Smile! for [Colorful Links] Christmas Icing and Victoria Secrets

Christmas came and went in such a hurry this year! What did you do for Christmas? My friends and I watched the basketball games, made creme brulee, built a gingerbread house/man, played taboo and I watched Beauty and the Beast for the first time! ^^

[Left] Gingerbread man my friend made.
[Right] Gingerbread house my friend and I made.

1. Icing DIY
Icing is actually quite easy to make! ^^ Here's the list of ingredients:

1 egg white
1 tsp of lemon juice
2 cups of confectioner's/powdered sugar

Step 1: Mix the egg white and the lemon juice together.
Step 2: Mix the sugar into the mixture.
[Colorful Tip] The proper consistency of the mixture can be tested if you lift your mixing utensil up and a bit of icing falls back into the rest, stays a little bit on the surface and then disappears.

This type of icing is called royal icing. It's the most common type of icing used on gingerbread men and gingerbread houses because it dries hard and matte over time. (:

2. Forever 21

Forever's Buy One Get One Free Sale is ending soon, and it prompted me to browse around on their website to see what I thought was worth my while. Granted when I started browsing, I ended up looking to places outside of the sale....but still worth the attention. ^^'' I've been absolutely craving for the ideal blazer and this woven career blazer had a very sophisticated chic look that caught my eye. I also personally think that these strappy leatherette sandals in gold or bronze as well as these lace up leatherette boots would be very versatile for cosplay and regular wear. (:

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3.Victoria's Secret
It's pretty universal that Victoria's Secret is known to exhibit and define the characteristic of being sexy. Usually their prices are pretty expensive, but their Semi-Annual Sale ends this Thursday and I say that their sale is definitely worth looking into. I discovered a whole list of things that have found a place in my Bookmarks list. Starting wiiiiith (drumroll) these two sweaterdresses (Cotton Ribbed Turtleneck Sweaterdress and Sleeveless Squareneck Sweaterdress) then these three sweaters that are absolutely perfect for layering in three different lengths (Silk and Cashmere V-neck Cardigan Sweater / Flirty Cardi Sweater / Maxi Cardigan Sweater) and the very last thing that I thought were these Marisa Crop Pants that would look very cute for pattern experimenting during the spring season.


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I will be uploading another video soon about the art of quilling and then another video of the outfit of the day. There will be many posts and hopefully many videos coming soon. (: So please stay tuned! ^^

Happy shopping and hope you all got presents this Christmas!


Smile today!

Smile! for [Colorful Links] Inspiration, Sewing and Shopping

1. Pinterest
Pinterest to me is pretty much looking at a Tumblr archive that consists of only pictures. Now, I don't have a Tumblr, but Pinterest really has a bunch of ideas that are very affordable as well as DIY projects for presents and to spruce up your life. For example, this crayon melting art looks really creative and fun to do! :D For the creatives out there, I really suggest going there for a browse whenever you feel as though you want to look for a little inspiration. (:


2. Adventures in Dressmaking
Adventures in Dressmaking is a blog written by Suzannah from Oregon. She writes about her absolutely adorable sewing projects. My favorite entry is this very simple and cute mod cloth dress. For the sewing enthusiasts out there, it definitely a good plus for inspiration as well this holiday.

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3. Yes Style
YesStyle made it to the Colorful Links again this week and to review from last week : YesStyle is an Asian website that sells multiple a variety of merchandise. From their extremely cute Women's section to their stylish Men's and beauty products as well. Even though I personally find their retail products quite pricey, I would really suggest looking around in their sale section. A few of the things that caught me eye was this Faux Suede Elasticized Belt and this Red Dotted Canvas Backpack. It also comes in mint green as well. So Christmas-y!

To add onto that, another section to look into is under Women's Fashion < $25. Some goodies I found for this week were this $22 Faux-Leather Hooded Jacket in brown/black and this $22 grey Leopard-Print Miniskirt that also comes in brown.

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4. ASOS
Discover fashion online. I've realized that many people on YouTube who do fashion channels buy clothes from ASOS. I personally haven't yet, but it doesn't hurt my judgmental wallet to browse around from time to time, no matter how hard wallet-dearest stares. From my recent browsing, I've been very interested in these Lace Nude colored Ballet Shoes, this very beautifully patterned Strap Velvet Pattern Belt, and this classy looking Black Warehouse Folded Clutch Bag. ASOS also has many skinny belts that would look very nice as a pop of color in any outfit. (:

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Happy shopping and happy holidays! (:


Smile today!

Smile! for [Colorful Adventures] WongFu Live and Paper Trees

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It's almost Christmas time! (: Hope you're all having a great holiday break! So here's the first video that I recorded and it's obviously not all that high tech...I'm sitting on the floor of my bathroom simply because it's the place with best lighting in my house. While I was recording...I was so nervous and constantly tripped over my sentences...so after a few hours, here it is! Despite that, I'll continuously try to improve and motivate myself to post more videos, but for now here's how this will start! (:

Here are some other shots of the Christmas Tree:







































The technique that is used here is called quilling. It uses strips of paper that is rolled, shaped and glued to make different designs. I'm planning to make a video that goes over the different techniques that I used for the Christmas tree design.

As an intro to the quilling world, it's very important to understand the tools that make the process more convenient. Even though it's possible to roll the strips of paper by hand, a quick tip is to acquire a quilling tool first, so that the rolling process is quicker.

Smile today!


