Monday, September 29, 2014

Brave and Beautiful


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I am Brave and Beautiful - a beauty movement that is sweeping the globe. Colbie Caillat started it with her recent song and video called TRY. My blogging friend Megan of Brassy Apple wanted to push this movement along and invited women from all over to share what they looked like without make up and I joined in!! Colbie's song says, "Take your make up off. Let your hair down... Look into the mirror at yourself, Do you like you? Cause I like you... "
Megan and her friend Cobi of Peacefrom6pieces have been the team behind this whole project. Their worldwide vision included creating their own video inspired by the song TRY. The talent of Robbins Creative made it possible for them to pull it off. You have to click play and see the beauty and bravery displayed and you might even recognize a few faces in there.
101+ other blogging women and I, from different backgrounds, religions, ethnicities, ages, shapes and sizes have decided to be Brave and Beautiful! You can join in this movement too by sharing what you look like without makeup on. You don't need a blog either! Just tag your photo with #IamBraveAndBeautiful on Instgram and search the hashtag to see who else has joined in. ALSO, if you tag it with a second hashtag - #ColbieTRY we just might be able to get Colbie Caillat's attention since she was the inspiration behind it all!
Are you brave and beautiful? I am, here I go!

This is a headshot I got back just last week. I love it.


Photo credit: Randomly Candid

About a month ago, Megan asked me to join with this group of bloggers to take off our make up, and share our real selves. I have to say, I put off agreeing to this, because:

Was I brave enough? 
What would people think if they saw me without my make up?
How would I feel about seeing myself without make up?

I am one who wears makeup to the grocery store. Only my family, and a few neighbors ever see me without my make up. I even got permanent eyeliner a year ago. I don't wear a ton of make up on my face, but almost ALWAYS like to have my eyes and brows done. My brows are crooked. I like them straight!

The week before participating in this challenge, I even had a mascara party, promoting mascara that actually increases the length of your eyelashes! I was so excited to look like I have longer lashes than what I was born with. Why is this??? Why do we as women strive to look some way other than the way we were born? Is it the media? Would we do it anyway, even if we didn't have magazines to look at, and see images of perfection?

Okay, so the make up was one issue, but the wrinkle I have in the middle of my forehead is another! I take it out in EVERY photo I post of myself. I ask my photographers to take it out when I have my pictures professionally taken. I NEVER post a picture of myself with that wrinkle intact. I knew my participation in this challenge meant I would be sharing not only my make up-less face, but also my wrinkle with the world. 

Wow, it sounds like I have major self esteem issues! I don't. I am pretty happy and secure with myself. In a few months, I will turn 40. 40, that feels like a pretty high number! But, I like and am more comfortable with, "me," at almost 40 than I was at 20 or 30. I will wear it proudly.

Here goes, wrinkle and all!



Thank you Linsdey at CFC Design for the headshot!

Even up to the day of the video shoot, I was thinking I might cancel. Did I really want to do this? Was I brave enough? I thought it would be a bunch of ladies meeting at a park, under a pavilion, sitting at tables and taking make up off in little mirrors. No, the setup was lovely, and I felt a little like a princess in an enchanted world! We were in a beautiful meadow, and there were mirrors and chairs all over the place. We were asked to wear white, and I felt this was rather symbolic, in that no one stood out based on their clothing.


The bloggers arrived one by one, and we all started chatting a little bit, and getting to know each other. All these women were beautiful. But you know what? They were more beautiful and even more relaxed after they took their make up off. We were all in this together! It felt liberating! Did you watch the video above? Wasn't it beautiful!?! I am honored to have been able to participate in the filming. Thank you Megan!


