What I Wore Wednesday: All Cozied Up

Hey Guys, remember me? I'm that quirky chick who wears scarves in the summer and puts cream cheese on my egg sandwiches (no judging till you've tried it)

This past weekend the bubs and I finally put the down payment on our wedding venue (ladies and gentlemen we have a date!) so I wanted to look comfy yet put together for our wedding errands.

Hat: Charlotte Russe (Too old for the clothes, buuuut still pushing their accessories)

Bow: brickyard buffalo

Poncho: Bought it on the streets in some fall festival (I'm classy like that)

Purse: Kate Spade (I'm that girl who hoards birthday money and splurges with it)

Jeans: Old Navy

Boots: Carlos Santana (Dooooo dooo dee dooo doo do da doooo) (thats my best Carlos Santana Guitar riff impression) (it's a work in progress)

and here is me standing in a room re-created for the 1940s (yep this is an area in our wedding venue! Can ya guess where we're getting married?) (the photos on the wall should help ya!)

I don't know whats happening with my face in this photo....

He Asked Me, So I Asked Them (They Said Yes!)

A few of you have asked how I asked my bridesmaids to be a part of mine and Bub's wedding day. I had to wait to show you guys since I wanted to try to ask all my girls in person. It was hard meeting up with everyone so I had to ask the girls over the course of a month.

I created a yarn pom pom flower for the top of the package (to add a lil umph) inside the box was a felt fortune cookie with a fortune inside of it and 2 4x6 prints. One print was the color palette (which I'm sure will change a bagillion and one times before 2015 rolls around) and the other being a list of "vows" for the girls to "vow to me" (don't worry I didn't go all bridezilla, it's all fun things like "help me hold up my dress for what I gotta...ya know... or to reassure me that my bustle does not make my butt look big even though it totally does) (I'm thinking of adding them to the shop)

The fortune inside the cookie read "will you be my bridesmaid?" I added a little pull tab for one of 2 reasons. 1: it's cute. and 2: if they really tried to open the cookie it would be hard to get it back into its cute cookie shape.

If you want a tutorial for the fortune cookie you can use this tutorial here (SIDE NOTE: If you are stumbling on my blog, like, a year from now and the link for the fortune cookie no longer works please dont stalk me via email and ask  me to "find the broken link". If someone removes their blog post for the tutorial I can't magically POOF find it. Just google "felt fortune cookie how to". You're welcome, from "future" Leonora)

In case you were wondering, they all said yes ;)

How did you ask your bridesmaids?

How To Find Images on the Web That do NOT Link Back to their Source

How many times have you scoured pinterest while at the dentist office, during commercial breaks or in bed (I'll just go to bed when I get to the bottom of this page...ok the bottom of this page...no the bottom of this page.. OH I refreshed YAY MORE PINS!) and you come across thee most perfect pin out there.

You know the pin. You come across a sweater. Its an aztec sweater, oh shes a beaut. You have been searching for thee most perfect cream and black aztec sweater that has gold beading all throughout. The length is perfect too, hits ya right at the waist. You swear your phone just started to glow a little brighter and you wipe away a tear of joy from your eye as your finger taps the image so you can be directed to the check out page so you can hurry up, click "add to cart" and start day dreaming what skinny jean and scarf combo will look great with that sweater.

Except, there is an error message. You let out a NOOOOOOOO, curse the azter sweater gods, shut down your phone and go to bed praying that this was all just a bad dream.

But its not a dream, this is real life, and that aztec sweater that you imagined in your head and have finally seen in the flesh is gone.

Enter me, wearing a fabulous pink cape with a gold script "L" on the back (can you visualize it? I look cute, right?) I am here to save the day! Do not fret guys, I got you.

Here is how you can find out where an image's source is so you can do the following:
• purchase items you see on pinterest that have no link backs
• properly credit artist's whose artwork goes viral with no credit linked back to them
• feature items on your blog and giving them the proper credit that they are due
• figure out where the original DIY post is so you can make whatever it is that caught your eye
• be able to send your friend that awesome link of the picture of that cat wearing a lobster costume

There are one of 2 ways to do this.
Number One:
• Right click and save the image in question to your desk top.
• Go to google.com/images, it's this really awesome place that lets you find websites by hitting keywords. It's pretty trendy right now you've probably heard of it or used it before.
• Take that picture that you saved to your desk top and click and drag it to the "search" box. Once you see the search box change shape let go.

