DIY: Striped Clothes Pins

     Happy "How To's" day!  This was a little craft project I did the other day, and I thought I would share. Enjoy!

Materials:

- clothes pins

- tape

- sponge brush

- acrylic paint

1. First, paint all the tops of the clothes pins white, and let them dry for about an hour.


2. Next, place little pieces of tape on the tops of the clothes pins.


3. Paint over the tops of the clothes pins in the colors you want, let them dry for about an hour, and take off the tape and you have your striped clothes pins!

     Have a wonderful day, and remember to be creative!

LLLove,
Jess

Words to Live By

photo via here

     I love this quote and am a little scared of it.  I am definitely one of those people who is a perfectionist - I like routine and check every option before making decisions.  Well, this blog, was definitely a big dream that Jen and I had been toying with for a while and finally, after a charming pep talk from my wonderful husband, JJ, we just went for it ... which was terrifying!  We Googled and YouTubed how to do everything.  It was a big learning curve, and we're still learning, but we've been loving it every step of the way.  Not only that, but we have been so incredibly blessed by our readers, and we are so incredibly grateful for all the support.  So, dream big, you never know what you are capable of until you try!

Lots of LLLove,

Jess

Stella & Dot Stylist Megan Maes' Summer Style Tips

     Happy Friday!  We would LLLove to introduce you to our wonderful friend Megan Maes!  We have known her all our lives, and have always loved her great style and fun attitude.   Now she is putting that style to good use for Stella & Dot.  If you haven't heard about Stella & Dot, you are missing out!  It is a gorgeous jewelry line, where the pieces are just as attractive as the price point!  We asked Megan to share some of her "Wedding Season" styling tips with us.  Enjoy!

     Megan's number one go to for brides are the Deco Drop Earrings.  They are gorgeous, delicate, and have a vintage feel.  Made with sterling silver, Cubic Zirconia, and Czech crystals, they are a tremendous value at $44!


     Looking for something blue? Megan loves the Small Serenity Stone Earrings in Aqua ($34).  Or if you really want to make a statement, the Capri Chandelier Earrings in Turquoise ($49) are a customer (Jen has them and Bachelorette, Emily Maynard!) favorite.  

     Megan loves the Glint Flower CZ Earrings and Necklace.  They are sparkly and classic--her favorite combo!  These hand-set studs catch the light and brighten up any complexion!  And, the silver-plated necklace is 17" with a 2" extender, so it can go with various necklines.  And at $39 each, these are a lovely, affordable way to make the ladies in your life feel special with jewels that they will wear forever.  And with Stella & Dot's cute packaging, they are ready to give!  No wrapping required.

     As for the Wedding guests, this can be your special day too!  Statement Necklaces are a great way to make you feel unique at any wedding.  They are memorable and a great way to customize your little black (Or coral! Or blue! Or flowered!) dress.  There is something for every budget.  They can be dressed up for your friends' weddings, or worn casually with jeans for any occasion.

     Coral is the color of the year!  Just released for the fall collection, the Olivia Bib Necklace is sure to be a classic. This creation of epoxy stones and gold-plated brass looks good with all skin tones and is only $118.  

     Multiple strands of semi-precious sodalite and dyed jade stones help create the showstopping Zahara Bib Necklace ($248).  This stunner is sure to turn heads, and have everyone asking you where you got this amazing piece.   

     A classic that Megan recommends is the Morroccan-inspired Medina Bib Necklace.  Made with silver plating and hand set crystal, this bestseller is easy to wear and a bargain at $89!  What better way to change last season's dress into a fresh look with this gorgeous necklace.

     

     Megan Maes is a Stella & Dot stylist based in New York.  For shopping, please visit her website at: www.stelladot.com/MeganMaes.  For style advice, to host a trunk show (in the Tri-State area or Southern California), or to become a Stella & Dot stylist, e-mail her at themeganmaes@gmail.com.  


     We hope you love this jewelry line as much as we do!

LLLove,

Jen & Jess

"Guns & Roses" Themed Wedding Shower

     When our cousin Chase got engaged to his lovely, then girlfriend, Kiri we were jumping at the chance to throw them a party because we wanted to celebrate. But we wanted it to be special and personal and we also wanted to include the guys, I mean they never get to do any of the fun "showery" stuff we gals get to do! So, knowing the couples story, we knew that Chase had taken Kiri to a gun range on their first date and the first flowers he bought her were sterling roses, well, that got me thinking and I came up with "Guns and Roses" for the theme (no, not the band) with the color palette of purple, silver, and khaki. It turned into a wonderful celebration with wonderful friends and family so we thought we would share. We were lucky enough that the brides fabulous mother, Faye, is a professional photographer and she snapped all the perfect shots! Enjoy!

