3 TIPS.

I own a lot of clothing. And I regularly purchase new items- so if I kept everything I ever bought our whole apartment would be a closet! I started re-selling my clothing in college and have learned a few tricks of the trade for making sure I get the most out of it!

1. Presentation- This part is super important! Make sure that the clothing you are selecting to sell are clean, as wrinkle free as possible, buttoned up if it buttons, zipped, and any belts tied or buckled. I always have to check for puppy fur, no one wants to handle clothes covered in some unknown pets fur. Take the time to fold the garments and make sure you aren't throwing things in that have stains or holes. If you take the time to edit and make your clothing presentable the store will be more inclined to purchase. Show that you care and they will care!

2. Frequent the same shop- I try and go to the same shop every time. I go to the clothing chain Plato's Closet to sell, and though they have locations close to my home I still frequent the one I started going to in college. Most of the staff there recognizes me and knows I always bring in quality items, we have built a buyer/seller relationship that works in everyones favor!

3. Reciprocate the business- As much as you like to make money off of your clothes the business wants to make money as well! Even though I sell clothes to make money I make sure to look around and see if there isn't something that I would like. Showing that you are a buyer as much as a seller enforces a good relationship with that business.

This all may seem kind of silly but it really works! You will see a much better return for your items by taking a few extra minutes to do these things.

Xo-
Janae

A BEGINNERS GUIDE: SIMPLE EDITING.

I am no Photoshop expert. In fact, I really hated Photoshop (out of ignorance) until about a year ago when I got over the denial and had Nate sit me down for a quick tutorial. These tips will seem very elementary for a proficient Photoshopper but for those of us who need the simplest way to punch up our photos here are my 3 go-to processes.

Nate has many more tricks up his sleeve and will be sharing a few more editing tools next week! What are some processes you like to use?

Xo-
Janae

3 TIPS.

Some people are blessed enough to have gotten out of the daily grind of corporate life and focus solely on their craft and business. But for the rest of us who still depend on a bread and butter job, have our side business, and want to keep plenty of family time in the schedule, juggling it all can be tricky. If I have learned anything from my 9-5 though, its time management- and until a few months ago I never realized that time management is extremely important in all aspects of our daily life. Here are three tips I have found to help me make time for everything ...

1. Keep work at work: This can be hard, but once you step through your front door, leave your 9-5 on the welcome mat. Your time is too precious to your own growth, creativity, and productivity towards your side business once you are home.

2. Keep a Schedule: Make to-do lists, have a calendar just for your business, and stick to it! Create deadlines that you can commit to and celebrate when you accomplish them! Remember not to over schedule and only set realistic goals, you could easily start to feel overwhelmed and that can squash creativity and your motivation.

3. Just like you take days off from your job, take days off from your business to focus only family and projects that are not business related. This will keep you fueled, help prevent you from feeling drained, and best of all, you can make amazing little memories with those you love :)

What do you do to keep motivated and balance your life? I would love to hear!

Xo-
Janae

READER QUESTION: MY HAIR CARE REGIMEN.

In all honesty, I am probably pretty mean to my hair. There are things I would never tell my stylist. Like I do wash my hair everyday, use hot tools, and brush it when its wet. But, I do try and make up for it by using products that nourish and heal. I use all drug store products, and have found what really works for me. I have stuck with some of these products for years now!

I started using Dove Damage Therapy shampoo and conditioner awhile ago and LOVE it. I also purchased the repairing hair serum pictured above- its honestly like a leave in hair lotion. Non-greasy, weightless, and makes your hair oh so touchable!

On days when I want lift I use Garniers Volume Inject mousse and blow dry my hair upside down. My hair is impossibly thick so by the end of the day gravity has done its deed and flattened it again but hey, it looks good from 8-noon!

Garniers Surf hair putty is a must everyday ... it gives great texture and helps reduce static in the winter. My bangs like to separate and blow helter-skelter during the day so I spray some of Garniers Extra Strong Volumizing hair spray and for the most part they stay put.

Products I also swear by but don't use everyday: Big Sexy Hair back comb spray and dry shampoo. I love the dry shampoo when I am traveling, especially to store openings when that extra 40 minutes of sleep is worth more than washing my locks. And it makes your hair super sculptable. Is that a word? Blogger says no, but I am making it so.


Probably my biggest hair secret? To get volume that stays on top I tease my roots (I know, I know, another thing to not tell the stylist) and when I make a bouffant I do not use a "Bump-It" like most assume. That is the real deal, all genuine my teased and backcombed hair. To get the perfect bump for an up-do, spritz your hair with the Big Sexy Hair Back Combing spray, tease, mold into desired shape and bobby pin in place.

So there you have it, my not so secret secrets :) Thanks Whimsical Woodland for your question!

Xo-
Janae

READER QUESTION.

I love it when you guys ask questions- and I have been working on answers for you slowly but surely!

I am 5ft too! Sometimes it can get frustrating because everything seems so long on the racks, and I know the opposite can be said by those on the other end of the height spectrum. Sadly, I can't really speak to those not vertically challenged but about 1/2 of what I will say can go for both short or tall. My first rule for myself is that there are no rules. I refuse to listen to people who say that short people can't wear maxi dresses, or that petite girls can't wear anything oversized because you look like you're drowning in fabric. You can wear whatever you want as long as you LOVE it and make it YOU. Mind boggling, right?