BAM all the websites out there containing that image show up. This trick works 90% of the time, sometimes people will feature that same image on their site with NO link back. Most of the time I usually find the shop that had the product I was looking for so I can purchase it.

Number Two:
Erika showed me this handy trick the other day! There is this website called tineye.com it's the same concept as the google image option but instead of clicking and dragging your photo to the search bar just upload the image into the "browse" button located on that site.

tah-dah.

So Much Explaining

pen and paint

So, life has been crazy hectic lately. Some of you probably noticed I have fallen slightly off the business/blog radar.

Life started to get a bit out of control the second Bub proposed. We were in the "OMG WE'RE, LIKE, FINALLY ENGAGED!" honeymoon la-la-land phase.

Two weeks later we hoped on a pane for Texas for a week to see his brother marry the love of his life.

We got home, I had to get my front tooth (yes *front* tooth) filed down so get fitted for a temporary bridge. I recovered from that. ("filed down" is putting it nicely. It was more like cutting my tooth in half and choking on chunks of tooth that were splintering off and getting stuck down my throat. It was disgusting and terrible)

1 week later it was my turn to be in my besties wedding. I spent the week before running around back and forth to Nordstrom doing a ton of dress fittings since they made it too small (WHO makes a dress TOO SMALL?!) (just stick me in a high school classroom with no teeth and everyone laughing at me and this is the perfect storm for a real life nightmare) BUT with just the right amount of time (and fabric) left to spare they pulled through.

Shortly after that I had to get my front tooth pulled. The recovery took longer than expected and I was in pain for 10 days. My stitches were tight and uncomfortable and it was difficult to eat.

While recovering we got the really sad news that Bub's grandfather was not doing so well. In the past when we got this kind of news Pop always bounced back to a full recovery. This time it was different. We spent the week soaking up as much time with him as we can before he passed away.

Family flew into town to see Pop, so we opened our doors to them. At this point we were behind on laundry (8 loads to be exact) (and if you were wondering yes we had to resort to the underwear hidden at the bottom of the drawer that you hold onto in case of an emergency, but you would rather not wear) and hadn't gone food shopping in weeks. The house was a disaster and I had at this point completely fallen behind on all Yellow Heart Art orders since I was busy spending time with family during this sad time.

For a solid 6 weeks life has been non stop full speed ahead, and it's still going. We had to put wedding planning and our engagement photo shoot on the back burner for the time being because there were more important things in life to deal with at that moment in time.

So, I take a deep breath, and slap on that black goop that football players put under their eyes to be more intimidating (or whatever that black goop is for, does anyone know?) and tackle life.

They always say "when it rains, its pours" and whoever "they" are is right. So excuse me as I play the "catch up on every single aspect of my life" game.

**bangs head on floor**

Weddings Weddings WEDDINGS!

Last weekend I had the opportunity to be a bridesmaid in my college bestie's wedding. We go back 10 years (whaaaat??) and we've stayed in touch ever since! We met in photoshop 101 (in case anyone is wondering if I actual went to college to make pretty things all day...yes I did) and since then we've had our fair share of stressful "art school kids" moments.

• Having to draw ourselves life sized and nude
• Staying up till 2am finishing sculptures that involved power tools that were waaaaay out of our comfort zone
• Faking our way through every art critique by throwing in there words like "dominant and sub domination motion" "composition" "...in todays society..." "negative space" and "harmonious color palette"
• Having our art box fall at least once a week while running late to class which involved having to pick up charcoal pencils, kneaded erasers, pastels, paints, inks, clay tools, pens, markers and sharpies. Our "art boxes" would inevitably always take a spill in front of the football team's dorm rooms on their way back from practice. Needless to say we didn't land many dates with the football team...
• Holding each other and stroking each other's hair when one of us would develop a roll of film that was over exposed.

