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How to Create Your Own Fashion Statement!

6/6/2012

11 Comments

 
China Barbie's; How to Create Your Own Fashion Statement
Last week I told you guys that I would write a post about how to figure out and make your own fashion statement, so as promised! :) There is a reason that the way you dress is called a fashion statement. Because when you get dressed, do your hair, and put on your makeup, you are literally making a statement. A statement about what kind of fashion you are into, what kind of lifestyle you enjoy, what era you like, and many MANY other things! I think that's kinda cool! So, it seems only right that you make a conscious decision about what signals, or statement you wish to project to the world! And, it seems only fair, that you have the right to change that fashion statement whenever you wish!
For me, I do not like, that when a person decides that they wish to convey a different
emotion or fashion from before, that they get made fun of, and get labeled a "poser". This is simply people being ignorant! We all go through different phases and stages of life, and these different things make us into who we are! And sometimes those different stages call for a fashion change, or influence you in a way that you wish to convey through fashion!
I have gone through many fashion changes in my life! I started dressing very eccentric when I was in high school, because I went to a private school with a strict dress code, and so that was me trying to rebel against that!
Today I dress different than I did in high school. I still dress pretty eccentric, but a bit more fashionable than then. But I believe that my high school fashion statement still is a big part of my fashion statement today!

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And that's what it's all about! It's about us evolving, and picking up bits and pieces of stuff along the way!

                         My fashion statements throughout the years!

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-High school (age 15-18). Because I went to a private school with a lot of strict dress code rules, I was all about bending the rules so I could still look cute. I figured out every loophole I could so that I could wear stuff I liked, but not get into trouble.
My high school fashion essentials were: Men's ties (before Avril Lavigne thank you very much!), fishnets, converse chuck taylors (I wore them to graduation with my gown and everything), chunky shoes, big boots, fun skirts (they had to be past my knees), funky hair, Baby Spice  hair, and headbands.

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-After high school (age18-20). I experienced a LOT of fashion statement changes. I turned 18, so I went out and got my lip pierced, and my ears pierced, and got really into skateboarding and anything punk. I became OBSESSED with batman, and any batman related clothing or accessory. I also backpacked around Fiji, Australia, and Vanuatu for two months, so I liked anything comfy and easy to pack into a suitcase! And then closer to turning 20, me and my sister really got into skinny jeans, and the whole emo fashion. And to this day, I find that I still keep a lot of emo fashion elements.
My after high school fashion essentials were: my Batman tshirt, converse chuck taylors (I will always loove these shoes), lots of black eyeliner and hot pink eyeshadow, skinny jeans, skate  shoes, tutus, my studded belt, funky earrings, and my brand new lip ring.
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-Living in China (age 21-23). I was all about Chinese fashions and hairstyles, because I was experiencing the Chinese lifestyle and culture for the first time, and I became completely immersed and in love with it. The second year I was there, my style was more Hippie because me and my Hippie Chinese friends did a lot of traveling. We all traveled on trains, shared each others clothes (even the guys), crashed where ever we could find, didn't take showers, and played music!
So while living in China, my fashion essentials were: my new brightly colored
hair, brightly colored skinny jeans, clothes that I bought from cheap roadside markets, face masks (for the pollution), 
high-waisted skirts, those mittens with strings attached, my peace sign earrings, my old man china hat, big belts, old lady sweaters, headbands, and my guitar.
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-After I got back from China (age 23-24). I was still a major Hippie, and I
really got into wearing t-shirts tucked into high-waisted skirts and shorts.
My fashion essentials were: Headbands, my high-waisted shorts that I got at Goodwill for $2.oo, old lady skirts that I would cut short then pull up over my belly button, thick belts, red lipstick, anything that looked like it was from the 70's and lots and lots of hair accessories.
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-Now (age 25). I think my style now is just a really random mix of all the different styles I've adopted over the years, plus some more random ones! I would describe it as a mix of: Pinup girl, 1950's housewife, Emo, Hippie, and the 1970's.
My fashion essentials are: Headbands, bows, bandanas, summer dresses, chinese dresses, victory rolls, pin curl bangs, high-waisted shorts and skirts tucked into t-shirts, stockings, tights, fishnets, red lipstick, lots of liquid eyeliner, corsets, high heels, tie dye shirts, and my combat boots.
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Now that I've given you a look at my fashion statements throughout the years, I'm gonna tell you how to make your own!
A fashion statement is you deciding (and then writing out on paper, collecting pictures, and envisioning) the direction you would like for your personal style to go! I like to do this about once a year, or simply whenever you feel in a rut and want to mix it up a little.

