DIY Cactus Flower - Hair Accessory // Halloween 2015

Hello lovely people of the Internet,

I am back today to show you how I made a cactus flower to go along with my cactus Halloween costume. Let's just dive into this DIY project!


Supplies: pink foam sheet, pipe cleaners (yellow), hot glue gun, scissors, a pen, a paint brush, and paint (white, pink & yellow).

1. First, I started with just sketching out a simple petals design. I did this in two pieces so I could stack them and give them more dimension. The petals are three to a set so you can overlay them.

2. Cut out the petals. Mix white & red paint to get a pink that is a darker shade than your foam petals. I am just randomly painting on the petals to give it a textured look. I recommend loading your paint brush with only a little bit of paint so your strokes aren't so harsh and more "air brushed".

3. Stack your petals and glue the sides together. I am trying to get a cone-ish shape similar to how the flowers would grow verus just a flat flower.

4. Next, I cut two small pieces from my pipe cleaners, ~ 2 cm each. I folded the pieces in half to make a V shape.

Note: if you have yellow pipe cleaners then you won't need this step. I only had white pipe cleaners, so I had to paint them yellow to recreated the Stigma/center of the cactus flower.

5. Lastly, I glued the edge of both the V shaped pipe cleaners together and then glue it into the center of the cactus flower. Ta da, a cactus flower! (A simple version based off of this photo)

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In my video, I just used fake flowers to make it easier. However if you have the time, I think a DIY cactus flower would make a great addition to your already amazing DIY cactus costume!

Another floral option is using your floral crowns! Many of us probably have at least one floral crown somewhere in our room. Instead of waiting for a music festival, bust out that bad boy & rock it this Halloween.

If you would like to learn how to make this floral head band then please [click here].


Thank you for stopping by <3
Until next time, let's be fronds!

A Few Things I Fancy About Fall

Fall might be my favorite season and let me tell you why.

This outfit is consisted of all thrifted items and will be in an upcoming Fall Lookbook.

1. Fall Back, Spring Forward. It's that time of year again where we gain an hour of sleep. Who doesn't love sleep? I feel slightly productive "waking up earlier" even though I am waking up at the same time all year round.

2. Cooler Weather. I enjoy the summer time, but I am a big fan of cool/cold weather. During this time of the year, I can finally start busting out my sweaters. In the near/distant future, I would love to live somewhere that it's usually cold ish all year round.

Changing of Season. I love seeing the leaves change colors.

3. Tết Trung Thu (Moon Festival) is my second favorite Vietnamese holiday after Tết of course. It just brings back many fond memories of my childhood. I get to make mooncakes with my aunt which are super yummy! The night of the festival, my family and I will hang out in our front yard and just stare at the beautiful full moon. 


Let me know what's your favorite season & why?
Until next time, fall back on November 1st ya'll.

Favorites from August 2015

Bosica Luminizing Black Mask is a peel-off mask that absorbs excess oil and removes impurities. Ingredients found in this product are montmorillonite clay, pine bark extract, and vitamin C. The mask is supposed to remove toxins and leave your face with a glowing complexion.

I personally like the product, it left my face feeling soft and bright. I have read other reviews that mentioned it was painful to peel off, however for me I think the pain level is a 2 out of 10. The mask does remove dry skin and absorb excess oil. It does not however take out your blackheads, therefore I like to use a nose strip since my nose is a problem area for me. I would recommend that you pick up a sample at Sephora & try it out yourself! Overall, I would rate this product 8/10.

The white cut out shoes has been one of my favorite footwear this summer/August. I thrifted these beauty from Savers a few months ago and they were in great condition. I love that it pairs nicely with many outfits and it's not just a pair of boring oxford. I am definitely a shoe-lover, so I am glad I can pick up cute shoes from the thrift store that won't break the bank.

Thank you for stopping by, let me know in the comments what were your favorite items this past month.

BTS: Looks of the Week & 70s Inspired

I have a few videos in the works, so please stay tune. However here are a few behind the scene photos for your browsing pleasure.

