I went into the MAC at Dillard’s in San Tan, talked to an amazing woman who called the Scottsdale Fashion Mall and the woman over there found me a couple of their last colors and held them for me while I drove over there. It was worth it. I was afraid that they would be wrong for my skin tone, but turns out I was able to pull off both colors! Normally this doesn’t happen and I turn out a little clownish looking.

Packaging	Party Parrot	Flamingo

If you haven’t seen the new MAC Collection with Iris Apfel, I think you should go check it out even though almost all the lipsticks are sold out . Party Parrot is a bright fuchsia/red matte color that’s great for going out. Flamingo is a peach/pink lustre that I can easily wear everyday, but I wouldn’t because I’m too scared to use it all! That’s the hardest part about collection pieces I think, you begin to covet or hoard them. Sometimes I go a little Ariel, “Look at this stuff isn’t it neat? Wouldn’t you think my collection’s complete? Wouldn’t you think I’m the girl, the girl who has everything? Look at this trove, treasures untold, how many wonders can one…” vanity hold? Do you ever feel like your stash is more of a collection? You pick out pieces with purpose not just for their proper use. Well that’s a topic for another day.

Back to the point… As MAC said, Iris truly is a “rare bird who has always been ahead of her time.” Into the Gloss wrote a great article on her that you should also go check out to learn more about Iris. I resonated with her not only for the incredibly fun colors from her collection, but also her views on beauty. To me, Iris is a lot like Audrey Hepburn in their traditional fashion sense, but she’s not mainstream.

“I’m not good at putting on makeup, but you have to be a moron not to be able to put on lipstick … I like the orangey-red lipsticks. Those are my favorites. I like them all actually, and I love a nice hot pink.”

Me too Iris, me too.

Also, if I ever go to Vegas on a road trip with some girlfriends and we take a convertible (it could happen), I will be wearing this scarf paired with my big sunglasses. Classy, right?

Source: jewelry.hsn.com via Amy on Pinterest

Number 1: Since I discovered Youtube make-up tutorials my freshman year of college, I have been more and more interested in beauty products and how to use them as the years have gone by. Now that I’m not a struggling college student I have been investing in better quality products that I want to use more often for a simple look. With that comes the need to also wash my face every night. I’m trying hard not to go to bed with make-up on. Also, I need to remember to use a moisturizer in the morning with an SPF or 15, the Arizona sun is brutal!

Number 2: I’m a professional now in the real world, and I’m going to be 24 this summer. It’s about time I dress like both. I want to look put together, and that means dressing more classic. This was partly inspired by the saying “Always leave the house dressed as if you are going to run into your worst enemy,” (i.e. ‘Look your best’). I think this also goes back to the roots of traditional style.

Number 3: I need to stop eating so much processed food and make more of my lunches. Work used to be located right next to Sprouts and I would walk over there at lunch and pick up a sandwich. Now there’s not much around here… There’s a Fry’s about 3min away by car and they have a lot of fresh market items which is good. Water consumption is another battle, I keep water bottles at the ready now in my fridge.

Number 4: This is sort of like “Me Time”. I have a goal of reading 35 books in 2012 (I surpassed my 2011 goal of 20 books and read 22). This does include re-reading books from the past since I have some that I need to refresh my memory for the newest in their series. Since Thanksgiving I have picked up 14 new books that I haven’t read yet and need to get to. I also love Goodreads! Check it out, it’s where I have my to-read, read, currently-reading books organized. Also, wanting to stick with working out as much as I have since I started Boot Camp over a year ago.

So I’m going to work hard at these goals, giving myself time and patience, but tough love too.

Thought I’d share them with you too
Note: The backgrounds included in the download do not include my quote.

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Download this set: Watercolor iPhone/iPod Background (29)

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Download this set: Grunge Floral iPhone/iPod Background (40)

I have been slightly obsessed with a new site called Pinterest. It’s an interactive mood/idea/inspiration board. It’s great for organizing ideas with friends, for example I’m helping my friend with her wedding and we can share ‘pins’ we find on a mutual ‘board’ we share.

I’m also helping decorate my friends Halloween Party. I have been looking up decorating ideas. I have been meaning to make a wreath for some time now and found two that I really liked. I used techniques from both to create my finished project:

Tools:

• Burlap – 1 yard of each Orange, Black & TanYou will have extra black and orange leftover, if you prefer not to you can purchase just ½ yard of Orange & Black Burlap
• Styrofoam Wreath 12″ × 1¼”
• Glue Gun & Sticks
• Applique Pins
• Scissors
• 4″ circle template

The two techniques I used were:

1. Rosettes – In the tan burlap I created 4″ wide circles and placed them around the edges of the inside and outside of the wreath first. Tutorial found at Domestifluff  “How to Make a Ruffly Felt Rosette Wreath.”
2. Rolled Rosettes – In Black and Orange I cut a long strip, 1 yard in length and 1½ inches in width. Tutorial can be found at Just Sew Sassy “Rolled Burlap and Rosette Fall Wreath.”

