10 Ways to Brighten Your Days

02/25/2010

It’s easy for us to feel down with the daily grind of life. Especially if you’re working a full time job or constantly busy with school. It’s important to keep individuality in your life, regardless of your hectic schedule. It brightens up your world and makes you feel a little cheerier. So, what should you do?

Update your wardrobe, and don’t be afraid of color. Sometimes when I peer into the depths of my closet all I see is black, gray, and more black. Color is your friend, even if you’ve got the professional hat on. Don’t be afraid to buy something that catches your eye. If you’ve got a uniform to wear, put on some bright nail polish or find some lovely under things.

Change your hairstyle. Cut? Color? Go for it. Hair grows out so don’t be afraid to do what you want with it. One of the best confidence builders you can get is a great hair day.

Are you a hard working student? Get yourself some adorable school supplies. Check out Kawaii Gifts!

Keep a little journal with you to write down all the positive things that happen in your life. You can keep another one to vent too, but keep it separate. This one’s all about the positive. You can even write yourself little love notes to read on a rainy day.

Make like a Japanese school girl and give your cell phone a makeover. Check out Strapya World.

Start working some leg wear into your attire. Take a peek at Sock Dreams.

Find a pen pal. Send each other letters and cute little things in the mail. Instant day brightener.

Plan out your meals a little better. Working hard, being starving when it’s time for lunch, resorting to some greasy fast fast food & then feeling awful about it is an ultimate mood killer. Don’t skip breakfast either! Maybe it’s time to get into the art of bento boxes.

Clean out your life! Get rid of everything you don’t need. Donate! Your first assignment: clean out your wardrobe. Get rid of everything you don’t wear. This makes room for all your colorful updates.

Stop focusing so much on “practical” and “sensible” 24/7 and start caring more about what makes you happy. Don’t let things stand in the way of your joy! Happiness is the secret to life, after all.

7 Comments

DIY Recipes

Rainbow Soda Snowskin Mooncake

02/22/2010

When I first talked with Aunty Yochana I was absolutely charmed, her appreciation for food (namely sweets!) and the aesthetic decadence of it was so inspirational. Always having been addicted to sweets and cuteness (my sweet tooth is deadly!) I was immediately drawn to her and her love of expressing herself by creating mouthwatering masterpieces.

I couldn’t wait to know her secrets and of course I had to ask if I could share them with you as well, with these on your cake platter (don’t forget to adorn with raspberries and macarons as well!) you’ll make quite an impression. Tea party anyone?

Ingredients

90 gm. fried glutinous rice flour
10 gm. wheat starch
30 gm. shortening
40 gm. powdered sugar
200 gm. ice-cream soda or 7-up
a little pandan (green), pink and lemon yellow food coloring

Filling

600 gm. lotus paste
30 gm. melon seeds

* convert grams here

Method

1. Sift the glutinous rice flour and wheat starch into a mould.
2. Add in icing sugar and shortening and mix till thoroughly mixed.
3. Pour in ice-cream soda and mix into a soft pliable dough.
4. Divide dough into 4 portions. Add colouring to each portion, leaving one portion white.
5. Place each dough between plastic sheets and roll into a rectangular flat piece of the same size. Stack the dough on top of one another, then roll into a swiss roll.
6. Cut into 6 equal pieces. Divide the lotus paste fillings into 6 portions.
7. Roll the spiral part into a flat piece and wrap with lotus paste filling. Press into a mooncake mould then knock out.
8. Chill before serving.

3 Comments

Design Your Life

Using Personality in Your Blog

02/18/2010

“No one can ever duplicate your personality, the way you do business and your attitude towards other people.” – Problogger

Having been recently approached by well-known companies about Miseducated, I began wondering, “should I begin to write more seriously?” I’d always used my artist blog to write professional articles about Indianapolis.. and Miseducated was always used as my true self — how I act with my close friends. I often make up words and expressions all the while using slang, jargon and nonsense. My articles here are all that stands of my ‘blogging life’ anymore, but I wonder, should I tone down my character a bit?

Then I decided that’s what Miseducated is, being true to your self. Experiencing your life to the fullest.

I could always write less personally, but if I did that then I’d have changed everything I enjoy about what I do. I have written many serious pieces in the past both for education and personal purposes, they sit for months unnoticed in a folder marked ‘work’ and rarely see light. (I insisted as an undergrad that I could not write yet my professors adored everything I churned out.) I get bored easily and I must be doing what fuels my creativity. Thoughts onto paper. Sometimes unorganized thoughts onto paper but nevertheless, honesty and personality.