share your natrual beauty - brassyapple.com
Don't stop here. Get clicking around - its a blog hop! Below are more brave and beautiful women bearing more than their natural beauty. They each have a little bit of their heart to share with you. Some get very personal. Some share stories. For some this was very hard to do yet they gathered their courage and did it anyway. We hope as you click around (and YES pin these different posts!) you will feel the importance of it, the empowering effect it has and that it encourages you in some way.
>>>>>>>Important info! Blog Hops often have glitches the first day. If the link has an ERROR, simply click on the HOME button for each site, or google the blog name next to the link, and you should see their brave and beautiful post there. Links will be updated as soon as possible.<<<<<<<<<<<<
women sharing their natural beauty - no makeup
women with our makeup on and what makes them beautiful
women from around the world share their face with no makeup on - BrassyApple.com
Mommy bloggers share their face without makeup and what makes then beautiful
Natural beauty untouched photos
raw natural beauty - join the movement
beauty and bravery - women wearing no makeup - Brassyapple.com
#colbietry #iambraveandbeautiful
Ready in join in?Snap, hashtag and share! Tag @BrassyApple and @Peacefrom6Pieces if you can too!
Also follow our Bravery and Beauty PINTEREST board for more inspiration!
Attachments area Preview YouTube video Colbie Caillat - Try Colbie Caillat - Try


Come find me on instagram and faceboook showing my face, sans make up to all my friends and family! Are you brave enough to participate?

Thanks for stopping by.

Have a Happy and Creative Day!

Risa

Monday, September 22, 2014

DIY Urchin tutorial


I have been seeing these Sea Urchins all over the place. I knew I had to have one in my home.


I tried it the first time with Crayola Air Dry Clay. It was NO GOOD, and broke the minute I set it down.

They can get pretty expensive. I have seen them range from about $13 to over $100! This baby cost under $5. Yup, you read me, under $5. All you need is a pack of mini dowels from Michael's $2.99, and a pack of Sculpey also from Michael's. It was on sale last week for $1.25. You also need spray paint. I chose gold.


I got my inspiration for the project from Kristin at Hunter Interior. Her blog is one of my absolute favorites! I did it the way she did it. I rolled the clay into a ball, placed it on a cookie sheet (flattening the bottom), and started inserting the dowels. I started by making an X shape first, then filling in the quadrants equally, until all the dowels were gone. I then baked according to package instructions, waited for it to cool, and  spray painted it gold. You could paint it any color you want. 

It is super sturdy, and has lived in a few places in my home, including my basement built-in. See it up there in the left hand corner on a stack of books?


It seems to fit anywhere I put it. Do you have a place in your home that needs a faux brass urchin?


Thanks for stopping by. 

Have a Happy and Creative Day!

Risa

Himmeli DIY

Himmeli is quickly becoming one of my favorite accents in home decor. The thing I love about it, is it is so versatile. You can use it in everything from a casual child's bedroom to a formal living room, and it totally fits into the space, and brings a fresh and modern feel.


I have it in my basement family room.


I have it upstairs in my formal living room.


The thing that is so great about himmeli is that it can be used in so many different decor styles.

You can see it in action HERE and HERE.

I experimented with two types of straws, cocktail straws and coffee stirrers. I used the same 25 gage wire for each orb. 

I bought the cocktail straws at Harmon's (a local grocery store) for around $3 for a 200 pack. I bought the coffee stirrers at Wal-mart for $1.29 for 250. My Wal-mart does not carry cocktail straws. I bought the floral wire at Wal-mart as well for around $1.25. I only used 15, cut-in-half cocktail straws for this piece of himmeli. You can see, the cost is next to nothing.

The coffee stirrers were strong and sturdy, while the cocktail straws bent a little more easily.

The cocktail straws were round, and the coffee stirrers are kind of a long oval, but this doesn't seem very noticeable in the finished product, unless you are looking for it.

The cocktail straws took paint very easily, and the coffee stirrers did not. You need to use a primer with them. They do dry eventually.

With Himmeli tutorials all over the internet, I decided to just loosely explain what I did to make mine. I started experimenting with a few small shapes and orbs, then I honestly glanced over this tutorial to get the basic idea of the shape I wanted.

I prefer the coffee stirrers for strength. 

Cut 15 straws in half. You will have 30 pieces.



Start with a piece of wire as long as your arm (or longer), and thread 3 straws on, wrapping the wire through one of the straws to secure it. You will see is comes together easily. 
I first made the, "top," by making a kind of five slice circle pie shape. 
I did the same for the bottom. You might wine wire through a straw multiple times to get it in the place you want it. That's okay. It will just make your piece stronger.