     We used an invitation from Wedding Paper Divas, and I embellished them a little.  I found this rose and paisley fabric at Joannes, cut strips of fabric, glued them in the center of the invites, wrapped a piece of twine around it, and sealed it with a white fleur-de-lis.

     I made a return address stamp using my 2000 Plus Stamp Kit and a Vintage Marquis Rubber Stamp from Paper Source.  

This is the lovely couple, Chase and Kiri.

     We were going for a rustic garden party, so we rented a few vintage tables from FOUND.  We incorporated the Guns and Roses theme into the speciality drinks, including a drink entitled "Kiss, Kiss, Bang, Bang." And I made embossed guns and roses coasters using a fabulous gun stamp made by Village Impressions.

     The shower was catered by Good Gracious! Events!  The menu included passed horderves like mini BLT panini's and truffle steak fries, and the buffet included salmon and pulled pork sliders.  The dessert table was my favorite (I have a huge sweet tooth), filled with an assortment of lavender colored candy, macaroons, and tray passed espresso milk shakes with freshly made chocolate chip cookies.  They did an amazing job, and everything tasted wonderful!  

     When the guests arrived we took pictures of them with a Polaroid camera and had pre-made sheets for guests to display their pictures and write notes to the bride and groom.

     We had a couple games during the shower, and I made a little prize table for guests to choose there prizes.  One of the games we played I got from my Auntie Mae.  It's super easy and a great way to get the guests involved when the bride and groom are opening gifts.  We call it "The Timer Game."  All you need for this game is an egg timer.  When the bride and groom start opening gifts, just set the egg timer for a few minutes.  Whoever's present the couple is opening when the timer goes off, wins a prize!

     Another quick and easy game was set up as the guests entered.  I made a pin-board with each month of the year, and instructions to write down your name and your Wedding Anniversary (if you were married), or (if you were single) your Birthday, on a tag and pin it to the date on the board.  The guest with the date closest to the bride and groom's upcoming Wedding date, won a prize!  It was especially fun to hear when some of the older couples where married, and how long they had been married.

     The "Family Bingo" game was a little twist on traditional bingo.  I asked questions about the bride and groom's family before hand and made bingo cards with little bits of information about the family members that were going to attend the shower.  The guests then went around asking if any of the family members, for example, "Had their Motorcycle License."  If they did, they would initial the square.  The first guest to get a full row of initialed squares won a prize.  This was a great way for the guests to mingle, and learn a little bit about the families of the bride and groom.

     For the favors I ordered lavender Rose and Gun soaps from Etsy.  I loved working with the shops from Etsy, they were so sweet and helpful.  Please see a list of the shops at the bottom of this post.

     We had such a fabulous time, and it was such a blessing that the mother of the bride is a professional photographer - we have so many lovely snap shots to remember it by!

LLLove,

Jen & Jess

Invitations: Wedding Paper Divas

Catering & Flowers: Good Gracious! Events

Rentals: Classic Party Rentals & Found Vintage Rentals

Photography: Faye's Captured Moments

Chalkboard Sign: Jessica Bailey of Linen, Lace, & Love

Event Design: Linen, Lace, & Love

Favors: Roses by Katy Star Soaps & the Guns by: Delightful Wonders, Broken Road Farm, Love Lee Soaps, Sweet Soap Treat, and The Pig and the Peacock

Gun Stamp: Village Impressions

DIY Anthropologie "Zinc" Letters

     I love Anthropologie's Zinc Letters, but at $18 each, they can get a little pricey.  I love Paper Source's Craft Letters (which I made into silver glitter letters, here, using spray adhesive and loose silver glitter), and at $3.75 they are a much more attractive choice.  This is a super easy DIY, it will take you about 10 minutes! And the less perfect it is, the better!  

Materials:
- A balled up piece of paper towel
- Folk Art Metallic Acrylic Paint in "Pearl White"
- Folk Art Acrylic Paint in "Pure Black"
- 2 Sponged Paint Brushes (if you only have one, just wash and reuse it)


*All the materials to create the "Zinc" look I found at Michaels.

1. Layout your materials on a safe work space (I just layered a couple pieces of packing paper), and used a mini glass bowl to hold the paint.

2. Paint each letter with the black paint. You'll be surprised at how quickly the paint will dry.  You can cover the entire front and back at once.  And don't worry about even strokes, this is one of the few DIY projects that you don't have to be a perfectionist ... it's so freeing! ;) 

3. Let the fully painted black letters sit for a couple minutes.

4. Start with the back side, and paint section by section with the "Pearl White" paint.  Right after you paint a section, go over it with your balled up paper towel.  Press down and twist the paper towel, it will give it that antiqued metal look.

5. And you're done!  Display, and enjoy!  

     I used these two letters for a Wedding Shower, and made a tassel garland (you can see my tassel garland tutorial, here) with each letter hanging off 36" round balloons ...

