Dreaming of warm sunshine...

...in an awesome jumpsuit. 

from here.

Looking forward to my trip to Austin!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

xo,
N

Love what you do.

xo,
N

Addicted...

hair, lips, necklace

high waisted

turban and round frames

...to Pinterest (mostly for the home...planning out my whole apt before I even get one) and now Tumblr too!  Don't have my own account yet, but I'm going crazy posting pictures for work (arcadiaboutique.tumblr.com)

check 'em out, get inspired, spend hours getting nothing else accomplished... hey, why not- it's cold outside.

xo,
N

Twenty Twelve & a Flower Headband...

Happy New Year!!

It was a wonderful New Year's Eve and it's going to be a FABULOUS year.  Any good celebration calls for a celebration hat (or in my case this year, a headband).  So I dug through my bag of goodies to find supplies for this hair accessory.

2012 headband ingredients:

stretch mesh fabric (for a very comfortable band)
faux flowers (2 different sizes/ colors)
flat leather trim for bow (why not?)

add 1 silver dress, champagne to taste,
mix in 4 beautiful, hilarious friends
and top off with a fur coat.

et voila!

...mustaches not included.

May we all love, laugh, and live this year to the fullest.

xo,
N

Instructor Natalie...or should I say Miss Rhoda?

It's official- I have my second teaching gig lined up!  I am psyched to be teaching another class and super duper psyched for it to be at the Main Line Art Center.  They have such beautiful studios and extremely talented artists and instructors- I cannot wait to soak it all in and take some courses myself.

How to...make awesome paper snowflakes

This one's for you, Eliz... :)

I originally wanted to finish this post sooner, but I think my timing is quite perfect.  Snowflakes aren't for Christmas, they're for Winter (or Halloween this year).  I'm hoping we have much more snow ahead of us in the next few months.  Until then, why don't you enjoy this quiet holiday week by relaxing at home in front of the fire with a warm drink and a stack of paper-- ready to decorate your house with AWESOME PAPER SNOWFLAKES?  You're finished with the holiday hubbub- so here's a wintry craft how-to.

What you'll need:

Paper (any size, color, quality- though regular computer paper weight is easiest to fold & cut)
Scissors
String and/ or tape for displaying these beauties

The paper can be any size, but it MUST be a square.  Fold the bottom right corner up to the left side, crease the diagonal edge and cut off the excess...

Turn the fold so it's facing you and the point is away from you.  Then, fold the triangle in half horizontally like so...

So you don't end up with a square snowflake, you will next fold the triangle into thirds (so the paper is in sixths)  Keep the point where it is and fold the sides in toward the center...

And cut the uneven part off the top...

Cut from the point to make a design in the center, the top for the outer edge, and both sides for the main part of the snowflake...

Then unfold!

The fun thing is, you never really know what you'll get.  I didn't plan on making that star pattern throughout this- I love it!  Every snowflake is unique :)

Try using different size squares to have a variety of snowflake sizes.  And/ or some sweet colored/ textured paper- I love metallic paper.  I didn't have any this time, but I did use silver thread to hang them in my kitchen...

Have fun!!  I would love to see pictures of your creations when you're finished!

xo,
N

I love paper snowflakes

not mine. I made a couple with Julia and Miranda this year- but the big snowflake night of 2011 will be some time next week!

This year I want to make a couple 3D snowflakes to throw into the mix.
I saw ones like this at Whole Foods- very cool...

And I love these! ...

and in the end, I hope for the apartment to look something like this...

I'll post pictures of the decorated apartment next week!

xo,
N