Wanna Advertise Here?

January, aka winter death month, is over! It actually wasn't too bad. Very mild weather and all... That means it's time for new sponsor spots to become available!



This is a great opportunity for small blogs/Etsy shops, etc. to get a little more exposure.

Yellow Blackbird is still small but is growing bigger literally every day. I currently have almost 500 followers (check the side bar for the most current number) and receive between 8,000-10,000 visitors per month.

I post at least 3-4 times per week and link to many blog parties, including "What I Wore" at Pleated Poppy which brings a lot of traffic to my blog.

I am offering ad space for February for only $5 per month. What a deal! This price also includes 1 GROUP blog post about your blog/shop/etc. sometime during the month.

Maximum ad space is 185 X 185 pixels. Email me if you are interested! aubreelarsen@gmail.com Your ad will go live as soon as I get it! (Paypal address is aubreelarsen@hotmail.com)

I will only be accepting family friendly, G rated ads!

IDK Refinery

This month my fabulous sponsor was Christina from IDK Refinery. It is her personal blog where she writes about life: I am a very random blogger and am not customized to one genre or focused on a set thing, there is so much going on. I am being refined by fire, daily, and ya know what it sucks, it hurts and I cry. But I know that I am not alone and neither are you. I am embracing who I am. Please go over and give Christina a big hello and some love!

Become a sponsor for Yellow Blackbird yourself!

What I Wore

I am really excited to see that we are almost up to 500 friends here at Yellow Blackbird. I have been worried about this little blog lately because there has been a severe lack of comments. But lots and lots of my stuff is being pinned and you all continue to join so I must be doing okay!

H&M shirt, Walmart blazer, Gap skinnies (cuffed), Steve Madden wedges, Target necklace (gift), F21 bracelet

WHEN: Thursday, January 26

WHERE: Work

GETTING CREATIVE: I love blazers, but don't wear them often.... also I have been loving the cropped pants look lately so though I would cuff my pants and try it. While I think it's cute, my ankles were FREEZING all day, so this look won't be back for a few more months.

Target dress, Forever 21 sweater, Old Navy scarf, Forever Young boots

WHEN: Saturday, January 16

WHERE: Women's conference at church

GETTING CREATIVE: Whenever I need to get dressed in a dress quickly, this is one of my go-to pieces. I have noticed that I have pinned a lot of blue and yellow outfits lately so I used that color scheme. With the long sweater and the tall boots I thought a long scarf was in order.

These are a Few of My Favorite Pins

I didn't do a ton of pinning this week, so I only have a few fun finds to share.

Source: atlantic-pacific.blogspot.com via Aubree on Pinterest

Isn't this the cutest rainy day look you have ever seen? I have red rain boots so I i was immediately drawn to it. I also love the necklace.

Source: purplechocolathome.blogspot.com via Aubree on Pinterest

I haven't yet clicked over the blog to see the recipe yet, but I do love Pizza Factory bread ticks!!

Source: lemontreecreations.blogspot.com via Aubree on Pinterest

I think pallet art such as this is so pretty. I would love to do a piece like this for my living room.

Have a great weekend! See you tomorrow for What I Wore!

One Maxi, Six Ways

One of my favorite purchases from 2011 was this gorgeous maxi dress that I got at Ross for only about $14. I really love the maxi trend for the modest lengths that the dresses offer. They can be really immodest up top but with a little layering that problem is easily solved for all seasons. Below are 6 different ways I have styled this dress since late last summer. I think I have definitely got my money's worth out of it!

ONE: For summer, I wore a cropped cardigan for sleeves and coverage, while still remaining cool. Open toed shoes were a must. Wearing a heel can add height if the dress is a little too long for you. You might not want it dragging on the ground! I layered a few gold necklaces to fancy it up!

TWO: In very early fall I can't wait to get out the fall wardrobe. I love the colors in the dress for that very reason! I added a little bid more sleeve and length to the cardigan to look a little more "fall-ish" but still was kept cool by the lightweight fabric and open toed shoes. This time I went with a necklace that matched the dress. I thought it worked especially nice because of the neutral cardigan.


