Deliciously Creepy

These amazing creations are by Scott Hove. He is a San Francisco born artist who works in Los Angeles. This style of his work is titled "Cakeland" and he uses cake decorating techniques to create his incredibly detailed works of art. For more information, check out his website, http://mshove.com/

If anyone is looking for a cake idea for my birthday...

Mod Podge DIY Project

I saw this picture of a table on Pinterest and decided to try to re create it on an old book shelf I have.

 

So, like the newbie that I am at documenting these kinds of things, I forgot to take a picture of the shelf before I started. It is a plain, white particle board bookshelf. 

Things you will need:

1. Mod Podge. I got the original gloss finish one in the medium sized container. You will defiantly use more then the small size.

2. Book of your choice. I chose Harry Potter and The Prisoner of Azkaban because it is my all time favorite book.

3. Acrylic paint brush or sponge brush. I got both and liked the acrylic paint brush more.

4. Small bowl for the Mod Podge.

5. Shelf or furniture of your choice.

Step 1: Take the book of your choice and remove all the pages from the spine and covers of the book. Depending on the look you want, you can keep the pages whole or you can rip them into pieces. I decided that because of the width of the shelf and my general love of mess, I ripped the pages into miss matched chunks (4 chunks per page). I made sure that the titles of the chapters were left fully readable. 

Step 2: Clean your piece of furniture with soapy water and then wiped it down again with clean water so that the shelf was completely clean. You want to start with a clean surface. Let it air dry so it is completely dry.

Step 3: Because I was worried about any of the pages slipping if I did this upright, I decided to stand the shelf on it's side and work on one side at a time. I started at one corner and used the straight edges for the edges of the shelf and started to collage them together. I would put down a thin layer of Mod Podge on a small area (it dried super fast so pour out small quantities into the bowls and apply it in small sections), placed the piece of paper on top, and immediately put another thin layer of Mod Podge on top. I read alot about different ways to do this method worked really well. Make sure you apply thin layers and smooth out the pages so that you have as few air bubbles as possible.

Step 4: Continue collageing (did I just make up a word??) the shelf until you have completed the desired section. Leave it to dry for a while. A lot of instructions I read said you only have to wait 15, 20 minutes, but I left it a few hours to make sure it was completely dry.

Step 5: Once completely dry, apply another thin layer of Mod Podge and let dry for a few hours. Apply as many layers as you want until you get the desired finish.  I did 2 layers after the initial application.

Step 6: After you are completely done that side, flip it over and repeat. Do the same for all the surfaces you want to cover. The way I am doing this, I work on it an hour or so a day and let it completely dry. For one side of the shelf, it took me about an hour and a half of work. That does not include the drying. 

I will update with better quality pictures as I go!

far, far from land (W Magazine 2013, Tim Walker)

As some of you may know, I am a trained Couturier Fashion Designer. Although my designing has taken a back seat to, well, a solid paying job, I am still passionate about fashion and design when i have time and for my enjoyment.
I had the opportunity to do quite a bit of research while attending fashion school. I collected thousands of magazines and saved countless images of unique and inspiring garments and editorials.
During this time, I discovered the amazing work of photographer Tim Walker. In W Magazine (2013) he published an editorial called "far, far from land". It is my all time favorite.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Awaiting Winter's End

 

"Awaiting Winter's End" is an educational children's book that I illustrated and my mum, the incredible Cindy Missen Ross, wrote it! I am beyond proud of this little book and how well it is doing! 

My mum is such a talented teacher and is so passionate about educating kids. She poured her heart and soul into this beautiful book and I was so honored to be asked to illustrate it. 

This book is about Canadian wildlife and how they survive the winter. Some animals hibernate, some migrate and some stay put in the snow. The book is a guessing game, with rhymes that give clues to the reader as to what animal is beings described. I illustrated the animals so that they were not completely obvious and kept the concept abstract. 