Go ahead and start a blog for hobby or sheer entertainment, see where it goes. In this amazing world wide web we all have the opportunity to publish our thoughts and work, if you catch the eye of others it can be endlessly shared and enjoyed around the world.

Get a move on

Working Girls by Gala Darling
7 Reasons Why Personal Blogs Rock at Problogger
Adding a Personal Touch to Your Blog at Problogger

7 Comments

Escapeland

Love Letter to Miseducated: Update

01/21/2010

I just wanted to let all of you lovely ladies know that we have lots of new articles coming soon for you to escape with. ♥ My full-time job is designing goodies for clients on and off line — after the holidays work went insane and now deadlines are all nearing. As I’ve said before, I wish I could devote a lot more, if not most, of my time to Miseducated and helping new artists — but it’s not in the cards right now. I am however continually working in the background to ensure our success, the miseducated women’s voice will only get stronger.

That being said I love and am responding to many of your submissions!

I am very much in the works of preparing articles from great new and current contributors.. I know you’ll love so many of these! Also I have recently heard from many great new artists who are dying for the chance to have center stage soon! Lots and lots of deliciousness headed your way.

Have some goodies you’re just waiting to see pop up here? Feel free to let us know so we can tailor some new content especially for you. 😛

By the way — did you see this rad complete list of all of our articles and authors here? What about the new emotikitties I pixeled out for you? Those smilies were getting on my nerves. 😎

xoxo

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Design Your Life

How Well Do You Know Yourself?

12/02/2009

Your relationship with yourself defines so many aspects of your life. So how is it? Do you know what you want and who you are? Do you have a strong sense of self? How do you know?

Think about your morals and values. Where are your limits and boundaries in life? What do you cherish or hold valuable?

What about your personal relationships? Who do you hold close to you and why? What traits do you value in a person? How do you interact in these relationships?

Picture your ideal life. What’s in it? Who’s there with you?

Think about your past, especially focusing on crucial events. How did you react then? How would you react now? How have you evolved as a person? Are you still hung up on something that happened in the past? Why? How will you get past it?

What goals do you have in life? Where do you want them to and what do you hope to learn?

What influences you in your life? The opinions of others or your own? Who inspires you? Why?

Think about your childhood and how you’ve been shaped as a person. How were you influenced as a child?

Where do your passions lie? What do you love doing? How can you do that for the rest of your life?

What should you do if you can’t answer these questions?

It’s time to do some soul searching and self analysis. One thing I find helpful is to make yourself a “Self Exploration Notebook” where you can write down all these questions and start to answer them as you think about them. Think of it as making a map of yourself. You can even go further and start to ask yourself different questions that really make you think. Try to take time to write in it every day and see what you come up with.

Consider yourself as the world views you. Think about what kind of an impact you’re making and how those closest to you view you. Think about how a complete stranger views you. Is it how you view yourself? If not, what’s different?

Take time to evaluate all of your relationships. Think about family ties, romantic relationships, and close friends. Are these healthy relationships? How do they impact your life?

Consider the endless possibilities that you are faced with in your life. You can do anything and with all those options you’ve got to sit down and think about them. Think about your happiness and the path that leads toward it.

Continue to get to know yourself better every day. Think about your actions and the drive behind them. Think about your choices and the reasons you make them. Think about your daily interactions and how they affect you. It’s never time to stop exploring. Your map is constantly changing.

Don’t give up. Even if you’re a stranger to yourself the benefits of finding who you are as a person are endless. It’s one of the most important things you’ll ever do.

2 Comments

Visual Splendor

Sofia Coppola’s Vogue Inspiration Board

11/24/2009

Sofia Coppola’s inspiration board was featured in French Vogue a few years ago and of course I had to save the article and share it as she is a huge inspiration behind Miseducated. Let’s escape to Sofia*land~

“Everyone in my family is in the film business; I knew I wanted to be creative and it was important in my family to be artistic.”
~Sofia Coppola

1 Comment

Mew for Today Self Decoration

Mew for Today: Baby Changes Everything INSIDE

11/20/2009

.. and if you’ve worked hard and stayed positive chances are these changes are awesome and very welcome into your life! Success is a state of mind.. remember, you’ll never be exactly where you want to be because you’ll always be striving for bigger and better things.

I’m keeping my own little secrets (haha, I guess I actually just blabbed) but I won’t be able to hide them for long.. so alas I’m on the look for delicious maternity wear for fashionable mothers to be or mothers that HAVE been. <3

TWIN SYNDROME: High-Rise Panties

Nothing’s sexier than what you Don’t Show!
Great for under high-rise jeans for a flash of extra coverage, for nursing mommies, for smoothing the look of that clingy dress, general layering on cold winter days, and just plain ol’ fun when stripping down!

