ByAnika / Dreaming big

Hi sweethearts!

This is my last post here on Sweet Faced Style.

I have taken the plunge and am moving one step closer to making the dream of making a business with my designs a reality. I have bought my own domain and am moving to wordpress.  This is yet another step in building confidence in my dream of making a business of selling my designs, creating pieces that all women can feel va va voom when wearing, knowing that each piece was made with love, was made ByAnika.

I am still finetuning the new site, and I will be redirecting feed etc to the new site soon but I would like to welcome you to By Anika (http://www.byanika.com/) from here. The next time I post it will be hello ByAnika, goodbye Sweet Faced Style. I hope you will find the new site a lovely place to hang out :)

Onwards and upwards my lovelies! <3

xxx Anika

The joy of paying it forward / Doing hallelujah

Hi Sweethearts!

Would you like me to make you an original By Anika?

I would love to show my love for you in this way, so when I read about Carlas paying it forward-challenge I jumped on it. It is like my mum says,  "we shouldn`t just say halleluja!, we should DO hallelujah!"

Here is how it works:
"Pay it forward 2011.... I promise to make something handmade for the first five people who comment.

They must in turn post this and make something for the first five who comment on their status.
The rules are it has to be handmade by you, and they must receive it before 2011 ends."

If you'd like to take part,be one of the first five to comment and please leave your email address so I can contact you directly. Also, be sure to repost this to your own blog if you do comment in order to keep the love going forward! I do feel that it would be lovely to sew something for more than five of you, so when I have completed the first five I might try to include the next five of you lovelies. (Ok, it is five mins after I posted this and I don`t have the heart to only do something for five of you if more of you would like to take part, so I am including ten. I do have twelve months to complete the challenge ;D ).

This business of making something for our readers might seem daunting, but this isn`t so much about what we make for each other, but about the spirit of generousity. I can`t promise you dresses, but I can promise that I will make what you get with each of you in mind and with loving hands. Haaaallelujah! <3 <3 <3

This is another of the dresses I reworked last weekend, I love tribal print, so when I found this top on H&M I knew it would be perfect for my coat-turned-dress. Rust and petrolium are a lovely mix, no?
The bolero I cut from an H&M-dress. The feathers are from Indiska, the earrings a gift. Watch, Ice. Leopard booties, Nilson. Ring, H&M. The bracelet is some fabric from a dress. Funny face thanks to failed attempt at whisteling lol.

This whole business of paying it forward is such a beautiful and moving thing to me. Isn`t that what we do every time we extend kindness and interest and support for others, out of the goodness of our hearts? It is a lovely thing, and if you look around you will see it everywere, in the small and the big moments of life.

 Tell me, how do you pay it forward in your own lives?



xxx Anika

Lovlies paying it forward:

1. Natasha of http://www.chiccurve.blogspot.com/

2. Amanda of http://www.necessaryimperfections.blogspot.com/ 

3. Brooke of http://www.prettypennymae.blogspot.com/

4. Miria of http://www.pluskawaii.blogspot.com/

5.Bibi of http://www.thatfat-shionistaswardrobe.com/

6. Christina of Randomness, a la mode
7. Meg of http://www.on-a-hunt.blogspot.com/
8. Katrin of http://reizende-rundungen.blogspot.com/
9. Sarah of Return to Sender
10. Lindsey of http://lindseysoup.blogspot.com/

If you would like to pay it forward go to these lovely ladies and sign up, or start your own chain of love :)

Striking a pose for my not so secret Santa

 Hi Sweethearts!

Did you know that Santa is a georgous bloggerista living in Dubai? The fab Val of http://www.blogtobealive.com/ created the Secret Santa-happening, where bloggers sent gifts to each other, like secret friends. Lovely!
LuAnne of http://www.weeshasworld.com/  was my not so secret Santa this year, (we agreed to be each others Santa on facebook, that is modern christmas for you lol), so I want to thank her so much for her sweet sweet gift that I received all the way from the other side of the earth! 

As I was opening the package I was imagining Lu wrapping it, I was so exited to open it and also hoping very much that she would like what I crafted for her. LuAnne was one of the first curvy bloggers that I found when I started blogging nearly a year ago, and she blew me away with her beautiful looks, fierce outfits and strong positive outlook. She still blows me away.

Anyways, inside the package I found such a lovely jewlery box with jewlery in it, including the pretty purple neckless I put on the day I wore this outfit. Thank you so much LuAnne!