You can get a copy of "Awaiting Winters' End":

e-mail cindymissenross@gmail.com

Facebook message us at https://www.facebook.com/awaitingwintersend

Amazon.com  http://www.amazon.com/Awaiting-Winters-Cindy-Missen-Ross/dp/1631770071/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1427178037&sr=8-1&keywords=awaiting+winters+end

Amazon.ca http://www.amazon.ca/Awaiting-Winters-End-Cindy-Ross/dp/1631770071/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1427178067&sr=1-1&keywords=awaiting+winter%27s+end

Barnes & Noble http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/awaiting-winters-end-cindy-missen-ross/1121030199?ean=9781631770074

Mascot Books http://mascotbooks.com/mascot-marketplace/buy-books/picture-books/awaiting-winters-end/

Body & Life Positivity

I think a lot about how to be happier and live a better life. I have struggled alot with body confidence and only in the past few years have I really started to love myself and who I have become. I thought that I would write a list of all the things that I think are stepping stones to loving yourself. I am not here to preach or to tell you what to do. I just want to help others find happiness in their lives and become comfortable in their skin. 

Start thinking about yourself in a positive light. First step to accepting yourself is to stop focusing on your flaws and the things you do not like, and start celebrating all the things you do like. It is not a crime to love who you are and how you look. And you do not need to look like a Victoria’s Secret model and have a PhD to love yourself inside and out. 

Surround yourself with people who love and support you. Get rid of the people who make you feel like crap and find a good group of true friends who make you feel powerful and attractive. A person is not a friend if they make you feel ugly or worthless. It is a tough step, getting rid of the cancerous people in your life (and this includes family), but I assure you, it is the best thing you will ever do for yourself. I made this decision a few years ago and I have never been happier. Whoever you decide to surround yourself with, make your decision and sick to your guns. Do not be guilted into letting poisonous people back in to your life.

Don’t rely on compliments and comments from others to measure your self worth. Although it is important to share your life with people who treat you well and make you feel good about yourself, do not place you entire self worth on compliments from them or anyone else. It doesn’t matter how many likes your selfie or OOTD got on Instagram and Facebook, its what you think of yourself that truly matters. Do you like how you look? Do you feel beautiful/ handsome? That is all that matters!

Develop confidence in yourself. I know this is a hard step and is a lot easier said than done. The more you focus on what makes you feel good and happy, the easier it will be. One of the most important aspects of confidence is learning who you are and then being proud of it. Confidence comes with practice and reassuring yourself that you are enough. Ignore those who make you feel like crap and try to beak you down.

Be happy alone. Take yourself out to dinner or a movie! It isn’t sad or depressing to do something by yourself. If you constantly rely on others to always be with you and make you happy, then you will never know yourself and be completely comfortable in your own skin. This is something that I wasn’t sure about, until I did it. I took myself to the Sex and the City movie and out to lunch with a good book and it was such a lovely afternoon! It feels a little weird the first time, but no I look forward for my lunches for one.

Focus on your strengths. We tend to only think about the things that we dislike about ourselves. I hate my arms, my skin, my hair, my job, my teeth… you get the idea Why not take that energy and think about what you like about yourlife, body and personality? I love my eyes and my sense of humor. I like that my laugh makes others laugh. I know as much as humanly possible about Harry Potter (No joke. Bring it on muggle) and an obsessed with true crime. I like these things about me.  It is so easy to stop using all that time and energy tearing ourselves apart and start to build ourselves up instead.

Be proud of your quirks and what makes you different. If we were all the same, the world would be a very boring place. The beauty of the internet and social media is that you can find people who share your quirks and interests so easily. There is no need to be ashamed of the things that you are passionate about! Embrace the things that make you YOU and enjoy yourself!

Stop making excuses and start taking control of your life. This is a tough pill to swallow. It is so easy to make excuses about why you are not doing something. Take control and make the jump. Don’t like your job? Apply to something you love or take the courses that will make you eligible to do so. Not happy in your relationship? GET OUT. There is no need to stay with someone who makes you feel bad about yourself. Take the steering wheel and start on the journey that you want.

Find something that inspires you. Have you always wanted to paint? Learn belly dancing? Take a writing class? DO IT! If you already have something you are passionate about, embrace it and make it a part of your life! Make time to read or sketch. Whatever it is, make time to enjoy your passion. 

