Happy Tuesday!! Here’s some good news…one of my favorite new blogs, BeautifulHello, is giving away a Yellow Elm Peaceful Garden Headband, part of my new spring collection! Hurry on over there and enter the contest…it ends tomorrow.
And here are some bright and cheerful handmade lovelies I wanted to share…it’s cloudy here today and looks like it might rain, so I was in the mood for some warm and sunny inspiration.
I had the fun opportunity to participate recently in a fashion show, Fashion with a Passion, for a wonderful local charity, Safe Harbor,to support victims of domestic violence. The evening was fantastic.
While I love getting dressed up and getting my hair and makeup done, walking the runway was totally new for me. I can be a little shy in a crowd, so stepping out in front of 450 people was definitely a step outside my comfort zone, but everything went fine…I just had to remember to smile and walk slowly :)
I modeled clothes from Petals Boutique (and I must mention that I couldn’t part with the jeans and they are now in my closet!), jewelry by Christina Nicole, shoes and clutch from Muse, and a big grouping of Yellow Elm pins in my hair.
I hope to have the opportunity to be involved with more local events…it was great to get to know some new people and do something for a good cause.
I’ve seen a graphic floating around the internet recently that says in visual form, “outside of your comfort zone is where the magic happens,” and I couldn’t agree more! It’s so easy to fall into a routine and never get yourself outside the box, but I find myself doing more and more things related to Yellow Elm that are totally new and different for me, and it has been a little bit magical.
It’s Friday, and it seemed to me like a good day for a fun and casual side braid. My hair is not long enough to simply put a braid in it, so I had to improvise a little bit and thought I would share…
First, part your hair far to one side, and grab a section of hair from the top.
Separate it into three pieces, and begin to braid it. Gently add in pieces for a french braid. It’s normally not that easy to french braid your own hair, but this style is messy and loose so it’s not too hard.
Stop french-braiding once you get to about your ear, and then braid the tail (with a regular braid) and tie it temporarily with a hair band.
Next, grab a section from the other side of your head and begin to do the same. But as you french braid this side, start edging it towards the back of your head.
Continue to loosely french braid this side until it meets the braid on the other side that you finished earlier. Pull the hair tie off of that braid.
Now separate the remaining hair into three pieces and braid it. (Some of the bottom of your first braid will fall out at this point, depending on how long your braided the tail. This is ok.)
Tie off the end with a hair tie. The two braids you made first are now woven together, and it makes what is really a simple style look pretty intriguing :)
Have you stopped by the Yellow Elm facebook page lately?? If you haven’t, you might want to check it out…
I am making room for tons of lovely new spring pieces that you will love…and so I’ve reduced a bunch of winter headbands down to just $5! If you want a particular headband, leave a comment on the photo. If you don’t facebook, just email me. I only have one of each (that’s part of what makes them extra-special!) so hurry on over!
Here’s a look at some that are still available the moment I’m writing this post:
*Shipping is $1.50, or local customers can arrange pick-up at the studio.
Hope you’ll be able to snatch some headbands for a steal :)
Here’s another fun updo I tried in my hair…a messy and casual version of a french twist.
Start by pulling your hair halfway back and securing it with some bobby pins.
Next, pull a chunk of hair from each side of your head in to meet where you secured the other bobby pins, twisting as you go.
Secure with more bobby pins. If your hair is thick or really long, maybe try using a small butterfly clip.
Now twist up the remaining hair. If you have a lot left you can repeat the previous step until you have just a small piece left over. That will depend again on how thick/long your hair is.
Secure any pieces that are sticking out too much with more bobby pins.
All done! :)
Hope you’ve had a wonderful week! It’s been quite busy for me. Last night I was a model in a fashion show for charity. It was a step out of my comfort zone…I’ve never done anything like that before, but I had a lot of fun and benefitted a wonderful cause, and I’ll share some photos from my experience next week.
For the locals—I’ll be heading to the Valentine show tonight hosted by three of my favorite boutiques: Petals, Magpie, and Even a Sparrow. It’s located at Even a Sparrow at 213 Wade Hampton Blvd (next to Community Tap). I designed this sweet little postcard for them with all the details of the event:
Yellow Elm is on papernstitch!! I could not be more thrilled to have been accepted to such a fantastic online community. It’s a showcase of “the best in art, handmade, and vintage” and is the perfect place start if you want something handmade but don’t want to have too many options to wade through. Each exhibitor is hand-selected, so it’s kind of like visiting the online version of a wonderful indie craft show. The papernstitch blog is great too!
Here are a few sweet things I spotted on papernstitch (click on each image to link up to the item):
Hope your week has gotten off to a great start :) xx
The Valentine show was great! On Friday just a few hours before the show an article about Yellow Elm appeared on our local Patch news site. It was a lot of fun to be interviewed for this and I felt quite proud to see the article all put together :) Be sure to give it a read!
I was so glad to have Melissa Blanton and Kelly Muth join us at the studio and absolutely loved everything they brought.
Kelly debuted a new line of jewelry called Ragged & Funny using vintage buttons and lace — I hear an etsy shop is in the works, but if you’d like to order a piece email her at raggedandfunny@gmail.com. (I already put it an order for a pair of her lace earrings in dark red!)
Melissa had a collection of absolutely gorgeous and very affordable original artwork with her. You can keep up with her artwork online at November Honey. I have a few of her pieces hanging on my walls and love them! Her abstract layered style is wonderful for home, studio, and office decor.
Samoyed puppy— read about these in a book and now I want one.
Hot yoga — I got Living Social deal to practice yoga for two weeks at local Southern Om, and I am LOVING it! I’ve been going with two of my friends and we had a blast and got an amazing, cleansing and refreshing workout. My two week deal is up now, but I’m planning on buying a pass so I can keep going.
First, part your hair far to one side, and grab a section of hair from the top.
Separate it into three pieces, and begin to braid it. Gently add in pieces for a french braid. It’s normally not that easy to french braid your own hair, but this style is messy and loose so it’s not too hard.
Stop french-braiding once you get to about your ear, and then braid the tail (with a regular braid) and tie it temporarily with a hair band.
Next, grab a section from the other side of your head and begin to do the same. But as you french braid this side, start edging it towards the back of your head.
Continue to loosely french braid this side until it meets the braid on the other side that you finished earlier. Pull the hair tie off of that braid.
Now separate the remaining hair into three pieces and braid it. (Some of the bottom of your first braid will fall out at this point, depending on how long your braided the tail. This is ok.)
Tie off the end with a hair tie. The two braids you made first are now woven together, and it makes what is really a simple style look pretty intriguing :)
I’ll be sharing more details about the debut as it gets closer. Happy Monday! xx
Happy weekend!! xx
