Happy 70th Birthday Grace Coddington!

A birthday greeting for my ultimate idol...

Happiest Birthday to the fabulous

GRACE CODDINGTON!

You'll always be my inspiration!

Project DIY Wedding: Vintage Paper

Since I'm stuck at home for the next few days...

Might as well be productive and take care of all my wedding stuff.

I want my wedding to have a vintage, rustic, and shabby chic feel. Since my invites is really coming out pretty well, I want the other wedding stationery to go towards that same direction.

But this time, I'll have to do it myself. I've always been into making stuff, organizing parties (a la Martha Stewart)... I lost that side of me when I got busy with my new job. I'm not complaining though, like what I've said in my previous post, I looove my job. It's just that there are times when I wish I have more time to do the normal things... But then again, you can't have the best of both worlds.

MOVING ON...Along with my collection of Fashion Coffee books are my Arts & Crafts books. My favorite is Big-Ass Book of Crafts by Mark Montano. This is a really nice book for people who like arts & crafts, however... There are just some projects that I find a bit difficult and well, not my type. But if you would like to get some techniques and ideas on your next projects, then I recommend this book for you. The book actually inspired me to make this project...

Check out my finished product... It's not actually finished, because I'll be using them for my tags. You'll see the super final finished product on my wedding! (I'm still waiting for my stamp pads!)

MATERIALS & INSTRUCTIONS:

1.) Sachets of coffee (Tea can also be used as an alternative... I tried using tea, but... Coffee's the bad-ass in this contest!)

2.) White (Board) Paper.

3.) Metal tray/Cookie tray...

Anything you could use to dip your paper into...

So what you're seeing here is also the first instruction...

POUR 1/2 CUP OF COFFEE INTO THE TRAY...

TRY NOT TO PUT TOO MUCH WATER.

DIP YOUR PAPER... TRY NOT TO SOAK IT, OR ELSE IT'LL GET SOGGY THAT IT COULD TEAR. PAPER CAN GET WEAK AND FALL APART, SO WORK FAST AND SET IT ASIDE!

THEN PUT IT ON A SERVING TRAY OR A NEWSPAPER

AND LAY IT OUT TO DRY...

WHEN ARTWORK IS DRY, IT IT'S NOT AS ANTIQUE-Y LOOKING AS YOU'D LIKE, YOU MAY WANT TO SPRAY SOME MORE COFFEE ON IT BY USING A SPRAY BOTTLE AND LETTING IT DRY AGAIN. YOU CAN REPEAT THIS PROCESS, DEPENDING ON HOW WORN YOU'D LIKE THE PIECE TO LOOK.

ONCE YOU ACHIEVED THE EFFECT YOU'VE WANTED, FLATTEN IT FURTHER BY PUTTING IT BETWEEN BOOKS OR MAGAZINES BEFORE YOU USE IT.

BTW, If puddles of coffee or tea form in places on the artwork. That only helps enhance the overall effect process.

SHORTS STORY Shoot for Metro Society Man (April 2011)

My Wedding Peg: ELIE SAAB (HAUTE COUTURE) SPRING-SUMMER 2011

I found this feature of Elie Saab's Haute Couture (Spring-Summer 2011) while blog-hopping a couple of weeks ago (I should have posted this sooner, but I forgot to do so). I am a big fan of lace, tulle, chiffon, ruffles and anything that screams romantic, I love them all. When I found this, I told myself that this will be my peg for my wedding. The romantic silhouettes, the vibrant colors, the fabrics used... They're all oh so gorgeous! My wedding dress is inspired by one the gowns featured here and another gown I saw from the Vogue Italia magazine my boss gave me. I am just sooo in love with it. All I can say is that, Veejay Floresca is a genius! I wish I could show you which one, but I want it to be a surprise.

DO WATCH THE FULL FASHION SHOW... IT'S JUST LOOOVELY! ♥

WATCH THE FULL FASHION SHOW HERE:

What I'm lovin' now... ♥

My Vogue Italia (February 2011) courtesy of my mentor Rex Atienza!

