I have been searching for an explanation of proportion and the golden mean, that is easier than using fractions. Since most of us don’t carry tape measures into dressing rooms, and doing fractions along with it is far too complex. So I found a simple explanation of ideal head to toe proportions.

1. Head- top of head top tip of chin (one head length will be our standard of measure)
2. Chin to bust point
3. Bust Point to Waist (navel or thinnest part of your torso)
4. Waist to Leg Break (the crease when you sit)
5. Leg break to Middle of Thigh
6. Middle Thigh to Middle of your Knee
7. Middle Knee to Middle Calf
8. Middle Calf to Bottom of foot

This image is not exact, but gives a basic break down of what we are looking for.  I hope this helps clarify and simplify the last few posts!

Having said this let’s move in to some elements of design to help give optical illusions to compensate in areas where we need a little proportion adjustment. We have discussed how to move our waists up or down with lines and detailing, now lets talk another main point of interest: The Bust. I won’t tell you what is too big or too small, I think we all know what category we fall in. If you are unsure you are probably just right!

For the Bust that is too Low or Small:

• The push up bra – one obvious solution
• Brighter colored or patterned tops with neutral to dark solid pants/skirts

Feathery Tank by Anthropologie – $68.00

• Multiple strands of Jewelry (not too big or it will emphasize what is not there)

Bohemian Blue and Red Necklace by Botanical Bird – (sold out)

• Don’t show too much skin. (for sleeveless wear a wide strap instead of strapless or spaghetti straps)

Wide Strap Dress by Treehouse 28 – (sold out)

• Detailing, ruffles, texture, and/or color around the neckline (help fill in the empty visual space)

Skinny Taffy Teal Scarflette Scarf by Flutter – $30.00

For High/Full Bust:

• Lower cut v- necks
• Bulky necklaces that hit between your collar bone and bust point

Handcrafted Artistic Stone Kambala Jasper, Obsidian and Sterling Silver Necklace (Item No. 707) by Minden Marie Jewelry – $49.00

• Button up shirts (don’t button too high!)
• Darker colored blouse with a patterned skirt

Snuggle Up Top/Wrap Around Shirt by Shihar – $85.00

Picnic Favor Outfit by Anthropologie

• Skin toned or light pink blouse with jacket or vest that comes to a low V

Tattoo Inspired Kiku Flower Womens V Neck T Shirt by Namu – $35.00

• Make sure your blouse is long enough to compensate for the fullness. (don’t tuck in your shirt)

For additional reading on Body Proportions, check out this article by Inside Out Style: Body Proportions Explained

p.s. For more fashion forecasting and help navigating the world of flattering natural beautiful you, be sure to subscribe to CreatedByChicks.com and become our Google Friend (sidebar)!

Although we’ve featured bits and pieces of Ruche here before, I wanted to do a full post on some of their lovely women’s fashion trends today.  Have you spent time looking through ShopRuche.com?  It’s one of the greatest things since sliced bread (not even exaggerating).  I love their indie/vintage looks.  My fashion dreams now consist of filling my entire closet with Ruche items… and their JEWELRY is so dreamy, too.  But, alas… I need to quit typing and start showing you why I’m so crazy about them!

Sprouting Up – http://www.shopruche.com/outfits-sprouting-up-c-24_114.html

Even though this shirt has sold out, I had to feature it.  Isn’t it lovely?  And I think it could work beautifully to be made modest with a pretty v-neck/scoop-neck shirt underneath, especially with sleeves that end at the elbow.  It would also look gorgeous with a simple cardigan on top.  You’d want to leave it open, though, so the lovely embellishing could shine through.  I think the thing that draws me most to this outfit is the simple colors (tan/khaki with white linen pants) with the bright pop of blues in the embellishing.  This top would also be fabulous for people like me that need some proportion-compensating for not being as well-endowed in the chest region (a.k.a. members of the “flat like a wall” club).

Picture Frames – http://www.shopruche.com/outfits-picture-frames-c-24_116.html

This is a really great outfit, combo.  I especially am crazy about the belted look in the final picture.  The top is quite loose fitting, but it’s well-balanced by the form-fitting leggings.  This looks like such a comfortable outfit that wouldn’t look sloppy.  It could work well for a day running errands with the kiddos or even a get-together with friends.  Since I’m a food photographer by profession, I have this vision of things that work well as a “photographer outfit” and this would definitely classify as something I’d wear to a shoot.  It would look professional, but still casual enough for my clients to feel comfortable (even though I’d be so drop-dead sexy they’d have a hard time focusing on the food – always a problem… ha, ha).  Just fabulous.

