Festive
CONTENT
Credits Cover - L’Officiel Photographie: Thierry Levraly 5 - These Four Walls 8- Simone Baur 9 - Anita Kohn 10 - Yasmin Hakim 11 - Lou Archell 16 - Alethea and Ruth 21 – hot beauty health 22 – the pretty blog by Tanya 24- the cookie rookie 27- the first year blog 28 – Polka dot bride 34 - They All hate us
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DIY GIFT GUIDE 2016 HOLIDAY DECORATING INSPIRATIONS MONEY SAVING TIPS FOR THE YULETIDE SEASON FESTIVE FASHION ON A BUDGET DELICIOUS HOLIDAY RECIPES 5 NEW YEARS EVE DIY PARTY DECORATIONS
If you’ve got the creative gene, there are some cute DIY gifts that you can make this holiday season. The great thing about making your own gifts is that you can make it one hundred percent personalized and unique. There’s nothing better than the warm and fuzzy feeling of knowing someone put that extra effort and time into a gift. Here are some ideas of what to make those on your gift list this year: 1) Make your own personalized ornaments. All you really need is plain ornaments, a Sharpe, maybe even some glitter! The possibilities are endless based on your personal style of course. But not only is this gift from the heart, it’s really economical. Win-win.
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Holiday Gift Guide 2016
2) You can also make a custom mug – that is if you have a knack for typography or drawing. Just get a plain mug and add your own decorations with a permanent marker or whatever decorations you can find. Seal your creation with finishing spray, put some goodies inside, and wrap it with clear cellophane wrap and a bow! 3) For more of an adult twist, you can make a mini cocktail in a jar. You’ll need a mason jar, a can of soda, and a Mickey. Get a cute straw to place inside along with the can and some string to attack the bottle of alcohol. Voila instant gift! Source via Something Turquoise 4) Or just fill a jar with their favourite snacks! Just dress up the jar with some decorations to make it look like a snowman, Santa, or any festive symbol.
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MONEY- SAVING TIPS FOR THE YULETIDE SEASON The holidays can be expensive. We’re not going to sugar coat it. With the cost of gifts, new outfits, gadgets and various festive activities— it’s tricky to get a handle of your finances this time year. Spending can be pretty tempting during the holidays, but with a few tips – you can survive without giving up an arm and a leg (we mean metaphorically of course. We hope no one is actually asking for limb harvesting as payment this holiday season). Let’s hop
ly and be strict with it! With that being said, its smart to keep an eye 1. Make a Budget on your credit limits and know your interThis tip may seem like est rates before going an obvious step, but we on any size spending often get so excited by sprees. the lights, ornaments, and sale prices that Another tip is to plan we don’t think about what you want to buy the greater good. This in your budget and time of year is primecompare prices before time for overspending you actually buy someand buying things you thing. Make an inhad never intended formed decision when to buy. Having a solid spending, so you know goal that you can afthat you are getting the ford to spend during absolute best bang for this season is essential. your buck. Make your budget earright into it!
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you shop online you can cut out all human interactions (Score!). Another benefit of getting all your shopping done early, is that you’ll avoid the pre-Christmas price hike and you’ll also have way more time to personalize the gift wrapping. 4. Secret Santa
2. Get Creative This time of year is the best time to show those close to you that you love them—and what better way than with a homemade gift. You can make the gift as personalized as you want, for a fraction of a retail gift. Whether you plan on gifting someone with their favourite batch of cookies, personalized coupons, or gift baskets – your loved ones will be likely to appreciate the extra effort you put into making a homemade gift just for them. 3. Shop Early Make sure to catch the Black Friday and Cyber Monday deals that happen before the holiday season. You’ll not only beat those Page 14 pesky lines, but if
This method is great if you have a large group of friends and family to buy for. Buying a gift for every single person is way too expensive. With Secret Santa, you get out of footing the bill for multiple gifts and you are able to focus your efforts on finding one perfectly thoughtful gift.
Usually there is a price cap in place, so it makes it much easier to find just the right gift and more importantly; budget for it. 5. Have a Potluck
Food can be pricey too! Now, we know you may want to embrace your inner Martha Stewart and host a rockin holiday dinner party. But the price of all the ingredients really does add up. So tell your guests to bring something! It will cut down on your efforts, dishes, and overall bill! 6. Free or Inexpensive Holiday Activities There are plenty of activities that are either free or inexpensive to do this the holiday season: you just need to get a little bit creative and adventurous. You can explore your local community calendar to see what free events are available. Whether you’re going to check out your local Christmas market, go skating, or even having a holiday movie marathon or board game night at home – there are tons of cost-effective alternatives this holiday season!