From charcoal stained finger nails to now seeing you say "I do" I am so happy that you gave me the honor of standing by your side as you married the love of your life.

(psssttt im the one in the dark brown)

ummm, how cute is their "first look with out actually having a first look" (they wanted a photo before the wedding but didn't want to see each other. My heart melted into a giant pile of goo during this photo)

...and didn't I do a good job of re-creating Josh and Courtney as little wooden people for their wedding day??

...and now it's my turn! HUZZAH!!

all photos by Kristen Randolph

New Collaboration! (say haaaay)

Wow, it's been a while since I wrote on here, and with good reason too! Life has been a bit of a whirl wind ever since Bub popped the question to me. Over the course of 3 weeks we have been sooooooo busy (but good busy!) Bub was the best man for this brother's wedding and I am a bridesmaid in my friend's wedding so the 2 of us have been tying up loose ends for that.

I am so happy my "blogging comeback" involves this little lady over here. Melis designs pretty things all day over at Mila Rose Designs. Melis owns some Yellow Heart Art prints and I own some Mila Rose hair swag. One day the 2 of us were all like "Hey, wanna collab on a new turband?"

lightbulb.

Introducing the limited edition Yellow Heart Art and Mila Rose Designs turband! Only available in our 2 shops. The band is made out of originally designed fabric that representatives the 2 of us. One side features dainty little gray, cream and purple hearts. The other side features soft water colored purple, gray and cream flowers. The 2 fabrics compliment each other in a way that adds the right amount of statement to any of your fall pieces!

I am so honored to be working with Melis. She has a ha-uge heart and amazing personality. Plus she told her family she eloped with her fiance by using cupcakes--does it get any more radder than that?

We can not wait to hear about what you guys think of our new collab! Melis hand sewed each one of these turbands using a soft gray elastic band so it can mold to your head.

Wanna nab one? There is only a limited run available and you can snatch one up here!

That Time I Accidentally Live Instagrammed My Marriage Proposal (I SAID YES!)

This weekend is one for the record books. It all started out when I asked Bub if we can have a "Steve and Leonora" weekend. We had just bought a house so pretty much every weekend this summer consisted of:

• Packing
• Unpacking
• Moving
• Painting
• Home Depot runs
• Lowes Visits
• Tearing down walls
• Celebrating Weddings
• Celebrating babies
• Playing host/hostess to family members
• Throwing surprise parties
• Going to BBQs

…we were beat and needed some serious "us" time.

Back track 3 years ago I had thrown Bub a scavenger hunt. He really loved it and I had told him I always wanted one as well. Since I am usually the one making plans for us to do stuff he said he would take the reins this weekend and plan something for us to do.

Saturday morning we wake up and he hands me a card. It was my first clue, but I had to wait 10 minutes before opening it because bub needed a head start to run around our home town and place the clues everywhere. I needed a time killer because staring at the oven clock waiting for it to be "11:50" was killing me, so naturally I turned to insta-gram. I thought it would be fun to document my scavenger hunt so it felt like I was doing it with everyone.

I instagramed my first clue, opened it up and it read "If it gets too hot we can cool off with some ices….MARCO?!"

I hoped in my car and drove to Ralphs Italian Ices. (and no "MARCO" isn't a weird endearing nick-name bub gave me. I am always screaming MARCO at Bub when I sneak away from him in public places, and that is how he has to find me) (he really hates this game)

When I got to ralphs I really had no idea what to expect. Did he leave a clue in the parking lot? Do I need to buy an ice? Am I even at the right place?

I walk up to the girl behind the counter and start off with "…ummm this is gonna sound weird but--" and before i could finish my sentence she was like "NO NO THIS ISN'T WEIRD AT ALL HERE YOU GO!" and hands me a yellow ballon, a toy car, and another card.