Orange Sherbet – http://www.shopruche.com/outfits-orange-sherbet-c-24_100.html

I also have a BIG thing for orange… oddly enough my high school’s colors were green and orange (lucky, right?).  This orange top is just gorgeous.  I love the pin tucks along the bottom, as well as the vintage embroidery across the bodice.  They’ve paired it perfectly with the chocolate-colored cardigan and sailor pants (aren’t sailor pants AWESOME?!!).  Yes, I’ll take this whole outfit right away please.

Here’s some of my favorite tops: Celestial Embroidery Tank, Poplin Zipper Top, Daisy Wings Cap Sleeve Top and the Bella Embroidered Striped Tunic

And a few fun shoes: Pink Studio Leisa gray platform wedge sandals, Gray Studded Pointy Heels and Rocket Dog “Dart” frayed canvas ballet flats (I love Rocket Dog shoes!!)

Here’s some of their sexy earrings: Up Up and Away Dangling Earrings, Coral Moondrop Swarovski Earrings, Mini Mesh Rose Earrings in Silver, Golden Flower Drop Earrings, Jaded Dangling Hoop Earrings by Ollipop and Golden Daisy Sparrow Drop Earrings

A few rad bags: Box Pockets Purse in Chestnut, Leaf Bag in Avocado and Take Me With You Clutch

I love these necklaces: Not So Typical Diamond Locket Necklace by Thursday Island, Cream Rose Indie Necklace, Cherokee Feather Necklace by Thursday Island and All in a Dream Sparrow Necklace

To-die-for accessories: Chenin Grape Scarf in Chocolate, Sweet Sage Flower Headband, A Straw Hat for Huck’s Girl, Grey Berriflower Headband, Mustard Seed Ruffled Scarf and Astrantia Melody Headband

And now, the grand finale… yummy rings: Flower Child Oval Cocktail Ring by Ollipop, Purple Quartz Daisy Ring by Ollipop, Baby’s Breath Ring by Ollipop, Lost in Time Capsule Cocktail Ring by Ollipop, Lorelei Pearl Ring and Green Leaf Flower Ring

So…. are you loving Ruche like I am?  I’d love to hear your thoughts!

Recently, I became the proud owner of a custom the r house hand-stamped necklace!!!  As a member of SassyScoops.com, we were all recently fortunate enough to review and see first-hand all the wonderful creations from the r house.  You may remember that I featured them awhile ago, so I already went into this a BIG fan.  However, after seeing their jewelry and hearing their stories behind everything… let’s just say… I’M HOOKED FOR LIFE.  My wish list just keeps growing longer and longer each day.

So today I wanted to show you my gorgeous necklace and toot the “the r house” horn again.  They had lots of different styles of the silver “Sassy” part of the necklace for us to choose from.  I loved this one’s design.  Then, they had a lot of different styles of beads for us to add to our necklaces, making each of our necklaces very sentimental to us.

I fought for with flying elbows and hormonal aggression chose the beautiful little jade bird.  I’ve got a thing for green (you all know this very well) and I love birds.  I also chose a pearl and a sweet little purple-y bead.  All-in-all, there’s rarely a day that goes by that I don’t wear this necklace.  I’m completely in love with it!

You can see all what all the other Sassies thought of their custom necklaces in our Review and be watching tomorrow for the fun, follow-up Friday post (generally there is a giveaway and I hope there is for the r house; you’ll want to be SURE to watch for that).

I don’t know about you, but I adore the “things” in my life to have sentiment attached to them.  I’m always drawn to items that carry a story or a special meaning behind them (the r house is especially amazing at this and thus I love absolutely everything they create).

Today I found an artist who makes lovely, little items, full of sentiment and meaning.  Emily Rosenfeld creates jewelry, gifts and Judaica, all with the motto “Made with Joy.” Emily says, “My goal is to make jewelry, Judaica and gifts that are contemporary and expressive. The work is given its full meaning when it becomes part of your personal expression. I hope the joy and strength I get from making this work is what it carries and inspires.”

Check out a few of my favorite pieces from this fabulous, creative chick (as usual, click on the pictures to be redirected to her store):

Sterling Dove Earrings – $42.00

Tree Locket – $48.00 (isn’t this locket a fun spin-off of traditional lockets?)

Sterling Silver Contemporary Star of David Bracelet – $70.00

There are many more sentimental, hand-crafted jewelry pieces and gifts that I really enjoyed.  To see Emily’s full selection, go to emilyrosenfeld.com.  Thanks for inspiring us with your creativity, Emily!

The first principle of design that we will feature is proportion, or the size relationship of parts to the whole. Note, in this jacket example that the arrangement on the figure to the right has much more balance vs. the one at left.