As I was having my pics taken many of my neighbours walked by, leaving me one very flushed and silly-feeling blogger. As public as this forum is, having my pic taken with an audience still is the challenge, posting it is fine, because I trust you all, my lovely readers. Today, you will therefore get to see me with my chin doubled with laughter. Enjoy!

The outfit:

I sewed this dress last weekend, the bottom and waistband both come from scarves. I gave the ruffled vest (H&M) some more definition by adding a little belt. The feathers in my hair are H&M, as is the ring and nailpolish ( a lovely Chanel-knock off lol). Shoes, Nilson. Watch, ICE. Purple bracelet, Noa Noa.

Thank you all so much for your love! You have all become a big part of my life, and when

I count my blessings, I count all of you.

<3

xxx Anika 

Purple delights / Redefining my own beauty

Hi Sweethearts!

I want to wish you all, each and every one, a very happy new year!

May this be the year you go for your dreams and make even more of every moment. 

As you know, my friends, I have worked long and hard to be my own best friend, to love and respect my self, not only support and encourage others, but my self as well. This process has been very much reflected in my fashion choices and in my confidence to throw caution and rules of dressing to the wind, leaving me with bonkers designs and wild combos, loving every one of my outfits and every moment in them.

One of the areas I haven`t dare to touch is my hair. I grew up receiving lots of compliments for my hair. Some of them were genuinely nice ones, others were harder to accept, like the times I was told that
"Well, at least you have good hair, or a handsome face, or good personality" (all true, I now know HAHA) but, they left me with the impression that faced with a fat girl like me, it was a relief for the other person to console us both that I may be fat, but at least I had beautiful locks. What ever the intention of the compliments, for most of my life I was so low on self worth that I deduced that the only thing about me that was worthy and lovely was my hair. The first time I dyed my hair and it came out all black I had an anxeity attack. I knew then that I still had some work to do on redefining my self worth and idea about my own beauty.

A few days ago when I was trimming my split ends with a pair of kitchen scissors (very bad of me I know LOL) I got to thinking about this, and as I started cutting my hair I realized that it was only hair and that I would still be me, I would still be ok if I cut it, nevermind that I am fat, nevermind that it might not come out ok, nevermind all that. So I set off chopping, my self worth intact, simply playing around with my look.

It might seem like a small thing, but for me it was a massive event. I am free of yet another preconceived notion about my self. Now I can look forward to my hair growing back and to enjoying my locks even more.

Can you relate lovlies? 

I sewed a couple of dresses yesterday, this is one of them. How is this for loud?! It feels delightful on :D

I found the material in my mothers basement, and mixed it today with my fave leopard dress from H&M. The lovely earrings were a gift from a much loved friend. Shoes, Nilson. Ring and clips, H&M. Watch, Nilson.

Love, Anika

Winter roses / Kindness is always fashionable

 

  

Hi Sweethearts!

It may be freezing outside, but I still want to enjoy my summer-dresses :)

Today I went for a rosy-leopard mix.

I haven`t been feeling very comfortable about my body lately,

but wanting to be kind to my self I refuse to hide my self,

I think roses and loud patterns accessorized with kind thoughts is better lol.

Speaking of kindness,

I want to give a warm and heartfelt thank you to my blogger friend

Vanhi of http://www.gritandglamor.com/.

She is the most amazing person and blogger,

if you don`t know her blog already, surf over and be ready to have your

bloggerista-existence rocked with her must-reads.

She is wise, generous, so blogger-savvy and so supportive.

I was deeply honored to find that she mentioned me in two of her posts recently,

listing me as a blogger who is owning what is original about me and my blog,

and as one of the most kind bloggers of 2010.

I was so moved I cried happy tears.

I want all of you, my lovely readers, to know that your kindness moves me so,

every day.

I love you and am here for you,

my sweethearts.

<3

The outfit:

Dress, my design

(I made it from a skirt I found in my mums basement, the waistband I made from shoelaces and studs from a neckless)

Cardigan, H&M (I cut it into shape, it was too long for my curvy frame)

Earrings, christmas gift from Alex

Sequined bracelet, my design

Feather, hairband, H&M

Love, Anika

White christmas / sending you all love

Hi Sweethearts!

I want to wish you a peaceful and joyful christmas.

I am thinking of all of you, where ever you are, and sending you lots of love

<3

Christmas at ours is all about staying in the moment,

keeping it simple, enjoying each other

and sharing the love.

Growing up with divorced parents I always had to

celebrate christmas twice, and was always missing one parent on christmas eve.

