Asian Heritage Highlight: Jenna Medina

It's the final days of May and I have to hustle on posting my final feature of the month artists.

My next feature is a bit off track the home decor topic and purely on artistry, makeup artistry that is. Meet Ms. Jenna Medina, a makeup artist with the most skillful makeup artistry skills that meet red carpet standards.

I met Jenna through Victoria Knudson (highlight from my previous post). From the moment I discovered she was a skilled makeup artist I knew I wanted to feature her on my blog. Now I'm sure many of you have met people who claim to do this or that only to find they're full of $@%!. Well this is NOT the case with Jenna. I've had the pleasure of watching her skills during Victoria's bachelorette party and wedding.

Bride to be: Bachelorette Party

Bride and Maid of Honor at wedding

I love the subtle smokey eye effect she applied on the bride. Both ladies are just as beautiful without makeup but the precision in Jenna's makeup artistry truly highlight their natural beauty to the fullest.
So who else did I want to do my makeup for a very DIVA wedding we were to attend this past weekend! I knew I needed her magic skills to help glamify my face and get me away from the monotonous relationship I have with my bare minerals set. I asked her to give me something different and she sure did deliver!

"I didn't think I would be a makeup artist. It all started when I was living in Oregon and I discovered my love for makeup. I got my start working at the Mac counter while I was going to school out there and from then on I realized how much I loved it. I love it because its so girly  and simply fun to do. I had the best time working for Mac in Oregon. Unfortunately have not found another makeup company to work for in SF that was comparable. Out there my colleagues and I really appreciated the artistry behind makeup and I carried that appreciation and passion over when I moved back to SF. I attempted to work for other makeup companies but quickly discovered the others working around me weren't in it for the same reasons I was so I left and became an independent makeup artist working with dance groups that I was also a part of . My inspiration comes from current style and trends and I apply that concept towards that individual basing their colors off of the shape and form of their face." ~Jenna    
more of Jenna's makeup artistry.

All photos courtesy of Jenna Medina and Victoria Knudson

Jenna's styles range from subtle to dramatic for wedding parties to everyday glam. Her skillful techniques along with her personality set her apart from the sea of makeup artists and her passion and creativity for her work is something I truly appreciate.

Asian Heritage Highlight: Victoria Knudson

Where has this month gone? Time flew by way too fast and I am way over due on a feature post.

This week I am featuring my very dear friend who I consider a sister, the newly wed herself, Mrs Victoria Knudson. If you recall my post MADE WITH LOVE about DIY bridal bouquets, Victoria is the bride mentioned in the post who lead the bridal bouquet making party and created almost all accessories for her wedding. She has always been incredibly creative when it came to arts and crafts including illustrations, painting, dyeing, scrap booking, and DIY home projects. She's the one who took the first prize home when it came to art competitions and the person you did not want to sit next to in art class; trust me, I've sat next to her while she created her master pieces, compared her art to my less than mediocre cluster crap drawing, lost all hope in my skills, crumpled the paper and threw it in the trash..and missed. Yes she is that good! She has an impressive artistic quality that I've always admired and there is no doubt that I would go to her if I ever need help or her artistic hand on projects complimentary to home decor.

Here a few of her recent projects..

Another important quality about Victoria's art and DIY projects is that she takes budget into deep consideration. This is her DIY head board.

this is 3 20"x30" foam boards side by side.
i used the "quilt padding" for volume.i purchased thin quilt padding so i had to double up.
i measured where the dimples should be and punched brass prongs to get a dimple.
then i glued large rhinestones to cover the brass prong.

there are 4 (each corner) dimples that should have been prongs, but instead i made the dimple by screwing onto the wall.
then i glued the rhinestone over the screw.

ta da! :)

Finished look. (sorry you can't see the finished look with dimpled details) This is made for a king size bed. I love the mirror accent in between.

This here is yet another great way to display family photos. Victoria calls this the Naked Ribbon Bulletin Board:


i only called it naked because behind the ribbon is the wall (not a padded fabric) 
it measures 5' wide and 3' tall.
its made with black and brown ribbon (i used brown because the plaque is brown). it blends in 
each intersection "X" was stapled to the wall, and i hot glued large rhinestones to cover the hideous staple.


A perfect low budget project and a great focal point in her living room where guests are kept busy staring into a little introduction of her life.

She also hand makes personalized cards for special occasions!
This is my favorite card she made for my daughter.

