Month: October 2010

Friday Mixtape!

I’ve always wished I knew more about music, and this is part of my Life List project to listen to 1,000 new songs. Right now I’m up to 570, and on Fridays I share some of my new favorites. If you’d like to share some music with me, please send your picks to maggie at mighty girl dot com, and I will listen to them.

These first two artists and songs are recs from Melanie Levi:

Roll Away Your Stone from Mumford and Sons

Nothing Else Matters covered by Lissie

The Start of Something from Voxtrot

Just Impolite from Plushgun

Via Pop On and On

Like a G6 from Far East Movement

Let’s dance this one out.

Still looking for more music? Here you go: Mixtape 1, Mixtape 2, Mixtape 3, Mixtape 4, Mixtape 5, Mixtape 6, Mixtape 7, Mixtape 8, Mixtape 9, Mixtape 10, Mixtape 11, Mixtape 12, Mixtape 13, Mixtape 14, Mixtape 15 , Mixtape 16 , Mixtape 17 , Mixtape 18, Mixtape 19

Giveaway: Mighty Summit Necklace and Print

Today’s giveaway is a little more symbolic. First up is the Quintet Necklace, by one of my favorite etsy jewelers Lemonade Handmade:

Gold Rings Necklace — the Quintet by Lemonade Handmade

I’ve mentioned this necklace before, we gave one to each of the attendees to symbolize the five Life List goals they hoped to accomplish in the coming year. (Nicole did a lovely write up about it.) I love the necklace for its simplicity, and I like the idea of five golden rings being little commitments to yourself. I’ve been wearing mine every day since the Summit. Lovely.

Every year, we have an artist make limited edition prints to commemorate the weekend. This year Alma and Mike Loveland of Ollibird.com did block prints of the vintage blankets we lug onsite to keep everyone warm.

Alma, whose yellow sweater you may remember from a previous post, did the illustrations.

Mike hand painted the blankets for a little pop of color.

Mike and Alma teach all kinds of art and computer classes and they live in the Salt Lake City area. In fact, they’re hosting an art weekend in Salt Lake at this very moment, so head over if you’re in town.

The finished prints each featured a different color, but yours will be plum.

To enter, please tell us about your proudest accomplishment in comments. And the drawings are still open for our the Mighty Summit Giftbag and the Summit Necklace and Brooch giveaway, so throw your hat in there too.

Fine print: Please only leave one comment for each giveaway, because it’s the nice thing to do, and also because multiple entries will be disqualified. I’ll use random.org to select the winner, and I’ll announce who won at the top of this post and in a separate post next Thursday.

Make 1,000 Lovely Things: Flower Party Hats How To

 

For those of you who requested a how to on the fiesta party hats, here you go:

You’ll need:
Crepe paper flowers (we got ours at Fantastico!)
Wire cutters
A hot glue gun and glue sticks
Lingerie elastic for the headbands

This is how the flowers come, pre-muss.

First, I turned them inside out for maximum fullness. You have to do this gently, stretching each layer as much as possible without tearing it. Then I clipped out the center stamens with a pair of wire cutters and turned the flower right side out again.

Now it’s time to glue one side of the petals down to create a larger flower that looks more like a rose than a trumpet flower.You’re about to glue the first layer of tissue down, but avoid gluing down the raw edge of outermost tissue shown in the photo above. You’ll want to hide that edge, and if you glue it to the stem, it will be visible in the end result. Instead glue at least three fingers width away from that edge.

(Bam! Color change. I am blowing your mind right now with the magic of the Internet.)
Anyway, once you have your spot, put a little hotglue on the stem about two inches away from the base of the flower,

and pat the first layer of tissue into place.

Repeat with the next two or three layers of tissue, gluing each to the “stem” through the layers of tissue that are already tacked down. Your dots of glue will get a little closer to the center with each layer.

Your end result will look like a lopsided flower before you put it on, but this shape follows the curve of the head in an attractive way.

Now for the headband. I just measured by pulling it around my head and making sure there was some tension to the elastic so it would have to stretch a bit for the girls to put their hats on. That worked fine, and the photo above shows you about how long it is.

