How To: Create Your Own Shoe Display!

We all have that corner of our bedroom or closet that is entirely empty and we don't know what to do with it. We try to put a chair there, a laundry basket, and soon enough it turns into a clutter corner (this is usually a place in your house where you have no idea what to do with and ends up collecting what seems to be every nick knack without a home until it's a pile that is outlandishly unpleasing to the eye)
Awhile back in the midst of decorating my room I was on Pinterest (Because realistically I spend way too much time on here browsing for inspiration...) and I was looking through some pictures of shoe displays, and my first instinct was to clear off my shelf and make one myself!

There are about a hundred different ways you could achieve this, but I wanted to keep it pretty simple to match the rest of my bedroom decor. I took an old bookcase (I painted it white) and set it up in the corner of my room.
Depending on the amount of shoes you have, you can put however many pairs that will fit on each shelf (Being a bit of a shoe-collector, I easily fit about four or five pairs of my top favorites, the rest I had to keep in my closet for lack of room.)
I didn't want to have a book shelf full of random shoes in my room with no purpose, so I tried to make it more fashionable and decorative, making  a separate shelf for purses, and boxes of some of my favorite shoes, or perfumes (Vince Camuto, BCBG, Juicy Couture)

This is what my shoe display looks like in my room next to my vanity and make-up organization.

This is the first two shelves: For the very top  I used two shoe boxes and semi-random Juicy Couture perfume box.

For the second shelf I used my Vince Camuto's and BCBG Shoes and I wanted something to add a little decoration, so I used four Juicy Couture perfume boxes from Holiday collections.

For the next shelf I used all of my favorite handbags (Juicy Couture, Marc Fisher and lots and lots of Steve Madden!) For Christmas I got a box of every travel size Victoria's Secret perfume and I thought fit perfectly here. I paired it with a polka dotted box (also from VS, originally used as a box for an iPad cover)

Here are the next two rows of shoes. I tried to categorize them. The one on top is my "Wild Prints" a.k.a some of my favorite shoes for when I need to add a little bit more to a basic outfit, and the bottom is my "Girly Chic" row, which speaks for itself.



Here are my top 3 favorites in my display!

I can get a little bit obsessed with bold prints, which I why these are on my top three favorites shoes I currently own!

Hot Pink is my all time favorite color,  and in person these shoes are much more florescent and eye-catching, which is why I love them. If it were possible to be in love with a pair of shoes, I would choose these!

I am equally as obsessed with Nude's, and the golden detail on these had be smitten before I even left the department store!  Every girl needs to have a pair of nude heels. It is a simple must.




A shoe display can take up quite a bit of room, and when I lived in my apartment in the big city, I didn't a lot of space! I lived with two other girls and it was difficult to find space for all of my stuff! Here is a good alternative to the large bookshelf display:

Here was my room in my old Apartment. I thought it was a little bit crowded at first, but then I was addicted to the "full" feeling that it gave my bedroom, and it seemed a lot more cozy!

Here is a close up view. Later on I ended up taking out the books on the bottom shelf and adding another pair of heels, converting it over entirely to a shoe display. The smaller bookshelf is perfect if you only have a few pairs of heels, or if you live in a small apartment and don't have room for a large bookshelf. I accessorized the top with my favorite candles, the Bobbi Brown books, and my favorite perfumes.

Creating my shoe display was pretty easy to do, and I had so fun organizing it all, and I am always switching it up when I get bored with it, or if I buy a new pair I switch them out. It's the best way to add something extra to your room. Who would have thought shoes could be used for more than a fashion accessory? 

<3mykel

How to: Accessorize a Simple Bulletin Board.

It was a lonely Friday night in my empty apartment in the big city that I was staring at the eyesore of a bulletin board in my bedroom. I had redecorated it back in high school in many flamboyant colors, and pictures of random miscellaneous things that I had gathered and kept (movie ticket stubs, my HS diploma, my Beauty School acceptance letter, just to name a few...) 
So I picked it up and I started to rip it all off and throw it in the garbage.
I decided I needed something current that matched the decor of my (at the time) small apartment room (FYI: I have been completely infatuated with anything vintage or "faded".) 
So I went to work, eagerly pinning, taping and gluing and below are the results!

It was fairly simple, actually! 

For the background: I ripped up the pages of an old book (I had a copy of the book, and that copy was probably 99 cents at a thrift store) and pasted it to the background of my bulletin board 
(You can choose whichever you like. I chose one that was old, a little bit worn. The book was called "The Scarlet Letter")

Pictures: I took a few magazine pictures from the Glamour Magazine, Taylor Swift Cover (November 2012) It was a bit of a vintage, classic feel. I added a few pictures I had found that seemed to fit the decor (delicate, chic and girly)

Paper Notes:  I picked 4 pieces of paper from an old journal, and crumbled up two of them to add a worn and (once again Vintage) feel to it all (... You are going to read "Vintage" a lot...)
I chose four of my favorite quotes, and you can obviously customize this to be whatever you like.

• The crumbled paper in the far right corner says "Never trust words, only actions"
• The one above that is a quote from ee cummings, "Everybody's dying to be somebody else but I'll live my life if it kills me"
• Far right corner says "you can be absolutely anything that you choose to be."

To add that (vintage, classic, chic) flare, I decided that I need some beads/pearls.
I coincidentally had a huge necklace with several layers that always managed to look a little too cheap and tacky when I wore it even on my most extreme of fashion days, so it was perfect for this! I pinned one corner of it to the bottom of the picture and pulled it across the board, adding the finishing touch.