How to make your OWN fashion statement:
First, you need to think about, "What am I all about RIGHT NOW?" What are you really into? Is there a certain culture your really into? Or a movie? Or magazine? Book? You can literally find inspiration EVERYWHERE! In nature, standing in line at the supermarket, or just looking at a travel magazine!
Next, look at pictures for inspiration! Look at magazines, blogs, pinterest, anything! Keep a folder of all the pictures you like, so you know which styles you tend towards.
Then, write down EVERYTHING that is inspiring you! Examples; eras, culture, decades, cartoon characters, countries, animals, a certain group of people, bands, a certain color, the possibilities are ENDLESS! So write them all down, then take some time to read over your list, and really think about it. Do you like zebras? Maybe start to incorporate some zebra striped clothing! Do you loove the color blue? Start wearing it! Look for blue accessories or clothes next time you go shopping! Do you like the music of the 70's? Maybe find some tie dye! Do you see what I mean? I'm gonna show you what my list looks like, so you can see what to do:
What's Inspiring Me Right Now:

*50's Housewives

*Leopard prints

*Hot pink

*The 60's/70's Hippies

*Pin up Girls
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My Inspirations Make Me Want to Wear:

*Adorable dresses, aprons, heels, and an-I can cook anything- attitude!
*Leopard printed clothing and accessories (fake of course!).
*Hot Pink in my Hair!

*Peace Signs, tie dye, and a recycling, all we need is love- attitude!
*High heels, victory rolls, pin curl bangs, corsets, stockings, fishnets, and sexy dresses and skirts!
 
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So there you have it! Now, get inspired and go make your own list :D Then whenever you go shopping, carry this list with you, and only buy things that fit in with your inspirations and wants. I promise you, you will look, and feel, FABULOUS!
Have so much fun!!! <3
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Peace Love and Fashion Statements
Jess <3
11 Comments

D.I.Y: Old Crates to Awesome Storage Shelves!

6/3/2012

2 Comments

 
DIY Crates to Storage Shelves Tutorial
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One day while living in China, I was walking along the street and saw a cute little store. So I went inside, and what I saw, completely changed my life forever! Well, not really! Haha. But, inside that adorable little roadside store, three years ago, I saw this >>>
I took a picture of it, and vowed to myself that I would, one day, have something like this in my house! So here I am three years later, when my mother finds three adorable wooden crates at a garage sale! So I bought them for $11.00 (for all of them!), and then my wonderful boyfriend bought me two slightly smaller milk crates at a garage sale also! I knew that this was the time to do it! So I give you, how to make storage shelves (or just decorative shelves) out of old wooden crates!

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Let's get started! :D

1. Get yourself some crates! It dosen't matter what kind,
    or what size they are. I used different sized and
    shaped crates, I think it makes it interesting. You can
    get these crates anywhere; garage sales, estate
 
    auctions, or even your grandmother's attic!
2. Take your crates outside. They're most likely dirty and
    spiderweby(is this a word?! haha). I used a broom to
    sweep all the spiderwebs and dirt out.

<<<Here's my crates (my puppy got in the picture, but she's just so cute I had to leave her in!)



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3. Next, wash out the crates using a bucket of soapy
   water and/or a garden hose.
4. Leave out in the sun to dry.
5. Once they're dry, the fun begins! Take them inside and
   stack them however you want! And decorate them
   however you want!

You can use this for soo many different things;
*A bookshelf
*Organize and display your jewelry, clothing, and
 accessories (like in the first picture at the store)
*Fill it with picture frames, vases of flowers (mine has
 dried flowers from every time my boyfriend's given me
 flowers), and other memorabilia that you wish to display!

                        Here's a corner of my room before, and then my finished product!

Old Crates to Storage Shelves Tutorial!

Here's my shelves! I looove them! I have them filled with photos, flowers, books, souvenirs, and other lovely things!