Fitted Denim/Pants: I swear by Gap petite denim. It fits perfect! Once you find your perfect fit, I suggest you buy it up and replace it as needed. Also, as you may have noticed I tend to be heavy on the F21 merchandise and their $10.80 denim in ankle skinny fit is pretty amazing ... and did I mention its only $10.80? If your denim/pant fits too long and slouches around your ankles it will make you look shorter just because it doesn't look like it fits. I recommend getting your pants tailored to your size, or roll, or tuck them. I will admit here though, I rarely get my flares or bells fit to size so I can wear platforms, so think ahead of what you plan on wearing them the most with!

Heels: Kitten to 6in platforms, adding height never hurts.

Ratios: Knowing that the more leg you show the longer you look is a great nugget of knowledge. If you want to wear ankle booties with a dress, making sure your dress option falls above your knee will give your gams a run for their money. However, does this mean I have never worn ankle booties with a maxi? Of course not! That would be silly.

The more you 'chop' your body up with horizontal lines the shorter you will look. example: Shirt at waist, skirt mid thigh, knee socks at knee, and ankle bootie. You just chopped yourself into 4 pieces by these 'invisible lines'. Did you intend for them? Doubtful, but they are there. How would I personally remedy this? Maybe cut out the bootie for a pump, or the knee socks for tights. Or make the shirt/skirt combo a dress. Oh so many options!

And last ... but by far not least. LOVE WHAT YOU WEAR! I have worn some crazy things in my past, I have prided myself in my clothing experiments and have been told on occasion by others that they could never pull of what I do. NOT TRUE! Its all about confidence ladies (and possibly gents?) Know what you love and it will, in most situations, love you back.

Happy Outfitting!

Xo-
Janae

5 TIPS.

Lately I have been trying to rid our apartment of extra stuff. I posted last week about our studio make over, I have thrown out/donated/passed on more stuff in the past few months than I ever have before. And it hasn't been easy. Well, sometimes its been easier than others ... kind of depends on where in the apartment I was purging (studio-easy. closet- not so easy). And as I dragged the poor mister on this spree I started to think about my reasoning for all the craziness ... why was I spending my day off tearing our home apart just to create large piles of things that had to go in the middle of the living room?!? Was it madness? Maybe. But I feel tons lighter, and I still have more I would like to do ... its almost addicting. So along the way I found ways to make the parting of my stuff not so sorrowful. Here are 5 tips that helped me ... and hopefully they can help you if you too are in need of a little (or a lot!) de-cluttering...

1. Have you used it in the past 6-12 mo? If you have not used/worn/looked at an item in the past 6-12 mo., it probably means you can live without. This helped a lot in my closet. I love clothes. I practically collect clothing. But it got to the point where I had oh so many options my closet was starting to overwhelm me on a daily basis. So if it was a garment that I looked at time and again but never wore it went out the door. I sold what I could and then donated the rest. I love that my hangers actually move in my closet now! 

(This goes the same for art/craft supplies... I found so much paper and craft scraps that I was hanging on to and hadn't remembered. I recycled them immediately!)

2. Does it still mean something to you? The mister and I have both been creative spirits since we were tots so we have a lot of art work. Portfolios, sketch books, projects of days gone by all take up space. But as we get better at our craft and make things we love more now than what we made a year ago these things just sit and collect dust. So take a picture! We have taken so many pictures of old work and then tossed the actual the project. Its much easier to store a disk of pictures vs. a 3D model of a store! 

3. Do you love it? I asked myself this a lot when going through my closets. My taste is always changing, and when I purchase something I always ask if I love it. So 6mo later do I still love it? If I know that I can live without or it may get traded in soon for an upgraded version- it goes!

4. Do you have multiples? When cleaning out my closet I realized I had 3 different pairs of floral shorts, multiple white and black t-shirts, and oh so many stripes. It seemed silly seeing them all laid on my bed looking pretty much the same. So I kept my favorite of each category and purged the rest. This goes the same for art supplies- do you have multiple tubes of the same blue paint? Toss the oldest and most used up tubes and keep the newer less used.

5. Are you able to move forward with it? When it came to our studio space I felt so held back by the mess ... um, hello??? did you see the pictures of our space?? It was crazy messy and totally unusable as we let it become a dumping ground. There was nothing about that space that was letting us grow and move forward. My best example of this was my magazine collection- it still kind of stings that I let my collection of almost 6 years go. I had made a plan to go back through all of them and save what I found most inspiring. But every time I thought of this task it was so daunting. So, I made the decision to keep the issues I knew I loved most and recycled the rest. So now, when I am reading a magazine I immediately pull out what inspires me and I  put it in a binder I reserved for magazine clippings and recycle the rest of it. No more boxes and stacks of magazines, its kind of amazing!

As a creative spirit I know I love seeing pretty things all around me, I do bounce back and forth between wanting all these pretty things and liking that I own lots of stuff and then wanting to be totally minimalistic and wishing I could be cool like Andy Warhol and mostly wear black (it will never happen, I have made peace with this). So finding a happy balance has been key for us. And its taken several rounds of looking through boxes and closets to realize what I can really do without.

I hope these tips are inspiring and helpful, stay strong, its all for creating a better you! 

Xo-

Janae