Wear what you feel good in. The whole “I am a pear shape and can NEVER wear a peplum top” and “I have a winter complexion so only cool colours look good on me” is so 2005. Do you like it? Do you feel good wearing it? Are you comfortable? WEAR IT! Rock that crop top or black lipstick! It is your body and you should wear whatever you like! The best thing I have ever read is “Want a bikini body? Put a bikini on it!”.

Trust your gut. You are the best judge of yourself. If you feel like it is a good choice, do it! As long as you are not hurting anyone, you should do what you want. It is your life and you only have one shot at it.

Know that you are your most harsh critic. We are the ones who spend the most time with ourselves and we tend to fixate on what we do not like about how we look. Most of the time, no one notices the things we think are blatantly obvious. Don’t be so hard on yourself. Give yourself a break and be kind to yourself. No one is perfect.

Learn about how the media works. Be aware that everything from magazines to commercials to billboards are designed to make you think that there is something wrong with you and they are there to fix it. Through pretty pictures, enticing slogans and “proven “miracle workers, these products will fix you and you will look like that celebrity in the advertisement. I am not saying don’t do those Cosmo quizzes or not to buy that super popular makeup product, just be aware of what you see and how it effects you. Educating yourself makes you a smarter consumer and less likely to be sucked into that web.

Post positive messages to yourself. If you feel like you need little reminders to help you stay positive and happy through your day, do it! Put up post-its or pictures in your office, bedroom, in your car, on your phone or in your wallet. Find quotes or pictures that inspire you and make you feel happy.  I personally keep a series of pictures of an otter eating a watermelon on my phone. I know that sounds bizarre, but it makes me laugh every single time I look at it. Seriously. Google it.  

Create a happy place. Get yourself a woman or man cave and decorate it how you like. Surround yourself with things that reflect your unique personality and taste. My happy place is my bedroom. It is where I go after a long day or when I need some quiet time. Everything about screams me. I feel so at easy in my cave. Everyone should have that place they can go and feel 110% comfortable.

Exercise. This is one of those things that a lot of us do not like to hear, but it is important to take care of yourself. I will be the first to admit that I would rather carve my eyeballs out with a spoon then work out. I find it incredibly boring and tedious. I am not saying work out at the gym for 2 hours a day everyday and only eat lettuce. Try to find something fun that gets your heart rate up and makes you feel good. Even just putting on some upbeat music and dancing around or going for a walk is a step in the right direction.  

Treat yourself. Get a massage or buy those shoes you have been drooling over for ages. You work hard and deserve to reward yourself for it. I am not saying go out and rack up some crippling dept in one major shopping spree, but treat yourself once and a while. We work hard. We deserve nice things.

Figure out what you want out of life. There is no pressure to make a detailed list of exactly where you want to be in 5 years time, but put some thought into what kind of life you want to live and start to make baby steps in that direction. This doesn’t just mean know what you want in terms of a career. Think about how you want to be treated and what kind of people you want in your life. That is just as important as how much money you want to earn. Your personal happiness and goals are just as important as your career aspirations.

To shave or not to shave? The hairy debate.

I know I am not alone in this. I HATE SHAVING. My personal preference is to let it grow free and wild.  Up until September, I shaved my legs a handful of times a year (mostly in the summer months… also known as July and August ONLY here in Canada), my armpits once a week and nether regions rarely. I have not touched them since then.

I am fortunate enough not to have a whole lot of body hair. You can barley tell I do not shave my legs because of how blonde my hair is.

I realized a few months ago, when the cold weather started to roll in, that there really was no reason to shave my legs. I wear tights when I wear skirts majority of the time and my “uniform” consists of leggings, boots or flats, a tank top and a cardigan or sweater.  I also stopped shaving my armpits because I have incredibly sensitive skin and would have horrible razor burn, regardless what special shaving cream or razor I used.

The longer I let it grow, the more confident I felt. I have worn sleeveless tops with my hairy pits (New Year’s Eve specifically). I wore a skirt with my fury legs.  And here is the shocker. NO ONE CARED. No one said, “maybe you should shave” or “eww look at all that hair”. I danced with my arms above my head as my friends and I rung in the new year and not a soul commented or seemed to notice my fury pits.