THREE: Fully into fall, I wore a mustard cardigan to pull out the beautiful yellow tones in the dress. Nothing since fall or warmth like a cozy scarf. I swapped out the shoes for boots. These boots have a heel to make it a little dressier. I buttoned one button of the sweater to define my waist a little bit since I didn't wear a belt.

FOUR: This was the cozy, comfy, casual styling of the dress. I buttoned the cardigan up all the way so it now looks like a skirt rather than a dress. Layering the necklaces added visual interest while the flat boots kept it comfy. (I wore this on Thanksgiving.)


FIVE: I don't think the colors photographed as well as they looked IRL. I really loved wearing this with the orange sweater, and pulling out all those gorgeous tones (orange is one of my favorite colors).I wore a belt for waist definition again, and a different gold necklace than I had worn before.

SIX: I have also styled this dress for winter (even though there hasn't been much snow, January is still winter!). Layering the dress with a thick sweater makes it appropriate for the cold. I love how all the colors in the dress make it easy to mix black and brown.

I wore this dress today actually, too. I wore the blue sweater again with the belt from looks 5 and 6. I didn't get a photo since husband Spencer was working late.

There are so many ways to style maxi dresses! Off the top of my head I can think of so many other tops in my closet I could remix with this dress: brown jacket, short sleeved brown jacket, purple blazer, brown blazer, brown long sleeved cropped cardigan, black cardigan,. What about a maroon "leather" jacket? Or I wonder how gray would look? I have a lot of gray layering pieces.

Do you like maxi dresses? What is your favorite way to style them?

Thanks for reading!

Book Page Valentines

I don't really have any plans this year to make Valentine's Day crafts. It doesn't fit into my plans for the holiday (which are epic, just not heart themed). So instead I am sharing all the book page crafts I made last year, in case you forgot about them or are new here. Enjoy! : )

Book Page Flowers

Book Page Pinwheel Valentine Garland

Book Page Hearts 1...

... and Book Page Hearts 2

What I Wore

Ross dress, Old Navy sweater, local boutique belt, Madden Girl boots via DSW

WHEN: Sunday, January 15

WHERE: Church

GETTING CREATIVE: One more way to style this dress! Putting the heavy sweater over it is the winter version I suppose. I think I will have to do a post on all the ways to style a (this) maxi dress. I also love the black and brown.

We were experimenting with a new lens to see if the background really would blur, and it did! Maybe once it's warm again outside I will finally get some really good shots of outfits. Maybe. Spencer is so nice to continually take my picture when he really doesn't like doing it. I hate to make him go out in the cold or to a different location when he is doing me a favor!

H&M shirt, Old Navy vest, Kohl's necklace, Ross jeans, Payless boots

WHEN: Monday, January 16

WHERE: Out to lunch and a bit of shopping with Husband Spencer for the day off work

GETTING CREATIVE: This long sleeve, vest, and boots combo is becoming a bit of a "uniform" for me, so I don't know how creative it is!

School t-shirt, Old Navy sweater, New York & Co. pants, Toms shoes

WHEN: Friday, January 20

WHERE: Work

GETTING CREATIVE: Fridays is "dress down" day at work and the students (and faculty) are allowed to wear the school t-shirt. (I have blurred part of the t-shirt as to not advertise my place of employment to the entire Internet.) This was my attempt to make the school tee a little more stylish. It sure was comfy!

Kohl's sweater and watch, Target scarf, Gap skinnies, Payless boots

WHEN: Wednesday, January 18

WHERE: Work

GETTING CREATIVE: Fuchsia and leopard? It works for me!

Local boutique sweater and belt, Down East shirt, Ross jeans, Payless boots

WHEN: Friday, January 20

WHERE: Date with Spencer

GETTING CREATIVE: I have worn this exact outfit before (okay different pair of boots). (Those really are blue jeans although they look the same as the black pants above). It uses many of my most favorite items in my closet!


Linking up to Momma Go Round and Pleated Poppy.

These are a Few of My Favorite Pins

Source: designsponge.com via Aubree on Pinterest

I LOVE this! I will definitely be making one in the near future. This will be a superb addition to my craft room decor, don't you think? And now that I have a Silhouette machine, it will be easy.

