DIY: Paper Button Flower Hair Pins!

I thought it would be kinda neat to create some cute hairpins/clips for Ashlyn, since I've been trying out new hairstyles with her, etc. I had to use this huge pins on her the other day and felt pretty sad we didn't have any cute girly clips for her. The other problem was that we just haven't had the money to get her cute accessories yet, so I decided to just make some with the supplies we had already. A lot of the materials I used I got from the 99 cent store or Michael's. 

These are really easy to make and can be as elaborate as you choose, it just depends on the style you're going for and how much time you want to put into these. I did some pretty simple ones, just to try it out first.

The materials I used are also pretty cheap and simple, but you can definitely make these more intricate if you decide to buy felt or some other kind of fabric, but if not these are still super cute and easy to make, and, if anything, it can be seen as practice! 

MATERIALS NEEDED:

1. Buttons - Like I said before, these can be purchased at Michael's, the simpler they are the cheaper, though they do have some really adorable buttons for a little extra if you're looking to do something more elaborate.

2. Glitter - It will add flare and make your little girl feel like a sparkling flower princess! 

3. Paper or Felt - Again, I used paper to cut cost and to keep it pretty simple. 

4. Hair Clips 

5. Scissors or an x-acto knife - I ended up using an x-acto, but either one is fine, it just depends on the length and thickness you want your petals to be. 

6. A quick drying glue or glue gun

7. Some kind of paint to color the hair clips (This is definitely optional)

Cut out your petals

If you want to be very precise I'd recommend using a tracer to draw them out. I wasn't really going for an "exact" petal look, but more free-flowing and whimsical so I just cut out different sizes with different patterns, some plain and some more decorative.

Grab a button and add glue to the very center. 

I like to do this because it gives me a base to work with and allows me to easily lay the petals atop one another.

Add your petals

Keep adding petals in a circle until you are happy with the amount of petals your flower has, you can even add bigger petals in the back add smaller in the front to give your flower depth!

Add your details! 

After you've added all your petals, take some time to let the glue dry (I used the quick tacky glue so I didn't have to wait too long) and then add your details! I decided to go with adding glitter, to make the clips more girly and cute!

Petals or curly cues! 

This step is optional, sometimes I like to add curly cues to my paper flowers to give it another layer of fun, it looks cute and it's easy to do if you're working with paper. All you have to do is simply wrap a long, thin strand of paper around a pen or pencil (I used the x-acto) and it will form a beautiful curl that will act as a curly strand on your flower! You can attach it the same way you did previously with the paper petals. 

Color your clips and attach your flowers!

I ended up using nail polish because it has a nice glossy look at the finish. I used glitter on some of the clips as well, just for fun! :)

And there you have them! 

Another very simple hair clip idea is just adding buttons to the end of the clip. You can see here that I've layered them to give them a creative look. I can't wait to show Ashie! 

Let me know what you think!

And in other news....

This past weekend I worked as a face painter, it was really fun, and although most of the face designs were very simple, it allowed me to use my drawing and painting skills in a way I don't normally get to. After the event, I asked Ashlyn if she wanted a face painting and I did my very first Fairy Face painting design. It was really fun and she enjoyed it thoroughly!   

You can see from the pins in her hair why I decided to make my own for her!

And also, this:

Aaron and I bought Toffee her first snacks, these little turkey and salmon bacon bits by Wellness. I left the room momentarily to grab something and left this little guy in with Toffee, in turn she pretty much destroyed the packaging. 

This must be like some kinda of kitty crack because she will not stop whining to have some. It's pretty funny, but kinda weird! It makes me think of my addiction to chocolate and how I'd do anything to get my hands on it. 

What's a snack/candy that you're extremely addicted to?

xox, a modern dame

Reward Stars

Last weekend Aaron and I had a long discussion about teaching children good behavior and how to get kids to remember their manners & chores. We thought about what we could do to encourage good behavior in one particular area, like eating veggies, for example. 

We thought that a simple Star Reward Chart system would work best after talking to a few other parents. I have looked online and noticed a lot of nay-saying about reward stars, stating that it encourages bad habits, like a child assuming every good deed will result in a reward, but after careful consideration and discussion with Aaron, we found that if we emphasize more on the "good behavior" and less on the "rewards", perhaps it would have a more positive effect.

Boy has this system really worked! Aaron's daughter is more focused on achieving the reward stars than on the rewards themselves, which is really amazing to see. I think it's because we created more of a game-like system with it that Ashlyn views as something fun and rewarding in itselfs, the rewards being a secondary thought.

Since using the Reward Stars Chart, her behavior and willingness to try new foods has improved immensely!

