, I think I want more scarves…

Unrelated, but Hannah was the winner of the 12 Days of Gifts Finale dress – Please enjoy Hannah! I just want to say that for those of you who have not received your items yet, they will be on their way shortly – I have been sending the items out in small groups at a time ♥

My girl Kara and I have been threatening now for a while to get together and have a craft-night, make some flower crowns and what ever else that is almost nauseatingly feminine… perhaps while baking cupcakes and watching black and white romance flicks. I think I just melted.

Sources 1, 2, 3, 4, 5