Source: polyvore.com via Aubree on Pinterest

What's your take on the neon and neutral trend? I love this color combo. I think it would work with other non-neon shades of yellow too. You? I think I will try it out come spring.

Source: anthropologie.com via Aubree on Pinterest

This would be soooo cute for a knock-off/refashion project. Just add a little trim and voila! A cute nautical top. I am seeing several nautical items in the new spring lines and I am glad to see that trend will still be around.

Source: moonlightrainbow.tumblr.com via Aubree on Pinterest

Isn't this a stunning photo? I love the colors, the movement, and the angle. Very inspiring to get the camera out.

Source: instructables.com via Aubree on Pinterest

On Monday I showed you a lot of inspiration for paper flowers, and here is one more. I haven't been able to make any more flowers this week, but they are still on the to-do list!

Have a creative weekend! I hope I can get to some craft projects on Saturday. Tonight we are going on a date inspired by the Love Actually blog that I linked you to recently. I am excited!

See you tomorrow for "What I Wore!"

Watch that Scarf

I wore my scarf like this today. Not this outfit of course. I didn't get a photo of today's outfit so I used this old one of green grass and warmer days to show you... sigh... but anyway I wore my scarf like this today. I had to go to the eye doctor after work, but stopped at home to go to the bathroom because it was on the way. After my entire appointment was over I noticed that my scarf was stuck in the zipper of my pants. Yup. It was awesome.

Grand Bloom Belt

Introducing the Grand Bloom Belt! It is the newest addition to my sash belt collection in my Etsy shop! So far I have only made the belt in yellow, purple, red, and pink but it is available in your custom colors for your special event. This belt is perfect for weddings and bridal parties, Prom and other dances, cocktail parties, or just your Sunday dress. You can contact me to choose your color of fabric and ribbon. Please contact me before ordering one of the colors below to check availability.

Red

Wine

Cranberry

Orange crush

Mustard yellow

Yellow

Celery

Dark green

Lime

Misty aqua

Turquoise

Teal

Light blue

Sapphire blue

Royal Blue

Navy blue

Electric blue

Periwinkle

Lavender

Purple

Eggplant

Pink

Rose (darker than pink)

Carnation (darker than rose)

Hot pink

Peach

Coral

Brown

Molasses (light brown)

Flax (light tan)

Ivory

White

Black

Silver

Gold

Antique gold (pale gold)

Butter (very pale gold)

You may also order the Mini Bloom Belt, or original Blooming Sash Belt in these colors as well. I am so excited about these belts! Spread the word to anyone getting married... I discount the belts for order of 4 or more!

CLEARANCE SALE

I have some exciting plans for the Yellow Blackbird Etsy shop this year and need to make room in my inventory. That's good new for you because I am having a clearance sale! All the items you see above have reduced prices. All headbands have been dropped by a few dollars and the necklaces are up to $5 off! Click here to be taken directly to the clearance section! Everything is already made and ready to ship. Happy shopping!

Paper Flower Tutorials

Over the weekend I went a little crazy collecting tutorials and ideas for making paper flowers. I have only tried one so far, but thought I would share a few of the ideas I found. I know I usually share my favorite pins on Fridays, but think of this as more just tutorial ideas, but I am using Pinterest for the ease of posting the pics!

(You probably already know this but to get to the tutorial, click the picture which will take you to my Pinterest page. Then you can click the photo again to be taken to the original site.)

Source: meholder.blogspot.com via Aubree on Pinterest

Source: omgdiywedding.blogspot.com via Aubree on Pinterest

Source: kindawonderful.typepad.com via Aubree on Pinterest

Source: cheekymagpie.com via Aubree on Pinterest

Source: whimsicalworldoflaurabird.blogspot.com via Aubree on Pinterest

I tried the second one yesterday. Not too hard, but very time consuming. I used my Sillohoute to ease the cutting, but it still took a long time. The next one on my list is the last one. If you try any of them let me know how it goes!

To see more of the ideas I have found you can follow my paper crafts board here.