I then wove the top and bottom together using pieces that met diagonally at each seam, and formed a triangle. You will have 5 triangles on top, five on bottom, and 10 around.
You will need to add more wire throughout the process. That is okay. stick it through a piece of straw that is already secure, and use the wire to thread more straws on.


When you are finished, wrap the remaining wire around another wire or group of wires a couple times to secure, and snip it, leaving about an inch. 


Use your wire snippers to tuck the snipped, "wire tail," into an adjacent straw.



Spray paint whatever color you choose, and you are finished.
Warning... It's addictive!


Thanks for stopping by.

Have a Happy and Creative Day!

Risa

Thursday, September 11, 2014

Temple Dedication - Family Home Evening & Activity Days

I am blogging at 


today, sharing our Temple Dedication themed Activity Days! Come check it out!


We are sharing lots of pretty pictures and free handouts. This would be a great activity for Activity Days or Family Home Evening.

Thanks for stopping by!

Have a Happy and Creative Day!

Risa

Monday, September 8, 2014

How to Style a Coffee Table

Fall is in the air, and for me that means deep cleaning my house, and making it feel a little extra cozy for the upcoming months where we will be spending more time inside. A great place to start is my formal living room. We don't do much in here, so I have no problem putting my pretties on my coffee table. 

Coffee tables can be hard... amiright? I think I finally have it down. After watching a segment on my favorite lifestyle show, Studio 5, on how to style a coffee table, it was like a lightbulb went off in my head. They said, 
Divide in Half & Divide in Half Again
So simple, right? YES, it really is!


Those are the rules I followed for my coffee table.

You can see, my table was divided in half, placing a tray on one side.


I divided the other side in half again, and stacked boxes on top of each other. In the other half of that side, I placed a hippo, and a piece of hemmili. Noticed I divided that space as well?


You can see that I even divided my tray in half, with books on one side, and succulents and container on the other side.


Each piece ties in with my pillows and the rest of the decor in the room.


The hippo was from a thrift store. It was $2. I gave it a coat of gold spray paint, and now I love him!


So, here's a top view:


The coffee table was thrifted and painted. It was cream before, and I left the brass lining the glass when I painted it gray. The stacked boxes are from TJ Maxx. The small box on top was thrifted. Hippo was thrifted. Blue Hemmili was DIY. Tray was thrifted and painted. Succulent was Homegoods. Small fuchsia vase, Michael's. Statue, Belize, we got it on a cruise about 10 years ago. Stone, gem faire. Books were thrifted, except the Orsay book that we picked up in France 15 years ago. Unicorn letter opener, thrifted.


I LOVE color, and I would say my taste is eclectic. I like to have things in my home that you are not going to see in other people's homes.


My front room makes me happy! Now, on to my basement!

Thanks for stopping by. 

Have a Happy and creative Day!

Risa


Tuesday, September 2, 2014

Younique Mascara

Ladies, this post is for you! A dear friend of mine called me last week, and said I had to try this new mascara she was using. I had heard of it before, and said I would try it, but only for her - I am always a sceptic. I about died when I put it on! These are real results. My husband took these pictures, and the lighting and angles are a little bit different, but you get the idea.

This is my face with regular mascara on.


This is my face with Younique mascara on.



The results speak for themselves. You get to try this awesome mascara for $29! 

Best part? This mascara has a money back guarantee!!!



I loved this clip of a beauty blogger trying Younique for the first time. I don't know this girl, but I want to go to lunch with her. She is hilarious! She is kind of a spaz with her application. She needs to brush her lashes out, but you get the idea of what it can do.  The results are truly AMAZING!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p4VtRPDaK4Y

This mascara will extend the length of your lashes, and even if your lashes are already long, it can help thicken them up. The results speak for themselves!

This is a selfie I took in my room after 12 hours of wear the same day the other pictures were taken.



I had seen this mascara before, but thought the photos were doctored, until I tried it for myself. I was talking to a friend about it yesterday, and told her I don't think I will ever be able to go back to wearing normal mascara. Younique mascara is my new normal.

For more information, or to buy your own, click HERE.

Thanks for stopping by. Now go make Younique mascara your own, "new normal."

Have a Happy and Creative Day!

Risa


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