On a new adventure

Isn't it funny how you might have a plan in mind for yourself and then things don't go according to that plan? Well that is what happened to me regarding school. I graduated finally from college which took a long time to accomplish (it really did )and I had no interest in going to grad school or anything like that like most people I knew. After graduating I never got a job that really related or used my degree! So what was the point of getting it is what crossed my mind.

Almost two years pass by and I found myself feeling like something was missing. I was bored and wanted more for my life...I mean the job that I was working at at the time was not what I wanted to do for a living and it was very trying in a variety of ways, I had no desire to live anywhere else in the current city I was in so what to do? Mind you I had about a month left of my contract when all of this was happening. I felt good about quitting my job so I could focus on figuring out what I was going to do next and so I did and I don't have any regrets about it to this day! Now I'm jobless and I have a month to figure out what I am doing. No big deal right?

 The thought of going back to school crossed my mind. Yes, I know you are thinking really? I was kinda surprised myself. So I looked into what schools near me offered fashion classes. I found a school which wasn't too far from where I currently was living and it would allow me to be close to family and not far from friends if I wanted to go visit. For those who know me well know that I don't particularly like big change(s) and moving to another city would be a BIG change. However, I prayed about what I should do. At first I went with the decision to stay where I was for a few months longer and then attend school but it didn't feel like I got it quite right so I figured that meant to move and attend school in the fall. So I packed up and drove the moving truck myself with my mom. Let me tell you I was very proud of myself for driving that truck and now I can say that I have had that experience :)

Anyway, I started school and was nervous for mainly 1 reason... I don't know about you but I have always liked watching Project Runway and I always thought it was so cool what they do on the show but I never thought I could do that myself. So there I was about to start something that I was not sure that I could do! It turns out that I survived my first semester with flying colors! Don't be deceived I worked hard and got a 4.0 which made all the effort worth it! Fashion school has been fun because I it allows me to be creative and it is challenging as well! There is a lot of work that goes into being a designer and I no longer look at clothing the same way!

 Here is some of what I have done in fashion school thus far and there will be updates on this continuing adventure! These pictures are of the fashion figure which is called a "croqui". I drew these for my final project in my illustration class.

For an assignment we had to make an accessory. I made 2 necklaces and while I was presenting them to the class I had two people asking to buy them! This is the only one that I chose to sell.

                                               Lastly this is a picture I drew with colored pencil.

Customer spot light!

This is not Katelyn in the photo but this is her headband I custom made for her and this is what she has to say about Wildflower Accessories,"I have loved the headband you made me. Every time I wear it someone compliments me on it. It is unique and just what I was looking for to wear with lots of different outfits. Thanks!"

During spring of last year ('12) I was able to do another photo shoot and I am sad that it has been SO long since I've done another one! I was able to invite some new friends to participate on this last shoot and it was lots of fun! Who knew that the park that I used to live next to would be a great place to take pictures?! Here are some of my favorite pictures from our photo shoot.

One reason this photo shoot was fun is because of I was able to get pictures of two friends that own a Hidden Hollow Acessory

Weddings

I was asked by my friend,Elise, to make a fascinator for her wedding. Having no experience making one before I decided to try my hand at it. I've always thought that I could get a lot of clientele by doing weddings so maybe this is the beginning of a new direction for Hidden Hollow. How cool would that be to make brides feel extra beautiful?! There's a special feeling that comes from creating something for someone. Sometimes they have a vision of what they want and I get to be the person that brings that vision to life for them in a tangible, real way. I love seeing the reactions of clients and how happy they are with the final product I've created. It definitely brings me joy and makes me want to continue to create more beautiful things. Now lets get back on track! Elise gave me a general idea of what she wanted and it was left up to me to create something without much input which was a little intimidating I'm not going to lie. A wedding hairpiece is a BIG deal. I mean it's someone's WEDDING for goodness sake! Much to my relief Elise loved what I made and said that it was perfect. Yes, a success! I can't wait to see pictures of her wearing it on her wedding day but for now here is a sneak peek! I'll definitely post some professional pictures of her when I can get my hands on them. Congrats Elise on soon being a bride and a wife! Thanks for asking me to design a fascinator for you :)

Better late than never :)

So trying to have your own business can be a lot of work. A lot of work in the sense of keeping yourself motivated, trying to create new things, finding ways to expand your clientele and getting your name out there for starters...but regardless of the difficulties I want to keep trying even if it takes me a while to accomplish and attain my goal! This week I am going to Renaissance Hair School to see if I can sell some of my accessories. If I want to have success I've got to be creative in how and where I sell stuff, right? :) I'll let you know how it goes!

These pictures are from Girls Night a few months ago which is a perfect example of having to work! I had to put it on twice because the first time I planned it on the WRONG day. Who's going to show up when there's a BYU football game going on? Umm...NO one! haha...I'm glad that people came and enjoyed themselves. Thanks goes out to my sister Danielle for being the photographer and for everyone who came!

Easy way to get curl without using any heat!

Do you have a hard time keeping curl in your hair? I know that I do because my hair is really long and it bums me out that when I take the time to curl my hair it goes flat soon afterward! So do you know what I usually do with my hair because of this fact? I pretty much do nothing with it! Well i have good news for those who want to do things to their hair like curling it but thought it wasn't possible. The other day I found a tutorial about how to get vintage curls without any heat and decided to try it out for myself.

In this tutorial she has you wrap your hair around an elastic headband and this is what it looks like once you do. You can even wear this look out during the day and then have your hair curly for an evening look.

A view of what the back looks like.

After I slept on it I took the headband off and this was the result! My hair had lots of volume and I was totally surprised by how it turned out!

If you are interested in watching the video I found here is the link to view it!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aYxS1ohz4Ao

Somebody else's trash turned into MY treasure

So this past week I have been making a lot of necklaces and I realized that I don't have a great way for them to be hung nor displayed. I had an idea of turning a cork board into a pretty way to display/frame my necklaces:) I was able to find a cork board at D.I. for a dollar which was fantastic because I needed this project to be as inexpensive as possible! The rest of the materials I already had.
1. I painted the wooden frame of the cork board ( Two coats at least).

2. Place the fabric you want to cover the cork on top of the board. I used a pen and traced around the edges of the board so I knew how big of a piece of fabric I needed to cut.

3. Cut out the piece of fabric. Iron it if it is wrinkly or you will have a wrinkly center for your board!

4. I used Tacky glue and a paint brush to glue down all the edges (make sure to put glue around the whole cork board). I glued one length of the cork board at a time and then placed the fabric along that side and continued on to the next side until the fabric was all glued down.

5. To hide unfinished edges of my fabric I used ribbon to put on top and as an edging to add a little something.

6. For the finishing touch I decided to glue stringed pearls in the wooden groove of my cork board.

7. I used some push pins I already had to hold up my necklaces. At some point I might use screw in hooks just to make it look even nicer.

Today I received these pictures of Braelyn who absolutely LOVES the headbands her mom has purchased from me with this message, "She has stolen my absolute favorite!" Haha...Always make me feel good that people enjoy what I've created:)