What I Wore

Target dress and cardigan, Payless boots, local boutique belt, hand-me-necklace, Walmart tights

WHEN: Thursday, January 12

WHERE: Work

GETTING CREATIVE: I have always loved the combo of blue and orange and when I saw this the other day I was reminded of that fact. I have always struggled with how to belt this dress since it is a faux wrap with a tie. It usually has to be tied in a bow, but I figured it out. I wrapped the tie around me a few times and tucked it in itself and it stayed all day! I don't think I will be belting without a cardi, but I am happy about it!

Old dress??, Target cardigan and scarf, belt traded with Paige, Madden Girl boots via DSW

WHEN: Sunday, January 8

WHERE: Church

GETTING CREATIVE: Well I did get the idea for this outfit from her so I can't take too much credit for it. I do love the repeating elements- the ruffles in the sweater and boots, and rivets in the belt and boots.

Hand me down shirt, Old skirt??, Gifted NY & Co. belt, Walmart tights, Target shoes and necklace

WHEN: Tuesday, January 10

WHERE: Work

GETTING CREATIVE: This was one of those days I had to take a photo of myself and it turned out terrible. But I do love the outfit... and it was my own idea, NOT from Pinterest! : )

H&M shirt, Cold Water Creek sweater, NY & Co. pants, local boutique belt, Payless boots

WHEN: Wednesday, January 11

WHERE: Work

GETTING CREATIVE: I have to wear my red pants at least once per week. And yup, thank you Pinterest. Seriously you guys, how did we get dressed before Pinterest?

Be Inspired|Get Creative

DIY and Crafts:
A friend introduced me to the Toms arts and crafts blog that displays ways that people got creative with their Toms shoes and flags. Even if you aren't a fan of the brand, it's still got some creative inspiration!

If you want to learn to crochet, the Crafty Minx has a great series of tutorials. Twenty-three lessons in fact. I am a little stuck on lesson 5 right now and need to get my MIL to help!

Maybe this isn't exactly inspiring but you need skills and knowledge to be creative and this article/video on what glue to use for what project can help! (You must click over just to learn the secret way toothpaste can be used as glue.)

Style:
Jessica from What I Wore did a recap of all her outfits from the entire year of 2011, starting with this post about January. Great place for a little style inspiration.

Girl Next Door fashion wrote a great article with ten tips to inspire you to get out of a style slump.

Want to wear more color and less neutrals? Sally tells you how and why.

Guide to pattern mixing from A Reason to Be Fabulous.

Other:
I found two great blogs, Love Actually and from there the Dating Divas, that have actually really inspired me. Husband and I have been married for 4 1/2 years now and although we have been constantly dating each other, we could use some fresh new ideas. I have found a lot of fun ideas and will be creating some unique dates! Also good ideas for group or family outings (or innings!)

Now, go and create!

2012 Shopping Rules (best advice I ever heard)

My first purchase of the year was these few pairs of Toms. A neighbor had a Toms party at her house and these were on a really good discount! It was awesome.

Before we go into this year's rules and that best advice the title promised, let's review last year's rules:

First, I have resolved to not buy anything in the month of January.
I did great. I didn't buy any clothes until March! I did splurge on some makeup (to make up for it?), but I am still using the UD Primer Potion I bought a year ago and love it.

Second, I need to think about wants and needs. Of course there is not a single clothing item in the world that I NEED. But I mean more like what does my wardrobe need. What items do I need to allow me to wear something I already own or what "key" things am I missing?

Right now my "need" list looks like this:
-black pencil skirt
-white 3/4 sleeve cardigan
-white classic button up

I got a black pencil skirt about 2 weeks ago, a bought the cardigan several months ago and it still has the tags on it, and didn't get a button up. Didn't work out so well.

Third, I can only buy things I really love. I can't buy something because it is on sale or a good deal. I can't buy something because I am shopping with a friend and it is what she is looking for. I can't even buy anything just because it's only $1.

I think I did better at this than I did in 2010. But just because I love something doesn't mean that I will wear it a lot or that it works in my wardrobe. So that brings me to my 2012 "rules".....

Only buy something that is from your dream closet!
So many times we see a woman who who has an amazing wardrobe and we wonder why we don't have a closet like that. Well, if we would purchase pieces that are out of our dream wardrobe we would! So just buying something I "need" or that I really really really love isn't going to work. Sometimes I find a piece that in that moment I am in love with, but that doesn't mean that I will like it later, it matches the rest of my closet, or that it is worth the investment. This year I am going to work on building my dream wardrobe! (I heard this advice from Sally first.)

