An Interview with Beau Nelson of Beaute Cosmetics

1. Tell us a bit about your earlier career - what made you want to get into makeup?

I was always interested in fashion but I wasn't sure what I wanted to do. Elle at the time had really good beauty pages and I would read them and was inspired one day just to start playing with makeup. Around the same time Kevyn Aucoin's book Making Faces came out, so I bought it and literally taught myself how to do every look in the book.



2. Who has been your favorite face to work on so far ?

I have so many amazing clients and beautiful faces to work on, it would be too hard to choose just one. I have worked on so many legendary beauties... Iman, Brooke Shields, Angie Harmon, Kristen Stewart.... the list goes on and I love them all in different ways and for different reasons.



3. Tell us about somewhere fun you traveled for a shoot

I just got back from London where I was shooting a story at a really beautiful hotel outside of London which the Sultan of Brunei apparently used to use as a home. It was really nice to be in a place that quiet and pretty.



4. What is your favorite part about doing makeup for a living?

I get to do what I love.



5. What is your least favorite part?

Sometimes I'm so busy I don't have time for much else.



6. What is your fave song right now?

I always have a ton of songs by Everything But The Girl on my ipod. Right now my most listened to song is Mirrorball (DJ Jazzy Jeff Sole Full remix)



7. What are your top 5 must have products?

Shu Uemura Nobara Stick foundation
Beauté Stains, glosses and Lip Cremes
NARS blushes
Urban Decay 24/7 Liners
Kanebo Sensai Liquid Liner



8. Type any random thought here!

I'm not sure what to put here! haha.






You can find Beau's products on his website HERE! Trust me.. they are amazing. The lip cremes and the stains blow any other similar products out of the water :) He knows what he is doing! His brushes are also equally amazing. His products are artist caliber.

Easy Mushroom Garland Tutorial by Julia B.

Materials needed:



- Assorted color felt squares
- Glue gun
-Cotton string (aprox. 56”)
-Paper, pencil and cardboard



To start:

Draw out your mushroom cap and stem. If you are not to handy with that, a google search will give you quiet a few free templates you can use. Trace your design onto cardboard, and cut out on each cap, base, as

Trace 2 of each mushroom cap and base, per mushroom. You can use different colors, or all of one. It is up to you.



Trace your mushroom spots. I used 1 ½” and ¾” circles. The amount you need to cut, depends on how many or few spot’s you want on your mushrooms, mine have between 9-10 each total, front and back.



Arrange and glue your spots, and glue together your mushroom stem.



Next, glue your stem to bottom center of back-side of one of the mushrooms. Glue mushroom cap in place, leaving a small opening at the top.



Trim any excess felt, and pull away those pesky little glue threads as well J



Use a few pins to properly space your mushroom’s. sandwich the string, between the top of the mushrrom caps, and close up with a bit of glue.



All done!

An Interview and Giveaway with Paisley Baby

For a 15% discount on any Paisley Baby purchase use code PBABY15 - Until March 14th!




My mother Dianne and I started Paisley Baby in 2002. Paisley Baby is a combination of my love of fabric shopping and Dianne’s 50 years of sewing experience. Together we design and create unique baby accessories and all kinds of fabric bags. Pretty fabric and quality craftsmanship make us smile. We hope they make you smile too!

We both live just outside Montreal, Quebec - Dianne on the South Shore and I live off the West Island. I have two children (a boy and a girl) and it looks like my son has inherited the interest in fabric and desire to sew! We are fortunate enough to be surrounded by friends and family who are constantly inspiring us with ideas for new products.


1. What inspires you to come up with new designs?

It is not hard to find inspiration with all the beautiful fabrics that are available. Every day I find new prints from my favourite designers and also from new designers that I find hard to resist. Sometimes a customer will ask for a specific design and we just don't have any fabric that will make it work. Then I'll see a certain fabric and it will all come together.



2. How long have you been creating?

I've been creating for Paisley Baby, with my mother Dianne, since 2003. However I've been doing some kind of needle and textile craft (embroidery, needlepoint, sewing, knitting) since I was 8 years old. My mother has been sewing for over 50 years.



3. Where do you do your work? Do you have a dedicated area of your home, or?

I am fortunate enough to have my my own office/studio attached to my bedroom. It has a large bay window with a view of our backyard and swimming pool.



4. Tell us about a goal you have for your business.

In the next few months I want to develop a proper media kit and wholesale line sheet for Paisley Baby. I also need to find a live cute model for our hooded towels and a live model for our capri pj pants.



5. What is your favorite album?

This is a tough one! I'll go for something Canadian, I'm dating myself, how about Five Days in July by Blue Rodeo or Sarah McLachlan Surfacing.



6. Where do you see yourself in 5 years?

Another really hard question. My children will both be teenagers by then so I am sure my life will be very different. I hope everything works out so that I can be doing some kind of creative work that will also allow me to be involved in what is going on with my kids.



7. What is your favorite thing to do on a weekend?

In the winter my daughter usually has hockey games on the weekend and I do enjoy watching those. In the summer I am always hopeful there will be a couple of hours where there are no household projects to be completed and we can all relax around the pool together.



8. Tell us about a new skill you'd like to learn.

I want to learn how to play guitar.



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Maria is giving away a small wet back of of your choosing!



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Visit Paisleybaby and pick your fave item, and leave it in a comment.

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Closes March 14th

Dress Up Your Undies with My Girl Thursday

Hello friend, my name is Thursday. I'm a compulsive crafter, lifelong thrifter, hideaway hermit, baker extraordinaire and mama to a seriously wacky one year old. As an obsessive secondhand shopper I am inspired by things old and sometimes forgotten.

When the wise and wonderful Paper Cakes asked me to do a little something for her second anniversary my mind immediately went to the bedroom.  No, not like that you naughty Nellie!  I'm talking about the underwear drawer.  After all the traditional gift for year two is cotton.  And if you're a weirdo like me when you think cotton you think britches. 

Do you remember that scene in The Virgin Suicides when you see that Lux wrote Trip's name on her underwear - sort of a sign of her unending teenage devotion?  Well, that bit has always stayed with me; little handmade moments like that get me every time.

scene from The Virgin Suicides

So inspired by the sweetness of one of my favourite films I bring you a couple simple examples of  restyled underthings (I'm doing everything in my power not to use the P word here, folks, it grosses me out!).

Applique:  Using a simple shape, patterned fabric and complimentary colours add a little pop to an otherwise boring pair of skivvies.  To make the applique process easier you can either add a small bit of fusible adhesive to the back of your shape or simply pin in place. 





Simple Embroidery: You don't have to be an embroidery rock-star for this technique; even your most basic stitch will do here! I was tempted to stitch my guys name on this pair, but then thought he might be a bit wierded out to seeing that here. I guess I'll save that for our anniversary.





Stitching on this fabric isn't the easiest thing ever, but if you've made it to the cotton anniversary you know a thing or two about toughing it out for love.  Thanks for hanging out with me for underpants chat.  If you're ever interested in more incessant ramblings you can visit my blog My Girl Thursday or find me on Twitter. 

Keep it crafty!