Happy Crafting!

LLLove,

Jess

Words to Live By

       The back to school supplies may be appearing on the shelves, but summer is not over!  Though summer no longer means summer break for all of us, it still means beautiful weather, and a good excuse to spend time with the people you love.  So, grab a beach towel, a BBQ, a sun hat, and anyone who makes you laugh or smile and go make some memories that will last much longer than the summer heat.




LLLove,
Jen 

background via: here

Summer Skin Saving Tips from Chelsie Dillard

     Ladies and Gentlemen, it is my pleasure to introduce you all to the amazing Chelsie Dillard.  Not only is she a wonderful and beautiful person, she is also a fabulous esthetician in the San Diego area.  You can visit her website at cdskincare.com to learn more about Chelsie and get additional information about her services.  

     I have been seeing Chelsie for years, and Jess and our Mom went to her to get ready for our weddings.  She always makes sure we put our best face forward.

     
     Summer is always hard on your skin, so we asked Chelsie if she would be willing to share some of her best secrets with us to make Summer a little more beautiful for everyone.  She took it one step further and is offering any of our readers who would be new clients 30% off their first treatment with her, and/or 20% off any Botox and Fillers with one of her RN's!  All at Faces Plus in San Diego.  

1) What is your best Summer skin saving advise?   COVER UP! You accumulate most of your sun damage in your teens and 20's but you won't see it show up until your 30's and 40's! Be proactive about applying your sunscreen and wearing a hat while outside for prolonged periods of time. It's worth it down the road when you're having to spend less $ on correcting all the damage you've done. 

2) What is the biggest mistake people make when it comes to their skin?   Not switching up their products regularly. Like everything else, our skin acclimates to the products that we're putting on and over time you will notice less and less change or improvement. I hear so often "this product was so great and I noticed such a difference in my skin when I first started using it but not so much anymore. " Switching up your skin care products every 6-7 months shocks your cells into guessing what to do next so that they are constantly working rather than hibernating! 

3) How long does it take to repair damaged skin?   This depends on how bad the damage is and how aggressive the person is wanting to be with treatment. Some people are a little more apprehensive to try an aggressive approach that may yield quicker results and are more comfortable starting off with just facials and home care products. What's great about our office is that we offer such a wide range of treatments that we'll have something for everyone. 

4) How do you deal with dry summer skin? HYDRATE! HYDRATE! HYDRATE! It's just as important to hydrate your skin from the inside, especially during the summer months when we tend to sweat more. Replenishing your body with water is a huge factor in keeping your skin looking and feeling great. I buy 1.5L bottles of water by the dozen and make it my goal to drink at least one a day to ensure that I'm getting all my water. In addition, make sure that you're using a suitable moisturizer for your skin type. Again, you may need to switch from what you were using in the winter to accommodate the fluctuation in your skin. 

5) What treatments do you recommend to stay beautiful all year long?   For most of my patients I recommend a customized facial once a month that includes a combination of microdermabrasion and an enzyme for a good exfoliation, followed by an oxygen infusion to rehydrate the pores at their deepest level. Patient's love how glowy they look after an oxygen infusion! It's instant gratification! 

I'll also have patients do 1-3 chemical peels a year depending on their skin type and what issues they may be battling. The combination keeps the dead skin cells sloughed and the skin breathing! 

6) What is your view on oil free vs oil based moisturizers for different skin types?    
I definitely think it is important and should play a huge role in the moisturizer you're choosing to use. A lot of my acne patients are on oil-free moisturizers because with acne you get a lot of oil production from the skin alone and the extra from a moisturizer just clogs and congests the pores. Versus someone that is typically dry, the oil in the moisturizer is essential in providing them with the hydration that they need to keep their skin feeling good all day long. Trust me, it makes a HUGE difference! 

7) How does salt water effect your skin, and how can you protect it?   Salt water dries out the skin leaving it dehydrated and screaming for a little moisture! Are we seeing a trend here yet on the importance of a good moisturizer?! A nice way to rehydrate your skin while still at the beach is a hydrating sunscreen which provides the moisture you need PLUS the sunscreen. We sell the SkinCeuticals sunscreens at our office and I swear by them! A nice at home treatment to replenish your skin once you get home from the beach would be a hydrating mask followed by your nightly moisturizer. Don't forget your eyes!

You can also follow Chelsie on Twitter here, and Facebook here.  If you don't live near San Diego, keep in touch with Chelsie and ask her your skin questions.  She can help keep you looking young and beautiful wherever you are!

LLLove,
Jen & Jess

Beach Themed Party Inspiration

     Our family attended a "Beach Ball" this past weekend, below is a little recap of the festivities complete with Jen's DIY Shell Boutonniere and the "Glitter Floaties" I made for our mom.  We got so inspired, we put together a few inspiration boards for some seaside soiree's!