Raspberry Fleece Jacket by Erin Alexandra Klym – $121.00

For example: the size of your hand in relation to the size of your arm. Or a clothing piece in relation to the whole outfit or body.

This concept can apply to colors as well; do the colors complement each other? Or is one color ill-proportioned to the other by having too much of a really intense color in comparison? What we want are dimensions that relate to each other, attract our viewers, and give a pleasant or complete feeling.

Tiger Lily Moccasin Navy by Darlingtonia – $129.00

The feeling of completion and pleasantness can be done with any style preference. Funky, all-natural, feminine, girly, frilly, classy, boyish….anything – as long as you follow the basic principles of proportion.

Some people seem to have a natural ability to know what works and what doesn’t, so what about the rest of us? Are there any basic rules or ways to find out what works if you aren’t a natural? Luckily there are! Throughout civilization, artists, mathematicians, psychologists and even philosophers have studied to find out what is naturally appealing to the human eye and mind. There are a lot of theories, but one that is best known and applied is the golden mean. Discovered by Egyptians, Greeks, renaissance (Notre Dame) and many other civilizations.  It is one that is found in nature in seashells,

in ferns,

Fern Ring by honeybee, Amy Moore Designs – $68.00

and even the human body.

So, here is a basic math version of the golden mean (section): 3+5=8, 5+8=13, 8+13=21, etc… What does that mean? If you look to the right of the image above, there are lines that help you visualize the proportion. The blue line equals roughly 5/8 of the white line. This proportion not only works for men, but for women as well.

What do you do if you don’t have an ”ideal” figure? No worries, my next Fashion Friday post will teach you some tricks and optical illusions to help you give your body a well-proportioned look.

For more images and examples to train your eye, go to http://feng-shui.lovetoknow.com/The_Golden_Ratio or http://goldennumber.net/goldsect.htm

I woke up early this morning to find something fabulous to feature on CBC today, when lo and behold, in my email was a sweet little note from a really lovely Etsy artisan!  I checked out her store and immediately wanted to feature her and her beautiful, vintage earrings and hairpins… soooo fun!  So, without further ado, check out these little beauties, created by Erica of {Little Lovelies}.  p.s. don’t forget to click on the pics to be redirected to the item in her store.

Purple Gardenia Flower Lovely earrings – $7.50

Orange Ornate Floral Hair Lovely – $2.25

Light Blue Gardenia Flower Lovely earrings – $7.50

Lily Pad Hair Lovely – $1.50

Coral Leaf Heart Lovelies – $7.00

Oooh, la, la!  I could snag up every single one of these!  I think I would quickly become addicted and my other earrings and hairpins would wonder what they ever did to never be worn again.

I snagged up a fun little jade green beaded bracelet from a fun online shop I stalk and wore it every day until the Sunday before last when my 1.5 y/o pulled on it and the bracelet broke, sending beads all over the chapel floor (very reverently, though, of course).  I’ve definitely felt a void in my wardrobe and have decided that I am a person who thrives on wearing green accessories.  Call me crazy, but I swear it helps me stay centered and happy during the day.  So… I think these little babies from {Little Lovelies} would be the PERFECT addition to my wardrobe (looking at them feels heavenly… ahhh….):

Celery Sprig Vintage Flower Cabochon Studs – $8.00

What’s your favorite from {Little Lovelies}?  Do you have a color that you love to wear and especially accessorize with?

Thank you for your fabulous creativity, Erica!  We LOVE your {Little Lovelies} shop!!!

p.s. Erica has a stinkin’ fun blog I’m going to start following now because I think she’s hilarious and possibly a long-lost sister – check it out: Erica’s Bloggity Blog.  She’s also a preggo photog, just like me!  Seriously, meant to friends or what?

This post is a continuation of my previous Fashion Friday post.

Increased consumer education in a shaky economy is a common cycle or trend throughout fashion history. We are headed for some really amazing times in fashion and in our future! I can’t wait to see the creativity and intelligence that burst out of the ashes of the economy!

Tuesday Morning Hairpin Set by Hot Pink Chick – $14.00

Handcrafted, One-of-a-Kind
Because we value supporting our economy and neighbors, consumer education is going up. We want to know that we’re getting quality items that will last. We want to know who makes it – that there is a real person behind it that we can trust, because we have a distrust for the “too big to fail” companies and their motives. Quality is important now – not quantity. You know you aren’t wasting money on corporate handouts and large overhead.