As you can see, my desk has a few decorations of it's own. You can personalize it however you would like depending on the theme of your pin board.
 I chose:

• An "old looking" perfume bottle (I found it at Hobby Lobby)
•  some vintage pieces like an old metal heart shaped jewelry box (a gift from a cousin)
• a small wooden chest I received almost ten years ago (also a gift, from my Aunt)
• Two boxes (on the far left) that are actually several make-up palettes that I thought matched the theme well enough to be removed from my make-up storage vanity and placed here.
• A clay bowl that my cousin made for me in the 5th grade (inside she painted hummingbirds, which was my favorite bird at the time) I filled it with penny's. The paper on top says "Take A Penny... Make a Wish."

Listed Below:

... Here is my make-up vanity ( the decoration side)

(In case you are wondering I moved a few pieces from my desk over to here, such as the heart shaped chest, the perfume bottle...) 

This is a small part of my make-up Vanity that I wanted to add some accents to so that it would match my room. 

• I found an old kerosene lamp, 
• In the jar are some bath salts that are the scent "Eucalyptus Spearmint", 
• a Bath and Body Words Candle. 

Two books I found in the depths of our basement on one of the many many bookshelves where my mom stores old books. 

(Mark Twain is the top book, and David Copperfield is the bottom.)

I have since then added a few more pieces, such as a glass jar with a golden lid that is full of pearls. It seemed to fit right in! 

Here is another side of my Make-Up Vanity. I keep some of my all time favorite perfumes right here for easy access, plus they look the best. All but 2 of them are the Juicy Couture Collection.

Here is the wall right above my Make- Up Vanity (The hanging lights are I believe called icicle Christmas tree lights, and I hung them all around the my room, about an inch or so from the ceiling- they are so beautiful when they are turned on in the dark!) 

• The tree is sticker art (You can purchase them just about anywhere like Target, Wal-Mart, and sometimes even places like Marshall's or TJ Max) And it was really fun to place all of the little birds around. 
• I found the three hangers (A purse, a heel, and some sort of pendant with a crown on it)  at the same store I got the birds. I fell in love with them monetarily  I actually bought them for my bathroom back when my room was still pink and lime green!
• I hung some of my favorite necklaces from them (the bigger ones) 
• Shown above them is just two zipper flowers found somewhere miscellaneous. 

(... You can see the very top of my Make-up storage drawers- my make-up brushes are 

sitting on the very top of it.)

I couldn't fit this in the picture but it is one of my absolute FAVORITE accessories in my room! It's a birdcage necklace holder. 

It's hard to see the detail in the picture (it's nothing in particular: a key, some drawings of mirrors, etc.)

 This is where I keep my more expensive jewelry or anything that is really important or special/ I never want to lose.

It opens from the right hand hook you can see, and I found this little beauty at Hobby Lobby.

These are just a few of the crafts I have begun at 12:30AM when I need a change! It never happens at a convenient time. But sometimes I get my best ideas in the earliest hours of the morning, and I find myself staying up so late that I promise myself I will resist the urge to create something, and that I will not take on a project when I should be sleeping... But my imagination never agrees.

<3mykel

Fabulous 2013.

It is official: 2012 is dead. 
I don't know about any of you but I am thrilled about the new year and I welcome 2013 with open arms, as well as an open mind.

I have decided that blogging is something I really want to try. Sure, I love to write. And I especially like to express my feelings about all things beauty and glamorous, primarily about hair and beauty, as well as fashion.
My admiration for all things glamorous goes back to a very young age, and I quite honestly cannot remember my life without it, that eager, inner desire to simply create something. Whether it was trying out a new color scheme for the current year, or making a simple white bookshelf a shoe and clutch display, I am always creating in my head. I thrive on the excitement of it.

I recently received my cosmetology license at one of (what I will forever claim to be) the best Cosmetology schools in the United States (School spirit is a contagious thing.)  I tried to do a little bit of blogging while I was in beauty school but it was simply too much. I was working and going to school in a large city where there is not a lot of room for anything but just that: work.

Now that I have recently sprung free of my life in a big city and settled down with a good job (I say "settled down" as if that were even possible for me) I have decided that I need a pastime, I need a really intriguing hobby that will justify my large amounts of spending as well as credit my creative nerd.

What better way to do that than to blog about it?

I plan to blog about more than just beauty products, tips, and tricks. I would not be surprised if Pinterest DIY crafts end up on this blog, simply because I can. And if it feeds my inner desire to create, display, and admire, then so be it.

As my make-up collection grows ever larger, so does my need to connect with people much like myself. I get some of my best ideas from simple observation. Maybe I saw a really gorgeous sunset one evening and woke up that morning with this dire need to recreate it.
On my eyes. 
Who better to understand something so crazy than somebody who has done it before, and probably will again?

So, as I said, I expect very great things from 2013.
I hope the New Year brings me: adventure, new people, new lessons, new ideas, plenty of epiphanies and, as always...
Glamorous Couture.

<3 Mykel




Here are a few of my favorite things :)

Books! Of all shapes, sizes, and adventures. I could read a book a day if I had time to do so. I would say I have a favorite, but there are too many to chose from. Although a "Top Favorite" is "To Kill A Mockingbird" by Harper Lee.

                                       MAC is one of my top favorite cosmetic lines.

  Speaking of favorites, AVEDA is one of the best lines out there. Absolute Adore.

I could watch an entire season of House in a single day. One of the best shows to exist.

If it were possible to live and breath Juicy Couture I would. It never ceases to describe exactly who I am and (depending on the day, or my mood) my style. I might as well admit it now that it is one of my obsessions.

And lastly, here is me: 

I felt it was only fair to post a picture where I was "Made-Up" and one where I was not so much. 
 (Plus these two pictures describe perfectly how my style varies, depending on my mood and simply what I woke up that morning wanting to create.)