Denim Jacket // Thrifted
Blush Pink Crop Top (not shown) // Thrifted
Wilson Tennis Skirt // Savers
Roshe // Nike

Light Blue Top // Thrifted
High Waisted Jeans // F21
White Cut Out Shoes // Savers

Black Long Sleeve Dress // Thrifted
Floppy Brown Hat // Thrifted
Crochet Vest // Mom's
Strappy Wedges // Old Navy

I had fun putting together looks for my upcoming videos. Posing is not my forte. I still need to work on my awkwardness haha. Big thanks to PM for being an amazing teammate! YouTube should be renamed to WEtube (haha sorry for my bad joke).

Stay tuned, leave me some video suggestion in the comments and have a wonderful day! (:

Let's Take a Minute & Enjoy À La Minute!

Organic, creamy concoction, and liquid nitrogen sums up à la minute. A friend suggested that PM and I check this place out. Love at first sight is what I would described my experience at this little ice cream shop. The location and decor of the shop caught my attention and the ice cream favors just sealed the deal.

The shop offers many unique favor combination and what's even more great is that 80% of their ingredient are local. All orders are made right in front of your eyes and it's so cool to see the process.

My first trip there, I tried the orange honey and let me say wow! I have never had ice cream like this before. It was very creamy and so delicate. The orange tasted so fresh that I thought I was just eating a frozen orange haha. Like a literal orange, pick it off of a tree and freeze it.

On our second trip, we tried espresso chip and it's a coffee lover's dream. It tastes like the perfect cup of coffee in creamy, frozen form!

As like a few other dessert places, PM and I are hooked. We basically would go everyday if we could! I would definitely recommend this place to anyone.

Until next time, eat more ice cream!

Black Thrifted Romper

I used to wear more colors, but black clothing came into my life and I can't get enough of it! I have joined the dark side and I will wear black for all seasons. Black is classic and should be part of your color scheme all year around. I thrifted this black romper a few weekends ago and I can't stop wearing it! It's very versatile, therefore I can simply add a coat, change up my shoes, and bam a new look. Check out my recent video [1 Romper 3 Looks].

Black Romper - Thrifted
Cut-Out Shoes - Thrifted

I also created a few looks using Polyvore, to provide more outfit ideas and so you all can purchase these looks if you like them. Plus, Polyvore is basically a girl's dream internet closet.

I want to be a 90s kid:

This gives off a fall/winter vibe.... because I want summer to end already.

Outfit 014 by postcardsfromliz 


Night life is life:



















Outfit 015 by postcardsfromliz

Until next time, wear black lovelies.

Favorite Pastime ... Thrifting of Course!

If I'm not curled up in my bed watching movies, I'm probably thrifting. The thing I love most about thrifting is that rush you get when you find an amazing piece. Recently I found a retro black romper and I wished I could wear it every single day! It's chic, versatile, and BLACK - enough said. Sorry for this tease, but I will share this romper in a future post. Today I wanted to showcase a few thrift finds that I shared in a lookbook on youtube: [Thrifted // Summer Lookbook 2015].

Wrinkles for texture? Irons are overrated? I would like to apologize again (sorry not sorry), I was too excited to share this post. Therefore, I didn't take the time to iron the pieces after wearing them for my lookbook haha.

Navy Crop Top - basics from a retail store
Colorful Summer Skort - thrifted
Liz Claiborne Crossbody Bag - thrifted 

White Blouse - gift from a friend
B&W palm leaf print skirt - thrifted
Black & Gold Clutch - thrifted

This amazing mural was created by Jeff Soto & Maxx242.

I shared more outfits in the video so check it out: [click here]. Please like & subscribe to my channel if you enjoy my content. 

Until next time, have a wonderful day and thank you for stopping by!

Real Humans...

Hello,

I just wanted to stop by and drop some thoughts.

I am getting tired of hearing "real men ..." this and "real women ..." that. I want to put it out there, that I am not going against those popular slogans. I just want to challenge everyone to think from a different perspective.

Yes to no violence, yes to "real men don't hit women". But more strongly YES to no one should hit anyone else. And no to "real women have curves", because in reality some don't. Some women are naturally thin and some do wish they could gain more curves while others don't. Therefore saying "you're so skinny" is offense too, its like saying "you're heavy". I don't want to go in depth with this image topic because I want to discuss it in a later post.

