Sunday, July 31, 2011

Weekly Wrap Up

This week has been filled with design! I've been working on six different blog designs this week, finishing up some wedding invitation designs for my sister-in-law, and prepping for final installations. I'm having so much fun working on blog designs and have found I'm really passionate about helping bloggers improve their space and become inspired to blog. :)

On top of designing, I finished ordering supplies for the Indie Craft Parade. August is shaping up to be full of prepping and making for the show in September. I'm SOO excited! -- On a complete side-note, I got a new do! I'm kinda infamous for changing my hair style//coloring...A LOT. I always keep my curls, but the style and color change like the weather in Georgia. ;) I'll be sure to post pictures soon! In the meantime, here is the snapshot of the week!

Via: Of course I didn't take this, but my oh my aren't they darling?! And their bathing suits? Here's to living up the remainder of summer. 


Five Favorite Posts this Week:
* Society 6 by Honestly WTF
* Darn Cute Jewelry DIY by My Best Friend Jules
* Before & After Trolley Depot Renovation by Design*Sponge
* New Work: Peachy Pink by Oh my Deer
* Easy Peasy Homemade Donuts by Pretty Little Mustache

Three Things About Yours Truly:
* My current favorite bagels are Panera's Sesame bagels.
* Never really watched the "Harry Potter" series until last week. I watched every one and then had my husband take me to the theatre to see the final. Conclusion: Loved it.
* My dream is to build a house. Jon and I have been thinking up ideas this past week and I'm getting a little too excited.

Videoclip of the Week: Shot entirely on a cell phone and winner of the Nokia Shorts competition. Splitscreen: A Love Story. -- This is so precious, you'll die.


Splitscreen: A Love Story from JW Griffiths on Vimeo.

I hope your weekend was wonderful and full of rest and fun...and all your favorite things. :)

Friday, July 29, 2011

Beauty Column - Lollipop Chevron

I try to paint my nails once a week. This habit lets me take a little time to cozy up to a favorite show and do something simple to take a break from everything. :) I've been playing around with some fun color combinations lately and wanted to share my latest (and easy!) DIY:


Step One: Paint your nails with two coats of Essie Lollipop or another favorite red of your choice. I love this color because it's not too dark and has a touch of candy coloring. Let Dry.

Step Two: Once your first coat is dry, take your glitzy gold polish, making sure there isn't too much polish on the brush, and carefully hand-paint chevrons in the middle of your nails. Once dry, you might want to put another coat on the chevrons to make them really stand out.

That's all! Two easy steps. Try mixing and matching your favorite colors and metallics to make it just how you like. :)

* Essie - Lollipop purchased at Target $7.50 and Orly - Glitz purchased at ULTA Beauty Supply $3.50


Time to take some time for yourself and get painting! -- Oh! and if you want another cute nail DIY, try these adorable triangles by The Dainty Squid. 


PS - The winner of the Doe, A Deer shop credit giveaway is #23 - Kerstin!! Congratulations! Please email me at MaieDae@gmail.com and I'll connect you with Alejandra so you can pick out your goodie from her shop. :)

Thursday, July 28, 2011

ListoGraphy: Things that Make Me Happy


Things that Make Me Happy:
* Visiting a State I've never been to before
* Eating hot french fries
* Getting a hair cut
* Visiting Disney
* Craft Shows
* Dinnertime with my husband
* Getting packages in the mail
* Shipping out orders from my shop
* Having a clean & organized home
* Completing projects
* The sound of someone mowing their lawn
* Working on our budget
* Blogging
* Dreaming up what MaieDae will become
* Editing photographs
* Graphic Design
* Pinterest
* Wondering around Target
* Finding new (to me) music
* Dessert
* Date Day
* Making lists and plans in my Moleskine
* Apple
* Urban Decay
* Sleeping in
* Photoshop
* Making my husband laugh
* Sister dates
* MaieDae meetings with Jenny
* Planning for the future
* Our kitty, Kaito
* Going to the theatre
* Trying something new
* Coming up with ideas
* Magazines
* Friday evenings
* Homemade cookies
* Family Day
* Christmas
* Gifts, giving and receiving
* Checking things off my To-Do list
* Growing up
* My husband
* Blue Thunderbirds
* Useful Apps
* Dying my hair
* Staycations
* Nesting my home
* My faith
* Peach Smoothies
* Watching a TV series with my husband
* New technology
* ...did I mention my husband?

What makes you happy?

Wednesday, July 27, 2011

Threads: 7.27.11

"Threads is a frequent feature all about affordability, comfort, and versatility while still capturing your sense of personal style. For more details behind Threads, click here!"