Large Boulder Opal Necklace by Sandrandan – $24.00

Though we will see a variety of items from the internet moving across the country, we will see the spectrum moving closer and closer to home. We have already seen the influence bloggers can have because we trust them. It will just get closer to home as we want to meet those we are putting our trust in. We need to get to know people so that we can understand their motives. Are they just out there to make a buck? Or do they really care about and understand their customers and products.

Rosette Jersey Scarf by Sue Bradbury – $24.00

We will also move toward locally-made because the well educated, jobless people in our communities will start making better products of their own, with higher quality, cutting costs. Sellers will look at “how low can I get the price?” instead of “how much can I charge?” We will get a lower cost, better quality item from someone we trust. Basically it is BACK to the AMERICAN WAY.

Monument Earrings by LKFarnsworth Studio – $19.00

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I’m so excited to feature Sarah Ward’s jewelry company, Blue Bijou jewelry, today!  I realize that I’ve been featuring a lot of jewelry recently, but I think you’ve GOT to see some of the Blue Bijou pieces.  Don’t you just love jewelry, though?  I mean, honestly, it’s like shoes – no matter what your weight, it always fits.

Also, in so many cases it seems that the jewelry makes the outfit.  I spoke with Sarah recently about this and am sure she agrees.  Sarah is a professional image consultant and specializes in helping people look their absolute best.  Also, Sarah is always up-to-date on what trends are happening and incorporates this into her jewelry pieces, so you can be sure that anything at Blue Bijou is going to fit the 2010 fashion, style and color trends.

So, without further ado, here are a few of my favorite Blue Bijou jewelry pieces (click on the pictures to be redirected to the item in her store):

Joy – $25.00 – Gold leaf with 2 Swarovski bicone crystals on gold 16″ necklace with lobster claw clasp.

Sarah – $15.00 – Dazzling circular filigree earrings with gold shepherd hooks.

Brindee – $20.00 – A new twist on the classic Y shape necklace, this leaf lariat with green and pink faceted beads will compliment your V-neck beautifully!

Ruth – $36.00 – Glorious Amazonite and Sterling Silver Bead Bracelet with a Sterling Silver Toggle Clasp.

This last piece is from her Turquoise Color of 2010 collection.  There are many more lovely turquoise pieces that would be such a fast, easy update to any wardrobe.

It was SOOOOOO difficult to only select a few of Blue Bijou’s pieces to feature as I love so many of them!  Be sure to take a peek at Blue Bijou and I’m certain you’ll fall in love with them, too.  Thanks, Sarah, for your lovely creativity!!!

I’m hoping for a miracle for my family… many of you know I’ve been hoping for this miracle for over a year now.  Now, however, we’re at the point where the miracle, well maybe a series of 3 miracles to be exact, has got to happen (or at very least start to happen) within the next week or things will get disasterous.  Yesterday I was pretty discouraged and upset by the lack of miracles, but today I’ve had a change of heart.  I’m changing my perspective to focus on the things I can control and being truly grateful for the abundance of beauties in my life.  If the worst happens (as I’ve been almost paralyzed with fear for the past few days, wondering if it will), so what.  It will happen whether I spend my time worrying about it or not.  In the meantime, though, I’d rather have a lot of happy days with my children and my sweetheart.  I once heard that our reality is defined only by our perspective of what our reality is.  So, I’m changing my perspective: my life is full of abundance.. come what may.

For today’s feature I thought I’d do an Etsy search with the word “miracle” and see what fun things popped up.  There were a lot of great choices, but I was completely enraptured with a particular creative chick’s designs I found in the search.  Meet Cameron, the artist behind, “Create Beauty Daily: Custom Jewelry from my Heart to Yours.”  I loved her description of herself, found on her fabulous blog, “Create Beauty Daily:”

“I am an artist because I make art (and only recently embraced that definition). I create beauty daily, although I am very loosey-goosey about it; my daily beauty could be a new handmade necklace or a yummy meal from scratch or a photograph or a handmade book or a sweet moment of interaction with someone or a scrapbook page or a pair of earrings or…”

And now, with no further ado, take a peek at a few of Cameron’s fabulous creations… and I couldn’t resist including parts of the product descriptions also since they made the handmade jewelry pieces all the more magical (click on pics to be redirected to her store):

Reject Fear Necklace – $45.00

What would you attempt to do if you knew you could not fail?  If, like for so many of us, what holds you back is fear, then this pendant urges you to Reject that Fear; look it in the eyes and deny it and PROCEED ANYWAY. Scary, yes; but oh-so-necessary for most of us in this life! I’ve chosen a light blue crystal to hang in the center of the disc, because blue represents commitment, calm, and aided intuition.

Three Little Birds Necklace – $48.00 (my favorite!!)

