December 10, 2014

DIY Winter Terrarium

December 10, 2014/ Alexandra Evjen

This post is sponsored by Coca-Cola Licensing.

Terrariums have become quite popular over the past two years. More an more people want to learn how to grow things in their home and breathe life into the stale air of the indoors. Usually, you will find succulents and cacti in terrariums, and even those will hold up well in the cooler months, we thought it would be fun to create winter terrariums. (This is a great craft to do with your kids too).

Instead of sand we used fake snow, and instead of succulents we use mini pine trees. See how below:

View More: http://melissajill.pass.us/cocacola

1| Choose your terrarium. You can use a variety of things, and even a glass dome on a plate. We chose these West Elm faceted terrariums.

2| Fill the bottom of your terrarium with fake snow that you can purchase at any craft store. Then add some moss, and then sprinkle some more snow.

3| Place your winter objects inside. We used miniature trees that can be found at Hobby Lobby. You could also put a tiny deer or even build a mini snowmen with pom-poms and cotton balls.

4| You're finished! Now you just have to choose where you want to put it in your home.

Photography by Melissa Jill, Floral design by Hoot and Holler, Art Direction by Alex Evjen.

December 09, 2014

How to Style Your Bar for the Holidays

December 09, 2014/ Alexandra Evjen

This post is sponsored by Coca-Cola Licensing.

Holiday cookie exchanges, open houses, parties and intimate gatherings...Chances are you will either host or attend a holiday party this season. If you are hosting, you will most likely have to put together a spread of goodies on a table, island or bar top. Today I'm going to share with you how to make your spread look special for your event.

1| Set your food and drinks out first. You'll want to make sure you have enough room for everything. Keep the sweets with sweets and savory with savory.

2| Place any utensils you may need next to the food. Don't forget the bottle openers! I always forget those, but how can I forget this cute one by Coca-Cola? You can even have some drinks already poured into glasses with straws just like we did with the Coca-Cola Heritage Glasses.

3| Go back through and add design elements that very in height and size. You may want to add different sized vases, candles or maybe even create a fun winter scene with figurines, fake snow and an old crate like this one from Coca-Cola. We also created winter terrariums to add dimension and spirit to the space.

4| Add some sparkle - Place ornaments, glitter or tinsel around the area. We hung ornaments above our bar to draw the eyes upward to our chalkboard wall. Think about what you can add above or below too.

5| Add some live greens or flowers - Fresh flowers or even fresh pine is a nice way to liven things up. If you don't feel confident arranging bouquets, simply add branches of pine in vases.

Photos by Melissa Jill, Art Direction by Alex Evjen, Florals by Hoot and Holler, Chalk writing by Katie Sterbenz

December 09, 2014

Wear Your Gym Clothes All Day and Look Stylish

December 09, 2014/ Alexandra Evjen

This post is sponsored by Mountainside Fitness.

Let's be honest...Sometimes what can keep us from the gym is simply the fact that we have errands to run before and after our workout, and we don't want to look a hot mess. I totally get it, and getting sweaty and stinky can definitely be an inconvenience, especially when you're in a time crunch. So, I thought I'd share with you how I wear my gym leggings and sports bra while running around before the gym. To help, I've included before and after photos. After this post you won't have an excuse not to hit the gym!

View More: http://sarahgray.pass.us/avemtnside

When I wear my gym leggings I also choose boots and a tunic top to wear along with them. You could also choose a long sweater as well, and look fall ready in a snap. I don't wear too much makeup because I don't like to workout with a ton of product on my face. So, I simply wear tinted moisturizer, concealer, blush, eye primer, mascara and lipstick. You are set for the day and in style.

When I get to the gym all i have to do is change my shoes and my top.

After my workout I'm all sweaty, but I don't always have time to take a shower and do my hair. This might sound really gross to you, but I blow dry the sweat out of my hair. It acts as natural sea salt spray and gives me a ton of volume. I just go back through with dry shampoo to make sure I'm not too stinky. If you carry face wipes with you, just go ahead and wipe your face, armpits and chest with them and then apply some body spray and deodorant. Then apply your 2 minute face like I mentioned above.

Lastly, put your other top and shoes back on, and you're set to go run more errands or even meet friends for dinner.

Photos by Sarah Gray Portraits.

December 03, 2014

Holiday Monogram

December 03, 2014/ Alexandra Evjen

This post is brought to you by Coca-Cola.

Everyone has a different way of decorating their home for the holidays. Your choice of a green tree or a white tree is a personal expression of the celebration of the season. A great way to make your decorating even more personal is to use monograms.

My last name is Evjen, so the letter 'E' has a lot of significance in our home. It's also the first letter of our daughter Elle's name. I found this metal E that was once part of a neon sign at a vintage market. It has been sitting in my closet for almost a whole year collecting dust. This year I thought I would use it to attempt a Pinterest inspired DIY I saw a ways back. It was a letter filled with succulents, and I thought it was the coolest thing.

With the help of my friend Malori from Hoot and Holler we schemed up an idea to put holly berries and pine into this metal E. It turned out great. All you need is your metal letter, floral foam, and your choice of greens. Rosemary and herbs would smell and look amazing too. I like the pop of red the berries bring, but you could choose white berries if you don't use red too much in your home.

1| Cut the foam blocks to size so that they fit snuggly in the letter

2| Wet the foam

3| Start placing your stems of greens tightly packed together into the foam

4| Fill until you are happy with it.

Photos by Melissa Jill, Florals by Hoot and Holler, Art Direction by A.V.E. Styles

December 02, 2014

Holiday Style with Junk in the Trunk

December 02, 2014/ Alexandra Evjen

View More: http://sarahgray.pass.us/jittholiday2014

What happens when you combine sequins, three girls and the holidays? This...

It's a party when the Junk in the Trunk girls are around. Coley (above middle) and Lindsey (above right) started a vintage flee marketing in Arizona a couple of years ago called Junk in the Trunk, and it has grown into one of the biggest vintage markets in the southwest. They recently have ventured into apparel design, and created the most comfortable and stylish tank and pullover with the saying, "This is my party dress."

I love the humor and whimsy of it, and they asked me to help them style theirs for their holiday promotions. I obviously said yes because I am a big fan! I wear my tank to the gym. I sleep in it. I wear it with jeans (like Coley is below). I also love to dress it up with a tulle skirt like Lindsey is above. You can get yours here.

The off-the-shoulder pull-over is perfect for any occasion as well. I'm loving the pullover trend this fall. You can find it all over Pinterest with flouncy skirt or distressed pants. I paired mine with a fair isle knit skirt from H&M and a knit beanie. (Get yours here).

While on the shoot we got to pretend that this amazing home renovated by My Rafter House was ours. How much do you want to cozy up to that fireplace, especially when it's complete with a festive banner by The Banner Shoppe. Um...Yes, please!

After this fun photo shoot for JITT's new apparel I had a blast rockin' out the coolest up-do I've ever had thanks to Jenny Strebe of The Confessions of a Hairstylist. She does these amazing, pin-worth hair tutorials. This is one I think I can actually replicate. Go check out her site for more inspiration.