DIY idea: wavy hems

Have you learned how to make a perfect straight hem? Well done but now forget about it. Spring hems are wavy,asymmetrical,shorter on one side more than another. Taking spring 2012 runways looks as inspiration we can have fun cutting out wavy hems from skirts and dresses.
Start giving some movement to a skirt hem having a look at this wrap skirt with rounded hem diy tutorial 

Avete imparato a realizzare un orlo perfettamente dritto? Ottimo lavoro ma ora dimenticatelo. Gli orli primaverili sono ondulati, asimmetrici, più lunghi da un lato. Prendendo spunto dalle sfilate primaverili divertiamoci a ritagliare orli ondulati su gonne ed abiti. Cominciate a dare un po' di movimento all'orlo della vostra gonna dando un'occhiata al tutorial per realizzare una gonna a portafoglio con l'orlo arrotondato.

Metal cap toe shoes DIY

metal toe cap shoes diy

Vuitton spring 2012 toe cap shoes

Shiny and metallic, two adjectives that define everything cool right now. Today I used again the mirror paper that was useful to make the Vuitton inspired metal peter pan collar to bring these shoes back on trend. I bought these shoes a few years ago along with a matching bag (with crocodile embossing my weakness) and apparently pastel colors were as trendy as today. I just cut off a piece of mirror paper and glued it onto the shoes. I think that pointy toes will give the better result on this project because the mirror paper is quite stiff and can't be bended on rounded surfaces. The toe cap is not the only detail that can be made. You can also cut different shapes and decorate the heel for example, unleash your creativity.

Browse other diy shoes here

Luccicante e metallizzato: due aggettivi che ben si adattano alla moda primaverile illuminata di bagliori sci-fi.

Oggi ho utilizzato la carta a specchio (che già si era dimostrata utile per realizzare il colletto in metallo di Vuitton) per riportare nel presente delle scarpe acquistate qualche anno fa quando apparentemente i colori pastello erano di moda come oggi. Ho ritagliato un pezzetto di carta specchio e l'ho incollata sulla punta della scarpa. I migliori risultati li potrete ottenere con delle scarpe a punta poichè la carta specchio è abbastanza rigida e non può essere piegata su delle superfici rotonde. Ma la punta non è il solo dettaglio che potrete decorare. Ritagliando altre forme si possono decorare il tacco o il retro della scarpa. Insomma sbizzarritevi.

Per altre scarpe fai da te cliccate qui

Glucosamine for Dog Arthritis: The Safer Alternative

In this article we will discuss how glucosamine can be used to treat arthritic disease in canines safely and effectively. Almost everyone who owns an older canine will encounter the problem of dog arthritis in the animal at some point in their lives. Generally, this joint disease only becomes noticeable in the dog's later years of life. This form is usually called osteoarthritis in canines. When an owner suspects their pet may be suffering the effects of this degenerative disease, they should take their animal to the veterinarian for a complete diagnosis to determine if arthritis is the problem.

First of all, arthritis is a degenerating disease which affects the cartilage within the joints of the dog. This disease is identical to the one that attacks humans in their later years of life also. It should be noted that there are no cures for the disease itself. All pet owners can do is to mitigate the symptoms and ease the pain and suffering the animal experiences as much as possible. Glucosamine is an all-natural supplement that many vets are now suggesting animal suffering from joint arthritis should begin taking. Unlike many of the prescription medications that are on the market to treat the disease, glucosamine has virtually no side effects and is a completely natural supplementation which helps many dogs counter the effects of arthritis.

Many of the prescribed medicines available to treat osteoarthritis simply mask or hide the pain which the disease creates. They in no way help in alleviating the actual problem that the disease is causing. In other words, the degeneration of the cartilage tissue within the joints is not stopped. All that is happening with these prescribed medications is simply easing the pain that this degenerative disease is causing the animal. Glucosamine, on the other hand, actually assists the animal in rebuilding and regenerating the damaged tissues caused by the arthritic disease. Glucosamine contains the building blocks which the body uses to build the protective tissues within the joints. Therefore, when these necessary components of the cartilage are added to the canine's diet they are better able to rebuild and reproduce the destroyed tissues inside the joints caused by the joint disease.

In addition to being much less expensive than prescribed alternatives, liquid glucosamine is also much easier to give since it often comes in a liquid form. All the pet owner must do is measure out required dosage for the animal and pour it over the dog's food at meal time. The prescription drugs almost always come in the form of pills and tablets and these are quite difficult for some people to give their pets. The liquid version of glucosamine is also thought to be absorbed easier by the bodies of dogs for a more rapid intake.