Tips:

• For the rosettes in tan I used applique pins and hot glue to make sure that they wold hold.
• When placing the rosettes I put one facing each way to create a full look.
• I was lucky enough that the rosettes covered the Styrofoam enough that white wasn’t peeking through too much, but you can cover it with the tan burlap first to create a better background.
• For the rolled rosettes I used a ton of hot glue and a couple applique pins around the edges.
• I added the tan rosettes in the middle last and only placed one at each space between the rolled rosettes.
• For the little Sign I used wire, card stock, and some stickers.
• Have a vacuum handy to clean up everything at the end, it can get pretty messy/dusty.

Total project time I believe was about an hour. It was a lot of fun though and went by quick. I would like to have added some burlap to the sign, but I’m saving the extra burlap for signs to place around jars… A variation on this from The House of Smiths.

If you would like to see me more about Pinterest and my boards, please check it our here. Be careful, if your like me you will end up scrolling down for hours

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Download this set: Hogwarts House Colors iPhone/iPod Background (168)

It’s become a fun hobby. I seem to be changing the designs on my nails at least twice a week. I usually come home from work sit down, turn on the news, and begin figuring out what design I want to create next on my nails. Recently I had a bunch of friends over for a nail party. Since I have been buying some cool new tools I thought I would share them with you all as well.

KONAD -  With Konad image plates you are able to transfer complex designs onto your nails. It takes some practice and quite a few tries to get the hang of it, but once you do it’s a lot of fun. I suggest getting the Konad Basic Stamping Kit:

Kit includes 1 (5ml) special nail polish (white), 1 image plate (m36), 1 stamp & 1 scraper for $15.99

Once you have the stamper and scraper you are able to buy the individual plates for $6.99 each. These products are all available online.

POLISHES – I just bought a ton of China Glaze polishes from an online wholesale distributor, I haven’t found better prices than at 8ty8beauty. I also haven’t been able to find Nail Art polishes in stores so it was nice that they had such a large selection. I was in need of a dotting tool as well and they have a couple to choose from. My order arrived on time and I even had called customer service to remove a couple polishes I changed my mind on, they were very helpful.

China Glaze $3/bottle, Dotting Tool $2.99, Nail Art $1.98/bottle, Rhinestones 100 count $2.99

I’m hoping to create more posts with instructions and images of the designs I really like. It’s been a great creative release after work to design something for me and not for clients

This is the story of my life.

I’ve joked about this kind of thing with friends. I have an inability to remember names, of anything it seems. They will be on the tip of my tongue and I begin describing the person/place/thing in full detail until I’m able to finally reach a name, or the person I’m talking to figures it out from my own performance of a Cranium Copycat Card (i.e. A player must imitate a famous person or character for their teammates to guess).

This happens with Movie Star’s names all the time, I will list off all the movies they were in – and sometimes I don’t remember the name of the movie so I’ll end up describing the movie – until you or I can figure out who is the common link in them all.

I always knew I was a visual learner, remembering what I saw more often than what I heard or read. Images would stick with me. Recently, I started to pay more attention to how I perceive much of what I see. I found that I go through about 6 different phases. It varies sometimes, I don’t go through this whole process, but when I do look at something visually pleasing I will go through all of these thoughts.

I will recognize that what I’m looking at is a word, sign, object, place, etc. I don’t however actually look at what it means just yet.

I observe the aesthetic of what I’m looking at. Are the colors complementary, monochromatic, or analogous? What shape is it? What is it made out of? What could create that kind of texture?

I move on to deducing what font is used if it’s a sign with words. If I don’t automatically know what it is I break it down. Serif or sans-serif? Gothic? Calligraphic? Handdrawn? Black Letter?

What properties were adjusted to make it look the way it does? Has the space between letters been adjusted? What about the distance between lines?

I begin evaluating if I like the overall appearance of what I’m looking at. Does it work for what it’s trying to convey? Does it feel like not much effort was put into the design? I figure out if I were to recreate it how would I do it? What steps in Photoshop might I take?

Then at the very end I read what the word says and means. Then I wonder if it’s all been put together well. Does the style fit? Does the image reflect what the word means? Is there a correlation between the aesthetic and the definition itself?

