Look Of The Week - Yaya Decosta....YASSSSSSSS!!!!

LED Grow Lights That Are Affordable - Guest Post

LED grow lights can be quite expensive if you don't know where to look, as can a lot of other hydroponics supplies.  

If you want quality www.thelashop.com grow tents and www.thelashop.com air-purification inline fans aren't overly expensive and are completely worth the money, it is well worth your time to check out www.thelashop.com.

Although it is very important to find cheap supplies for hydroponics (so that you don’t break the bank), it is very possible to keep everything quality while still at a lower price. LA shop has been known for making products not only cheaper, but easier to purchase as well. Reviewers have mentioned products being fifty dollars cheaper than other rival sites, and customer service was always great. Hydroponics is a great hobby to start up, and can even be a business in a small town. Growing your plants indoors enables you to not have to worry about the weather constantly and will allow you to not deal with any natural disasters such as floods and thunderstorms that could ruin a whole season.

   All the products available have been through testing so that they are ensured to help you and be efficient for your garden. One of the things that LA shop Hydroponics is known for actually is their customer service. If any product arrives damaged or dysfunctional, they are more than happy to help with no hassle! Not many companies are like that nowadays so the customers are very appreciative. If you want to give hydroponics a try, start at your library and take out a few books so you can learn what really goes into it! It is a very rewarding experience and is an easy way to maintain your plants. The best hydroponics set up will be different for every person and will depend on not only what they are growing, but price range as well. 

Guest post by Venessa of  www.thelashop.com

Seafoam Green - Fun. Fresh. Fabulous.

To say I love sea foam green is a gross understatement.  I looooooooooooooooove this color.  Passionately.  There are so many reasons why but here are a few: 
Sea foam Green Is
.  Fresh and feminine
. Perfect combination of both blue (cyan) and green....and I love both colors. 
. Bold and serene at the same time
. Looks great on all skin tones
. Works excellently with warm colors like reds, yellows, oranges etc.
. Is a very peaceful and tranquil color
. Happy without being overly bright and reminds me of Spring
. As it's name implies, sea foam green is the color of the sea
. Has a history of sophistication and grandeur but also has a strong modern appeal as well
. Is perfect as a neutral color
. Very versatile, looks gorgeous in a glamorous setting and equally as nice in a casual  
     atmosphere.
. Romantic

This spring I was pleasantly surprised and siked to see that finally, this color is getting the recognition it deserves.  Pantone declared it one of it's hot colors for Spring which is great but I could care less.  I would wear it anyway even if it was not "in".  Just sayin.  This color is fabulous, chic and I personally never tire of it.......but that's me and as you can see I am totally smitten.  What do you think?


Cherio!

Images from Pinterest

CHERIO!

Imperfectly Perfect

As Paula Dean would say, hey Y'all (in my best Southern drawl impression.....which is pretty bad).  How was Christmas?  Hope you had a blast, hope your family didn't drive you mad.  Okay, I know, too soon.

Well, Christmas for me was quiet and relaxing which gave me the opportunity to do what I love best.  Craft!  I had a ball I must say and I learned a lot. 

 I am a relentless nit-picker perfectionist when it comes to my own work and while that has it's benefits, it also comes with drawbacks as well.  Last weekend I had a mini-melt down.  I was experimenting with new materials and everything seemed to be going well then all of a sudden I realized why I was not quite satisfied with the piece.  I was playing it too safe.  I was afraid I would mess it up. Eureka! Then, my lightening fast mind reflected (5 minutes later) on all the pieces I did that I loved and got rave reviews for, most of them already sold.  They had spunk, style, daring, and in your face swag!  Why? Well, because I had thrown caution to the winds.  And when I did, my work took on a life of their own, they became something better than perfect. They became expressive......people felt something when they saw it. And that is what I want most of all.

So with this being said, it's on like donkey kong!  Expect to see this new attitude manifested in my blog.  This is a life lesson that is not just about my Art, it encompasses everything and I couldn't be happier to see where this takes me.  From now on am holding nothing back.  You may be shocked, inspired, confused, amazed or even motivated to pray for my sanity but I promise you, you won't be bored!

Cherio!

Out Of The Box Ideas To Organize Your Jewelry!

So, I was looking at the tangled mass of jewelry I have been meaning to sort for months now and honestly the only thing that came to mind except "do it tomorrow", was that famous line from the movie Star Wars.  Help me Obi-Wan Kenobi, you're my only hope!  