Let your imagination run wild, and build your shelves today!
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Just don't forget to have fun, and comment below telling me how it turns out! Don't forget to pin this!:P

Peace Love and D.I.Y
Jess <3
2 Comments

Inspiration: Living Your Life

5/26/2012

1 Comment

 
Setting Goals after Graduating
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Today, my baby sister graduated from hi skool. Amongst all the craziness it got me to thinking...
I know you'll probably think I'm crazy, but I love graduation ceremonies. I always end upp crying (today it was outdoors, so I just wore my shades the
whole time so no one could see me crying haha), and I loove the speeches. You know the ones, where you are told that this is the first day of the rest of your life, and that the decisions you make today, will determine how the rest of your life will turn out, and all of them always include at least one Dr. Seuss quote! Although these speeches are usually repetetive and predictable, I still love them, because they are SO true!

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(and just for funn, here's one of my Senior pictures from waaay back in the day)>>>

Think about it this way, hi skool can be fun! But, it's only 4 years of your life! After you leave there, you have literally your entire life ahead of you to live! And I think that's a lot better than being in hiskool! Sure, in hiskool you dont have all the responsiblities you do once your out in the "real world", but once you have entered the "real world", you can do anything you want! Literally, anything in the world! And that thought gets me soo excited! The entire world open to you! So that's what I want to talk to you about today. I want to ask you a couple questions!

What have you done since you graduated hiskool? What did you imagine your life turning out to be like? Is it anything like you imagined? If not, is it headed in that direction? What direction is it headed in? What direction would you like it to be going in?! So many questions! Well, I think today is a good time to sit down and ponder this...because life is so busy, and if we never stop and take time to think about our lives and what we want, the next thing we know, were 50 and completely unhappy with our life! We need to take time RIGHT NOW to sit down, and think about this. Grab your journal, and sit alone with your thoughts for a while. Take as much time as you need, and carefully, thoughtfully, and honestly answer these questions (if you just graduated hiskool, or are still in skool, just answer questions 4-8) :
1. When I graduated from hiskool, what did I want my life to look like in 5 years?
2. Why did I want that life?
3. Do I still want that life?
4. What does my life look like now?
5. What do I want my life to look like 5 years from now?
6. Is my life headed in that direction?
7. If not, what steps can I take TODAY to get it headed in that direction? If it IS, what can I do to make sure it STAYS headed in that right direction?

So really take some time with this, meditate on it, write down your TRUE feelings, and let this help you start the life that you always wanted for yourself!

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(one of my little sister's Senior Pictures)>>>

I am going to be taking time to do this also. I find that it's good to do this once a year, just to keep yourself on track, because it it sooo easy to get distracted by doing a bunch of little things that aren't helping you have the life you want. And those little things add up so quickly, taking time away from the important things. Example: You want to be in a band and get famous! Instead of using your time to practice and get amazing on the guitar, or going to local shows and making connections, you spend most of your time playing video games,  and drinking. Now, I'm not saying to stop doing those things completely! But, if you do have plans and dreams and goals for your life (which I hope you do, after answering the above questions!), you will need to start managing your time better, which means cutting down time spent on things that aren't doing you any good. Which leads to question number
8. What are some things that you can spend a little less time doing, or just cut out of your 
    life completely? This can include activities that waste your time and are not helping you 
    reach your goals in life, or activities that you don't really even enjoy that much, but just
    do anyways (like if you've been hanging out with a friend that you realize you don't really 
    like that much, and they are always bringing you down, maybe it's time to consider 
    cutting ties with that person).

Well lovelys, I hope you all take the time to answer these questions! If you do, I guarantee that this will help you get headed in the direction you want your life to go! Leave comments and let me know what you find out about yourself! I am very excited to hear about it!



