Vanessa has an Equity Endeavor going on to raise funds for her new art studio expenses. She started out as a traveling art business as the only teacher (I can relate… I’m a traveling educator as well!) and believes that anyone can create art (I want to enable anyone to create bath & body products.) so I think her dream of having a brick and mortar where people can go to learn the skills of creating art is worthy of your support. Please give what you can give.
Here’s a short video about her mission:
Joyce from hellohuckleberry.com making polish
Black and Gold Glitter Glow in the Dark Topcoat
Lori and Lisa manning the raffle table
She invited me to take part at her open house/grand opening this week by bringing a hands-on project. I brought my make your own nail polish setup and invited my friends to join in on the fun.
We both were in the workstudy program at Bikram Yogagroove when it was still open. Her new art studio is next door to Bikram Yoga East Austin. It was nice to see a lot of familiar faces from the Bikram community in support of her studio opening. There were awesome raffle prizes, like a gift card to Kome Sushi, Business Coaching, 2K in website design, a month of Bikram classes & more! I won a painting class at Art & Soul, and my friend Joyce from Huckleberry won the website design raffle prize!
Guess what guys! I’m headed to the Tyler Mini Maker Faire this weekend along with 40 + makers at the Discovery Science Place in Tyler, TX.
Maker Faire staples like Eepy Bird will be there with their Diet Coke and Mentos experiment/entertainment. They are one of my favorite things to see at Maker Faire.
Here are some of the other makers that will be in attenance: Red Raider Robotics, VEX Robotics Competition, Dallas Personal Robotics Group, Printer Robot Simple: Extreme Edition, VEX Robotics Competition, UT Tyler Ingenuity Center, North Texas Drone Users Group, TJC Physics, Auto-Fetch, About the Tree Series, RC Legos, 3D printed R/C Tachikoma, Moore Robotics Club, Marty, UT Tyler American Chemical Society, LeTourneau University Engineering, East Texas Gem & Mineral Society, smART Projects, Pagermotors.com, Whitehouse ISD, CNC/3D printer, Squishy Circuits, Percy Wang, Jonathan Kavanaugh, Robert Baker, Austin Tie Die Co & Poly Printers.
I had so much fun helping these fashionistas mix up their custom nail lacquers with Juliette on Sunday afternoon! I met Juliette at Renegade Craft Fair the previous weekend, and she was one of the first people I helped make creme polish with! She made all the cremes in this gallery, and is wearing them in the pale aqua and green swatches! She has a fine art background, so I was happy to have her help mixing custom colors on Sunday! She’s also talented at nail art (see the vintage flowers on her “party nail”?) and you can see more of her designs on instagram. She’s @jetpack31.
Sum Photo Booth was there with his green screen to put everyone on the cover of the mag! Neat, huh? I didn’t get much of a chance to leave the nail polish mixing, but Lindsey from Influential Magazine has a nice write-up about the event. (and she took lots of pictures of my booth, thanks!)
Sum Photo booth was there with their green-screen. He put everyone on the cover of Created Woman.
Follow talented @jetpack31 to see her latest nail art on instagram!
@jetpack31’s St. Paddy’s Day Mani with the Awesome Avocado creme + gold shimmer she made
Juliette helping Amber make the perfect pale pink.
InFluential Magazine’s Lindsey J. Wiese (R) with Heather Frierson (L), Founder of Created Woman Magazine
I was invited to bring a a hands-on project to the Art & Soul Open House this coming Wednesday night. I’m bringing my custom nail polish workshop! Just let us know you are coming so we can bring enough supplies! RSVP here.
Wednesday, March 26, 6:00-9:00 pm  3801 Berkman Drive, Austin, TX 78723
Join us for a Celebration! Now that we’re settled into our new space, it’s time to throw a party!
THANK YOU for all you’ve done to help our dreams at Art & Soul come true!
We will be holding a party on Wednesday, March 26 from 6-9pm as a celebration of all we’ve accomplished so far. This party is to celebrate YOU, our loyal friends and patrons, and also serves as an open house to encourage new friends to learn about our programs.
Come enjoy painting, nail polish making, wine, socializing with friends, and meeting new people in the local art community. Family and friends are welcome too!
Wow you guys! Between my little table at SXSW Create (in the Austin Mini Maker Faire booth) and my workshop at the SXSW Renegade Craft Fair, we made over 500 custom nail polishes together! You guys are amazing! I loved seeing all the colors and combinations you came up with! Many thanks to Roni, Dallas, Moira, Maria Felix, Avery and Mariah for all of the help I had at my booth during the three-day show. It was great to meet you all!
Courtney from the Blue Genie Art Bazaar stopped by and took this picture
Dallas helping people make polish at my booth, with Roni & I in the background
A very excited 10-year old made a gold glitter-bomb polish
Cremes @jetpack31 created at my booth
@jetpack31’s St. Paddy’s Day Mani with the Awesome Avocado creme + gold shimmer she made
@me_roni_d’s glitter bomb
@sarah_mimo_’s polish she made http://instagram.com/p/lumNm1yGKF/
You can make nail polish with me at Art & Soul this coming Wednesday night (6-9pm) at their studio in E. Austin. RSVP here!
My next nail polish making workshop in Austin, TX is at Style Speaks on Sunday, March 23. Tickets are $25 online and $30 at the door.
Swag Bags for 1st 100 Ladies | Giveaways Throughout the Day
You are cordially invited to Style Speaks! Join us as Created Woman Magazine brings the magazine to life through lifestyle + beauty panels. With topics ranging from fashion to faith, you’ll leave equipped & empowered! Stick around for the finale – a fabulous fashion show previewing the best in Spring fashion by Isabella Rose Taylor, Luxe Apothetique, Bevello, Altar’d State & Desiring Eden.
Grab your girlfriends and lets connect face-to-face! In true Created Woman form, you’ll enjoy:
♥ JAMS – Spirit 105.9 & The Culinary DJ
♥ SHOPPING – Local Vendors & Designers
♥ LIGHT BITES – Crema
♥ SWEETS – Kellie’s Baking Co
♥ SIPS – Enchanted Rock Vodka+ Ambiente Wine
♥ MEET the authors of our favorite chic books
♥ SAY CHEESE – SUM Booth
♥ CREATE your own Nail Polish – Feto Soap!
Produced by MODISH + Hosted by FIAT of Austin
{DOORS OPEN}
2:00 – You can choose to take part in our Power Panels, relax in the Langford Lounge, shop, network or all of the above. It’s a day for YOU to enjoy!
{POWER PANELS}
2:30 – Welcome, Editor in Chief, Heather Frierson.
2:35–2:50 – “Just Do You: Being the Created Womanâ€, Cheryl Luke
3:15–3:40 – “Live Your Story†– CW Writer/Speaker Team & Q/A from audience. Our purpose is linked to our passion. Learn how to embrace & build your business around your God-given purpose & be equipped with tools to find time each day to live out the story of your life.
Writing Contest Winner Announced
4:00–4:25 – “Beauty Comes From Within†Q/A
CW Beauty Team reveals their secrets to styling, networking and what it means to be beautiful from within.
{FASHION SHOW}
5:15 – Step Into Spring with our Fashion Show featuring designer, Isabella Rose Taylor, and the best of Austin boutiques.
On Thursday we set up the Austin Mini Maker Faire booth at SXSW Create and then headed to the Thinkery21 event, where we hosted a Maker Meetup with Dale Dougherty!
He asked a creator of a robot drummer (Pony Trap) to give a little demonstration at the event:
Pony Trap and its creator will be at the upcoming Austin Mini Maker Faire.
I got Dale to shake my number randomizer for raffling off TechShop passes! He was a great sport, and for the third shake he wished for a woman to win, and guess what?! Melissa M. won a one month membership + SBU Class at TechShop! Dale wants more women in maker spaces like TechShop and it was great to be able to speak to him in person about developing maker spaces that are welcoming to women.
Nails Y’all at Thinkery21
Andrea & I at the Thinkery21 Event
Nails Y’all was there teaching people how to do nail art! I ran into Andrea – my 2012 soapmaking apprentice because she wanted to learn what Maker Faire was all about. It’s an amazing event with everything from robotics, 3-D printers to crafts.
You can still apply to bring your project or share your awesome skill or participate in some unique Maker-ly tinkerliscious way in Austin Mini Maker Faire on May 3! Get your application in before April 12th… it’s gonna feel so good.
I’ve been blogging more lately here on the WordPress platform, and noticed I had to keep scrolling up to click the Add Media or Insert Link buttons, and didn’t know about the availability of keyboard shortcuts for these two features –which was kind of a pain because I link or insert lots of pictures into my posts. So today I present to you:
My favorite/most used Keyboard Shortcuts for WordPress:Â Bold:Â CTRL+b (works in most apps, like Word)Â
Link:Â Alt+SHIFT+a Insert IMG URL: ALT+SHIFT+m
and here are a few more Keyboard Shortcuts for WordPress:Â
Blockquote: Alt+SHIFT+q
Bold: Alt+SHIFT+b
Code: Alt+SHIFT+c
Insert date/time: Alt+SHIFT+s
Insert IMG URL: ALT-SHIFT-m
Italics: Alt+SHIFT+i
Line Break: SHIFT+Enter
Link: Alt+SHIFT+a
List Item (li): Alt+SHIFT+l
Ordered List (ol): Alt+SHIFT+o
Publish the Post: Alt+SHIFT+p
Read More: Alt+SHIFT+t
Redo: CTRL+y
Strikethrough: Alt+SHIFT+d
Undo: CTRL+z
Unordered List (ul): Alt+SHIFT+u
I’m super-pleased with my first Ipsy Bag. I love all of the colors included, and I already use the Pixi Flawless Beauty Primer (the full sized one comes in a glass bottle with a pump.) so I’m happy to be able to throw this into my travel makeup bag. I’ve seen the Opi Roughles around, but had never picked up a bottle because the texture looked strange to me. My verdict after giving myself a mani with it directly on my nails:  I love the texture – I can’t stop touching it! It feels like gentle sandpaper. I don’t like the look,  so I might put a glossy topcoat on it later.
Right now, I think ipsy is the better beauty bag (for me!) The colors were spot on and the sizes weren’t shabby, either. Last month’s birchbox had a mini opi polish and sample sizes, but I feel like the ipsy bag had larger samples AND full-sized products. I’d rather have larger samples than the tea the Birchbox added in, but we’ll see what next month’s box looks like!
My next walk-up nail polish making workshop is at the SXSW Renegade Craft Fair Thursday – Sunday, March 13, 14 + 15th Noon – 8pm open to the public at the Palmer Events Center.
I used Recollections brand 65 lb cardstock (the 8.5 x 11″pack of greens) I picked up from Michael’s for all of the green paper I cut out and a greenish-gold/tan color sheet from a DCWV Neutrals 12×12″ Cardstock Stack for the letters and the horseshoe.
I already had the green autumn doily on my corkboard. It was one of the first things I cut out when I got my silhouette.
I experimented with lowering the blade setting down to 2, but in some spots of the paper I was left with small uncut spots that I hit real quick with my exacto knife. I punched/poked out the tiny cut parts with a small screwdriver and then adhered them on to a pink backing to give the cutout more strength and contrast. I also experimented with placement. I like the top right ones the best. I also learned that Elmers glue is too wet (I got some puckering and wrinkling) when working with this paper, so I switched to using a CraftBond glue stick instead.
Want to Check Out More Silhouette Projects?
My Silhouette Challenge buddies and I are all sharing projects on our blogs today, so peruse the projects below for a wealth of Silhouette inspiration!
Bubble is giving me the first weekend of March off, but wants me to be at these events:
My next walk-up nail polish making workshop in Austin, TX is at SXSW Create on Friday through Sunday, March 7-9, 11- 6pm at the Austin Mini Maker Faire booth. 701 W. Riverside (the Long Center)
Both of these events are FREE and open to the public.
A SXSW Guest Pass is required to attend this and many other free SXSW events. Get yours on site at Renegade or in advance at multiple Austin locations like Whole Foods & Spec’s. More information here.
I needed to customize favor bags for a wedding, and thought I could use some printable iron-on heat transfers to make that happen. My home iron did not get or stay at 380 degrees F,  so it adhered the printed vinyl to the bags and did not release the paper backing like so:
I contacted the vendor that sold me the heat transfer vinyl and he said I needed a heat press if my iron was not hot enough. I called Stephanie at TaffyPrint first, who referred me to Mike at Embroid Me North Austin. They let me come in for an hour and use their heat press. I was able to press 8 bags at a time, and had very few imprints that didn’t work out! *phew* Thank you Mike and Michael (who showed me how to work the heat press) for helping me in my time of need!
success! Paper backing scraps.
They can embroider four jobs at a time!
I’m planning on dropping off a few aprons to get them embroidered, like the ones I Â embroidered at Tech Shop:
The Mister had a day off today, so we went on a little adventure. I said “Turn left now!” and we went to Mount Bonnell for the first time. I hope your weekend is full of little or BIG adventures! Happy Friday y’all!
My friend David Brown suggested that I subscribe to Birchbox, a beauty product sampler box.  I love trying beauty products, so subscribing to a sample box is perfect!  This is what was in my first box:
The Kraft Colored Box with hot stamped logo
What I first saw when I opened the box
Contents
What was in the red pillow box
I was surprised that there were no ingredients listed anywhere on the packaging or the printed insert, so I went to the FAQ and it said to look up each product to figure out what it has in it. I’d say this subscription is not for anyone who has allergies or who wants natural products, because you can’t just open it up and start trying things! I was actually at their FAQ to figure out how to report damage – the hair oil had leaked all over everything in the box during shipment. I emailed them and they are sending me a replacement.
These were the samples in my box. The prices listed are for the full-sized version of the products.
Beauty Protector Protect & Oil | Full-size, $21.95
WHAT Exclusive launch! This just-for-you hair oil defends against UV rays, heat, and breakage.
HOW Â Â Work 1-3 drops into damp hair, or to the ends of dry hair. Perfect for all hair types. My review:Â It works similarly and has the same texture of the Frizz-Ease hair serum I already use. I used it in place of Frizz Ease today. It contains the same first two ingredients that is in the John Freida Frizz Ease I use (Cyclomethicone and Dimethicone), plus Argan oil. It smells like super sweet cotton candy, but I think I’ll keep using Frizz Ease. Cyclomethicone is liquidy- like water, while Dimethicone has a consistency of honey or a thick syrup.
Harvey Prince Hello | Full-size, $55
WHAT Best-selling spritz that mingles cheerful citrus with floral notes. Well, hello there!
HOW Â Â Apply to pulse points and let this upbeat scent do the talking. My review:Â It reminds me of every perfume sample in a magazine. I could smell the citrus and floral notes, but maybe it’s not for me. I Â sprayed it on my wrists in the afternoon, and by evening I can barely smell it on my skin.
OPl Sheer Tints in Don’t Violet Me Down | Full-size, $9
WHAT This tinted top coat gives nails a wash of high-shine, translucent color.
HOW Â Â Wear alone for a subtle tint, or over your go-to polish for a chic shade-shifting effect. My review:Â I haven’t tried it yet. It’s a tint, so I might try pairing it over silver to see what happens. Hopefully something good.
Skin&Co Roma TRUFFLE THERAPY™ SERUM Boosting Anti-Aging Serum | Full-size, $75
WHAT Antioxidant-rich truffle extract helps smooth wrinkles and restore dull, parched skin.
HOW Â Â Once a day, apply a dime-sized amount to clean, dry skin, massaging until fully absorbed. My review: Smells nice – like fresh cut grass, but I probably need to use it for a few more days to give a better review. It has the same texture as MAC’s Oil Control Lotion that I didn’t use today under my base. I was noticeably oilier only using the serum, so I might just apply it to my neck or on my face at night.
LIFESTYLE EXTRA Harney & Sons Fine Teas Paris Rich and White Grapefruit Wrapped Sachets | Full-size, $9.60
WHAT Rich and flavorful tea blends from the family-owned craft brand.
HOW Steep 3-5 minutes in near-boiling water. My review:Â I haven’t tried these yet, but Harney & Sons makes one of my favorite teas: Cinnamon Spice, so I’m sure these will be great.
Do you subscribe to Birchbox? Do you want to? Here’s my referral link (I think I earn points or something when you sign up.) It’s $10 a month ($10 for 4 – 5 samples that includes shipping)
I signed up for the ipsy bag this weekend too (also $10 for 4 – 5 samples) to compare boxes and because you know, I *need* more makeup.
*These reviews are my own and I haven’t been compensated for them.
I attended a talk during SXSW Interactive last year where the illustrator reminded us how we need to practice drawing every day, because it enables us to communicate our ideas visually. In the same spirit, I think anyone can learn how to draw/make. Here’s a free book that will teach you how to draw, including some pictures and guides from the easy and cool things to draw collection I found online. She even goes over color theory!
A review of the book resonated with me, because I love to empower my students to make their own products:
“She takes even the most non-artistic reader and empowers them to think brilliantly using visual language.” -Sunni Brown
She’s sharing her book with the world at no cost until March 5th: ” Discovery Doodles: The Complete Series” today at: http://doodleinstitute.com/#section3.
Last Sunday, I went to @nailsyall‘s Advanced Nail Art Class. I signed up for it by mistake! I meant to sign up for the Beginning Class, but as it turned out, I was the only beginner to sign up, so Meghann invited me to the Advanced class. She caught me up to speed by reviewing how to do an ombre, tiger stripes and leopard spots. I chose a tan and deep blue for my first ombre.
Starting my first ombre
We had the option of practicing on our nails or on a nail wheel. Most of the people I know who do nail art use a plastic yogurt container top as their palette, but Meghann uses small pieces of foil. She had us tear off little pieces of a makeup sponge to use for our ombre. My favorite designs were the ikat (southwest diamond weave pattern that’s made it’s way back into current fashions) and the lady eye. The most difficult design for me was the tribal nail design (stripes, dots and triangles!) and the leopard (think in terms of three when you outline!). My wheel is the one that’s front and center: I painted over the leopard with my favorite citron green color. She also taught us how to make a shattered glass look and how to make turquoise with plastic wrap. She may have covered more, but the tribal nail took me FOREVER, so I may have been still working on that one! Meghan said that it sometimes takes up to three hours for her to finish a tribal nails pattern on a client! Wowzers! Since I didn’t get to attend the beginning class, she gave me a copy of the zine she illustrated for the first class (she’s also a talented cartoonist) along with other goodies + tips on how to use them. I promptly lost my black striper brush as soon as I got home, so I ordered a whole set of 25. You might be thinking “You ordered nail polish? But you make nail polish!” Yes! I ordered nail polish! Striper polishes are those nail polish bottles that have a super thin brush like an eyeliner brush. I did some research online and couldn’t find any at a reasonable price. It actually cost less for me to buy a set of 25 stripers ($20 shipped) than to buy 25 empty striper brush bottles! I may not have looked hard or long enough, and didn’t go to any local stores, so I might be able to find some there! And you know after I find some, I will totally be making my own striper nail polishes!
Another thing you might be thinking is “Why did you go to a nail art class?” so I’ll answer it just in case: I am a formulator, designer & teacher. I make & teach others how to make their own nail polish (any color I desire whether it be a creme, shimmer or glitter bomb) but that doesn’t make me an nail technician (like the talented Meghann) or expert on nail art. (not yet anyway! I have a lot of practicing to do!) Nail art is something that takes practice, like any other skill, amirite?
Meghan’s next nail art demonstration is at The Thinkery, March 6th, 7-9pm.
and I’ll be teaching my next walk-up nail polish making workshops at SXSW Create on Friday, Saturday & Sunday March 7-9, 11am- 6pm at the Austin Mini Maker Faire booth. It’s at the Long Center 701 W. Riverside
Both of these events are FREE and open to the public. A SXSW Guest Pass is required to attend this and many other free SXSW events. Get yours on site at Renegade or in advance at multiple Austin locations. More information here.
Kelly & Taylor came over to cut things out on my Silhouette last week. We cut out a 3D hot air balloon and 3D umbrella I had already downloaded to hang up in her daughter’s bathroom. We used  Recollections 65 lb cardstock I bought at Michael’s and to save time, I loaded the machine up with the longer 12×24″ instead of the normal 12×12″ mat. We put 3 8.5×11″ sheets at a time on the mat, but the last sheet didn’t really like dangling/hanging off the mat – so after trying that out, we switched back to just two sheets on the mat at a time. I think if I had taped the third sheet on with masking tape it would have gone a little better.
