Bakery Square Market Place

On Sunday I had the pleasure of vending at Bakery Square with I Made It! Market. It is my favorite show of the year. Great crowd, vendors, and entertainment. Next show is Sept. 30th from 12-4 

http://imadeitmarket.com/

Simmer Pot Recipes

I walked into a store yesterday and was immediately greeted by the smell of spicy cinnamon.
{ One of my favorite fall smells}

I ran to the candle isle to see if the holiday scented candles were back in stock, Oh yes they were...
Vanilla latte, warm cinnamon, pumpkin pie... just to name a few. I love scented candles in fall scents but for $16.00? Yikes, candles have become expensive.

There are a lot of great DIY alternatives to making your home smell like fresh baked apple pie and for just a couple bucks. Here are some great simmer pot recipes to keep your home smelling like a crisp fall day.

All you need is a small saucepan and the ingredients of your choice. Fill the saucepan with water and bring to a boil. Add your ingredients and reduce heat to simmer. You will want to check the water level about every 30 minutes and add more if needed.

{Recipe 1}
Cinnamon sticks halved
Orange rinds
Whole cloves

{Recipe 2}
Cinnamon sticks halved
Apple peels (you can also use apple slices)
Orange rinds
Whole cloves
Allspice

{Recipe 3}
1-Lemon peel
1-Orange peel
Whole cloves
Cinnamon sticks halved
 2-Bay leaves

{Recipe 4}
A few drops vanilla
Nutmeg
Apple peel

{Recipe 5}
4-Bay leaves
2-Cinnamon sticks
1 tablespoon whole cloves

{Recipe 6}
 2-Herbal tea bags- (I had orange spice)
2 Cinnamon sticks halved
Orange rinds
Whole cloves

This is just a small example of what you can do with simmer pots. Just look in your spice cabinet and see what you have to work with. The smell is amazing and when your husband comes home he might just think you baked!

Show Week

I am preparing sketches for my fall line this week and you will be able to find some of my new designs during this weekends artist market at Bakery Square Sunday Marketplace from 12-4. 

Here is a list of the great vendors you will find!

http://imadeitmarket.com/bakery-square-sunday-marketplace-august-26/

Some great vintage finds and photos from this summers show season

A Peachy Find

Doesn't this outfit put you in a good mood?

My anniversary is coming up this week and I am looking for an outfit like this to wear to brunch.
Luckily, I already own the shoes, jeans, and a similar vintage bracelet.

I will be on the hunt for a nude clutch, aqua necklace, and a peach blouse this week!

Happy Monday!

A Peachy Find by creativecustomology featuring platform heels

Dorothy Perkins bow top
dorothyperkins.com

Current/Elliott cropped jeans
$235 - farfetch.com

Jimmy Choo platform heels
shopsavannahs.com

Miss Selfridge clutch handbag
missselfridge.com

Lip stick
etsy.com

Vintage Damask Wallpaper Brown | 1950 Wallpaper antiguas de la
designyourwall.com

    A collection of a few of my favorites.

A new pallet of eye shadow by Urban Decay that I picked up at The Rack for $11.50 

(an assortment of their most popular colors) Also, perfect shades for fall 

A vintage button ring by SMD Jewelry 

http://www.facebook.com/smdjewelry

{Love the Ombre loook} -I actually just did this to my hair-

Recycled Couture Closet

Earlier this week I showed you an outfit I created on Polyvore that I wanted to try to recreate for a better value.

Fortunately, I was able to!
...(insert round of applause)

*Vintage Oscar De La Renta belt -$3.00 thrift store find

 *Brown Braided Sandals-Target $7.00 (on clearance)

*Dress Nordstrom brand $10.00 thrift store find

*Steve Madden over-sized handbag- $50.00 at Nordstrom Rack

(I spent a little more on a quality bag to last through fall)

Organizing Small Spaces

With fall comes bulky sweaters, scarves, boots, and the return of you favorite over-sized suede handbag. This is very exciting for some but what does this mean for your closet?

I have been going through storage bins gathering up all my cozy fall clothes and accessories and finding that space is rather limited in my small closet.

