Black and White Kitty Kats, staying "motivated" to work out and Summer List Updates

Hey all,

I took some fun photos of my cats over the last week or so. For my cat Po I made a necklace from yard flowers. My mom taught me to make these when I was little, and we would make them for her horses Louie and Carly.

It's fun and easy. Just pluck the flowers as close to the ground as you can. Use the stem to tie the flower to another flower, at the bloom. Keep adding more wildflowers until you have a necklace. Surprisingly, these can last all day! Just watch your pet carefully, some animals have grass allergies.

I've been enjoying my morning by listening to Beatles and fondly remembering my dad. The anniversary of his death was a few days ago, and it's important to me to remember the good times, not bad.


I also took a bunch of car photos, and Chris and Po made it in some of them. Looking through them I am again reminded that I live a blessed or lucky life. I have no complaints!

My dad also had a '66 Impala with shotgun windows. His was red though, and mine is uber dark blue!

This is Sugar. I wuv her so much I can't get anything done
 without stopping to play with her every two seconds!

Now on to staying motivated to work out...this one is so tough! When the sun is shining I usually just want to go for long walks and get my exercise that way. However, I also need toning, as in lunges, lifting weights, doing sit-ups, etc...

I have been staying motivated by wearing shorts. While I by no means "hate" my legs, they are thick. Even after working out nearly a year I still have cellulite and a little chunk. Instead of avoiding wearing shorts I've been wearing them anyways. Looking at the chunk reminds me not to eat a bunch of junk, and how much I still need to work out. 

Looking at the beautiful beach will also help motivate you!
It's like a vacation for your brain and body!

Another way I stay motivated is by having someone yell at me. And that someone is Gilad, from Bodies in Motion. If you have cable I seriously recommend taping or DVRing his show at 5:00am on Discovery Fit and Health. He works every body part within the week (it airs 7 days a week). Anyways, Gilad will challenge you in a positive way to get up and work out with him! Just start at your own pace and pick it up as you can. I personally guarantee you will see results within a month, even if you DON'T eat healthy. If you eat healthy you will probably see results in a few weeks :)

If you're like me you  try and sneak in some more exercise when you can :) I try and take a walk, or do something else physical besides working out every day. I'm fighting years of sitting on my buns and eating and not working out, so I have to try a little harder!

As for my summer list, I have completed a few things!

I went to Italian Fest both Friday and Saturday, and saw a few of my favorite Kansas City singers including Frank Cherrito and Frank Vigliaturo. I missed late night with Anna Marie, but the group we were with was ready to go early on Saturday. Oh well, there's always next year! We had a blast, didn't buy anything but Chris got his Northeast T-Shirt and I got to eat good food and have a few drinks. Not too shabby :)

Just a cell phone pic.
I had my boobs out, haha, I hardly wear cleavage shirts anymore...
My hair is a hot mess with that blonde growing out :)
AND bangs growing out!

I am still working on the rest of my summer goals list, including stopping hating on myself. It's such an unhealthy attitude. I'm grateful for my arms, legs, skin, face, eyes and hair! Regardless of if I always look "pretty," I'm grateful I can live a "normal" life. I feel awful when ladies hate on themselves and their looks. Please ladies, enjoy your bodies! Your body is the only one you will ever get. If you hate your weight join me and do something about it!

Have you all made summer goals lists yet?

How do you stay motivated?

Have you visited my Facebook page lately?

http://www.facebook.com/vintagevampstudios 

Please let me know if you have any questions or comments.

My email is always open for questions if you don't want to share in the comments :)

tiffanyaprilmiller@gmail.com

xoxo Tiffany

Summertime goals and best friends shoots

Hi all,

I hope you had an amazing Memorial Day weekend. The holiday is over I'm catching up on some serious photo editing. First on my list are some adorable photos of Heather and Ashley. These gals were so much fun to work with and I think their friendship translated beautifully into the photographs. I hope to do many more BFF shoots in the future!

Pretty girls

I have lots of pretty photos to be posted on Facebook soon, so keep an eye open :)

Moving on...

