October 2014 archive
Frozen Princess Anna Costume
I worked too hard on this not to share it! This is my Frozen Princess Anna costume, AKA the culmination of hours and hours of hand stitching and multiple trips to the fabric store.
The dog was supposed to be Sven but he ate his reindeer antlers so that’s not actually happening.
I’m especially proud of the applique, which is made from felt, and the cape. The skirt and vest are actually upcycled from old garments that were cut down and re-sewn. The vest was a 3/4 sleeve shirt I no longer wore, so I cut off the sleeves and those became the boot spats. Everything else was made from materials I already had, so I only had to buy the shirt, the gold trim and the felt!
Did you make or buy your Halloween costume this year?
Nature-Inspired Fall Nail Colors
Draw inspiration from nature for your fall nail colors
When you’re searching for perfect fall nail colors, you might be drawn to darks and neutrals. Don’t be fooled by the gray skies and browning leaves-autumn is a rich season for color. To be reminded of all the hues fall has to offer, I have to look no further than the pile of mini squash on my table that grew unbidden out of the compost heap this year! (That’s my kind of gardening-crops that grow themselves!) This post is inspired by their vibrance, so take a closer look at the colors below. All colors featured are free of the common nail polish toxins.
This canary color is from Mineral Essence brand, available at many natural food stores. You might think of yellow as quintessential for spring and summer, but what about autumn’s yellow leaves, golden sunsets and yellow-orange pumpkin pie? Yellow and gold tones are actually quite perfect for fall.
You can’t go wrong with a dusty red for fall. This is one of my favorite brands, Water Colors by Honeybee gardens. The vegan, cruelty-free polish is one of the least toxic available. It barely even smells like nail polish when you open the bottle.
It may be fall but green’s not gone yet! This Mineral Essence green really pops against a dark fall wardrobe.
What are your favorite nail colors for fall?
Media Kit For Bloggers Giveaway
This giveaway is especially for my fellow bloggers. I’ve teamed up with Lix Hewett for a giveaway of one of her stylish media kits.
Media kits are essential for every presenting your brand and stats to the world and with these gorgeous, custom-designed beauties you’re sure to make a fabulous first impression. And with this media kit for bloggers giveaway, you could get yours totally free.
Custom Media Kit Design for Bloggers
Here’s a closer look of a media kit Lix designed for a fashion blogger. I love the incorporation of photos and the clean style.
For more of Lix’s work, check out her blog and Etsy shop! She is offering a special of 10% off everything in her Etsy shop for Pink Paperdoll readers with code YAYFALL. The code is good through October 31st, same as the giveaway.
Media Kit For Bloggers Giveaway-Enter:
Host: Lix / A Classic Notion [Lix Hewett Design] Co-hosts: Marielle / This Flooded Sky · Miranda / A July Dreamer · Abbie / The Pink Paper Doll · Samantha / Coco Butter Blog · Dawn / Leroy Lime a Rafflecopter giveaway
Power Pose Your Way to Success
Be Powerful: Channel Your Inner Wonder Woman in Just 2 Minutes
Have you ever been told not to stand with your hands on your hips? In high school I remember a lesson on body language, specifically to keep our arms relaxed at our sides in order to appear open and friendly. This body language wisdom handed down to young adults is absolutely correct-but the problem is in what they, especially young women, are not taught-how to use body language to be powerful. And just two minutes of body language a day can, in theory, make anyone feel and be more successful.
Your body language affects you
Amy Cuddy, a social psychologist, has one of the most-viewed TED talks, ever, with over 4 million views. She presents an interesting idea about body language-we think about body language as what are we saying to others with our non-verbals, but Cuddy points out that we should think about what we’re saying to ourselves through body language.
In the classroom of the MBA classes she taught, Cuddy noticed that some students took up a lot of space and raised their whole arm in the air when answering a question. Other students made themselves small, crossing their legs and tentatively raising their hands partway. There was a strong gender divide, with female students adopting the poses that appear smaller and less powerful. “Women feel chronically less powerful than men, so this is not surprising,” Cuddy says in the TED talk.
Fascinated by the power dynamics of non-verbals, Cuddy studied if you can “fake it til you make it.” Do our non-verbals govern how we feel about ourselves? She says yes.
Give yourself an advantage with power poses
By adopting a high-power pose for just two minutes, the hormones in your body actually change. Testosterone, the hormone associated with dominance and leadership goes up, and the stress hormone cortisol goes down. Effective leaders have been studied to have high levels of testosterone and low levels of cortisol, implying that we can trick our minds into thinking we are more powerful and less stress-reactive.
Before you go into a stressful, evaluative situation, Cuddy advises everyone to spend two minutes in a powerful pose, like the “Wonder Woman” pose (hands on hips, feet shoulder width apart). She terms these “power poses.” You don’t have to walk around that way all day long-you can simply stand in power poses in private before you go into a stressful meeting or job interview, for example. Try it and give yourself an advantage-you have nothing to lose but two minutes.
Here’s the TED talk if you’re interested in hearing about the power poses first hand:
What do you think about using body language to increase your personal power?
For outfit details see here.
Colors of Fall
So I recently, sort of accidentally, found a color combination for fall that I love. Wanting to make a summer shift work into autumn, I paired it with a cardigan in navy. I added gold accessories to match the buttons on the sweater and it all came together into one ensemble of warm autumn goodness!
I had a really great pair of gold shoes to go with this outfit originally, but they were only comfortable for like, ten minutes. So no, not doing that.
Not everyone is comfortable wearing orange, but before you assume you’ll never wear it consider alternate shades of the color. This dress isn’t pumpkin orange, it’s more of a dusty coral which works better for me. Shades of orange you might try include peach, salmon, burnt orange, red-orange, or even shades of warm brown.
The gold jewelry I bought inexpensively at Forever 21 in the summer for a friend’s Guyanese wedding and they matched my saree perfectly. I was happy to find they were versatile enough to wear again (like with this outfit) and they are still available at the store so you can pick up your own-see links below. The shift I’ve had for two years and it’s seen many weddings, but I found a very similar one that’s also listed in the outfit details links.
So, here’s to the new season, and may you find fall color combinations for 2014 that make you happy autumn is here!
Outfit Details:
