New at MadeByGirl + Lara Stone

Who knew that lips would be so popular? 

Let's face it, model Lara Stone has a distinguishable mouth. Full lips & gap teeth. Apparently agencies nowadays aren't as concerned about IMPERFECTIONS. It's ok to be a fashion model & not be rejected at an agency if this if your issue. Well, it wasn't always that way. Back when I was growing up, being ETHNIC or an imperfection was 'pretty much' a stamp of REJECTION within most modeling agencies. Insane right? Things have definitely come a looooong way in the high FASHION modeling world. I'm very much aware of the few models like Lauren Hutton, Iman etc but my point is the majority of models back in the days, did 'not' have so-called imperfections & were 'not' ethnic. Very few were. Thoughts??

Glad to see that we can now see so-called imperfections about a person, as beautiful.

With that said, the new prints at MadeByGirl are an homage to Lara Stone & her pretty mouth. Art by Jessice Rowe. You can purchase this print with or without a frame directly on MadeByGirl, but I would recommend getting yours with a gold frame, as pictured below. It looks awesome!

Photo below by Hedi Slimane

below photo by cuneyt akeroglu

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TEMPAPER DESIGN

Welcome back! Hope you all had a fantastic weekend. 

Have you ever heard of Tempaper Design? How amazing are these REMOVABLE wallpapers?! I think when most people hear "wallpaper" they think of grandma's house.. but these are the total opposite! They're trendy & makes any space look chic! I already have my two favorites, the Honeycomb Deep blue & the Zee Gold!

I think these would be a great option for those who live in a smaller space such as an apartment in NYC ha! For many of us we aren't allowed to paint a wall or if we do, we have to re-paint it to the original color prior to moving! That sucks. But with these, you can just remove them when your lease is up, and your wall will be as good as new! Sounds good to me! 

 

Remember Shay's office , with her beautiful white/gold chevron wall?? Well, you can get that look too with the "Zee Gold" wallpaper!! Pretty cool don't you think?

 

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Home Tour: Anya Kucheryavenko

Anya from Elegantly Untamed has such a cute style. I wrote about her biz here in November of 2012, where she sells the most bling-y iPhone cases. They're gorgeous & so unique...talk about intricate detail.

 She was born in Russia but operates out of upstate New York & today she decided to share her home with MadeByGirl readers. My favorite part is the mantle area over the fireplace, love all the bunched up candles and gold accents!

 

Below is Anya explaining in her own words a little about the decor in her place:

I have a lot of black and gold in my place. A lot of the pieces I found  at antique stores, like the brass etagere and the S chairs that I painted gold. The credenza I transformed as well, by painting it white and gold, then adding the vintage lions head pulls I found on eBay. All the paintings I did myself also to go with the decor. Other places include IKEA, Home Goods, Target,  Flash Sale Sites, eBay, craigslist, and local retro shops.

-photos above by Marie D. De Jesus/Democrat and Chronicle

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Shay's Leap of Faith + Home Office

It feels so good to know it's Friday - right? A little time to relax despite the ton of work I still have to do! Today, I wanted to share a gorgeous home office from blogger & photographer, Shay from So Shay blog. I'll let her tell you about it in her own words.

Hello! My name is Shalyn Nelson and I am a wedding and lifestyle photographer from Austin, Texas. This past year I was working the typical 8-5 corporate job and worked from a small desk that blended into a sea of bright blue cubicles. Once the clock hit 5:00, I drove home & put on my photography hat & worked until the early hours of the morning. As of August, I took a LEAP OF FAITH & started working for myself! 

I am passionate about photography so this is a HUGE risk for the sake of living a life that I love.

For the past two years, I have been working in a room with boring, blank off-white walls that was had Berber carpet and yellow outlets. There was a tiny, old white fan that would creak every time I would turn it on. Basically, my work space was anything but inspiring. I wanted to work in a space that I could vibe off of, and just enjoy.  I spend so many hours working in there, it just started to become a room I dreaded walking into because it lacked energy, and life!

My office space was inspired by the colors gold, white, gray & pink. I’m currently re-branding my business, and I knew that I wanted it to match and reflect me 100%. When I had my blog redesigned last year by Kelly Ann, she sent me a mood board and when I saw it, I did a happy dance and instantly fell in love. It has become what I’ve based all of my brand on. 

One day I looked at my husband & we just decided to dive in. We moved everything out, tore up the carpet, and headed to Lowes to buy blue tape, paint, and tons of supplies to start building the office of my dreams.  We had a $1000 budget so most of the things you see in my office I have had around my home for quite sometime. I always thought that you had to buy the new, hip and cool things to make an office awesome, but honestly, you can find things you have around your home that can work just as well! 

We bought our dark walnut laminate floors from a discount flooring store in Austin, Texas. My husband put the floors in all by himself with the help of me handing him things and supporting him like the good wife that I am! ;) (Haha!)

The next step was the walls. We started out by painting one wall with Blackboard Chalk paint. I really wanted a board to write out my ideas, thoughts, and to-do list on and because there are two doors already taking up a lot of the space on the wall, I figured this would be perfect. It is almost a surprise factor when you walk in and realize that it’s there. It’s super fun!  

The gold wall was my idea and I admit it, I’m totally in love with the gold trend right now. I once saw a wallpaper on Pinterest that looks like this: When I looked up the cost, I realized that I couldn’t afford it and so my husband and I decided to paint it by hand. At first glance, it looks a little intimidating, but honestly, it wasn’t that hard to do at all. We sectioned off the stripes with blue tape and before I knew it, my gold chevron wall came to life! To say that I am in love with it is an understatement.

Slowly but surely my office came to life. My space was ME and I couldn’t wait to start working in it. The white shelf in my office was a hand me down from my brother, so I painted it white and installed white IKEA lights underneath it. The desk is from IKEA and that’s what I’ve been working from for the past two years, so it was nice to see it pop on the hard wood floors. 

The gold chest was a lucky find that I found while antiquing a couple of weeks ago. I almost had a heart attack when I saw it, and adopted that precious baby immediately. I use it to hold a lot of my things and it is also a little place for people to sit when they come hang out with me in my office. The chair was also found antiquing a year ago, and I’ve been using it in my guest room until recently. 

All in all, I love my office and I hope that you can gain inspiration from it. It’s my favorite place to be in the house, and I feel blessed to be able to work from home and in a space that I feel inspired every single day. Making a space your own and utilizing the things in your home can go a long way! 

SOURCES:

The floors were bought at Discount Floor & More. Drew put them in all by himself.
The Gold Wall: Drew and I hand painted this. It was tedious and crazy, but SO worth it.
Camera Bag: Jo Totes
Chair: Bought at an antique store
Desk: IKEA
Gold Chest: Bought at antique store
Blanket: Marshall's
Pillow: Bed, Bath & Beyond
Picture Frame in Window: Hobby Lobby
For Like Ever: Gift from DDHP; Purchased from OhDierLiving
Chandelier: Lowes
Frames: IKEA
Prints: Stephanie Stervoski Print Shop (She's amazing and just released new prints!)
Flowers on Desk: IKEA
Vase: Was Drew's Mom's that she gave to me. It was gray and I spray painted it gold.
Book Case: Hand me down from my sister-in-law. Painted it white. Added under-lighting from IKEA.
Sticks in Vase: Hobby Lobby
Gold Pillow: Marshall's
Wooden Gold Heart: Marshall's (Spray painted the heart gold)
Gold Frame: Free from neighbors yard. Was brown and spray painted it gold.
Love Letters on Shelf: Hobby Lobby
Cameras on Shelf: Z-Gallerie
iPhone Case: Target
Mood Board by Kelly Ann Creative


- post by shalyn nelson

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Contributors Wanted

This Friday we are .....