This is the front of the card.

And the inside!

More creativity just fun to look at and admire.

A few bats she decorated for a competition in which she of course WON!

all photos courtesy of Victoria herself

Victoria is currently working on three new projects and expecting a little bundle of joy. I'm sure some baby themed art projects will be in the making so stay tuned as I'll gladly be sharing some of my favorites!

Billy Book Case

So months ago I mentioned I was going to turn my dining room into a dining/office space and after seeing my friend Winnie's (check out previous post), it gave me motivation to get a move on this project. So I did what I did best; create a disaster zone in my dining room. It used to be the "man" dining room filled with various exotic beer bottles and collected beer glasses from our European travels along with other alcoholic paraphernalia you can imagine. With the the poor lighting it reminded me of a few dingy traditional German bars I vividly remember going to while stationed there but seldom remember how we left. Needless to say I didn't want my daughter eating in a room that reminded me of my SLOSH days. Of course I have a strict budget to stick to and naturally I started looking into Ikea furniture. I love shelves and it would be a perfect fit to store the large and heavy stacks of books that are randomly placed throughout my house. The best book case with the best price and most importantly..best LOOK is non other than the Billy Book Case. I was also thinking about the Expedit but with our high ceilings I figured it would be best to have higher bookshelves and take advantage of the space.

Here are the different styles of Billy bookcases

Out of the two book cases with doors I am still trying to figure out which one I want; I want something to hide my clutter.

This is the design I am going for. Since everything is so earthy I want something to pop and am thinking about getting a funky and bold patterned wall paper or fabric to place on the backing of the book cases to spruce up the shelves and give it somewhat of a custom look. Here are few examples..Although its all white shelves but you get the idea..

via savvydesignwest.com

 via sfair.blogspot.com

via u-createcrafts.com

via lushlee.com

Now this is a bit too much for me but it sure is a bold statement in a room. 

I'm hoping to get this project moving and completely finished by the end of June so stay tuned. 

Asian Heritage Highlight: Winnie Bruce of Winnie Bruce Photography Home Office

I've known Winnie of Winnie Bruce Photography for nearly a decade following her multi talented creations every step of the way. Aside from her beautiful photography, she holds many talents that include gourmet cooking, baking delectable sweet treats, crochet and knitting fashionable head pieces and even interior decorating. Her recent snapshot of her dining room/office caught my attention and gave me inspiration to give my dining area a dual purpose.

photo: courtesy of Winnie Bruce

Her choice of detailed accessories brings instant charm to the room complimenting the white walls for an overall pristine look. Check out the adorable frames from organic bloom. So unique in shape and a perfect center piece for a wall gallery. These fun frames are only available to photographers and lucky for you is available for purchase here.

For more information on Ms. Winnie's FAB photos please visit winniebrucephotography.com

Yours Truly,

Asian Heritage Month

Hi all! May is Asian American Pacific Islander Heritage month celebrating the culture, traditions, and history of Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders in the United States. I wanted to highlight my incredibly talented friends who continue to support and inspire me along with other fabulously creative folks of Asian Pacific Islander decent who share the same passion I do. So stay tuned for weekly posts highlighting numerous artistic talents~MG

Affordable Office Decor & DIY Cork Board

Greetings all! So alas I put some colorful decor up in my work office. My bland, rectangular, windowless office was in desperate need of character and if you're like me and spend most of your day cooped up in an office, you want anything for a little excitement. You should treat your office space like your home by adding personality and style. You don't have to spend dollars and dollars on it either. Just a few simple touches and I guarantee you wouldn't mind coming into your office on that dreaded Monday morning.

As usual, affordable decor was my approach and I was able to accomplish my simple decor scheme with just under $12!

I've been itching to do another easy DIY project and thought that adding some life to a cork board  would suffice. As I'm sure you all know, ikat and chevron patterns are all the rage right now and I thought either pattern would bring life to the boring cork board. But I did say I wanted to do an EASY DIY project and thought the ikat pattern would leave paint smudges everywhere with a frustrated me trying to perfect the layered rigid pattern. So chevron it was. {DIY info near the end of this post} 

Since I've been viewing interior design blogs, I've seen this KEEP CALM AND CARRY ON poster in almost all of my favorite blog sites. They now come in several colors and different font styles. My crazy work and home schedule has me in a constant frenzied state so I thought this would be perfect to hang in a conspicuous area for all to see and is a perfect reminder for me to stay calm during my hustle and bustle hours.