Even though I already have two large jewelry boxes filled with my more precious pieces, I still ran out of space.   Now I have a heap of costume jewelry in two plastic pails....lol, I know, how sad is that.  Where's my "can do"  attitude?........oh there it is.   "Lets do this!" 

Now where do I start.........

First I picked out all of the broken jewelry and pieces that were either tarnished or  missing a part of the set  (earrings, bracelet, earrings) and put those in a pile.  

Next, I took out all the jewelry I hardly ever wear or don't like so much anymore.  Oddly enough this was not as hard as I thought it would be.  Perhaps because I am donating these pieces to people who will love them.......I must say that this thought really helped me to earnestly purge all the stuff I needed to.  Okay, so now I have another pile for donation as well.  The only pile left now is the one I am keeping. 

These are keepers.  Now all I have to do is find/make something to store them!

The final thing I did was to put all of the earrings, pins, watches, necklaces, bracelets and sets together in their own respective piles.  This makes it easier to find what you want in a pinch.  I also decided to put all the dressy pieces together and all the casual and everyday wear pieces in the same area for easy access.

TIP: If you craft, you can save broken jewelry for beads to use on various craft projects in the future. Save the clasps for costume jewelry repairs. Store them with your craft projects so they are handy to use and easy to find.

Where Am I Going To Put All This........

When I finally got through with all of the sorting I started to brainstorm ways to organize and display my jewelry.  I decided NO MORE BOXES for me so off I went to browse the web for storage solutions to my ever expanding costume jewelry collection.  I had no idea what I was looking for but I knew that it had to:

1. Be light weight and not bulky

2. Allow my jewelry to be seen and showcased (c'mon they are too beautiful to hide)

3. Be functional and not hard to maintain

4. Must fit my personality and lifestyle

And Now To Preserve My Jewelry.... 

Here are the most valuable lessons I have learned during research for this project.  Some of these tips I knew before but was not actively following as much as I could have. Its on now though! These simple tips will keep my pretties looking great!  (ahem....especially the ones I just released from the plastic pails)

And The tips are......

Don’t place one piece of jewelry on top of the other (especially jewelry with intricate detail or stones).  Improper storage can lead to scratching and other damages.  

If you must stack them, place a felt square or wool felting between the pieces to prevent them from rubbing together.

When storing sterling silver, place them in zip lock bag and include an anti-tarnish strip (sold at jewelry stores).   Sterling silver is likely to tarnish improperly cared for so change the strip every 6 to 9 months to keep your silver jewelry sparkling and ready to 

wear. 

Let the Fun Begin!....

Well, all I need to do now is decide which display idea I will use.  Am so excited! I really like the idea of having the jewelry on display as part of the decor, I think perhaps it would even result in me wearing them more...   What do you think?

www.designspongeonline.com

I am definitely incorporating something like this. Instead of wood though, I think I will draw the head and torso on foam core and cut it out with a utility knife.  I can buy a finished wood base at Walmart........   I saw one similar to the one used here last week, imagine that.  Its meant to be!

http://www.tonyastaab.com

This is hard core DIY, check out the tutorial at the link above.  This is such a fresh and beautiful piece but since I am horrible with measurements and can see me pulling my hair out while working on this, I am going to pass on this one.  

This innovative bracelet holder was made from the cardboard roll from an empty paper towel. Here is a link to the tutorial on how to make it. http://fashion.onblog

http://www.organize.com

These acrylic jewelry holders are so chic and modern.  I especially like the fact that they are transparent.  The jewelry is the star here and not the holder. These displays are great creating an illusion of more space and airiness in your decor, which I really appreciate.

 unknown picture link

To be honest, I only included this because its gorgeous!  I don't think this would be a practical solution for everyday pieces.  Its perfect for jewelry that you wear every other week though. Hmmmm, if I went with this idea I would probably only wear the jewelry on the arms and the neck area since it is the easiest to move and fix back.  For that reason only I will have to be content with just admiring this piece.

http://faveprettythings.blogspot.com

Wow! I really like the look of this!  I would need another storage unit in addition to this though to fit all of my pieces.

http://www.simpleeffects.com

Would you believe this is the bottom part of a rake for gardening....how clever!

http://www.apartmenttherapy.com

I really like this and the idea below. This person has lots of pieces like me and there's a place for everything in one central area. Plus it looks good.  Thats what am talking about!

picture source unknown

How cute is this for your rings!  Find it at 

http://www.shopruche.com

 for only $18.99.