Now on Etsy: The Tish Souvenir Top

I had a blast making this fun piece. Vintage petticoat flounces, bloomer hems, insertion lace and knit trim come together with a decadent velvet ribbon for perfect summer piece. Check it out here.

Red Lipstick: A Tumultuous Love Affair

I've had a love-hate relationship with red lipstick since I can remember. As a kid, I always associated it with a look of scowly disinterested detachment. The wearers always seemed cold, a bit garish and higher-than-thou, which I blame entirely on Robert Palmer.

Seriously though, I think my anti-red lipstick mindset came from my youthful affection for all things lightly hued. I grew up with a makeup drawer filled to the brim with Clinique glosses and Bonne Bell balms. In high school, a friend of mine started wearing The Body Shop's Rutabaga and, desiring her effortless glamour, I hopped on board as well.

Drew Barrymore, 1998. Is that Rutabaga?!

The berry-stained hue was all over the red carpet in the late 1990's, so I felt really refined and adult wearing it, though when paired with Coty face powder, I looked downright spectral. Sadly, despite my attempts to rock Rutabaga, I couldn't, so eventually I let the pretty silver tube roll to the back of my drawer to the land of lost cosmetic products. Then finally, when I graduated from college and moved away from Pennsylvania, it made its final journey to the trash.

These days I can't get enough of red lipstick. I don't wear makeup every day, but when I do, it's always in my arsenal. Nars' Velvet Matte Lip pencil in Cruella has been my go-to for a year or so, but now I'm all over Chanel's Rouge Allure Laque in Coromandel! I spotted it on a beauty blog last week and it was love at first sight. It's a little orangey, so it's the ideal choice for summer!

Chanel Rouge Allure Laque in Coromandel (72), Chanel Le Crayon Lévres in Carmin (14)

So, Chanel? Je t'aime!

You're a reminder that red is always in style, fun, flirtatious and totally attainable. No slicked-back hair and bad faux guitar playing required.

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Preview: Veda Garconne Tap Shorts

I was debating the following titles for this post:

Have a Heart... Or Two (or) I Wear My Heart(s) on My Butt. When discussing cheeky shorts one can be a little, well, cheekier than usual!

I love these shorts - they're the perfect pair to the Eunice Deco Camisole! They'll be up in the shop tomorrow!

Ranuculus: A Love Story Told in Hipstamatic

I couldn't help but take some Hipstamatic photos of the gorgeous ranuculus I picked up at Whole Foods on Monday. Ranuculus are my favorite type of flower... my wedding bouquet was teeming with them!

What's your favorite kind of flower?

Preview: Eunice Deco Camisole

Yay for Eunice! I just finished sewing her up this afternoon and she'll be listed on Honey Cooler Handmade tomorrow! :)

True Deco: In Color!

We here at Honey Cooler Handmade (well, I guess I should say "I", since this is a one-woman show) love all things Deco. This amazing video (stolen from the gorgeous blog Mariaunet) is a film test for Kodachrome, one of the first color motion picture films. While Kodachrome was manufactured from 1935 until 2009, this video is an exceptionally early test, from 1922!

The women in this video are lovely in what is now an unconventional way -- full rosy cheeks, porcelain skin, gently flirtatious, a bit overdramatic -- and I love it.

The video precursor says it best "Some of the earliest color motion pictures you will ever see". Enjoy.

Learning the Photo Ropes

Thanks to the amazing people hanging around on the Etsy forums, I've decided to revamp my Honey Cooler Handmade photos. I'd been fighting the urge to play with my photo levels for fear that they wouldn't accurately display color, but you know what? I'm really happy with these!

So, the Lucie Garconne Tap Shorts were the guinea pig, and what a cute guinea pig they make (if I do say so myself)...

What do you think?

McQueen Still Reigns

I was puttering around downtown today before an appointment and made a stop at my favorite shoe destination, Neiman Marcus. The shoe selection there is to die for. Lovely, yet exorbitantly and prohibitively expensive. Doesn't mean I can't snap a shot or two though...

Alexander McQueen sandals, you had me at "hello", but I'll have to keep on loving you from afar because $1400 is a tad out of my price range.

In Progress: Beatrice Ribbon Corset

Take a gander! Isn't Beatrice beautiful? This amazing vintage ribbon was such a find and is shaping up into one lovely little cincher!

It's Just That Kind of Day

*yawn* (Thanks, Cute Overload!)

Love Life

Saw this on my walk down Florida Street in San Francisco last week.

Lost in Translation: A Day at Daiso

Last week, the amazing Tammy George (of PuNk rAwK pUrL fame) and I eschewed our sewing machines and decided to take a field trip to Daiso.

Daiso is the stuff of dreams: an emporium of colorful Japanese imports at ridiculously low prices. It's not quite the size of Michael's or Target, but it's certainly big enough that Tammy and I spent a good hour and a half wandering its endless saccharine aisles. If you're anything like me, the Serramonte Shopping Center seems incredibly distant (both in actual distance and in spirit) from my beloved hipster haven that is San Francisco. But I will say this: Daiso is a gem of squee-inducing design and bad translation. Let the tour begin!

What's the appropriate reaction to receiving a gift bag like this? "I have something to tell you" never seems like a good opener.

Snacks! I picked up some Pocky and Chocorooms for my husband and succeeded in holding myself back from the rainbow of assorted sweets.

This bag might have been among the most expensive things in the store (most items are $1.50), but in all fairness Daiso's copywriter DOES deserve a substantial bonus for making me laugh.

Me too, little bear, me too.

I really want to make eclairs now!

I've never felt the need to buy hors d'oeuvres toothpicks, but there's a first time for everything. The cute colors were giving me cavities!

More impossibly precious toothpicks!

Shoulder pads. Please note the English translation of the unsatisfied, and then satisfied, user. Is "It's good enough" really a selling point?

A cornucopia of food erasers!

Tammy carefully considers some uber-cute bowls.

If you haven't been to Daiso, GO for God's sake! After an hour and a half and a full basket of knick-knacks, I wound up spending around $14. Daiso is to shopping what Stevia is to a sweet tooth. Yummy yummy!