Here is what we used to create ours:

1. A wood board to stick the stars on

2. A bag of stars from Michaels for $3.99

3. Paint

4. Brushs

5. Glitter

6. Velcro to stick the stars on the board

6. Something to put the stars in, we picked up a cute little box at Michaels for $6.95

After gathering all our materials, Ashlyn and I picked a theme she liked from one of her favorite movies, Tangled.

We used the Art of Tangled concept book that my brother and his wife bought me for Christmas some years back, it's been a life savor for so many of my creative projects!

 I let Ashlyn do a lot of the color blocking, Aaron and I wanted her to feel like she was a big part of the process. We figured if she enjoyed making the Star Chart, she'd associate it with a fun memory and therefore be more apt to participate with it.

Ashlyn was in charge of making all the stars, and she did an amazing job! Just look at all that glitter! 

Aaron was in charge of putting the velcro on the stars (a very tedious job indeed!) 

 

After that I wanted to make sure the stars and the colors were working well together before painting the rest of the chart and treasure box.

I did my best :/

Finally finished with painting! Pew!

After putting fitting the velcro on the chart, Ashlyn painting the inside of the treasure box! 

Aaron and I took a long time coming up with rewards, as you can see they're nothing big, just little things we thought Ashlyn would appreciate when she gets enough stars.

On one side it has a list of things she can do to earn the stars, on the other, the rewards she can get from them. She often brings the list over to Aaron and I so we can describe everything to her since she's still learning to read. Usually Ashlyn just wants to play with Dad's phone. Se's pretty addicted to the games, thus it being the first reward on the list, haha. 

It's pretty great waking up to her knocking on our door and describing how she got up, got dressed, brushed her hair, brushed her teeth, took care of her bedroom and fed the kitten.

I don't know how long her enthusiasm will last with this, but it's been a great two weeks :}

xox, a modern dame

An ever+mi.crush love affair

I recently discovered a cute little vintage boutique! I absolutely adore their selection thus far! Here are some of my favorite articles currently! 

Check out their latest items at ever+mi.crush 

Be sure to check their sale's rack!

Summer Breeze

 

My first shoot since we've arrived here in Marin County. Aaron has been taking me on a ton of hikes. There are so many neat places for shoots, my mind has been riddled with excitement for the blog! It's also been tremendously hot! 

Summer is certainly here, and I've really been loving every minute of it. If I'm not painting, I'm outside soaking in the sun!

I found this dress about a year ago at a local Salvation Army and really loved it, but it was just too big for me. It also had arms to it that I wasn't quite fond of, so I altered it! I really loved how it came out!

dress {thrifted & altered}

purse {thrifted}

sandals {payless}

bracelet {seattle}

earrings {H&M}

Of course I had to take a quick snap of Aaron, as he was looking particularly groggy during our shoot!

I was finally able to wear this adorable vintage looking dress I bought a year or so ago for my brothers wedding. It's nice to know I'm able to dress it down and make it a little more casual.

I paired it with my cropped jean jacket, an old belt, and these cute sandals that I've had forever!

 

I really loved this old railroad area. It curved beautifully, Aaron wasn't quite able to catch that on this shoot, but we'll definitely be going back for another shoot here at some point, it's just too pretty not to!

dress {forever21}

belt {myske}

sandals {payless}

jean jacket {thrifted}

purse {modcloth}

xox, a modern dame

Life lately with Instagram!

First off, we moved!

We finally said our goodbyes to Orange County. It'd been a long time coming, but we finally made it happen!

Since we're closer to Aaron's daughter, we've been able to spend way more time with her, which has been a real treat for us! 

Secondly, we spent July 4th with Ashlyn (Aaron's daughter) at the fair, I painted her nails and finally we watched the fireworks from a Ferry near the bay bridge, it was simply phenomenal!

Thirdly, Aaron and I celebrated our 5th year Anniversary on July 10th!

That about sums up the last few weeks!

-Hope you all had an amazing 4th!

Confidence, self value, and self love.

I've had these purple pants just sitting in my closet. I bought them with every intention of wearing them everyday! I mean, they're purple! The problem with me and my "still learning how to be girly" is that I really had absolutely no idea how to style these purple pants! I would go on Pinterest and look and look and I'd see other girls styling their purple pants with these cute shirts, and I'd think "UGH, if I just had THAT shirt!" --- here's my issue with fashion and blogging and... well just being a girl in general:

We constantly feel less than because of what some other girl has that we do not have. 

Lately this has really been itchy at me. Why do we do this to ourselves? Why do women need to better their appearance to feel equal to other girls? It baffles me, and yet, I'm right here doing the exact same thing. It's really quite the paradox. 

After really thinking about it, I believe that it's not so much out of jealousy, it's more about our self esteem and where we see our own self value. For example, when I meet another girl, especially one that I would deem stylish or pretty, I start to sort of take myself part when looking at the qualities she has that I do not have. 