I Instagram the Ralphs location, and open my card. The clue brought me to the place where Bub had attempted to teach me how to drive a stick shift (It didn't end well, in case you are wondering I can only get it into 1st gear) (or is it already in 1st gear when you start the car? Whatever, the point is cars should NOT go backwards when you take your foot off the break) (its unnatural) (and makes couples argue)

I pull up into the parking lot and see a yellow balloon off in the distance. I drive up to it only to find it attached to a park bench that is currently occupied by 4 people on their lunch break. I run up, grab the balloon like a stealthy ninja, and jump back into my car. At this point people are commenting on my instagram photos saying that I am going to end up with a fiance by the end of this scavenger hunt. I didn't think anything of it and soon became mortified with the idea of telling 1,700 people that no, I'm not engaged, this is just Bub being Bub.

My 3rd clue brought me to the local park that we go to sometimes to picnic, play frisbee, or just go for a walk. Unfortunately you need to be a town resident to use the park. I hadn't change addresses yet so I was technically not a town resident (even though I am) I rolled up to the little park booth thing-a-ma-jig and start again with my "hi this is gonna sound weird…" speech only for the girl at the booth to just wave me on. She saw the yellow balloons taking over my car and knew I was here for the scavenger hunt that bub had left for me.

I collect another clue and another yellow balloon (All my clues were stuck to the balloons with duct tape, true Bub fashion). I opened the last card and it read "…swing on by for a kiss…MARCO!"

So I drive to the swing set where bub and I had our first kiss (I know, very Dawson's creek a la 1996). I pull up, get out of the car, walk over to the swing set only to not find any yellow balloons there.

Ahhhh crap.

I call up Bub, admit defeat and that I am at the wrong swing set. I have no clue how to get to "ours". He laughs, gives me directions, and I get going again. I get out of the car and see bub in the distance swinging on the swings while holding a yellow balloon. He starts yelling "MARCOOOOO" and I yell back "POLLOOOOOO" as I walk over to him, give him a kiss and park on the swing next to him. A few minutes go by so I assume the hunt is over and we can now go and get some lunch like we had planned.

Before we were about to leave bub gets up off his swing, stands in front of me and kisses me (reenacting how we shared our first kiss) he then goes on to say how I'm his best friend, and how much he loves me, and how he wants to keep loving me forever…at this point I blurt out "OMG is this really happening right now?!" and he goes "Yes, this is happening" and gets down on one knee. I pretty much black out and don't remember what happened, but I came to and found a ring on my finger and a bub wrapped around me.

We hear clapping in the background and I'm all like "OMG HE HIRED A PHOTOGRAPHER!" and out of no where this dude walks over to us, says he saw the whole thing, and thought it was the coolest thing ever. Bub whispered in my ear "I have no clue who this guy is…at all"

We hop in the car and start the whole "LET'S TELL THE ENTIRE WORLD!" tour. I purposely never instagrammed that he proposed to me because we wanted to share that special moment with close friends and family first before announcing it there. After telling all our friends and family we hit up the local amusement park and celebrated by acting like a kid and riding some rides (it only seemed appropriate since we started off the day on a swing set)

And that, kids, is the story on how I inadvertently live insta-grammed my marriage proposal. How was your labor day weekend? ;)

I'm Wearing Puppies

You don't see too many photos of my mug show up on my blog, and theres a reason for that.

1. I work full time on top of having Yellow Heart Art so its hard to squeeze in some selfies after hustlin' the 9-5 gig. All I wanna do when I come home from work is open my fridge and eat the first slightly appetizing thing that makes eye contact with me. Sometimes its a sandwich, sometimes its a bottle of ketchup.

2. I am not exactly totally ok with myself, but I am working on that

3. I haven't bought a new outfit since, like, 2011.

But look at this uh-dor-able dress that Kintage hooked me up with!

As you can see it past my "twirly" test. The best part? From a distance the dress looks like its just another run-of-the-mill polka dotted dress... but then you get close to me and you're all like "whoa what? is this some kind of magic eye dress you got going on here girl?" (ok, did I just date myself by referencing those magic eye books. Raise your hand if you stayed crossed eyed longer than you wanted to at age 10)

Dress: c/o Kintage, Reign of Terrier Dog Print Dress
Necklace: c/o Flawed Perfect Jewelry (use "LEONORAROCKS" for 10% off weeee)
Cardi: Kohls
Shoes: Target 

YES THOSE ARE FREKKIN DOGS ON MY DRESS! (or, if you're from Long Island we like to call them "dawgs" sometimes we walk them while on our way to get some "cawfee" and "chawclet" at the shopping "mawl") (it's ok guys, I cringe when I talk too)

It's like I get to channel my inner Lady Gaga by wearing a bunch of puppies.