It should be noted however, they glucosamine can require several weeks to several months of daily dosages before any positive benefits are experienced by the diseased animal. It totally depends on the dog himself and how for the disease's progress as to how long it will take before any helpful benefits are seen with in a given animal. One of the most important things that dog owners must realize is that giving up on the supplementation using glucosamine too soon may forfeit their ability to help their animals in the long run. This is one reason that prescribed medications are so popular since they offer almost immediate benefits to the animal who is in pain.

In summary, when your dog is diagnosed as having joint osteoarthritis disease, be sure to ask the veterinarian about the options of using liquid glucosamine in place of prescribed medications to help treat the problem. The vet may have in stock their own versions of glucosamine which can be purchased directly or there are other online retail stores specializing in glucosamine supplementation products for dogs.

DIY idea: Safety pins necklace

Mark Fast

We can call this the istant statement necklace. It can be made pulling four rows of safety pins into a thread. Nice, isn't it?

Potremmo chiamarla la collana istantanea. Si può imitare infilando quattro file di spille da balia  in un filo. Veloce e scenica.

Advice to Aspiring Writers by Brian Griggs

My advice to aspiring writers in any genre is this:

Write a story that you want to read.

That’s it. Roll credits. Play the theme music. We’re done here.

Except that, much like anything worth doing, there is some work involved in writing an enjoyable story. If you can remember that simple truth, though, everything else has a purpose beyond just making your English teachers/the writing police happy. As I plot, write, revise, edit, pace around my living room like a mad man, and revise some more, I filter it all through if the story is entertaining to me. It makes the effort worth it.

I’ve worked with junior high students for ten years now and the same truth applies: I teach like I would want to be taught and it has brought me years of success. It’s the belief that, deep down, everyone has the same desire to be respected, trusted, and found worthy of something.

What makes writing fun is that you get to mess with all of that. Trust is broken, respect is lost, and worth is ground beneath the boots of life. Pity our characters because, like Catherine Warren said earlier, we can take out our frustrations on them. But skillful authors don’t rest in the role of sadistic warlords bent on personal vengeance.  The effective storyteller invites the reader to want what the main character wants. That’s what really creeps me out over Poe’s “Tell-tale Heart” – I actually want to know what the narrator did. Is there something wrong with me?

Don’t answer that.

I tell my students that a successful story goes beyond grammar and punctuation, although mastery of those skills is like mastery in any other art: the more control you have over your medium, the more likely it is to create what you envision. Sometimes a single sentence will grab my attention and won’t let go. The word choice and structure click. The placement within the greater piece works.

This is where theory comes into application. The actual story creation process looks different for so many people and even for different narratives. I have one story that I wrote on a single legal pad from start to finish late one night, another spread across countless notebooks over time, and then the one found in January’s issue of Penumbra that only came to me when I could envision the imaginative little hero. I heard a sentence of his narration and started typing.

I’ve had the benefit of hosting authors like Ally Carter, Heather Brewer, Mike Lupica, Ridley Pearson, John Flanagan, P.J. Haarsma, Frank Beddor, James Dashner, and Lisa McMann at my school. I don’t list these authors as a humblebrag namedrop, but to share one united word of advice from them: write a story that you would enjoy. And the common step they all say leads to that? Seat time. Sit down and write. Write and then write some more. Write because you like writing. Write to make order out of chaos. Write to inspire and be inspired. Write because you have something to add to the world.

Why are you still reading this? Go write.

DIY idea: Alicia Keys metal collar

Even if I couldn't watch the Grammy awards yesterday, today I couldn't avoid to have a look at the red carpet. Alicia Keys bring's today diy inspiration. She sported a v-shaped gold metal collar. It's an unsual  shape compared to the popular peter pan collars we've seen recently. This collar can easily be copied following the metal petern pan collar tutorial. Just cut the collar in a v shape!

And now let's make some gossip. Who was the best dressed in your opinion?
See the Grammy Awards red carpet here
I think Rihanna was the best dressed. I saw a lot of beautiful dresses like Paris Hilton's, Carrie Underwood's and Taylor Swift's but Rihanna looks simply stunning in her Armani dress and Louboutin pumps. On the other hand, I didn't like the Nicki Minaj look. I know her style is always loud but I think she missed the chance to wear a beautiful dress. That red cape was not flattering at all. Plus after Gaga meat dress it's very hard to "shock" the audience.