"She has better teeth, she has nicer nails, she has those shoes, she has blonde hair, her hair is longer, her hair is prettier, smoother, she has better complexion, she better vocabulary, better, better, better!"

It's enough to drive yourself mad! Especially when you start to go into what that girl must do to look the way she does! It must be expensive, she must have a lot of money, she's so lucky!

We really do end up just tearing ourselves up. We do not benefit ourselves by comparing what we have to those of others, and lately I have been doing my utmost to change this way of thinking in myself. I've been focusing oh my own qualities, what I have that makes me special, not "better" than other girls. I think the key to really loving yourself is seeing something in yourself that YOU admire, that you would want others to admire, not be jealous of. 

When I decided to try this new way of thinking, little things started to change. Somehow... getting dressed suddenly became much easier! I stopped thinking about what I could have to make this outfit better, I instead focused on what I had that would make this outfit more "me."

It's really hard for me to not criticize myself, especially when I see flaws in my appearance. "No, I wont post that picture because of [insert typical self-deprecating comment here]." I still feel like I should delete pictures on here (especially) because I'm not comfortable with how I look in a good amount of them, but I think by posting these pictures and keeping them up, it's a form of me gaining confidence and appreciation for myself and my appearance. To keep trying to not be so critical of myself and just accept that I look the way I do and that it's something I am learning to love. 

I realize that it's a process, and that not everyone is born loving every little part about themselves and their appearance. Actually, I think deep down most people are self-conscious about one thing or another, which is extremely normal because, like I stated above, we tend to compare ourselves with people we deem look better or have better things. The thing we don't think about is that while we're comparing ourselves to that person, that person is probably comparing their self to us. 

When I put it into that perspective, there's really no need to focus on it so much. I'd rather just be the unique individual I am and call it a day!

There's this amazing video on YouTube "On Being Ugly" -- it's really quite gorgeous how this individual describes herself and what she thinks is beautiful. It really gives me a whole new outlook on myself and what I think it worth my time and effort... and how much of that should be spent on my "physical beauty."

In addition to that, another amazing video by meekakitty "How to accept a compliment" taught me that accepting a compliment does not make me arrogant! That someone can say "Hey, you there, you're kinda neat looking!" I don't have to feel odd or uncomfortable, or shun their compliment because I think that if I say "Thank you, kind sir!" I'd somehow be giving in to the ego demons... 

I guess, at the end of the day I just want to be able to be perfectly me without feeling like I'm not good enough, or that by sharing myself and my life, or the things I adore on a blog... that  it somehow makes me arrogant. 

I think it's really the first step into finding self confidence, being aware of your personal self value, and most importantly, self love. 

xox, a modern dame

Our Seattle Trip

Aaron and I had a hard time choosing where we wanted to go for our first small Vacation, but after a while we realized that Seattle would be the best possible option. We really wanted to experience a difference in atmosphere since we live in Orange County, not to mention the interested in all of the different food options! Aaron is quite the foodie, so he was most impressed by the sea food restaurants in the area!  

Our trip could not have been more exciting. Everyday spent there was absolutely amazing and the people in Seattle were just so nice. All the locals kept telling us how lucky we were to be experiencing Seattle on "a good weekend" since the sun was shining and there wasn't too much overcast! 

Needless to say, we really loved the experience.

The drive into the city was always pretty breathtaking, as simple as it was. We must have taken like 100 pictures of the sky alone during this trip! We were just so mesmerized by it!

Touchdown into the Farmers Market. We missed the fish throwing event, but we were still able to enjoy the night life and see a lot of great places!

See what I mean with the sky? Gorgeous!

We hit up the a few talked about coffee shops in the area. 

Top Pot was very cute, it's a  freshly baked doughnuts shop with hand crafted coffee! I was in heaven! 

After that, Aaron and I went to see the Chihuly Exhibit! It was the first time I'd ever been to one of his galleries before.

All I can really say is that I was thoroughly impressed. He is such a unique thinker. Each piece, each scene was so perfectly crafted... I am sad to say I wasn't able to capture all the great details of his work, but I did get quite a few images that will forever inspire me :}

Aaron was pretty disappointed because Dale Chihuly had been at the exhibit only a half hour before we arrived. He was pretty sad, Chihuly is his favorite artist.

After that we headed to the Space Needle! I was not excited about it at first, since I have a terrible fear of heights, but Aaron persisted and I eventually caved in!

The view from the Space Needle.

I was happy to be on the ground again after that!

 Aaron taking creative liberties with the camera. I really loved this shot of the Space Needle.

A quick visit to Freeway Park!

Aaron and I ended our trip with a cute little hike in Snoqualmie Falls!

This trip really helped us in our future trip planning. We're hoping to go to Holland soon to visit my family, but we may end up going to Oregon first. Either way, Seattle was a perfect first vacation! 

 xox, a modern dame