I'm loving the stripes and floral combination right now...especially loving the boxy shirt silhouette's! PLUS -- I was super excited to wear my special necklace find from Chicago's Renegade Handmade shop and my new Warby Parker frames!









Top - Bottom (pricing is approximate)
* Preston Frames: Warby Parker - $95.00
* Chevron Necklace: Renegade - $50.00
* Striped Box Top: Target - $12.00
* Floral Skirt: Target - $19.50
* Black Chevron Tights: Target - $7.50
* Feather Ring: UO - $4.50
* Fox Clutch: UO - $24.50
* Tart Deco Nail Color: Essie - $7.50 (see my nail DIY here)
* Black Flats: Target - $20.00

>>-------> Approximate Outfit Total (including accessories & frames) = $240.50


Winners: Sponsor Loot & Sponsor Spot

It's time to announce the winners of the Sponsor Spot Giveaway and the July Sponsor Loot Giveaway! Check below to see if you won!

Congratulations Lolo & Grace Louise! You've won a medium sponsor spot on MaieDae during the month of August! Please email me at MaieDae@gmail.com with your 160x100 sized button!

And the winner of this amazing collection of goodies from my sponsors is...


#3 - Angie of Lariats & Lavender! Congratulations! Please email me with your shipping information. :)

A huge thank you to my sponsors for donating such wonderful items to the giveaway and to everyone who entered both giveaways! 

Tuesday, July 26, 2011

Solo Feature: Doe, A Deer

Alejandra of Doe, A Deer, is my solo feature for the month of July! -- Get to know her by reading her 10-question interview.  :) Also! Don't forget to enter for your chance to win some shop credit below from this talented lady!


1. Tell us a little bit about yourself! My name is Alejandra and I'm actually pretty bad at talking about myself, as I tend to ramble or make up words or just generally make a fool of myself. I suppose I would just call myself quirky, rather eccentric, and full of contradictions. I find my happiest times are spent in the kitchen and behind the sewing machine; they provide the biggest challenges and most rewarding outcomes for me. I am definitely a homebody, although I do enjoy bookstores, quilt shops, and crowded Cuban diners immensely. I also love punctuation and am a stickler for good grammar.

2. What made you decide to start blogging? I have always been a writer and even had a LiveJournal back in the "old days" (high school is considered the "old days", although it was really only a few years ago.) Blogging, I suppose, helps me be more committed to improving my communication skills while providing a healthy outlet for me to talk about things I like, things I don't, and things my boyfriend couldn't care less about (but that other people are happy to give feedback on.) It also helps me to build on my social "filter", since I don't currently have one. :) 


3. What are your favorite things to blog about? Favorite post? I have a couple features going on right now that obviously I love, or else I wouldn't be blogging about them! First is Weekly Wedding Porn which are compilations of all the wedding pictures I find inspiring, categorized for easier viewing. Dream Home is like that as well, but with house stuff and probably with a lot more pictures and a lot less talking.

4. What is your favorite item you sell in your shop? Everything, really (not to sound totally cocky.) I hardly ever use the assembly line method of production unless I'm making pouches. I think my items have a lot of personality because I really take the time to sit down and think about how I can make my items more unique and practical. My most recent obsession has been making laptop bags that are super reinforced with heavy interfacing. It makes them really sturdy like a briefcase, so you have something really practical while still having that amazingly girly and fun fabric combination to show off! I love the things I make and sit down to work like I am about to make something for my best friend. I hope the amount of love that goes into everything I make is apparent in my shop.

5. What is your favorite pastime?  Well--it's probably a tie between cooking and eating; the furthest thing from exercise. Just the way I like it. I also like to sew and although it's my "job", I definitely still treat it like a hobby.

6. What is on your current wish-list? Well, if I let you know everything that was on my wish-list, we'd be here all year (and maybe even longer.) You can see everything I love by visiting my blog or pinterest.


7. Favorite blog reads? Of course, I love to read MaieDae. ;) Also, Mooreaseal, M Loves M, i go by Katie, Keiko Lynn, and really enjoy the Dainty Squid and Saturated Canary. These all provide me with a lot of great reading and inspiration for photography, food, and style.

8. If you had three wishes what would they be? Oh, this is an easy one.
1) I would wish first for all my headaches & chronic pain to go away forever and ever;
2) Then I'd wish to be in a completely harmonious relationship with my current boyfriend forever and ever, and always be happy and perfectly supportive and wonderful to him always;
3) And then I'd wish for world peace and for everyone to have plenty of food to eat, and also unlimited butter cake & fudge frosting cupcakes for myself. Again, for forever and ever.
I know that last one was a run-on wish, but... I felt selfish not including world peace and all of that. I mean, it should be a given, right?