Once you’ve cut a piece of elastic to size, glue the ends together with a half-inch stripe of hot glue.Now glue the flower base onto the point where the elastic is joined, so you can hide that ridge. Use your wire cutters to snip off the excess wire on the flower stem, and voila!

The hat can be worn four different ways, so it’s perfect for folks who are irritated by party hats or don’t like to muss their hair. My favorite way to wear it is as a headband:

Then you can use it as a proper hat:

Wear it around your neck or wear it as a wrist corsage:

Hooray! You are so extra- fancy right now.

Giveaway: Mighty Summit Necklace and Brooch

Today’s giveaway features two California jewelry artists.

Textured Drop Necklace By Feisty Elle

Every time I wear this piece by Leslie Yang, I get compliments. I’ve actually had people stop me in the street to ask where I got it. It’s made of bamboo, so it’s surprisingly lightweight. I don’t even notice I have it on, and I love how effortlessly it elevates an outfit.



Can You Hear Me Now Brooch by Mama’s Little Babies

Mama’s Little Baby brooches are so witty. This guy is my favorite, but I also feel affectionate toward the artichoke and Gunther, the World Famous Lion Tamer.

Cute, right? I know!

To enter, please leave a piece of advice for your younger self. And don’t forget to check back this week for more contests.

Fine print: Please only leave one comment, because it’s the nice thing to do, and also because multiple entries will be disqualified. I’ll use random.org to select the winner, and I’ll announce who won at the top of this post and in a separate post next Wednesday.

Zombie Theory

Me: I just realized that San Francisco is uniquely suited to survive the zombie apocalypse because we don’t have cemeteries in town.

Bryan: We’d have to defend against Colma though.

Me: Yeah, but we’re a peninsula.

Bryan: So we’d just build a big zombie wall?

Me: Yeah.

Natalie: I feel pretty safe in the event of a zombie apocalypse because all my friends have guns.

Me: Zombies are already dead, Natalie. You can’t kill them with guns.

Natalie: Yeah you can, you shoot them in the head. I watched Zombieland.

Me: Huh.

Bryan: Point, Natalie.

Natalie: Anyway, I’ve decided that when the zombie apocalypse comes, I’m gonna be a vampire.

Me: Clever. I’ve not heard that take on it. Side with the less annoying undead.

Natalie: Yeah, a vampire could clearly defeat a zombie.

Me: Plus they dress better. And their limbs don’t fall off when they run.

Giveaway: Mighty Summit Gift Bag

When we were pulling together gifts for the Mighty Summit, we set a few aside to give away. There will be Summit giveaways on Mighty Girl all this week, but this first one is a doozy. Here’s what’s up for grabs today:

Tieks by Gavrieli

I bought a pair of these perfect ultimate travel shoes a while back, and they’re one of my new favorite things. Tieks fold in half so you can stuff them in your purse, but the quality is amazing. They come in all sorts of candy colors and metallics — plus they pack flat and slip off easily when you’re heading through airport security. The winner gets to choose any pair for $135 and under. I recommend orange.

Photojojo’s Tokyo Dreamer Strap

I can’t believe how long it took me to replace my ugly, logoed camera strap. Photojojo’s Tokyo Dreamer strap really dresses up your camera, and even has a little pocket for extra memory cards or a lens cloth.

Lola Epiphanie Camera Bag by Maile Wilson

Maile was an attendee at this year’s Summit, and she brought along her bright Epiphanie camera bags. I use mine as my everyday purse and have finally stopped busting expensive lenses and gadgets by wrapping them in hand towels and shoving them into an un-padded purse. Now I can have my SLR, my flip, and my phone(s) with me without anything banging together and cracking or getting scratched by my keys.

And that’s it for today. Pretty good, huh? To enter to win, please leave a comment about something on your Life List.

Now for the fine print: Please only leave one comment, because it’s the nice thing to do, and also because multiple entries will be disqualified. I’ll use random.org to select the winner, and I’ll announce who won at the top of this post and in a separate post next Tuesday.