Stretchy 95% cotton, 5% spandex blend is very comfortable and forgiving, french cut bottoms are sexy and flattering!

Plum Pretty Sugar Loungerie

If you’re feeling a need to lounge around, why not look beautiful while you do it? Always take time with your appearance and you’ll be pleased feeling like a queen rather than a slug.

Haramaki Love

Whether you choose to wear it under or over your shirt, the tiny white heart really adds adorable to your maternity ensemble!

YY Studio

Go Rosemary’s Baby style (this is what I wore BEFORE I was expecting) with mod little tent dresses and sweet minis.

Sub Rosa Fashion

Soft and fantastic knitted mini dresses that are loose and soft enough to feel as sweet as they look!

Craft Junky

These indoor shoes and house slippers are bright and cheerful — if your feet are uncomfortable they can be soft in style.

8 Comments

Design Your Life

Who Do You Push Out and Close Down?

11/12/2009

You’re getting with your friends realizing how amazingly successful everyone is (let’s be honest each one of them seems to divulge in a different success each turn) but do they really feel successful? If you often really ask people they’ll tell you they’re nowhere near where they want to be because we’re always striving for more.

Do you feel successful?

Being an artist as a career is tough.. no one wants to take you seriously, especially when you’re a tiny girl that loves cuteness. One day you feel you’re getting somewhere, perhaps you’re illustrating a new layout for your favorite art magazine, and then the next day immediately it feels like everything can be taken in an instant.

We are constantly averting our attention and watching as new art shops and artists pop online one after the other.. we’re constantly deciding who we want to succeed and who we want to fail.

We are? Yes. You’re deciding right now what succeeds and what fails, take a look at the support you have for the art or DIY community.. whatever you buy or pay attention to, you’re ensuring their success.. whatever you pass by without a second glance, you’re obviously not ensuring their success. We have more power than many of us like to think and it’s time we realize that.

If success was based solely on the artistic vision, genuineness, and quality then there would be no problem, but with the resurgence of options what really is getting weeded out? Is it the amazing acrylic jewelery artist who coined the peppermint ring? Are we purchasing the rip off and ensuring their success while the genuine artist is missing our patronage? It’s worth thinking about.

Is it tough to be unique in a world that’s constantly adopting your ideas and incorporating them into their own artistic vision?

All jobs are hard in some way and everyone can master something amazing in their lifetime.. why not also realize you’re ensuring your community’s success also?

3 Comments

Artist & Designer Features Visual Splendor

Fly to Happiness with Locketship by Maria

11/11/2009

Maria is a wonderful and talented little lady that’s taken vintage and whimsical collages or imagery and used them as a design element for jewelry and oh-so-cute accessories. Locketship pendants are as unique as you might think and their aesthetic is magical, dainty and sweet!

Locketship is the brainchild of Maria Ewing-Estrada, and like the designer herself, puts a new spin on a classic. Unlike the original locket, which hid its contents, Locketship pendants share their feelings with the world.

All Locketship jewelry is handmade by Maria and her husband Aaron in their Los Angeles home. High school sweethearts, the two married soon after graduation and began melding Maria’s creativity with Aaron’s handiwork.

How sweet and inspiring is that?

Miseducated even selected a few of their favorite items that we might not be able to live without.. when we do a photoshoot with her goodies you’ll be sure to see how pleased we are with the quality and glamour of her shimmery jewels. I know I couldn’t say no to the kitty collection! She knows my weakness! 😉

Our Picks

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Self Decoration

Recycle and Upcycle Happy Meal Toys

11/10/2009

Eh, so sometimes when my husband and I are running late or feeling really nasty we’ll grab happy meals — mainly just when the toys are cute… but what the hell do you do with the little plastic toys after you eat your meal?

Make something out of them!

My plan was to attach gems and glitter all over my lovely ponies and headbands with sweet unicorn emblems. Every headband is on it’s way to a special home for fun and whimsy instead of being chewed up in Wanwan’s bed or thrown in the garbage. 😉 Perhaps soon we’ll do some more silly DIY with all the plastic junk we always come across! ha

(go ahead and keep the box too for silly gifts to friends — haha)

Photos by Benjamin Amick <3 Dress: Manoush; Headband: DIY; Shoes: Russe & Rilakuma

Miseducated Inspired Love

Ariel: The Forest

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