There is something so special about summertime. After losing some important people to death (it happens to all of us eventually) I've learned to really appreciate the seasons, particularly spring and summer. I take walks around the neighborhood and take the time to smell flowers, watch bugs and animals, deeply breath in the air. I think to myself, "What if this was my last spring?" I try to reflect on the lessons I've learned in my life so far, and count my blessings.

However, this summer I have other goals besides just enjoying the beautiful weather and self reflection. I've been inspired by some of my fellow lady bloggers to make a list of goals I would like to achieve this summer. It's been a fun, albeit a bit daunting, task.

Tiffany's Summertime Life Goals 2012

-Read at least one Hemingway book and write a review, even if I never show anyone

-Finish one of my novels with the support and motivation of a writing group I've joined

-Visit Loose Park for a shoot, or just casual hang out time

-Go to the Foundation and hear some jazz, this one will be tough to do because my hubby doesn't care for the area it's in...

-Take Gabe to Lego Land. Hopefully at age 11 he's not too "cool" to go!

-Walk around the Plaza and browse through the stores Anthropologie and American Apparel. This one is tough because I'm not the biggest Plaza fan so I haven't been there to just walk around in about 10 years...the shops are just sooo damn expensive and there are so many snooty people...However, the point of this list is to get out of my comfort zone!

-Read On The Road

-Don't hate, and lose weight. Hardest one! It's so easy to hate, whether it's yourself or someone else. It's a horrible burden to carry around all the hate, in my opinion it turns to weight and you get fat! I'm always trying to lose weight, so if I need to stop hating to do it so be it!

-Go to the Jones pool all decked out in my retro suit, hair, makeup, glasses and hat

-Attend Hard Hat Happy Hour at the Kansas City Museum

-Take my pups to Penn Valley Dog Park

-Rock Sophie Sassafrass' Pinup Fair on June 15 @ The Arts Asylum

-Visit the free exhibits at Crown Center

-Powell Gardens has fairy houses...I want to see them!

-Swim in a lake, and hopefully do some camping at Watkins Mill

-Attend Italian Fest at Zona both Friday and Saturday to see the singers, especially Frank Cherrito, Frank Vigliaturo and Late Night with Anna Marie

-Go to the Dragon Boat Festival on the Plaza June 9 @Brush Creek


So see that wasn't so hard! I hope to accomplish all these things, but if I don't that's okay. Sometimes I think the point of making these lists is so you know what your goals are. This crazy world makes us busy busy busy and it never hurts to take the time to ask yourself what you want. I would love to visit the beach this summer but it's not really in my price range so I stuck to KC goals. There's always this winter to visit a beach, while everyone else is freezing, hehe.

What are your summer goals?

Are you reading anything new?

Would you like to visit Vintage Vamp Studios and do a photo shoot with your BFF?

If you have any questions or comments just leave them in the comment section.

Love you all!

xoxo Tiffany

tiffanyaprilmiller@gmail.com

What's the buzz? Tell me what's happenin'!

Hey everyone,

The blog may have been idle...
but the studio has been busy!
Just look at this gorgeous pic of Barbara Ann!

I'm so sorry I have been neglecting this blog! I'm going to brainstorm some neat ideas and fun things to share. I've had a request for how to do easy flowing curls, so that will be up next.

I've noticed my blog has evolved from being somewhere I shared personal feelings to somewhere I share mostly beauty/fashion tips. I'm not sure how I feel about this. My goal was for readers to get substantial information they can use in their own lives, not just the kind you get from reading someone's diary, haha.

However, for those of you who don't mind...

I am so proud of how far Vintage Vamp Studios has come, but it's also really fun to look back at where I started.

Walking in to graduate. Graduation day is such a scary time.
Everything you knew is over. You are no longer a student,
you are an adult. Even for a grown up it's like that final
 push out into the world.

Last May I graduated from Park University with a Bachelor's in Journalism, and then I promptly interned with the City of Kansas City, Mo. for six weeks. During this time I was given the opportunity in my personal life to see how much I love the art of pinup photography, and at work I learned how much I don't love sitting in a cubicle. I need people, I need interaction. I'm so thankful I was required to take photography classes for my degree, and even as I graduated I never dreamed I would be using those skills to create my own dream company, Vintage Vamp Studios.