Ok, it's nothing like that at all.

I paired this dress with my favorite flawed perfection jewelry necklace. The confetti colors gave it that extra "pop" I wanted. Also this necklace kinda plays a trick on you too, you can actual purchase different bead strands and change out your necklace to fit your mood or outfit! (For me I think I'll have them match my outfit, I tend to change my mood way too much)

Do you have any outfits that play tricks on you?

I Wanna Live Here

This past weekend the Bubs and I went biking to fire island (it's an island off of Long Island). You can take a ferry there but we were all like "oh hey, let's just bike it!" 

.never.
.again.

according to google maps it's a 3.5 mile bike ride, which in theory wouldn't be so bad if a good 1 of those 3.5 miles wasn't a long stretch of soft sand that you had to walk your bike through.

But it was worth it, we had a great day. The town was really cute and I managed to ONLY get sunburn on the tops of my hands.

There was also this little girl in town wheeling around a wagon full of hand painted sea shells yelling "BUY THREE GET ONE FREEEEEE!" So I handed her one of my Yellow Heart Art business cards and told her to call me in 15 years. I can really use her marketing skills on my team then. I like to start 'em young.

Its Hip To be Square - NEW PRODUCT

Geez its been a long time since I introduced new shiz into the shop. I haven't been publicizing this because at the time we didn't know if it was going to happen or not but since May Bub and I were in the process of packing our stuff, moving/buying a new house, unpacking our stuff and now remodeling it. Actually it was kind of nice keeping it under wraps because when we told people we bought a house the response wasn't "Oh right I read it on Facebook!" or "oh yeah I saw on Instagram!" (sometimes the internet can suck) (I also plan on doing this for my engagement too) (no I'm not engaged) (or am I?) (ha, no I'm not)

We have had no life for about 4 months. An even bigger tragedy is that we haven't sat down and watched TV in months. I miss the days where we would come home from work, eat dinner, and just collapse on the couch while watching mindless reality TV garbage. (Followed by a battle for the remote control that could be publicized on UFC or something) (we go hardcore when it comes to remote control custody)

In March of 2013 I started to design items for my summer 2013 collection. Well, since I had to pack up my studio in May I wasn't able to work on my new products until recently. I've had the designs all worked out and completed, had them all ready placed onto fabric but they were just waiting to be cut up and stitched together to make this:

 oh heeey pillow by yellow heart art

 Introducing New Yellow Heart Art Decorative Pillow Covers!

The inspiration behind this collection was sparked by our recent move. We had lived in an apartment for about 2 years. I knew that place would not be our permanent home so I was always hesitant to buy cutesy and awesome home decor items for our apartment. I wanted to wait till we had a "forever home" where I can invest in items that would be in our living space for a while.

The Cuddle Zone by Yellow Heart Art

Stripey Hello by Yellow Heart Art

Arrow Doodle by Yellow Heart Art

Triangle Love by Yellow Heart Art

As I was shopping around for pillows I noticed that a lot of them were, well, lame. I like my decor to have a bit of sass to them. My new pillow covers have funny sayings and modern patterns to help add "umph" to your couches, beds and shelves.

All the handwritten pillows are my own hand writing. The patterns are patterns that I would put in my own home.  I tried to stick with color palettes that would be versatile with most home decor.

For now there are available as a pre-order. Since I have a few designs and they are so time intensive to make and sew I wanted to see which would be popular and go from there. What I love most about these is that you can easily switch them out and change them up since they are pillow covers and not actual pillows.

What do you guys think? View the ENTIRE collection here!

Also we are now accepting applications for Yellow Heart Art Affiliates! Earn free Yellow Heart Art loot, email YHAAffiliate@gmail.com for more info <3