It seems like a lot for a person to take in, but with having done it so often I begin to just automatically go through this process. I think that steps 2 and 3 are the most important to me because that’s usually what I remember most in the end. When I’m trying to figure out the name of something these are the things I can easily describe.

I was picking up snack foods for when my mom and sister visit this weekend at Target. I figured I would pick up some Haribo Gummy Bears, the come in the iconic gold bag (and they’re the best kind in my opinion). We would always have them around the house or on long car rides and my sister would always get mad at me when I ate too many. Well I found a 3lb bag of them for like $7! I couldn’t believe it. I had to buy it. Share the wealth right?

Tiny Little Bear
Colorful, Clear And Chewy
I Eat You Head First

I went to the “First Time Attendee Orientation” with Larry Becker because I didn’t want to get lost or be confused by crowds of people during the conference. It really helped to get a feel for how Photoshop World is run. It’s more casual and fun than other conferences I have attended. Larry encouraged us to talk to speakers, as questions, and meet new people. Take classes out of your comfort zone, you never know what’s out there until you look. I left excited for the sessions to begin and to start learning again.

On Wednesday I went over to the Orange County Convention Center (OCCC) a little early to beat the lines at the registration booth. I sat down and started double checking the sessions I wanted to attend on Wednesday and what rooms they were going to be in. I quickly became friends with two girls sitting by me and throughout the conference we hung out together. I was so glad that I hit it off with them and wasn’t alone anymore. I think that’s one of the great things about Photoshop World, you go in with a positive attitude, talk to people and make great connections with people in the same creative field. Everyone attending and speaking is excited to learn and share with each other.

The keynote was wonderful and so much fun! The theme was Project Photoshop, a play on Project Runway, “The Feel. The Fashion. The Filters.” NAPP had Orlando Fashion Students create a batch of Photoshop inspired dresses and displayed them with a large runway show during the opening video. It was hilarious, cheesy at times, and gave everyone a good laugh. Best keynote I’ve ever been to (and will be until the next Photoshop World I’m sure). There was a balloon drop that ended up being more entertaining that it should have. Scott Kelby told us that there were B&H coupons inside and people were to pop the balloons to get them out. This began a 2 minute machine gun sounding tirade. Amusing if nothing else for us in the back who didn’t get a balloon. I’m just glad people held off popping them throughout the rest of the Keynote.

I want to mention the three speakers who stood out most to me over the days: Moose Peterson, Corey barker and Dave Black.

Moose Peterson – I attended “Shooting Landscapes With ACR Finishing” and quickly followed him down to the Exhibit hall where he talked about wildlife photography at the Kelby Live Training Booth. He started out the ACR class with a 4 min slide show of his work, it was epic. My eyes feasted on his beautiful landscape shots, I had to see more. Down in the exhibit hall he showed more photos, this time focusing on wildlife. He has shot pictures of endangered and extinct creatures that I have never heard of. It’s so exciting to see his work and listen to his stories. I plan to attend all his classes at the next convention. The big things I took away from listening to him is that small changes can make a big difference, adjusting the clarity of the RAW image can make big changes. Also, don’t brighten whites, darken blacks to bring out whites. This reminded me of my favorite Mitch Hedberg joke, “I thought of getting my teeth whitened, but instead I got a tan.”

Corey Barker – I attended “Hollywood Effects”, “Photoshop CS5 Type Effects” and “Photoshop Design Effects”. These classes were specifically for work and really helped inspire new ideas and helped me discover shortcuts for what I’m already doing. I like his personality that he brings to his sessions as well as the speed of his process. There are a lot of classes that have a slower pace for beginners, but his classes are great for intermediate to advanced Photoshop skills. He showed us how to take text, turn it into a brush, and have a picture bleed through. A lot of his tutorials were simple effects I knew how to do, but I had never thought to do it that way, or combine those processes together. He made me want to go play in Photoshop right after his sessions ended.

Dave Black – I didn’t attend any of his classes, but I will be sure not to miss one next time. At the Conference wrap up he told an amazing story of how his world changed in one week. He became who he is today because one professor supported him. It was amazing, everyone was in tears. And his work is amazing to boot.

At the conference wrap-up it was bittersweet knowing it was over. Secretly, I was hoping it was an April Fools joke, and they would have another round of classes after, but not so. I had a great time, became inspired, met new friends, and then… Won the Grand Prize of 2 Full Conference Passes to the next Photoshop World! So now I’m not going to miss out on the next one at all

I recommend all you designers out there who are either experts or begginers in Photography or Photoshop to attend Photoshop World on September 7–9, 2011 at Mandalay Bay Resort & Casino in Las Vegas NV. It will be well worth it! Also, if you’re not already a member of NAPP you’re missing out on some great tools!