Little Delights while on Vacation

Adam, Tegan and I went to a town called Calabash on Tuesday during our vacation at Ocean Isle Beach. We ate at a small local restaurant called Ella's that was amazingly delicious but made me feel amazingly sluggish after eating a plateful of fried food. Afterwards, we went to a gift shop that was compiled of a bunch of smaller gift shops. They had a lot of really cool things that I loved and would have bought if money grew on trees......(insert sigh here). I loved the colors and the variety they had to offer.

Colorful coconut purse anyone?

How about a colorful beaded jellyfish mobile?

Coconut monkeys and people make me smile :)

I loved these shells! Reminds me of when I was a kid and my mom had one hanging in the living room.

I should have bought one :(

These ships were rockin'!

Adam introduced Tegan to one of his favorite games....Hook String!

DETERMINATION

Do you not love this bug? I do!

And the most colorful award goes to........THE HERMIT CRABS!!! :)

Who ever thought a hermit crab could be absolutely gorgeous? Or at least very interesting to look at.

Vacation!!!!

So today, on top of trying to sleep a few hours and packing for vacation....I just had to, had to, had to get a few colors made!!! I don't know why though because I'm going to be putting my shop in vacation mode for the next week. I guess I did it because I enjoy it! :)

This shade is called "Emerald City"

This one is "Natural Coral"

Here's some of the pigments I got in the mail the other day. I was soooo excited!

Here is some left over "Emerald City". Maybe I should have called the color "Rotting Brocolli" Kind of looks like that....just sayin.

My new best friend...mortar and pestal....we have started a very unique relationship. :)

This is the view that I have while I'm working up my colors. :)

I  <3 it!!!!

Here is another color. It's called "Canary Sun". Almost looks like it should have been called

"Buttered Popcorn!"

I made one other color too but I haven't got to the part where I take pictures yet.

I also realized today that I may be starting another love affair with ice cream. This heat wave we're having isn't helping much. I need to cut it out soon though because that's a relationship that my waist line just doesn't agree with!

That was the gist of my Friday though... along with packing. I'm so excited to get away. I can't wait to have some new scenery and I'm looking forward to clearing my mind for the week so that when I get back I'll hopefully have some new inspiration behind my ideas. :)

I hope the beach is ready for me!

<3 Mel

Hearts and Bows Bath & Body

I am in love with this shop....Hearts and Bows Bath & Body ran by Hilda out of Los Angeles, CA. She makes lip balms, lip tints, soaps and perfurme oil.

I first came upon her shop while searching through Etsy like I so often do. I came upon a listing for her "Lemon Sugar" lip balm and clicked on it. I thought the photography was amazing and I am always drawn to bright colors. I almost bought it right then and there but decided I should look through her shop to see if there were any flavors that I would enjoy more. (I admit, I was going to make an impulsive purchase strictly on packaging!) I'm glad I looked some more because I came across "Mango Sorbet" which is one of my favorite flavors of sorbet.....EVER! All I can say is yum, yum and YUM! As soon as I got it in the mail...which was pretty quick I'd like to add, I put it on. It went on nice and smooth and I fell in love with the oval shaped tube and the simplistic design of the labeling.

It wasn't until today that I decided to try the sample that I received with the lip balm. The sample is for "Mediterrananean Fig" Perfume Oil. I honestly never thought that something natural could smell so good. I immediately fell in love with it and purchased a roll right then and there. I can't wait for it to come in!!! (I keep sniffing at my wrists where I applied it as I'm writing this. This is good stuff!!!!)

I highly encourage everyone to check out Hilda's Etsy shop... Hearts and Bows Bath & Body.

http://www.etsy.com/shop/heartsandbows494?ref=pr_shop

Also like her Facebook page for special discounts!!

http://www.facebook.com/#!/pages/Hearts-and-Bows-Bath-Body/153060104750262

<3 Mel

Food Colors

So since I've been making eyeshadow I have really been thinking about colors lately...among other things. There are so many places to look for inspiration and I keep thinking of the produce section at the supermarket...alive and vibrant with so many colors....it truly is beautiful if you think about it.

Here are some foods that inspire me..... :)

This purple is so rich it looks like the color of royalty.

I  think the pepper section is my most favorite section in the supermarket, they're always so bright and vivid.

I love the earthy hues of pears.

The color of squash seems so natural and organic.

The deep green of spinach is unlike any other green.



Square One

That's where I'm starting from. And I'm excited for whatever it brings. I'm ready for an adventure...and I've been searching for something to do that I will feel passionate about and I think this may be it. My venture into the world of homemade makeup so far has been rewarding to me. I have found myself totally wrapped up in setting up my Etsy shop and creating beautiful mineral eyeshadows from scratch. I enjoy the creative freedom I have and the inner search of finding out what inspires me. In other words.....THIS IS SOOOO MUCH FUN!!!!!

:)

Here is what I have so far.....

I really enjoy the photography part of it too. I love the challenge of trying to create the perfect photo of my products!! Like I said....THIS IS SOOOO MUCH FUN!!!