She assembled the pieces with Elmer’s Glue and took them home to decorate. I can’t wait to see them installed! I’ll update when she sends me the pictures of them hung up!
I love yoga and sharing… and look! Yoga Yoga in Austin, TX is letting me do both with you until the end of March!
They offer a wide range of classes ranging from gentle & restorative yoga, Kundalini, Hatha, Vinyasa, Ashtanga just to name a few.
I was taking ashtanga classes with my mr until my wrist couldn’t chataranga anymore.
I’m taking it easy on the mat with their gentle, and restorative classes because I’m not able to put ANY weight on my wrist (even for cat/cow) while I seek treatment. I do modified poses on my forearms, so my shoulders are getting quite the workout! I can still do headstand, forearm stand, etc. Plus I’m exploring more yoga (took my first Kundalini class last week!) as a result of my injury. I’m seeking out alternative treatments as the standard ones haven’t yet yielded permanent results. I’ll let you know how it goes!
*I’m not affiliated with Yoga Yoga. The Mister and I happen to take classes here regularly. They have five locations all over the city. I love going to the Westgate one, because the big Hobby Lobby is really close to there!
We decided to go out the day before to beat the crowds (we have a standing date night every Friday) and we went to our favorite Ramen place in Austin, Michi Ramen. The mr pointed out that they have roasted barely tea on their super cute, illustrated menus! I asked the waiter about it because I know I love the Korean version and he wrote it out in Korean with his finger on the table and brought me out a glass! Apparently barely tea in Japan is the same thing as barely tea in Korea! He lived in Korea for one year and we talked about how the culture is very food-centered. A common greeting in Korea is  “Have you eaten? ë°¥ 먹었니? or literally translated “Rice already eaten?” It used to trip up our waiter when the neighbor in front of his house would ask him that when he was learning Korean, so he would answer, “Yes, I had chicken/noodles/whatever he had eaten” that was not rice until he learned that it was equivalent to”How are you doing?” because back 3 generations or so ago food was scarce, so it was a way to show care. The Weekly Korean has a short podcast with an explanation. I didn’t grow up with this saying because only English was spoken in my home, for the fear that I would have a Korean accent. I learned how to read and write Korean later in life. AND cook Korean food! If you’re interested in learning Korean: Timothy Ferris turned me on to Ryan Estrada’s “Learn to read Korean in 15 minutes” illustrated guide during his talk at last year’s SXSW where he was talking about his favorite tools for cooking.  I attended all the food talks during the interactive portion, of course!
I get the same thing every time I eat at Michi. The dipping ramen! It comes with a reduction of the ramen broth and thick Chinese-like noodles. I sub the thick pork slices for fishcake (kamaboko) because it’s too much for me to eat even in two sittings, which usually happens anyway. I add the ajitama (pickled) soft-boiled egg and this time I tried the pickled bamboo shoots (a win!). I usually eat all the noodles while I’m there and get some noodles to go with my “lonely broth” and have a nice lunch the next day with shredded seaweed and an egg on top.
Since we went out on Thursday, I went grocery shopping and we had our Valentine’s Day meal at home: peach & mango salsa & tortilla chips, Â lobster mac ‘n cheese, flatbread & strawberry cheesecake.
I cut out some vinyl on my silhouette to decorate the master bathroom, so this happened:
I’m terrible about figuring out something to make or give to my mister, so usually it’s a frustrating holiday for me, but I saw these hello cards in the Silhouette store and I couldn’t pass them up. I had laurels downloaded already and a script font, but for a quick click of the button, I had the image all set up and ready for cutting, so the project probably took me less than 15 minutes including installation! It’s 12″ tall  x 20″ long and I’m happy with how it turned out. He got a kick out of it, (I heard him laughing from the living room when he saw it), so I was happy, too. I cut out the matching “Hello Beautiful” and will probably put it on the mirror later this week.
I had broken my large vase earlier in the year (and just replaced it, but he was unaware, so he brought home a bouquet of roses in this neat vase that’s a longgg oval! You know I’m going to etch it, right? I’ll probably just make a stencil vinyl mask (so reverse of the tutorial in the link.)
To sum it up, this was the best Valentine’s Day that I can remember, ever! It was so good getting to spending time with friends and my mister! I love you guys!
…..and of course I cut out 