During a recent trip to Target with my son we stopped to look through the dollar isle to look for more Sesame Street books when I discovered a bunch of over door hooks. I immediately new that these would be useful so I grabbed about 6 of them at $2.50 each. At first I used them over my linen closet door to hold towels but they made too much noise when I opened the door and also left scratch marks

So into the back of my closet they went.

This is a great way to store your scarves, bags, and accessories. Now my closet looks a little more organized and everything is a little bit easier to find.

Recreating Looks From Style Boards, For Less!

There are so many sites that provide excellent beauty tips and tutorials. I look to several of these sites as resources for work and my own personal style. If you havent checked out Polyvore, I suggest you do so. It is an excellent database for shopping and putting your own looks together. You can create "recipes" if you will of looks that inspire you. I love creating my own looks and saving them on my phone to use when I go shopping. Have you ever been on the hunt for something particular and as soon as you get to the mall you forget the whole reason you went? Yes, well that happens to me all the time and to top it off with a toddler shopping is a serious chore. Saving my looks to my phone has saved me so much time and keeps me on track. I get what I'm looking for and end the day with a successful shopping trip!

This is what I am looking for this week. I usually go to a vintage store first to grab accessories. In this case an over-sized brown handbag and a brown belt.


I will let you know this week if I was able to recreate this look for less!

Dark Chocolate by creativecustomology 

Jane Norman bandeau maxi dress
$35 - janenorman.co.uk

Miss KG toe loop sandals
$31 - republic.co.uk

Tory burch handbag
saksfifthavenue.com

Antique Cross Christian Symbol Christ Ornate Fancy Illustration...
etsy.com

Antique Paris France Fancy Eiffel Tower Old Postcard Digital Download...
etsy.com

Affordable Fall Fashion Finds

Fall is approaching and it's time to start rotating fall pieces into your wardrobe.

As I was cleaning out my closet I realized that other than a few over sized sweaters and about 100 leggings that was all my fall wardrobe had to offer...

I recently started an at home weight loss program and over the course of 3 weeks have gone down almost 3 pant sizes! This recent development has encouraged me to consider the art of shopping once again. It didn't take me long to remember how much fun shopping can be, especially if you can find great deals!

Patterned or pastel skinnies are very popular this season. I found a great pair of dot printed denim leggings at Nordstrom during anniversary for $35.00 (regular price $64.00.) Although the price has gone back up they do sell a similar style in the juniors department for $48.00 http://shop.nordstrom.com/sr?keyword=polka+dot+jeans&origin=keywordsearch
Colored denim is currently on sale at almost all retailers, so stock up on fall colored denim like mustard yellow, orange, or red. You will find this is one key piece that can transform any outfit.

You can also find great deals on floral print summer dresses. Take this dress from ModCloth for example, http://www.modcloth.com/shop/dresses/sunny-state-of-mind-dress just add a belted cardigan, leggings, and boots. Now you have the perfect fall staple outfit.

EEFM Feature

This "feels like fall" morning with coffee in hand has me feeling all warm and fuzzy, which means that I will accomplish a few items on my to do list today...

I wanted to share my most recent accomplishment- a magazine feature!

I was approached by Abby Gleason & Cassie Kay Rusnak Co-Founders, Directors of East End Fashion Magazine at an artist market last month as they expressed their interest in my work. A few weeks later I received an email discussing the details for the fashion shoot. I was very flattered and of course I agreed. I met with Abby over coffee and we chatted for a little bit about the magazine and what I was hoping to accomplish with my business. She seemed genuinely interested in my creative process and as a token of my appreciation I let her and her partner keep a necklace from the collection. 

I waited in anticipation for the August issue featuring my work to go live on their website http://www.eastendfashionmagazine.com/ and on August 1st there it was. The photos turned out lovely and I feel they really captured a sense of what my work is all about. I will be forever grateful for this opportunity and it gave me the push I needed. It was reassurance that I can accomplish anything I set my mind to. My business does have the potential to keep growing. This is just the start and hopefully there will be more magazine features in my future :)

Thanks EEFM!

Recycled Couture Spring 2012

 My Spring Collection has arrived with bold color and fresh styles! Check back later for launch dates!