9. Favorite summertime song? My favorite songs right now are India Arie's "Because I Am a Queen" and Erykah Badu's "Bag Lady". Just because they both make me think of summer bike rides, gauzy head wraps, and lots of incense. I will also say I've been in the closet about my complete obsession with 80's new wave. This is a new obsession--starting earlier this summer--so it totally counts.

10. What's your favorite meal? Although I will eat anything (except okra and warm fruit.. bleughhhh) with enthusiasm, I'd have to say my favorite cuisine is Thai. It'd be unfair to restrict me any further.. although I am particularly fond of summer rolls with huge, perfectly cooked shrimp on either end, shrimp satay with a creamy (not gritty!) peanut sauce, and yellow curry. The thee greats of Thai food, in my (not so humble) food snob opinion.

Find Alejandra Here

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Giveaway Time! -- Alejandra is offering one reader $15.00 shop credit to Doe, A Deer! Pick between her colorful cases, pouches, accessories, & animal goodies! 

Main Entry:


1. Leave a comment on this post sharing your favorite item from Alejandra's shop!

Bonus Entries (please leave one comment per entry):
1. Become a follower of Doe, a Deer via GFC
2. Become a follower of MaieDae via GFC (on the right) or Bloglovin
3. Tweet about it! Just copy & paste this: Win shop credit to Doe, A Deer on @MaieDae! http://maiedae.blogspot.com/2011/07/solo-feature-doe-deer.html

One winner will be selected at random and announced Friday!! Thank you Alejandra for a wonderful interview! :) UPDATE: Giveaway is currently closed, check to see if you won here

PS - Interested in having a solo feature on MaieDae? See my sponsor page for more information! I currently have solo feature openings for October, November, & December of this year. 

Fancy Shmancy: Favorite "New Blogs" Edition

For this week's Fancy Shmancy, I'm celebrating some of my favorite newer-ish blogs (and by new, I mean created sometime in 2010, give or take a little). There are so many talented bloggers out there and these are just a few of the ones I get super excited to read!


Pretty Little Mustache - I met this beautiful lady at the Indie Craft Experience a couple months ago and was able to track down her blog. It's filled to the brim with her beautiful family, fashion, and crafty ideas. :) 


Hue & Hum - Seriously, the cutest married couple ever. "Hue" is an amazing artist and her husband, "Hum" is a musician. I love her fun and humorous posts as well as oogling over her beautiful work. 


One Sheepish Girl - Meredith is so so sweet and not to mention an incredible knitter! She's currently doing a serious called, "Blogging for Confidence" that is super inspiring and fun to watch. :)


The Veda House - Cassie has impeccable taste and an amazing eye for photography and picking out the perfect pieces for her online shop, Market 203


Black Crystals - Not only is Ashley adorable, but she makes beautiful, dreamy pieces for her online shop.  Her blog is full of eclectic finds and her love for creating. :)


Little Tree Vintage - I feel like Maria and I might be best friends if we had a chance to meet in person. She is so fun and I love her collections of favorite things and posts about her adventures.


Oh*Renee Designs - I love Renee's outfit posts and how she's not afraid to up and color-ify her hair. :)


Oh So Lovely - This blog is dripping with retro and vintage inspiration. These girls are stunning and I love reading about their pursuit of running their pop-up shop, Olive! 

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That's all for now!! -- I plan to randomly throw in some more favorite blogs as a Fancy Shmancy feature in the future. :) What's your current favorite blog read??

Monday, July 25, 2011

Inspiration for Your Nest: Dream Porch

I am in love with this porch make-over! I stumbled across this on Prudent Baby and I love how Jamie DIYed her entire porch and made it a beautiful, whimsical escape:


So, not only is this beautiful through and through, but Jamie also explains where she purchased her items here and how to do fabric block printing (like her chevron bench) here! I've seen a couple more DIYs based on her porch throughout the blog, so you should definitely take a peek!

Working on any fun nesting projects lately??


Warby Parker

I love Warby Parker. Not just because they make adorable frames and donate frames to those in need. but ALSO because they are super affordable and, in my opinion, have exceptional customer service. :) I bought my first pair last year in the Webb, Crystal Matte and I have loved how quirky and fun they are. I decided to go ahead and purchase another pair in a darker color so I could mix and match depending on outing or outfit:

Top: Preston - Tortoise /// Above: Webb - Crystal Matte
Oh! And did you hear the news?? In August they will be selling their prescription sunglasses! I cannot wait! -- I think I already know which pair I'm going to snag...