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Festive Fashion On A Budget Page 16
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1. Massimo Matteo Mid Heel Pumps, 95 CAD 2. Steve Madden Black Suede Shoes, 245 CAD 3. Sam Edelman Emerald Green Pumps, 190 CAD 4. Little Mistress Ankle Wrap Sandals, 170 CAD
6. 5. Nine West Suede Pumps, 135 CAD 6. Dillards Peep-Toe Shoes, 160 CAD 7. Lauren Lorraine Peep-Toe Shoes, 135 CAD 8. Miss Selfridge Black Heeled Shoes, 115 CAD 9. Verali Ankle Wrap Sandals, 79 CAD 10. Shein Black high heel pumps, 69 CAD
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5 6 1 7 3 1. Dorothy Perkins Chi Chi Petite Fit and Flare Dress, 150 CAD 2. Indie XO Brown Cocktail Dress, 130 CAD 3. House of Fraser Superdry Strapless Party Dress, 110 CAD 4. WearAll Pink Off the Shoulder Dress, 44 CAD 5. Diane Von Furstenberg Vintage Leather Handbag, 135 CAD
6. INZI Fur Handbag, 120 CAD 7. Dezzal Jeweled Evening Bag, 94 CAD 8. Steve Madden Party Clutch, 78 CAD 9. Steffen Schraut Scarve, 295 CAD 10. BCBGMAXAZRIA Thinning Comb, 105 CAD 11. Ted Baker Embellished Crop Top, 265 CAD
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12. Keepsake the Label Embroidered Top, 125 CAD 13. Sans Souci Sequin Tank, 39 CAD 14. Boohoo Sequin Crop Top, 27 CAD 15. Zalando Grey Pleated Skirt, 250 CAD 16. Topshop Skirt, 130 CAD 17. Boohoo Evening Skirt 47 CAD 18. Nasty Dress Fake Leather Pants, 32 CAD
17 19. BeckSรถndergaard Metallic Purse, 125 CAD 20. WithChic Metallic Clutch, 47 CAD 21. C21Stores Metallic Handbag, 54 CAD 22. Accessorize Clasp Purse, 39 CAD
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Apple Cider Moscow Mule Ingredients 2 ounces of vodka (or gin) 5 ounces of ginger beer 2 ounces of apple cider splash of lime juice ground cinnamon apple slices (for garnish) cinnamon sticks (for garnish) 1 Solid Copper Mug w/ice Directions: Squeeze the lime into the solid copper mug Fill mug with ice and pour 2 oz vodka (or gin) over ice Pour 5 oz ginger beer Pour 2 oz apple cider Sprinkle cinnamon over ice Stir and Enjoy! For garnish, add an apple slice and a cinnamon stick.
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Chocolate Blackberry Pistchio Tart
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Ingredients Pastry 200 g cake flour 25 g cocoa powder 50 g icing sugar 150 g butter 3 XL egg yolks 1 tsp vanilla paste or essence Filling 1 tbs lemon juice 1 tbs cornflour 350 g blackberries 1 tbs lemon juice 60 g sugar To Garnish 50 g pistachio nuts, shelled & lightly toasted
Directions Sift the flour, cocoa powder and icing sugar together into a large mixing bowl. Using your fingertips, rub in the butter until the mixture resembles breadcrumbs. Make a well in the centre and add the egg yolks and vanilla. Mix together to make a smooth dough. Turn the pastry out onto a lightly floured surface and
gather together into a ball. Cover with clingfilm and chill for at least 30 minutes before using Preheat the oven to 180’C Roll out pastry to 3mm thick and line a 23cm round tart case. Rest in the fridge to firm and prevent shrinkage. Blind bake at 180’C until golden and cooked through. While the tart case is baking, make the blackberry filling. Put the first tablespoon of lemon juice and cornflour into a large saucepan and stir to blend. Add the blackberries, the second tablespoon of lemon juice and the sugar. Heat gently to dissolve the sugar then simmer for 1015 minutes until it forms a chunky compote. Leave to cool. Remove the tart case from oven and leave in the tin to cool. Once cooled, remove from the tin and place on a serving dish. Top with the blackberry mixture, sprinkle with pistachios and serve with double thick cream.