Rise up this mornin’
Smile with the risin’ sun
Three little birds
Perch by my doorstep
Singin’ sweet songs
Of melodies pure and true
Singin’, This is my message to you-ou-ou
Sayin’, Don’t worry about a thing
‘Cause every little thing
Is gonna be all right
–Bob Marley, Three Little Birds

The moment I was introduced to this song I grasped “three little birds” as a symbol for letting my worries go… even for just a moment! I’m still a worrier by nature, which is why I need these three little birds to remind me! This necklace would be a perfect gift for someone going through a struggle right now, or for someone like me who just needs to remember to take a deep breath and have faith that things will all work out.

Be the Miracle Necklace – $38.00

We’ve all heard Ghandi’s wise words, “You must be the change you wish to see in the world.” But what if we want more than change? What if we’re hoping for a change so great it would be more like a miracle? Be the miracle you wish to see in the world. Be somebody’s miracle. Be an everyday miracle. Strive.

And I could just keep posting more and more of her lovely, inspiring jewelry creations… but then it would take everyone ten-billion years to load this post, lol.  Aren’t they beautiful little treasures, though?!  Ahhh.. it’s always so inspiring to come across female artists who truly are creating as an outward expression of an inward passion.  I just adore Cameron’s handmade jewelry… thank you for your creativity, Cameron!

Yesterday as I was blog-hopping I caught a really inspiring post written by Tsh on SimpleMom.net, talking about a new (fabulous-sounding) book called, “Steady Days,” written by Jamie Martin.  Tsh interviewed Jamie regarding motherhood and her new book.  Man, just off the interview I gained SOOOO much insight into how to improve what kind of mother I am.  I’m dying to buy the book and will be doing so VERY soon.

Here’s a few snippets I really enjoyed:

• Jamie talking about being “professional mom” (I love that term, now!): “Professionalism isn’t about perfection or adding anything extra to our already very full plates. It isn’t about trying to “do it all” or do what some other mother is doing with her kids. In my mind, being a professional mother means not allowing life to just happen and pass you by. It means choosing the type of life you want for yourself and your family, and purposefully going after that goal. It means playing to your strengths–thereby becoming the best mother you can be for your children.”

• Jamie’s answer on how she “does it all:” “I only put six things on my to-do list each day. Often the first three repeat: read to the kids, make dinner plans, do laundry. The other three spaces allow me to sort out life as it happens and time for blogging/writing projects. And that’s a wrap! It’s a very full life but one centered around my priorities, not someone else’s. I love it.”

Don’t you just love her perspective?!  I had also recently read a lovely post on Design*Sponge written by Ashley English on “The Art of Loafing.” Referring to the book, “The Art of Doing Nothing: Simple Ways to Make Time for Yourself,” Ashley wrote about how the author discusses the importance of finding merit in “being” and not simply “doing.” All day yesterday I really focused on “being” rather than doing.  I was amazed at how enjoyable the day was.  I think I’ve had it backwards, thinking I need to “do” so many things to then “be” the mother, wife, homemaker, entrepreneur, friend, etc. that I want to be.  Yesterday  my focus on just on “being” in the present and “being” the mom my children needed me to be.  We read a lot of books together, I snuggled and held my sick baby every time she wanted me to and I found a lot of joy in making a yummy dinner for my family.  It was heavenly!  Also, when it was time to get work done during the afternoon, I got a lot done and it came really easily to me.  When my son interrupted me working, I was able to genuinely be interested and excited in what he was telling me.  My goal is to have a day every day like yesterday.

So for today’s creative chick find, I thought it was only appropriate to highlight some of my favorite handmade earrings from Wild Woman Jewelry’s “simplify” collection (click on the pics to be redirected to that item in her store):

Simplify earrings marbled turquoise vintage lucite and sterling silver – $18.00

Simplify Earrings Oxidized Sterling Silver and Charteuse Glass – $18.00

Simplify earrings ocean blue vintage lucite – $18.00

Simplify earrings purple moonglow vintage lucite and sterling silver – $18.00

Simplify earrings cobalt blue ribbed vintage lucite and oxidized sterling silver – $18.00

I love these sweet, simple designs.  They’d all be such a perfect addition to any outfit, even for a t-shirt day at home.  I find that if I’m wearing some little splash of loveliness in my accessories, I feel so much lighter and happier during the day.  Thank you for your sublime creativity, Karon (Wild Woman Jewelry)!

And to finish up, I loved this quote from Karon’s profile that fits perfectly with today’s theme of simplifying and just “being” the mom, woman, human you were meant to be: “Life loves to be taken by the lapel and told: I am with you kid. Let’s go.” ~Maya Angelou