Source: rayandjen.com via Aubree on Pinterest

And finally, another thing I am trying this year is this idea from Pinterest. A day or so after Christmas I hung all the clothes in my closet backwards. Every time I wear something I will turn its hanger around so that I can see what I don't wear much. This has helped me already! The pin says to toss anything that isn't worn by June 1st, but since it's likely to be chilly here until June 1 I will wait until July 1 to reevaluate any clothes still backwards.

Do you try to build your dream closet? Any Advice?

What I Wore

Express shirt, Gap pants, Target cardigan, F21 boots and scarf from Seagull Book

WHEN: Friday, January 6

WHERE: Work

GETTING CREATIVE: I hadn't yet worn this scarf that I'd had for several months and wanted to figure out a way to wear it. I just went with neutrals... it would be difficult to come up with something colorful to match my teal and gold scarf. I guess that's my next challenge.

I only got one photo this week. If you want to see more go check out my top 10 outfits from 2011 or click on the Style button above and scroll on down!

Linking to Momma Go Round and Pleated Poppy.

Eye Spy: Glasses USA Review

I have needed vision correction for about 18 years now, and I have been in contacts for over 10 of those years. During that time I have always wanted a really cute pair of glasses to wear at night and or on days that my eyes can’t handle the contacts. I haven’t really been too successful and I think I know why. I have always limited myself to the meager selection on hand at the doctor’s office. Did you know there are places to buy glasses online? I really didn't know until I heard about Glassesusa.com.

Glassesusa.com is a website that sells a large selection of eyeglasses. They have a wide variety of frame shapes, colors, brands, and materials to choose from. My favorite shape for my face is rectangle, but they also have round, oval, and even aviator among others to choose from.

This is a perfect website to check out if you just want glasses so you can look smart and cute or if you need prescription eyeglasses. It seems to me to be a trendy thing right now to wear glasses even if you don’t need them. Glasses are a fun accessory and a way to add creativity to your look.

Glassessusa.com also sells sunglasses and bifocal glasses. I don’t need bifocals (yet?) thank goodness, but I have always wanted a pair of prescription sunglasses. So necessary for driving!

My favorite feature of Glassesusa.com is the virtual mirror where you can try on the glasses right on the site. I played with that for a little too long. : )

Glassesusa.com is having a sale! Take 20% off any pair of eyeglasses and get FREE US shipping with the code: New2012 OR Take 10% off any order of prescription glasses. Code: Blog10.

This post was sponsored by GlassesUSA but all opinions are 100% mine!

These are a Few of My Favorite Pins

Friday may be over in parts of the world but I still have a few hours to get my regularly scheduled Friday post up for you!

Source: familyfun.go.com via Aubree on Pinterest

I think this would be the funnest Photoshop project to try!

Source: howaboutorange.blogspot.com via Aubree on Pinterest

Christmas is over and it still haven't snowed but we can still make snowflakes, right?

Source: oneradmother.blogspot.com via Aubree on Pinterest

I had to repin this for obvious reasons!

Have a great weekend!

Book Page Blackout Poems

Recently I have linked you to the "How to Steal Like an Artist" article and the Newspaper Blackout Poems books both by Austin Kleon. I have never been one for much poetry, but decided to give the newspaper blackout poetry a try. Please go read about it but basically you take a written piece (newspaper article or in this case book page) and blackout the words that you don't want to make a poem.

I gave it my own spin by using book pages and paint rather than newspaper and Sharpie.

I am a little embarrassed for you to read my poems so hopefully my experimentation with my new camera lens make them too blurry to fully read. : )


If you choose to use the paint method, be sure to use a very small brush to go around the words you want to show. I accidentally painted over some of the words I was planning on using. Oops.


I am planning on hanging these in my craft room, but I am not sure how yet. I think it would be cute hanging from some clothespins. Any ideas?

This isn't my usual type of project, but it was fun to try something a little different! Let me know if you take a look at the Newspaper Blackout website and/or try your own!

I link up to these parties!