4 Tips to wearing a red lip you must know

Do you ever see a gorgeous bright red lip on someone and are dying to try it but then less than a half hour later end up taking it off? Every few months I would buy a red lipstick to try out the bright red lips I was seeing on Pinterest only to be disappointed and maybe attempt again a few months later. In my many trials and errors, here are a few tips I learned along the way.  Keep reading to find out what you can do to rock a bold red lip this holiday season. 

#1
Don’t make too many other changes
It may be tempting to try your red lip exactly as you saw it in a magazine or on Pinterest with an elaborate hairstyle or lots of dark eye makeup, but I’ve found that it’s best to keep the rest of your look as close to your normal as possible. If you usually wear your hair down it’s best not to test your bold lip with a slicked back ballerina bun for your first go or else every glimpse in the mirror and you may be shocked.

#2
But do change your makeup a bit
If you aren’t used to being very made up keep the rest of your look simple but make slight changes if needed. If you tend to wear pink rosy cheeks you may have to switch to contoured or bronzed cheeks to compliment a red lip. Little to no eye shadow with just long lush lashes help a red lip stand out without being too overdone. 

#3
Try wearing red clothing
To keep from feeling your red lip is overpowering wearing a red dress or top helps draw some of the attention from your new lip look toward your outfit as well and the two brights tie together so your red lip isn’t standing on its own. 

#4
Keep your lip style the same
If you’re used to wearing a simple gloss don’t try your first red lip with a bright matte lipstick. Everytime you look in the mirror you’ll feel like you’re looking at someone else. Stick to the same with your bold lip, try a red glossy lip or a light stain or balm with a gloss over top. If you usually wear a matte lipstick then keep it similar with your red lip. 

Creating a Christmas Mantlescape on a Budget

With a 2 year old and a 5 month old at home, this year I've decided to take it easy on Christmas decorations.  With less energy and free time to hang garland from my stairs, mantle, tops of furniture, light fixtures, and outdoors I decided to keep my decorating simple and minimal. So I will be showing you how a I created a mantlescape on a budget. I reused every item from previous years, and I'm sure you can find some of these items in your home too.  (If you will be hanging garland this year check out this post on how to style and hang it.)

 I have been loving black and white and green Christmas decor, however a lot of what I already have is red so I went with a black, white, and red theme. I keep an old window above my mantle most of the year, so this is usually the backdrop of my mantle.  Then I started with some Christmas Village houses.  I spray painted them white to give them a cohesive look and keep with my neutral look.  

  To then fill in some of the spaces, I made these paper cone Christmas Trees using scrapbook paper that matched my look.  If you don't have scrapbook paper in the colors you would like you could also create these in 2 layers, using plain cardstock with a layer of wrapping paper on top to give some pattern.  

Next I added some texture with pinecones, you can wander your backyard and pick some or at any craft or big box store. In the Christmas section they will have bags of pinecones, and most smell like cinnamon, YUM!  I used a grapevine wreath that I change out for each season and adorned it with some red berries, pine cones and a black and white striped ribbon and hung it as my centerpiece on my window.  If you don't have or can't find an old window, the wreath can simply hang from a command hook above the rest of the mantle. 

Since I love to have my mantle lit up at night I added in some simple white votive and pillar candles, two of which sit on my grandmothers pewter candlesticks. These add some varying height to the mantle and remind me of going to her house and staring at her hutch filled with all pewter trinkets and her lit up Christmas Village. 

Grapevine Wreath $4.74
Pinecones $5.32
Scrapbook paper $14.18
LED Pillar Candles $12.00
Votive Candles $11.99
Christmas Village Houses $24.95
Black & White Ribbon $6.00
Pinecone Berry spray $3.99

For a Grand Total of $83.17 if you have to purchase every item including the candles, (but I'm sure you have some of these things already lying around the house) you can create this simple modern mantlescape.  I was able to make this mantle without purchasing one item this year, #Momwin.  And it may be my favorite Christmas Mantle I have done to date, Until next year I'm sure.  

Free Halloween Party Printables

This Fall I have been loving the non-traditional colors I've seen popping up in decorations everywhere. Lots of gold, silver, white, black, and even green.  

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So with that in mind I decided to come up with some Halloween Decorations with a non-traditional color scheme.  This year I decided to create this Glamour Halloween printables set for your Halloween party.  I stuck to a color scheme of white, black, and gold.  All you need to get started are card stock, scissors, string, some popsicle sticks, or straws & tape or glue. 

DOWNLOAD the free printables here. 

Be sure to tag us in the photos of your Halloween Party decorations on Instagram, Facebook, or Twitter  (@29DesignStudio) so we can see these printables set up in your space!

Baby Shower gifts for Grandmas

A few weekends ago we had our Baby Shower for Baby Groebler.  My wonderful mother and mother-in-law put so much effort and love into planning it.  It was just beautiful!!  In order to thank them for all of their hard work I came up with this little gift to give to them at the shower.  

I found these adorable Vera Bradley small cross body bags/clutches.  I thought they would be perfect as a diaper clutch to take into a restaurant or store quickly and not have to bring the whole diaper bag.  They can then be used after the baby is out of the diaper stage as a small purse.  

I then just filled them with diapering essentials: Diapers, wipes, and diaper cream.  It's that simple.  They were a hit with the Grandmas and a little way to show my appreciation for all of their hard work.