Gossip

This is the type of Gossip we like to hear.

Slowly but surely the fashion industry is changing its standards and listening to women everywhere. Vogue magazine has announced that they will be more conscious of the models within their pages and keep the too young and too thin out of them and will be focusing on more healthy looking models.

Whether young or old, it is clear that people are impressionable and vulnerable and highly impacted by the people, images, and environments around them. Seeing idealized, unhealthy looking models in the pages of our favorite magazines can play crazy mind games and injure our self esteem.

Conde Nast International (owner of Vogue Magazine) Chairman Jonathan Newhouse sums it up perfectly stating, “Vogue believes that good health is beautiful. Vogue Editors around the world want the magazines to reflect their commitment to the health of the models who appear on the pages and the well-being of their readers”.

Our question, how thin is too thin? Seems kind of subjective, how will they monitor healthy? And what about the massive amounts of Photoshop, will that also be toned down?                                                                                                                                    

This cake stand is sooo fun and cute! Made from old vinyl records, this DIY is easy and inexpensive to put together. We have a few friends who will be getting a pretty cool birthday gift this year. Of course accompanied but some fresh out of the oven Krispy Kreme! Follow these steps to create your own vinyl dessert stand!

Check out Bubby and Bean  for more detail and other great projects!

What you need:

1 – 33 1/3 rpm vinyl record

1 – 78 rpm vinyl record

1 – 45 rpm vinyl record (plus adapter)

3 – cake stand rods (2 middle, 1 top)

1 – screw

1 – metal washer

4 – self stick felt pads

7 – felt washers

Instructions:

- Attach 4 self-stick felt pads,  evenly spaced on the bottom of the 33 1/3 rpm record.

- Place one metal washer onto the screw post, followed by one felt washer.  Put the screw though the hole of the 33 1/3 rpm record from the bottom up so that the felt washer is closest to the bottom of the record.

- Place another felt washer over the screw so it’s touching the top side of the record, and screw on one of the cake stand rods.

- Place another felt washer on the screw post of the cake stand rod, and slide the 78 rpm record onto the post.  Top this with another felt washer and screw on another of the cake stand rods.

- Repeat with the 45 rpm record and top with a felt washer.

- Screw in the top cake stand rod.

We love to constantly switch up our style.  Whether it’s a new nail polish, eye shadow, bangs, no bangs; it’s just fun to make changes.  But, like many gals, making changes especially ‘permanent’ ones take a lot of commitment.  More commitment than we are usually willing to make!  One type of style switch up is hair color.  And colorful streaks are definitely “in Vogue” this season!  So here is a tip, throw out that bottle of bleach and Manic Panic color and…use CHALK! Here’s how!

What You Need:
- Soft Pastel Chalk (check out your local art store)
- Spray Bottle W/ Water
- Flat Iron OR Curling Iron
- Rubber Gloves (let’s keep those hands clean)
- Old Towel or T-Shirt (it will get dirty)

Directions:

- Take a small piece of hair you want color on (1 inch section) and spray lightly with water (make damp but not wet)
- Twist the piece of hair and use the pastel chalk to color it (move up and down the hair)
- Repeat on all pieces you want dyed
- Let hair fully dry
- Take your flat iron or curling iron and go over your hair (this will set the color making it last longer)
Hair color will likely last from 1 day (after washing) or a week depending on your hair color and texture.

What Inspires You?

xoGossipxo

These itsy bitsy spiders were not crawling up any water spouts; they were too busy spinning webs to create this one of a kind cape.  But these spiders are not your ordinary, run of the mill spider, they are the Golden Orb spider found in Madagascar.  And well, they also aren’t quite “itsy bitsy”, with a leg span as large as a hand and they don’t produce the typical web, but one colored in gold.

1.2 million Female spiders were used over a 4 year process to collect enough spider silk (also called Gossamer) to create this golden couture cape.  This light as air feeling cape is currently on display at the Victoria & Albert Museum in London.

Are you ready for your very own spider silk clothing?

We love braids at Gossip. They are the perfect alternative to a simple ponytail and a pretty way to keep you hair out of your face when you are shopping, at the beach, playing sports, basically doing anything active.  Check out this super cute braid tutorial and some fun braids on our own Gossip model!

By Request: Braid Tutorial by Free People from FreePeople on Vimeo.

Still haven’t found the perfect gift to give all of your best girlfriends.  Well, here it is!  This chalkboard necklace is absolutely adorable and allows you to personalize it to your friends liking.  From the bow to the handwritten chalk message, this handmade gift will truly show you care and appreciate the friendships you have. Check out the entire DIY at the Brideblu blog.

The holiday season is still a good month and a half away, BUT, for those of you looking to take the DIY Gift route this year, you may want to start on that now.  We came across these really pretty and fun bracelets that would make a perfect holiday gift for your friends and family.   Personalize the bracelets by picking the recipients favorite color for the leather or linen cord.   Head over to Honestly…WTF for detailed instructions on how to create these lovely brackets.

Check back every week from now until the Holidays for more DIY Gift ideas!

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Word to the Wise!

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Macramé secured a special place in my heart long before I even knew what the funny word meant. My mother always carried a purse that looked like it belonged on a ship. I remember tracing its corded lines with my little fingers, counting knots and wondering how many pirates it had taken to tie them. The durability of that purse afforded it an extraordinary long life, as it hung on my mother’s shoulder like a third limb until I was about 10 years old, when she decided it was time to upgrade to leather, and her macramé creation was demoted to the rank of beach bag. Well, she was on to something that has made a major comeback on the runways!

Macramé is the art of knotting corded material to create decorative shapes for anything from wall hangings to jewelry to revealing evening gowns. The awesome thing about it is that you can use any materials – from twine to yarn to leather strips! Ahoy – we can thank crafty sailors of the past for this knotty technique, who used it to decorate their knife handles and all sorts of other nautical uses.

The new Gossip lineup features fun macramé details too, in Kitty Dip and Its All Groovy!

Although swimsuit season is gone, that never stops us from designing, and planning ahead. Yes, we are inspired by the leaves changing colors, the sound of the wind, the warmth of the sunlight and the bright moon light!

We DANCE all year round!  We dance to the beat of own path! After all life is about experiencing, creating, enjoying and exploring!

Here are some quotes that always bring the best out of us:

“You’ve gotta dance like there’s nobody watching,  Love like you’ll never be hurt, Sing like there’s nobody listening,  And live like it’s heaven on earth.” – William W. Purkey

“Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take, but by the moments that take our breath away.”
―Maya Angelou

“To laugh often and much; to win the respect of intelligent people and the affection of children; to earn the appreciation of honest critics and to endure the betrayal of false friends. To appreciate beauty; to find the best in others; to leave the world a bit better whether by a healthy child, a garden patch, or a redeemed social condition; to know that even one life has breathed easier because you have lived. This is to have succeeded.” – Ralph Waldo Emerson

“Life is an opportunity, benefit from it.  Life is beauty, admire it.  Life is a dream, realize it.  Life is a challenge, meet it.  Life is a duty, complete it.  Life is a game, play it.  Life is a promise, fulfill it.  Life is sorrow, overcome it.  Life is a song, sing it.  Life is a struggle, accept it.  Life is a tragedy, confront it.  Life is an adventure, dare it.  Life is luck, make it.  Life is too precious, do not destroy it.  Life is life, fight for it.” – Mother Teresa