Photography by Jennifer Kahn, Jessica Bailey, and Lisa Sullivan

 ANTIQUED SEASIDE:

 photos via here, here, here, here, here, and here

TRADITIONAL NAUTICAL:

photos via here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, and here

NAUTICAL WITH A TWIST:

photos via here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, and here 

Happy sailing!

LLLove,

Jen & Jess

DIY: Shell Boutonniere

     Our family just went to a wonderful fundraiser for the beautiful Balboa Park, and the theme was a "Beach Ball."  We had so much fun incorporating the theme into our outfits that we had to share.

What you will need:

1) Shells ~ The shells I used were from Michaels and they were $1.50 for the bag.

2) Sticks or skewers ~ I just pulled some Kabob skewers from the kitchen...use what you have.  (If you used smaller shells you could also use toothpicks.)

3) Twine ~ also from Michaels

4) Charms ~ Bead Landing 5 piece set from Michaels. $2.50

5) Hot Glue Gun

How To:

Step One: Hot glue a skewer to the inside of the shell.  Be careful to hold the shell on either side, and not in the middle, because the middle of the shell gets very hot.  


Step Two: Once the shells are dry, place the first three and hot glue the sticks together.  You will have to hold them until the glue is set.


Step Three: Add in the last shell to the front and glue that stick into place.


Step Four: Starting at the bottom of the boutonniere, place some hot glue on the back side and start to wrap the twine tightly around the sticks.  Once you get to the top put a drop of glue on all the back sticks and secure the twine and cut off the end.  

Step Five: Pick a cute beach themed charm, or button, or anything you would like, and glue it on the front.

Step Six: Pin like a normal Boutonniere and enjoy a wonderful night.

This would also be an adorable, and affordable idea for a beach themed wedding!

LLLove,
Jen & Jess

Words to Live By

      I love summer, some people like spring, or winter, my husband likes fall, he calls it "sweater weather."  Well, I am a born and raised "California Girl," and I love the sun.  I had a beach day the other day, and there is nothing like hanging out with good people, good food, and relaxing in the sun!  So here's to a fabulous and endless summer, full of smiles, kisses, and wine!




LLLove,
Jess

Jewelry Giveaway from Guilty Star: CLOSED

     We are so excited to announce that we have our first FREE GIVEAWAY from the fabulous company Guilty Star.  They are an online jewelry company that makes stunning jewelry at a stunningly affordable price!

     The winner can choose one of these items from Guilty Star!!

How to win:

1. Visit GuiltyStar, and let us know what your favorite piece of jewelry is by leaving us a comment on this post.

2. "Like" us on Facebook, here (or click the "like" button up in the top right corner), and the winner will be announced tomorrow at noon on our Facebook page!

     Also, Guilty Star is giving LLLove readers 15% off everything on their site!  Just type in GUILTYVIP at checkout!  Enjoy!

LLLove,

Jen & Jess

It's Gonna Be a Bright, Bright Sunshiny Day

     We've seen the cutest rainbow colored pictures lately, and although it might get a little too overwhelming for most people to use all that color for an event, you can always have a simple base, and add pops of color.  Here are a few inspiration boards to brighten your day, happy Wednesday!

 

Now those are some bright ideas!

LLLove,
Jen & Jess

{photos via here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here}

Lingerie Shower Gift Wrapping

     A while back, we did a post on Bridal Shower ideas (you can see it here).  Well, for the Lingerie Shower idea, we gave you gift ideas, but we had some readers ask us how to make it.  So we put together a little tutorial.

     I wrapped the gift in cellophane, so I could make sure the boxes stayed together, and glued one of my fabric flowers on the bow.  To see the tutorial on how to make fabric flowers, click here.

 
1. You will need: underwear (between 10-20 pairs), ribbon, 2 boxes (one small, one larger), and scissors.


2. Cut a hole in the center of the larger box, that can be hidden by the smaller box.


3. Take two pairs of undies, and slide your ribbon through one end of each.


4. Tie the ribbon in a bow to connect the two pairs of undies, and repeat for as many underwear that you want.

5. When you are finished tying your underwear together, place it in the larger box in a circle (from the last pair of underwear to the first pair), so that it will unravel easier.

6. Take the first pair of underwear on top and tie a bow using your ribbon leaving an extra long piece of ribbon at the end.

7. Put the extra long piece of ribbon that is tied to your first pair of undies through the hole in the larger box, and tie it to the ribbon on the smaller box, so that they are connected.

8. Lastly, place the smaller box on top.  You should never know just by looking at it, that there is a hole in the larger box.

     When your friend is opening your gift, instruct her to pull the top box first, as she does, panties will keep coming and coming . . . it's a very entertaining gift to open!

     Hope that helped, and let us know if you have any questions!

LLLove,

Jen & Jess