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Blackberry Ombre Sparkler Ingredients 1 1 1 4 1
cup fresh blackberries cup sugar cup water sprigs fresh rosemary bottle champagne
Instructions In a small saucepan, combine blackberries, sugar, and water. Bring to a boil on high heat, and then reduce to a simmer and let cook for approximately 15-17 minutes. The blackberries will become soft and bright in color and a pinkish purple syrup will form. Making sure it cooks down enough is essential to keeping the ombre effect. Take off of the heat and drain the blackberries, keeping the syrup in a separate bowl. Set both aside and allow to cool. Once blackberries and simple syrup are cooled, spoon about 4 tablespoons of syrup into the bottom of each champagne flute (this recipe makes 4 drinks) Top with champagne. Garnish with fresh blackberries or the cooked blackberries, and a sprig of rosemary. Cheers! Page 25
Ingredients: 1 box white cake mix, plus ingredients on back of box, **replace the water with champagne 2 sticks of butter, room temperature 1/2 cup vegetable shortening 4-6 tbsp champagne 4-5 cups powdered sugar gold sprinkles homemade gold sparklers (gold wire and gold tinsel), for decoration Directions: Preheat the oven according to the directions of the package. Line a muffin pan with muffin liners. Prepare and bake the cake mix according to the directions on the package, however substitute the water for champagne, so if your box calls for 2/3 cup water use 2/3 cup champagne. Divide the batter evenly among the muffins cups. Bake according to the suggested time - roughly 20-25 minutes. Remove the cupcakes and place them on a cooling rack to cool. When the cupcakes are cooled, prepare the frosting. In a mixing bowl, combine the butter and vegetable shortening and beat using an electric mixer until smooth, 1-2 minutes. Add in the champagne, starting with less and adding more for stronger flavor if desired. Begin to add the powdered sugar, about 1 cup at a time, mixing by hand first, then with the electric mixer. Continue adding powdered sugar until the frosting tastes good to you. Place the frosting in a large piping bag fit with a 1m piping tip. Push the buttercream down into the bag. Pipe the buttercream onto the cupcakes, starting in the center of the cupcake, swirling out, and then swirling back into the center, progressively stacking the frosting as you get to the center. Top with gold sprinkles and gold sparklers.
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Champagne Cupcakes
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STUNNING DIY NEW YEARS EVE DECORATIONS 1. SEQUIN LETTER GARLAND DIY Material: Stretch sequin gold trim Scrap cardboard X-Acto knife Hot glue gun Metallic cord trim
plate to cut out your cardboard letter. Choose a simple bold font.
Tape each letter to some scrap cardboard and cut out the letter with an X-Acto knife. To make the ends of the trim look as neat Instructions: as possible, you’ll want to fold and First you’ll want glue the ends unto print each letter in your phrase der so the trim doesn’t unravel so you can use and drop sequins. them as a tem-
So, at the end of the outside edge of your letter, use the hot glue gun to glue the trim end face down going away from your letter. Once you have all your letters completed, you can line up your phrase (backwards of course!) and glue your hanging cord to the back of the letters.
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Once the glue Instructions: sets, you’re ready to hang your gar- Cut the roll of land! crepe paper in half (you may Source via: A need a box cutBeautiful Mess ter for this) Take the roll of crepe 2. BIG FRINGE paper and with GARLANDS another person’s help, have each Materials: person stand at Folds of Crepe an end and pull Paper until most of the Scissors stretch from the Tape paper has been removed. (To speed up Page 30 the process you
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can do these two at a time.)Fold the paper together.
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Begin cutting fringe halfway through the fold, leaving some space in the middle. Turn the fold over and finish cutting the opposite side of fringe. Be sure to not cut all the way through. Attach one side to the ceiling and let the other side fall to the ground. Twist the bottom to create twists in the crepe paper. Source: Oh Happy Day 3. OMBRÉ NEW YEAR’S EVE DIY PINATA Materials: 10″ Paper Lantern 2.5″ Circle Punch to make up to 140 paper circles in papers of your choice. For a ombré effect you will need approx. 40 in silver, 60 in gold and
40 in bronze. Instructions: Starting at the bottom of your paper lantern, attach the bronze circles around the base using a low temperature glue gun. Working your way up, make sure you Page 31
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4. SUN BURST TABLE ACCENT Materials: Toothpicks or Skewers Gold Sprary Paint Modpodge or Spay Adhesive Gold Glitter Styrofoam Ball Instructions: Spray paint your toothpicks and let sit. Repeat until coated evenly with gold paint. Then cover Styrofoam ball in clue or spray adhesive.
layer the circles on top of one another as you go.
Cover the ball evenly with glitter. Seal in glitter with layer of ModPogde (optional).
glue on those last paper circles, pop your piĂąata treats into the top of the You will want to lantern.Tie a length create three rows of ribbon or twine Once everything of bronze, three to the frame of the is completely dry, rows of gold and lantern. stick the gold sticks three rows on silinto the ball, creatver paper circles to Source via Lia Grif- ing a beautiful suncover your paper fith burst effect. Place lantern. Before you on any table setting or even hang from
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the ceiling. Source: The Sweetest Occasion
bers and hands of the clock Glue Instructions:
5. BALLOON CLOCKS
It’s super simple, you can either inflate the balloons before or after you attach the rest of the pieces. But either way, all you have to do is cut out the numbers 1
Materials: Balloon (it work best with helium balloons) Paper or Felt for the clock num-
to 12, one little circle, as well as a big and a small hand from paper. Arrange and clue all the pieces on and bam instant party decor. You can even use these as a background for a photo wall. Source via Blog Lovin
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