REVIEW: Luscious Floral Bouquets from Bouqs for Chic Flowers Year-Round

Dec 1, 2014 | Fashion

Who loves fresh flowers around the home? Hands up if you do! And if you do, you’re probably aware of how costly that can be to maintain. And how hard fresh flowers are to come by at certain times of the year. And the toll they can take on the environment (depending on where you get them). The answer to that: The Bouqs Co. (the new floral kid-on-the-block with awesome South American flowers picked from the side of an active volcano). Yup, you read that right: an active volcano. And yet they offer a huge variety of flowers, delivered FREE (always!), fresh to your door.

The Bouqs Co. kindly sent me my choice of bouquet to review. I chose the Peace Bouq, since I love white flowers in the Wintertime. The website was super-easy to order from and way more intuitive than most floral order websites…you know the ones I’m talking about (that look like they’re been around since 1994). Within 10 days of ordering the flowers were at my door (and you can of course specify what date you’d like them delivered on).

Above is how the flowers come wrapped, to protect them on their journey all the way from South America. The box was very sturdy and the flowers were not crushed in the least from transport.

They had some preservative gel on their cut ends to prevent them from drying out, which easily wiped off. Though some had wilted a bit on the way, once in water they perked right up again.
Fragrant, luscious, environmentally-friendly, FREE SHIPPING…what’s not to love?

Here’s the amazing array of all the flowers Bouqs has to choose from:

See any that strike your fancy? For today, Cyber Monday, you can select any Original-sized Volcano Bouq and use code DOUBLEBOUQ to get DOUBLE the flowers (the Deluxe-size for free!). Valid until the end of 12/1/14.

Also, other promotions going on for Cyber Monday (valid until 12/3/14):

Send at least 4 Bouqs, get 25% with code CYBERBOUQ

Buy a gift card to The Bouqs Co., and save up to 20% off the retail price

You can knock off all your holiday gift-giving, or be super-organized and schedule out your Valentine’s Day, Mother’s Day, friends’ birthdays, and new baby bouquets all in one go.

See All The Bouqs Flower Bouquets Here

Definitely try out The Bouqs Co. and see what it’s like – you’ll be impressed with the quality of fresh flowers, year-round, delivered to your door for no hassle.

xo
Carly

FTC Disclosure: I was provided an Original-sized Bouq for review purposes. I have received no other compensation for this post. The above opinions are my own. This post contains affiliate links, which means I receive a small commission if you click on a link and purchase something. To read my full Disclosure Policy, click here.

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Book Review: The Sewists: DIY Projects from 20 Top Designer-Makers

Jul 30, 2014 | DIY, Media

I was recently sent a copy of the new book The Sewists: DIY Projects from 20 Top Designer-Makers by Josephine Perry to review for my blog. It’s a super-cute, handmade take on the DIY movement, chock-full of neat techniques and profiles of 20 makers.

The projects range from a handmade pincushion to a gathered waist skirt to an adorable stuffed monster plushie to a piece of embroidered jewelry.

Many of the projects use only a small amount of fabric, upcycled materials, or ecologically-sourced items. Textile arts (including textile printing, patchwork, applique, embroidery, screen printing, cross stitch, and hand-sewing) feature heavily in this book, so most of the projects are time- and labor-intensive.The book truly focuses on the labor of love that is crafting, and features in-depth profiles of many designers and makers in the homemade movement. It’s fascinating to read everyone’s story, and one gains a greater respect for all of these artisans and their work. There is a quaint charm to the projects, which harken back to your grandmother’s time, updated for today.The book also includes a CD-ROM with patterns and templates for all the projects, which is extremely helpful since no tracing from awkward book pages is required and you can just dive in and start making!

My only minor quibble with the book is that on the project step-by-step pages there is dearth of visual interest. One would think with these artisan studios full of inspirational items, it would not have been that much more difficult to include more images of their work on the tutorial pages, or at least some illustrations of stitchery, DIY supplies, or other layout extras that could have livened up these areas. However this is only a minor note; the rich introductions to each artist serve as an excellent backdrop to their painstaking projects.

Overall:

If you’re into trying out a range of different projects and techniques and enjoy handmade crafts, textile arts, and homespun charm, this book is definitely for you! The Sewists will be released on September 16, 2014, available on Amazon.com and major booksellers.

Preorder The Sewists: DIY Projects from 20 Top Designer-Makers Here

xo
Carly

FTC Disclosure: I was sent a copy of the above book from Laurence King Publishing for review purposes. I have not been compensated for this post. The above opinions are my own. To read my full Disclosure Policy, click here.

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DIY Ombre Summer Night Sky Pedicure with Julep

Jul 27, 2014 | DIY

Hello friends! Here’s an ombre nail art idea for you today to try out the next time you’re painting your nails.

I was wanting to update my pedi with something reminiscent of warm, starry night skies – which are so much more gorgeous in Summer. While everyone else is doing pastels or neons this season, I went dark and spangled, just like late July evenings with the sky dotted with fireflies and stars.After prepping my feet according to this DIY Pedicure Guide (and using my favorite Spongeables Ped-Scrub Foot Buffer to scrub away any rough patches), I painted a clear base coat, and then:

Painted one coat of a dark cobalt blue that had a small amount of micro glitter in it, and let dry. (The polish I used I bought like 10+ years ago, so if you’re looking for something similar now, this one is a close match.)
Then I painted half of my nails close to the cuticle with the blue
While the polish was still wet, I painted the ends with Estelle (black multi-glitter), mixing the polish where it met the blue. I let dry.
Finally I applied another coat of Estelle at the tips to darken into black. One topcoat to smooth the surface and it was all done!

I love the dark and mysterious look to this pedi, and how it sparkles in the sunlight (and against my favorite silver sandals).

What other colors do you think it would be fun to mix into an ombre mani? (I tried sorbet blue and lavender in this DIY Ombre Sherbet Nail Art last year!)

Happy Summer DIY pedis!

xo
Carly

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Probiotics: Good for Your Gut, Great for Your Skin: Meet TULA

Jun 7, 2014 | Beauty, Fashion

You’ve all heard of probiotics, right? Those excellent-for-you bacteria that keep your gut (and the rest of you!) healthy and functioning? Well, taking probiotics internally for optimum health has been a part of many cultures for centuries (with culinary traditions of kefir, natto, miso, sauerkraut, and kimchee, for example)…but how about taking probiotics externally? Would the same benefits we experience when consuming probiotics also come into play when applied to our skin? (more…)

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Cool Find: YOUNIQUE Moodstruck 3D Fiber Lashes For Extra Oomph! for Your Eyelashes

May 31, 2014 | DIY

I received an inquiry from a company called YOUNIQUE earlier this month, who sent me a set of their Moonstruck 3D Fiber Lashes to try out. I have to admit: I was a bit skeptical at first, since I couldn’t exactly see how fiber lashes that were sprinkled on top of one’s already existing mascara could really make much difference. I mean, was this extra step in the beauty routine really necessary? But once I tried them out I became a believer – and you will too once you see these AMAZING before & after photos. (more…)