Anche se noi in Italia non abbiamo seguito i Grammy Awards, non ho potuto fare a meno di guardare i look del red carpet. Alicia Keys ha indossato una collana in metallo dorato molto scenica. Per copiarla basterà seguire il tutorial del colletto in metallo ritagliando la forma in feltro a forma di v.

Cliccate qui per guardare i look della serata. Chi secondo voi è stata la meglio vestita?

Rihanna è stata sicuramente una delle più eleganti. La star del pop ha scelto di indossare un abito molto sexy che esalta la sua bellezza.

Nicki Minaj invece perde l'occasione di indossare un abito elegante e sceglie invece una tunica rossa di ispirazione religiosa tentando il "momento gaga". Purtroppo Nicki, dopo il vestito di carne di lady Germanotta, non è facile attirare l'attenzione!

Nicki Minaj "Gaga moment"

The rise of an icon: Drusilla Foer

Some women think that elegance means being dressed in a simple way, it isn't so.

Alcune donne pensano di essere eleganti vestendosi con semplicità, non è così

The most boring thing you can see is an elegant woman with a pedigree dog

Una delle cose più noiose che si possano vedere è una donna elegante con un cane di razza

I love furs, they're soft and warm but I think they're more flattering on animals.

No woman would wear something that looks better on someone else.

Amo le pelliccie, sono morbide e calde ma penso che stiano meglio agli animali

Del resto nessuna donna indosserebbe qualcosa che sta meglio ad un'altra

As women we have the extraordinary ability to invent men that never existed if not in bad literature

Noi donne abbiamo la straordinaria capacità di inventare uomini che non sono mai esistiti se non nella cattiva letteratura

Lagerfeld may appear like a tough person. He's not, he's sweet.
Lagerfeld può apparire burbero, in realtà è una persona dolce.

Carla Bruni looks like saleswoman pretending to be Jacqueline Kennedy

Carla Bruni sembra una commessa travestita da  Jacqueline Kennedy

Real style icons are all dead
Le vere icone sono tutte morte

I like to eat Mortadella, it's leftish

Mi piace la mortadella, è di sinistra

Bon ton is overrated, everything done with sincerity of heart is acceptable

Il bon ton è sopravvalutato, ogni cosa fatta con sincerità e bontà di cuore è accettabile

 In these days mass media often celebrate gross style icons with the exception of Drusilla Foer. Sophisticated and graceful, she's an aristocratic florentine woman. Elegant and cosmopolitan she knew all the

icons of the twentieth century, from Warhol to Yves Saint Laurent and she entertains us with stories about the american jet set. Five times widow of rich men she invented the total black look. How could we not know about her? Drusilla Foer does not exist. She's a character who lives happily between reality and fiction. She became popular on the internet and people say about her that she's an excellent experiment of web theather. The florentine artist who invented her remains unknown, he doesn't want to steal attention from his feminine alter ego. He dreams a day where Drusilla will have a life of its own. As time passes Drusilla is becoming more and more real. She appeared on italian tv and she's been the testimonial of a Luisaviaroma campain against hiv contagion. Drusilla might be only a character but a very elegant one and her pictures communicate real magnetism. I bet she'll get a real Vogue cover one day or another.

In un mondo in cui i mass media osannanno icone di stile spesso volgari, Drusilla Foer si erge ad eccezione. Sofisticata, garbata signora ci svela le sue pillole di saggezza dal suo salotto fiorentino. Elegante e cosmopolita ha conosciuto tutti da Warhol a Yves Saint Lauren e ci intrattiene con aneddodi sul jet set americano. Cinque volte vedova di uomini ricchi ha inventato il look total black. Ma dove si è nascosta questa celebrità internazionale fino ad ora? Drusilla Foer non esiste. E' un personaggio che si muove sull'evanescente confine tra realtà e finzione. Nasce e diventa popolare su internet di lei si dice che sia un esperimento felice di teatro sul web.  L'artista fiorentino che la interpreta non vuole apparire per non adombrare il suo alter ego femminile. La sua ambizione è che la signora Drusilla possa un giorno esistere di per sè. C'è da dire che con il passare del tempo lei sta diventando sempre più vera. Sbarca in tv nello show di Serena Dandini, The show must go off diventando acuta opinionista e partecipa come testimonial alla campagna contro l'hiv di luisaviaroma.

Anche se Drusilla è solo un personaggio è estremamente ben caratterizzato, i suoi modi eleganti conquistano, le fotografie che la ritraggono sono cariche di un autentico magnetismo, sono sicura che conquisterà un vera copertina di Vogue un giorno o l'altro.