Why do people find women’s (and some men’s) body hair so offensive? Why does anyone care what I do with my body? Why are shaven legs, armpits and hoo-ha synonymous with cleanliness and femininity in today’s society? I decided to do a little research into the history of, mainly, women’s shaving to answer some of my questions. Here are the results.

-The first thing I read but did not see a reference to after this one article was that in the early 1900’s Gillette decided to market a women’s razor to make more money. So basically, they told women that their armpit hair was unsightly so they could make more cash.

   -There is proof that women were using scary things such as arsenic and quicklime to remove body hair as far back as 4,000 B.C.

   -The most primitive “razor” was used by Roman women in approximately 500 B.C. They used pumice stones to remove unwanted body hair.

   -Ancient Egyptian women and men both removed all their body hair. The main reason wasn’t necessarily because they liked that clean-shaven look, it prevented the spread of lice, diseases and other nasty things.

   -In terms of modern history of women’s shaving, we can pin point it to the exact day.  In the 1915 May issue of Harper’s Bazaar, an add was run showing a woman in a sleeveless dress with her arms over her head, sporting some sleek armpits.

-To the modern day woman, this seems quite commonplace. But this was incredibly scandalous at this time. Even the word “underarm” was seen as improper.

   -Up until the first quarter of the 1900’s, there was no need for underarm grooming because no one wore sleeveless garments.

   -The ever-present desire of majority of women to be trendy is what helped this “armpit campaign’ succeed. Sleeveless and sheer dresses became popular and readily available. Suddenly, everyone had shaven armpits, sleeveless dresses and the underarm was welcome into society.

   -Sears Catalogue featured razors marketed towards women for the first time in 1922.

   -The leg-shaving phenomenon was much slower to catch on. Hemlines were still quite long apart from the brief flapper phase in the 1920’s where hemlines got quite short. But they soon lengthened again, so it was almost a moot point.

   -When World War II hit, an iconic picture of Betty Grable was published where she had long, smoothly shaved legs.  Hemlines began to rise in the 1940’s and more and more women shaved their legs.

   -I did also learn that some religions require women and men to completely rid their bodies of hair as a sign of purity. Muslim women, in much of the Middle East and North Africa, and predominantly brides-to-be, removed all body hair and continue to do so after marriage.

One question I asked myself throughout this research was “Is there an evolutionary reason for armpit, pubic and leg hair and lack of hair in other regions of the body?”.

A popular theory for under arm hair is that it acts as a protective barrier to prevent chafing, which makes sense. Another reason for armpit hair is to help excrete pheromones.  The hair grows on top of sweat glands and that helps expose the body’s natural smells, good and bad.

There is an obvious reason for public hair. It provides protection from bacteria as well as a cushion against friction.  It also helps release pheromones, just like armpit hair.

The reason for leg hair is to keep you warm and protection.  To warm you up, your body develops goose bumps (or as my mum has said” There is a goose walking over my grave”) and this allows more air to move through the hair. Your body heat warms it up and creates a protective little hair/air blanket. Hair is also on your legs to protect you against the sun. Hence why people from Mediterranean areas generally have darker, fuller hair and Northern Europeans have less, lighter hair.

So it appears from my research into modern hair removal, the main reason as to why women remove their body hair is more in relation to fashion and social pressure than for health reasons.

Society has been brainwashed into thinking that body hair is unattractive and masculine. When you get down to the bare bones of it, a magazine editor in 1915 published a picture, told us that under arm hair was unsightly and we all said “okay”. That’s how it began.

In my honest opinion, to each their own. If you want to shave your whole body, GO FOR IT! If you prefer to grow it out, GO FOR IT! If you want to shave your legs but not your armpits or pubic region (or any combination of the three), GO FOR IT!

They beauty of the 21^st century is that there is so much information out there and such an incredible array of looks and styles. In the year 2015, I hope we become even more accepting of people doing what they want (as long as they are not hurting others) and being who they wish to be. Bottom line is, it’s our bodies. We should be the ones making those decisions for ourselves. 

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

I have been away for a while but one of my goals for this year is to begin to write more. I want to write about things that I find interesting and empowering. 

So stay tuned for lots of random things this year!