What I'm trying to convey is that we all should thrive for equality for everyone. So let's start with "Real HUMANs treat one another with love and respect".

I will be first to say, I am not perfect and I do make mistakes. However, as I am getting older I want to continue to become a better person. I do this by voicing my opinion and just trying to make a little difference in the lives I encounter. I truly do believe that everyone has the opportunity to change the world in small or big acts. So I want to challenge you to strive to be a better person and to challenge others to do the same. It's easy to make judgments on others, so please take the time to understand one another - love & respect.

Until next time, be kind to one another.

Forgotten...

Hello,

It's me again, Liz! I hope this on & off again post situation is working for the both of us...

This past weekend, PM and I went exploring a few new places. I don't know why but I am so drawn by abandoned places, it's so trilling and terrifying all at the same time. I honestly find these places so breath-taking and amazing. However, in the back of my head, I always assume there was a crime committed here and the criminal is just hiding out in this run-down barn. And that is when you know you've been watching too many crime shows haha! I am currently binge-watching Criminal Minds, so s/o to any fans!!

I want to encourage you all to unplug yourself and just go explore the world around you! You will be surprised by what you can find around your town. Take a different route to school/work, take time to smell the roses, and make time to enjoy the little things in life.

Until next time, have an adventurous day lovelies!

Trip #2 to Joshua Tree

Well hello again,

I am here to confess that I am a nature junkie! I really do enjoy just escaping from everything and taking a hike or camping somewhere. This past January I went camping in Joshua Tree for the second time with some friends and PM. Spending time with friends, catching up, and just entertaining ourselves without technology was a well spent weekend. My first camping experience was great as well and you can check it out here on my friend Jenn's blog post: [click here].

I am looking forward to my next trip. I hope next time it will be in a forest, that would be amazing!

17 January 2015

Looking back at those two trips I realized I might have not packed accordingly. And this brings me to my next point, I would recommend only packing the essentials. Yes bring your cell phone but don't constantly be on it. A post or two is fine, but don't let it consume your own trip and experience. And this MILK article definitely nailed the list of things you would ever need for camping and traveling! It was a pleasant read and I am going to re-think my essentials for my next trip.

Until next time, have a good day lovelies!

BTS: Making Valentine's Day Conversation Hearts

Hello Lovelies,

I wanted to share a few behind the scene photos in the making of my recent YouTube video.

Milk Chocolate Heart - BAE (before anyone else)
White Chocolate Heart - I SHIP US (SHIP - to endorse a relationship)
Peanut Butter Heart - OTP (one true pair)

Here is the tutorial:

Ingredients:
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1/8 cup - white chocolate chips
1/4 cup - milk chocolate chips
2 tbsp - butter
2 cups - mini marshmallow
3 cups - crispy rice cereal

Note:
- For the white chocolate heart, you will need 1/4 cup - white chocolate chips & 1/8 cup - peanut butter chips. This is as follow for the peanut butter heart, your base will be 1/4 cup & lettering will be 1/8 cups.  

- Double this recipe if you are using a bigger baking pan/ making more than two heart at a time. 
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BTS: prepping & getting set up to shoot! 

 Let me know if you give this a try! Happy Valentines Day! (:

What's up San Francisco?

Hello beautiful faces,
How are all of you? I hope you guys had a fun-filled and cozy winter break!

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Here are a few photos from my SF trip. I actually enjoyed the car ride more than sight seeing in San Francisco. This is because there were so many amazing landscape to experience, from mountains, lakes and flat farm lands. Don't get me wrong, San Francisco is a beautiful city in it's own right and I probably need to explore more than just one day. So SF was freezing, I didn't expect it to be so cold! It was overwhelming since there were so many tourist including ourselves haha. I think the bike ride to the Golden Gate Bridge was the best part of the trip for me. All in all, I think it was a successful trip and it was my first time really leaving SoCal. I also have a video recap of my trip so please check it out here: [click here].

Until next time, I hope you all have a wonderful year filled with happiness & love!

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China Town

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Stanford