LOVE Magazine (With Kate Moss on the cover!)

(My powder blue vintage picture frames from Simple Joys! Looovely!)

My new books from Shopbop.com! HAPPINESS!!! :)

HAPPY WEEKEND EVERYONE! ♥

Inspiration: Chic Home Decors

My mom says I have an eye for pretty things...

Something I didn't realize until I got into styling.

Maybe I do, maybe I don't...

It's all in the matter of taste. I think.

So here I am browsing through beautifully decorated apartments. I do this for inspiration. Same goes with how I browse through my magazines over and over again. This habit of mine is what keeps my brain functioning...(I'm weird like that).

Here's what I came up with today. These images will serve as my peg for my condo re-decorating extravaganza.

Tell me what you think!

(It has always been a dream of mine to have my own library... With a built-in shelf placed against my wall. To be surrounded by all my books - Heaven! This is of course not possible for my condo, but there's nothing wrong with dreaming right? Maybe in the future...)

(I looove the wallpaper! And the vintage chair and desk.)

(Don't you just love how romantic this house feels? I mean the pink is a major giveaway... but the furnitures and the decors... Lovely!)

(A grand idea to have vintage Vogue covers framed and place on the walls!)

(If the space and budget permits... I would like to have a personal office in my future house, a place to work peacefully. Of course this will be completely unachievable for my condo... I'll just have my desk painted white and have it placed in a corner by my window.... Tada, tiny personal office!)

Saying goodbye to the job of my dreams... Sort of.

(FYI: This is sort of a continuation of the post I published a couple of months ago... About getting my dream job... See post here! Anyway, I'm just grateful. Very blessed to be surrounded by the best people in the industry!_

A few months ago, having my name published in a magazine was just a dream for me. I applied for so many positions, and got interviewed for them... But failed. I figured, God has something better in store for me. So I kept on submitting resumes, and kept on praying for a job that's meant for me... And I was right, God does have something up His sleeve.

I started working as an assistant stylist to my boss, Celebrity and Fashion stylist Rex Atienza last January 18, 2011. All I can say is that my first few weeks with him weren't so good... Especially for an emotional and sensitive newbie like me. I had a lot of booboos... (Although my "Ooops..." moments didn't end there) I was late for my first day with a celebrity, picked out really bad clothes for an ad shoot, etc... Yeah, but then again, mistakes teaches us lessons... After all those booboos, I now know better.

I resigned because it was also time for me to focus on my upcoming wedding. I did have (almost) everything ready, since I booked my suppliers right after he proposed to me. But there are still some things I needed to give attention and give extra time to constantly... Like my invites, my gown, the entourage's dresses, my flower girl's dresses, gifts for sponsors, missalettes, thank you cards, registry, and most of all my visitor's (Which I think I have to cancel since it takes 30 days to apply for this... I'm bound to leave for NZ on the 25th... Go figure) and partner's visa for NZ.

It was very heartbreaking to bid farewell to my Stylist Inc. family... But I gotta do what I have to do. I'm really going to miss everyone and EVERYTHING about my job. I will miss waking up at 2am... I will miss sourcing for clothes at the mall... I will miss my conversations with sir Nelson... I will miss my baby sister Ica and the ultimate sartorial Friday guy Jeffy... I will miss looking at my phone constantly for any messages from my boss... I will miss doing shoots... I will miss calling up designers... I will miss going up and down the 3rd floor for clothes and accessories... I will especially miss my boss and the entire Stylist Inc. family. I don't think I could ever say goodbye to the job of my dreams...

Fortunately, my boss agreed to let me do Face2Face every Tuesday... Which means I'm still working for him... Part-time! Yeeeey! I super looove my job, and I don't think I can give it up that easily... Everything I know now about styling, I learned most of them from my boss. Styling is not just about putting clothes together, there's definitely more to it than you could ever imagine. That's why I'll always be grateful for all the opportunities my boss/mentor gave me, and for giving me the chance to have the job of my dreams. ♥

More Behind the Scenes images from Sapul sa Singko!