This year I have taken a time out, celebrating it at home with my husbond,

and seing my family at christmas parties.

It feels good to take control over this aspect of my life as well,

and I am grateful that my parents are loving and understanding about it.

I am happy to say that I am actually enjoying christmas this year,

it is stress free, honest, and white.

We like to keep our christmas decorations simple too,

letting the tree take center stage, and simply

lighting candles and enjoying our white tulips.

Tell me, how are you celebrating christmas this year?

Love, Anika

Snake miniskirt / scarf / bolero

Hi Sweethearts!

Remember my snake mini (H&M) that I wore as a scarf?

Today I decided I didn`t have enough boleros lol,

so now my mini-scarf is a bolero.

I braved the snow in it today, mixed with a purple scarf (Indiska),

leopard dress (my design), feathers and ring (H&M).

 

I am sorry to say that I have lost some followers. I don`t really know why,

but I want to thank you all once again for reading, and let you know that I adore you all.

<3

xxx Anika

Taupe / blue leopard /snake-covered hourglass - hips, tummy, positive attitude and all!

Hi Sweethearts!

I sewed this figure-hugging dress yesterday,

and with my improved inner monolouge saying

 "Yes I can tell you that I like my shape without being too unabashed" (lol),

I don`t mind telling you that I love the way it follows my hourglassy curves.

It is all a part of this self-bloody-well-rejoycing-project/

succumbing to the fact that these hips and my tum tum ain`t going nowhere but horizontal, so

I might as well get on with making the most of it all.

(To be fair my hips and tummy are very handy for getting bus-seats to my self,

or even getting a seat when the bus is full. You know, when people very graciously offer their seats to me

thinking that I am preggers, and me, not wanting to embarass any of us further graciously

say thank you, hold the small of my back and wiggle my self into the flippin`seat, leaving

the helpful passenger feeling quite the gent and me quite the fattie.

Ever had one of those moments?

All I am saying is,

don`t knock it, just enjoy the seat.

LOL)

I always try to make the best of what I am handed,

so in life and in fashion alike I am a true believer that knowing our selves is key.

Know your self!

(3 things I know about my self that I like: My sensitivity. My generousity. My sense of humour.)

Know your shape!

(3 things about my body that I like: My eyes. My hourglass shape. The girls. LOL)

I do really think it is all about the shape not the size in terms of what suits us fashionwise.

If I was 30 kilos lighter I would still wear the same shapes I do now.

In fact, it was when this finally hit home with me that I decided to stop waiting and wanting to be thin (which is as good seing as how I can`t even be bothered to unwrap the Zumba dvds I ordered, but am using the weights they included for booksupports, very handy lol) – and just get on with dressing up in colours and prints, finally having fun with my fashion!

I don`t ever want to put my self down again for not finding clothes that don`t fit me, screw that. 

Now I buy two dresses that don`t fit and make my own, and I bloody well wear white on bottom.

Damn right!

The outfit:

The dress I made from a taupe tee (H&M) and a dress that I had reworked a year ago. I like the ruffled detail of the back so much that I made the back of the dress the front. See, now you can`t really tell if that is my tummy or the ruffles :). Ok, maybe you can tell, but nevermind :D

The bolero is my design

Tell me, what do you know and like about your self?

xxx Anika

My inner monolouge says... that is a lot of print!

Hi sweethearts!

Thank you all so much for reading and commenting!

I am a firm believer that our thoughts can help us define how we feel,

making our inner monolouge a powerful tool to use

in terms of our perspective on our selves and

the lives we lead.

To have power brings the responsibility of using it wisely,

even when the power in question is that of my own

perception of my self.

My inner monolouge used to put me down, critisize my weight and highlight my mistakes 24-7.

I have taken the power over my inner monolouge,

and now the record that is playing in my head says:

Yes, you can.

Don`t worry.

It turns out my inner monolouge is right,

be it facing the challenges in my life, laughing at my own jokes, asking you to be my friends

or wearing any prints I damned well please.

Can you relate?

The outfit:

Leopard dress by H&M that I have reworked (and is the dress I feel the best about my body in LOL, pretty incredible seing as how it is anything but discreet)

Bolero/jacket that I cut from a dress by Gina Tricot that only fit nicely over one buttock at a time before I

used the top of it for a few dresses until this morning when I got my scissors out

Scarf is a dress that I forget where I got that I now am resewing

The shoes are untouched by my hands LOL

The bracelet I sewed from a sequin scarf

Tell me, what record do you have your inner monolouge playing?

xxx Anika