I have to say, working with contributors has been a great experience. I've made some great friends in the process & hopefully the ladies got some great traffic out of it as well.  With that said, it's that time again to switch out the current contributors & bring in new FRESH FACES & posts! I'm always super busy managing my MBG Shop, painting for my Cocoa & Hearts gallery, marketing, answering e-mail & maintaining my personal life. It's STILL a lot of work, so I'm back searching for the next contributors!
 

I'd love to recruit 5-6 contributors to blog here on Made By Girl!  It's not going to be an easy task - but I'll choose bloggers for each category below. Categories are:
 

• Decor/Interior Design
• Fashion/Beauty
• DIY
• Food

Below I've outlined more details & what I'm looking for.
 

HOW OFTEN WILL YOU POST:1-2x per month for 6 months. 

EXPERIENCE: 
Yes - Must have an active/updated blog. I'm looking for bloggers who have some knowledge of programs like Photoshop & have a 'similar aesthetic' as Made By Girl. The posts you write for MBG cannot be posted on your own blog, but you can link to it from your blog.

WILL THERE BE COMPENSATION: 
Not at this time. But it's a great chance to gain more exposure and collaborate with MBG blog.

BIO PAGES:We'll be adding a page with photos & short bios of all the current contributors - here's an example. .

 
RESOURCES: 

It's very important to credit 'all' images properly.

PRETTY POST PLS: 
I love pretty & interesting posts. So pls put some LOVE into it! 

HOW DO YOU SUBMIT:

If you you want to give this a try, email me  & let me know 'which category' you're interested in. Write 'Contributors' in the email subject pls. ALSO, pls email me your blog so I can see your style! If you submitted last yr. don't be afraid to submit again!
 

WHEN WILL WE SELECT CONTRIBUTORS:

If you don't hear from someone at Made By Girl in about 2-3 weeks from this post, it means someone else was selected.  Unfortunately, we may not be able to respond to everyone. We will post the selected contributors in an upcoming post!

Thanks & looking forward to hearing from you! 

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Vogue Homes

Have you caught a glimpse at all the gorgeous homes being posted on the VOGUE site? Below are some of my recent favorites. A lot of the homes I chose have pink in their decor. But....don't worry husband - I'm not going to bring it to our home. Need inspiration??? You can see more here.

All images via vogue

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New Year + New Sofa

Happy New Year everyone! 

Ever since we moved to our new apartment (about a month in a half ago) - we've been sitting on the floor. My back has been KILLING ME & watching tv was a hassle.  Amazing.... the things we take for granted. 

Now I know how BLESSED we are to say, we FINALLY have our sofa! It's a gorgeous tufted gray velvet beauty from Jayson Home & Garden. 

Aaaah, what a great New Year's gift! If you recall, I posted about it here & even ran a poll on my blog for a few weeks asking YOU to choose a color. Even though the charcoal won the poll, I ended up choosing the 2nd favorite - gray! The sofa is called Rockefeller sofa - and it comes in many colors. I've always wanted a velvet sofa & so did my husband, so this was an easy choice. I'm debating on whether to replace the painting over the sofa, to something a little more muted or to match the rug? Hmmm.

What do you think? Of course, I would have to S-E-L-L the painting that's already there if that was the case. Below are some resources for most of the items below.

I know, the kitchen looks BORING, but we like it clutter free.

 

By the way- the large abstract painting below used to be the large lipstick dots painting- remember? You can see it in my las vegas home.
 

Please leave a comment - let me know what you think. It's amazing how much can fit into a 975 sq foot NYC apartment! I'll say it before & I'll say it again, we are very blessed & I thank God for the home we have.

Python X-Benches via Zhush

Gray Velvet Rockfeller Sofa via Jayson Home & Garden

8"x10" Rug Madeline Weinrib 

Skull (gift) similar here

Lucite coffee table via CB2

Jonathan Adler Meurice floor lamp

Floating shelves via IKEA

Black zig zag tibor via Emila Ceramics

Both Large paintings via my shop Cocoa & Hearts

The print "Cougar Friends" - click here then search for "cougar".

-images by jen ramos

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