Online this poster was about $6 but with shipping and handling and tax and whatever other charge come along with a sale transaction it was going to cost me $15 for just the poster. Now call me a penny pincher but I refused to spend $15 for just paper. And then I had my DUH moment and realized I could utilize the copy center department at work. So I asked and I sure did receive..the same day! I already had a frame that fit just right and voila!{FUN FACT: Keep Calm and Carry On was a propaganda poster printed in 1939 around the beginning of the second world war. The British Government produced it with intentions of raising morale in the event of an invasion}

These are amazing. These were only $3 each at SCRAP, a local creative reuse warehouse where I also purchased the cork board. They were in perfect condition and ready to hang! I don't know who the artist is or what the origin of these fantastic paper cutouts but they're perfect for adding color and interest in my office.
UPCLOSE:
Do you recall my WALL PAPER COLLAGE post? So I came across quite a few of my own flyer's that I've collected over the years and decided to create my own collage.

A closer look at my favorites

Brilliant wording! Someone stopped and handed us a bunch of funky stickers with fun and clever wording. This one was a keeper.

Salvador Dali: The Persistance of Memory. 1931 
A post card to my hubby from a family member.

This was handmade by my hubby's cousin who has an impressive artistic hand. He created several of these and sent them to the family as Valentine's day cards. So original and worth keeping!

DIY Cork Board:

Cork boards can run you anywhere from $10-$50 depending on the size and frame style. As mentioned I purchased this at SCRAP. This is a 36 x 24 cork board for just $3! The acrylic paint cost me .89¢! I already had paint brushes and painters tape. The remaining accessories used to fill my shelves were from home. 

Minimal prep work was needed. Because cork already has a rough surface there was no need to sand it. Prep consisted of wiping and drying the board then onto taping. 

I've seen other DIY chevron tutorials cut out a V shaped template for the perfect chevron pattern, but I decided to eyeball it; choose your battles I guess. I started off taping the board with a herringbone pattern and realized it wasn't the look I was going for. Instead, I divided the length of the board into four even sections marking it with a pencil. The center line was where each end of the chevron met. You can design your chevron at any angle you want. Once I created my first chevron, I eyeballed the rest of my tape paint until I felt it was covered enough. {Kind of looks like a stretched out M}

Ready to paint; there is no technique needed just paint away!

Total labor was 1 hour (sorry for the blur)

And there you have it..a few office decor accessories that cost me just under $12! The DIY cork board brought instant style and color to my office and the best part again is that it was unbelievably cheap!
Another great example of affordable design by using what you have and utilizing your resources. ~MG

Spotlight: Ish and Chi Studio

It's been a crazy few weeks as usual..and I finally get to share a great find. My hubby came to me and said he wanted to turn a section of our long narrow garage into his "man office" so naturally I start my search for inspiration and although I typed in masculine home office I still stumbled upon a DIY femanine style home studio that I just couldn't take my eyes off..I present to you Vivian Mansour founder of Ish and Chi and another fabulous DIYer with an impressive portfolio you can't resist.

 Before..like most garages, they're dingy, bland, and remind me of a horror movie scene.

Impressive right?! How fabulous is this room! As always first glances of beautiful decor have non experienced home decor joe-settes thinking this is a pricey makeover..but look up close and you'll find that items used can be found in your home.

Look at her desk for instance. I even thought it was an expensive corner unit from a designer mag but never fear! It's actually two multi-purpose folding tables placed L shaped in the corner. Multi purpose tables can run anywhere from $40-$50 and she made this one look much more valuable and needless to say chic.

The beautiful wall gallery back splash is made of wall paper pasted onto a huge slab of plywood decorated with her favorite artwork.

The antique side table is decorated with personal accessories and the drawers are lined with wrapping paper! Now we all have some pretty wrapping paper stashed away. If not, a stylish roll can run you anywhere from $5-$10.

I am infatuated with old furniture makeovers. This antique cupboard was painted and put to good use once again. I love the organized display of fabrics. Everything is so pristine having its perfect fit in the room and making it super easy to stay organized.

all photos via ishandchi

This is the perfect arts and crafts room and a perfect way to display personal belongings. I can't get enough of this room and even though I have a "masculine" office makeover headed my way, it gives me the push to get started on my own home and work office.
To get the full scoop on this garage makeover visit ishandchi.blogspot.com