Pretty Things and Thoughts

In a effort to make our apartment more "spring-y" I ventured into the world of creating tissue flowers.  I've seen tutorials all over pinterest and it didn't look too hard.  I used this tutorial, which is actually for crepe flowers, but I modified the directions.  I used the peony template found on the website.  I found the green wooden sticks at the craft store. I added a little bit of a cotton ball to the top of the wooden stick and covered it with orange tissue paper and taped it down using floral tape at the base of the orange tissue paper for the stamen.  I did this before I started adding the petals.  I cut out the petals from the tissue paper (about 35 of them) and then kind of scrunched/twisted the bottom of each petal and used floral tape and wrapped it around the stick adding the petals one by one in layers.  I learned a few things:  a. tissue flowers take longer to make than one expects; however the amount of time wasn't a huge deal since this activity preoccupied me while Danny had his LOTR's extended version bliss mentioned in the last post.  b.  floral tape is amazing, I had no idea  c.  ummm, ok actually there isn't a c, but I like things that come in 3's.  Anyway, here is how they turned out...

A close up view

Before

After: Doesn't it look so much better? 

In other news, I try to keep my blog on the lighthearted side, but sometimes I feel the need to share my more serious thoughts.  The other day I read this post written by my friend Sherry and it really struck a chord.  She shares some great insight on what true beauty is.  I tire so much of the world's definition of beauty, which I find brutal towards women.  The media has created a beauty standard so warped that it is more of an alien life form than human.  And then, because it is the media, they slap us in the face over and over again with billboards, magazines, tv, movies of this unattainable image all for more money in their pockets.  It sickens me.

A few years back when I was in the Relief Society Presidency in my single's ward I saw first hand the damage done by these messages to beautiful, wonderful and sweet young women.  I had many come and confide in me of eating disorders and destructive behavior done by themselves, close friends or roommates.  I witnessed some of these young women's parents take them back home before their behavior took their own lives.  I'm sick of these lies that are pounded into us as women of what we should look like and act like to be appealing. It is Wrong. I loved in Sherry's post about her personal revelation through prayer that beauty lies in purity.  Purity which comes with being pure in heart.  And might I add the desire to be that type of attractive isn't vain or demeaning, but well, actually beautiful.  Sherry describes so well that when we feel ugly, it usually comes from disappointment within ourselves whether deserved or not.  But too often we try to fix this feeling by focusing on the exterior of ourselves, our looks.  When really, that isn't where the issue lies.  We've heard before, but it is true, beauty comes from within.

Since I'm up on my little soapbox, I hope you will also check out the Beauty Redefined campaign, which was founded by twin sisters getting their PhD in communications and women studies.  They started this website to fight against the portrayal of women in the media and promote true healthy images for women.  They have some really interesting studies to share, since their thesis is all about this stuff.  

Ok, my vent is over, thank you.