 Peace Love and Graduation
Jess <3
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Terrific Tuesday! Relaxation;Part 1

5/15/2012

0 Comments

 
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Welcome to the first segment of Terrific Tuesdays! Let's face it; Everyone knows that Life can be hard, and it can be super easy to get tired, crabby, and just plain run down! But feeling run down and sad all the time is no way to live! I know that's a pretty obvious statement, but I guess the difficult part for a lot of us, is knowing how to/making time to
recharge your battery, start feeling more full of energy, and to get your spark back! After
all, how are you going to go out and change the world, if you barely have enough energy and ambition to change the lightbulb that burnt out in your kitchen last week?!! So that is
why I have created; Terrific Tuesday!
Every couple of Tuesdays, I will be writing a post about different ways for you to take care of yourself! Pamper yourself! And give yourself the break you deserve! This will include health and exercise tips, spa recipes, hair and makeup stuff, inspirational quotes and lessons from people much smarter than me, and much more!
So, every Tuesday after you get home from work, change into something comfy, make yourself a cup of tea, grab your compy, and enjoy!
Today, I am going to tell you how to relaaaax...Now, I sometimes feel that the word relax
,
can be thought of as a naughty word in this fast paced-do as much as you can-never stop to take a breath cuz then your considered a selfish, lazy person- society that we live in. But
thats not true! If you dont take a little time for yourself every once in a while, you are going to get sick much easier, be stressed all the time (which always leads to angry and freak out moments), and not be in a position to function as well as you are capable of! So, I'm gonna
give you a couple relaxation tips today, and you can use them one at a time, whenever you need them, OR make one big relaxation night out of it! (I suggest doing the relaxation night once a week or every other week).


First of all, draw yourself a bath. Not a, scalding, turn red and have to get out after being
in for only 5 minutes-type of bath, but a bath that is a perfect warm temperature so that it dosent turn your skin red (that dries out your skin super fast).
Pour some epsom salt under the running water. Epsom Salt is aweesomeee...it detoxes your body, relieves stress, soothes sore muscles, & softens and depuffs skin (See told you it was awesome)! 
Then sprinkle a couple drops of lavender essential oil under the running water. The fragrance of lavender is known to relax and soothe the mind and the body.
Next, put bubbles in the bath (Bubbles are just fun and awesome and instantly make you happy!).
Make yourself a nice hot cup of chamomile or lavender tea with honey, turn your phone off, grab a magazine, or book of poetry, whatever relaxes you, light a couple candles, and soak all your worries away! This is my absolute favorite way to relax when I'm stressed 
out or sore. So go ahead, do it tonight! And whenever you feel a bit stressed. Your body will thank you for it!
China Barbie and Nick
And Happy Birthday wishes go out today to my sweet, wonderful amazing boyfriend! I have QUITE the day planned out for us, but it's a surprise for him, so I can't tell you about it until later this week! *SO* excited!
​Isn't he so handsome?!!



Peace Love and Relaxation

Jess <3
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First Blog Post!

5/11/2012

6 Comments

 
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Hello new reader! This is my first post on my new website, and I am SUPER stoked about it! Thank you so much for reading, it means the world to me! I am so  excited to be starting this brand new journey, and so thankful to have YOU to be joining me on it!
To start things out, I just wanted to tell you a little  bit about how this blog got started.I hope it all sounds good to you and you will be inspired to keep reading!
I thought it appropriate to put up the picture "Do What You Love, Love What You Do“, because, in essence, that is how this whole website came about.
Since graduating Hi Skool in 2005, I have had 19 different jobs. After 19 failed attempts at finding something I loved doing, I decided that I am just not made to have a normal, 9-5 job, and  live my life like every other "normal" person in America. And that realization stirred up two emotions in me: 1. Excitement! I no longer had to dread every day of my life because I was doing something I hated, and onlyhave the weekends to look forward to! I want to look forward to every day! And love every day of my life! And the thought of loving every day of my life makes me sooo excited! and 2. Fear! On March 30th, when I quit my Health Insurance Sales Job, I was scared! I was giving up making a steady weekly income! I didn't (and still dont really) know how much money I am going to be able to make doing things I love! But life is short, and I don't want to spend it being sad and bored, I want to live an amazing life, full of adventure and happiness! And I'm sure you do too! So join me on my journey of discovering a new passion for life!
This Blog is a place for me to share with you my hopes for this world! I am tired of people treating each other badly! Tired of people treating Mother Nature badly! Tired of women feeling sad, hopeless, lost, and unempowered! I  want this world to change! I want us as women to change! I want us to change how we think about ourselves, how we think about other people, and how we think about how we relate to this world! We need a Revolution. An Empowerment Revolution! So this website is my means of sharing my voice, empowering women, and changing the world! I am so excited about this Revolution! I hope you will join me.

                                                         Love Love Love
                                                                Jess <3



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    I'm Jessica!

    I am a
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