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Smile! for [Colorful Updates]

Coming soon! I've finally kicked my butt cheeks into recording a YouTube video. It's going to be a vlog that goes hand in hand with a section that I'm starting called Colorful Adventures. (cue the shiny shooting-star-esque sparkles)

Here is a sneak peek shot about what the video is going to be about:


I'm editing it right now and I hope that you'll enjoy it! ^^

Smile today! (:

Smile! for [Art Portfolio] Irvine Lake

There are plenty more art related things that I've been working on for school and outside of school. Here's another one I did for my final.

Each picture was taken after each sitting.

Final:

Thoughts:
This painting was supposed to be painted in the style of a master and I chose Vincent Van Gogh. I first worked with a gradient as that the background would go through the main focus points of the painting. The most difficult for me was trying to convey Van Gogh's painting style through the water's reflection. The advice that I took from most from a very helpful classmate, who is an amazing artist by the way (shown here), is to have line control because it seems very inconsistent throughout the houses portion. Hm...I'll have to work on that more... Anyways, the scene is from a picture my friend took. I personally think that his pictures are absolutely fantastical. Here is the picture that I referenced from:

Isn't it so pretty? (:

Oil on Canvas (16''x20'')


Smile today!

Smile! for [Art Portfolio] Calla Lilies

So this is what I've been doing lately instead of posting things. Proof that I have truly been busy! ;A;

Each picture was taken after each sitting. This is my first big canvas painting.

Final:

Thoughts:
I'm very excited about the overall result and through this semester at school, I've incorporated some things that I've learned into the painting. I tried as much as I could to share color throughout the painting. An example is using the yellow and applying it into the places where it would add more depth into the flower on the left. I truly enjoyed the exercise of painting the calla lilies with non-white color, but still giving the overall effect of having the audience recognize that it is in fact a white flower.

Oil on Canvas (28''x36'')


Smile today!

Smile! for [Colorful Links] Updates and Holiday Deals

Ultimate apologies for not updating lately, but I've been extremely busy with school final projects. Since I'm going to be off of school after this week, I'm going to post much more over the holidays, and to make up for all the unfortunate lack of posting, I will make this post about the recent deals that I've been receiving in my email, reading from blogs and hearing from YouTube videos.


1. Nouveau Cheap
I've followed this blog for a few months now and after reading about the annual CVS beauty clearance, I decided that it was a fantastic way to introduce it to the bloggy. It's an extremely informative blog about drugstore make up and skin care products. I really suggest those who are on a budget, but have been looking for some beauty deals to take advantage of this one. (:

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2. Express
Express. Be Brilliant. With their recent multiple discounts, it's hard not to see that Express has been super friendly to their customers. What really grabbed my attention was their sale on this cable knit sweater that's on sale. So many colors! (: It would look absolutely lovely with a lace tank top inside for that girly feel like it's displayed in the product picture on the model.

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3. Yes Style
YesStyle is an Asian website that sells multiple a variety of merchandise. From their extremely cute Women's section to their stylish Men's and beauty products as well. Even though I personally find their retail products quite pricey, I would really suggest looking around in their sale section. A few of the things that caught me eye was this Faux Suede Elasticized Belt and this Red Dotted Canvas Backpack. It also comes in mint green as well. So Christmas-y!

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4. Forever 21
Forever 21 has always been one of my must go places when I'm shopping and during the holidays, they've been having lots of sales, ESPECIALLY TODAY with their One Day Sale (online only), where many of their items are 60% off, especially in their accessory section.

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4. Chic Little Devil
I have stumbled upon this absolutely tempting sample sale while I was looking for deals to share with my smileys. Up to 90% on brand name items and starting at $5 with lots of $10 bins? Yes please! (: Hopefully, this sample sale will do you good for the holidays starting tomorrow! Keep in mind that this sample sale only lasts for 4 days so hopefully it helps adds wonderful investment pieces into your wardrobe in your haul. (:

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Hope all of these sites helped you out! Happy shopping and to those who have finals, good luck! (:


Smile today!

Smile! for COD #7

Hello smileys! (: It's tiiime fooooor another C-O-D! (:


Purple Lace Tank - Styles for Less

Sheer Ruffle Tank - Styles for Less
Brown Pleather Bomber Jacket - Papaya
Light Tan Flare Jeans - Wet Seal

Brown Ruffle Boots - Styles for Less

(same jacket in this COD)

[Right] Entire outfit
[Left] [Colorful Tip] When finding jeans that flare out at the bottom, I like finding a pair that just almost touch the ground. Why? Because it gives the illusion that you're taller...and for me personally, I've always wanted to be taller. Petite people represent! :D Especially since these pants don't start at your hips, it has three buttons and it starts just barely above the belly button. By tucking in my purple lace tank top into my pants, it shows off where the pants start through the sheerness of the taupe colored top and it gives the illusion that my legs start somewhere higher. Therefore, it gives the impression that I'm tall.

Because I have been just wearing skinny jeans as my go-to bottoms ever since the beginning of the summer season, I was extremely excited when I saw these paints at Wet Seal in the buy-one-get-one-for-a-penny clearance section for two reasons.

One: I have been on the lookout to adding more lighter bottoms to my wardrobe and up until this purchase I have only been successful in owning a white pair of shorts from Styles for Less and white skinny jeans that I bought off from a friend who had her own little Facebook closet sale. (AKA they were only 3 dollars) Cue the wallet approved thumbs up? :3

Two: I am finally able to experiment with different types of jean shapes. Hopefully, I'll be able to match these jeans up to create other future outfits. (:

Hope you enjoyed this outfit! (:


Smile today!