The pictures of Stephanie started it all!
They were taken for my Photo 2 class,
Spring 2011.

My first paying client, Courtney :)

Sometimes my business doesn't grow as fast as I would like. Until this week I had no help besides the support and vintage shopping/living/decorating/cleaning skills of my loving husband. This Saturday I added my sister Summer to my staff as an apprentice. She will be helping me with a lot of the "work" work so I have more time to focus on the creative aspects of my business.

My new apprentice :)

I'm hoping to have a website within the month, and more exciting news to follow!

I will also (hopefully) have an event coming up in June. The first venue fell through but the lady organizing it is quickly trying to find another. As soon as I get concrete details I will post them on here as well as Facebook!

I really want to thank those of you who subscribe and read this blog. It means a lot to me and I know how bad it sucks when a blog you follow doesn't post for a long time.

I'm going to end this blog post with a few fun photos I've taken over the last year. I hope to take many more this year, and please remember you can contact me for pricing or information at any time on my email tiffanyaprilmiller@gmail.com.

xoxo Tiffany

Hey wait, that's me! I'd show you the rest of it but then I'd have to kill ya, hehe :)

Outfit, Makeup and Hair of the Day

Hey all! Okay, so this was Monday...

Makeup: Mary Kay mineral powder foundation in Ivory 1, Mary Kay concealer in Ivory 2, Mary Kay eyebrow pencil in Brunette, NYX shadow stick in Milk on the browbone, MAC eye shadow in Myler over the entire eye, Mary Kay eye shadow in Hazelnut on the crease, Mary Kay eyeshadow in Emerald on the lid. MAC gel liner in Black Track for the cat eye and Cover Girl Lash Blast Mascara in Black on lashes. On the cheeks MAC blush in Buff, and Mary Kay lipstick in Inspiration.

Hair: I wanted a bump that was also a chignon. I twisted the top into a bump and secured with bobby pins. My bangs are growing out, so I pinned them to the side and used loads of Loreal Elnette hairspray to help keep hair in place. The long part in back I twisted into a bun/chignon. It wasn't my best hairstyle yet, but it kept my hair out of my face and up, which is all I wanted really. Next time I will tease the hair on top to a way bigger pouf/bump. Also, the chignon will be higher and the sides by my ears not so "pulled up."

Jewelry: Earrings from Charming Charlie, necklace vintage from an estate sale.

Dress: Dillards

This is my first "outfit of the day" type post, so I hope you enjoy! I couldn't get a good picture of my full body myself, lol, but the dress is just a cute sundress with a retro feel. I had on flip flops for shoes since I had just given myself a pedicure :) This was me on Monday, today I'm bumming out hehe, no makeup and hair in a scarf!

xoxo Tiffany

Estate Sales can be vintage jackpots, 'Electric Slide' fun, Atomic Photography package

Hey everyone,

What a wonderful weekend in Kansas City, Mo. There was so much to do, and the weather was nice. Of course, I spent my weekend working on the home front and improving things, and not at Fashion Week, le sigh. Oh well, there's always next year!

Chris and I bought our lovely home almost four years ago after I attended an estate sale here. A few of the home owner's belongings were left behind by the estate sale company, including two amazing retro refrigerators, a retro stove, and some slides. You know, those photographs you need a little contraption to look at?

Imagine our luck when last summer we attended another estate sale in the neighborhood and found a slide projector!

This winter at yet another estate sale we found a screen. Now we are in complete "Electric Slide" Heaven!

It was so neat to see photos of our house dating back to the 1960's
and 1970's! The people who lived here had exquisite taste :)

My mom was in art school when I was little, and most of the photos she took of me are in slide form. I'm so excited to devote an evening in the near future to looking at my own childhood pictures!

Another super neat thing was me winning a magazine from Atomic Photography!

I'm a big fan of their work, and it was so cool to get something fun in the mail!

I even got a personal note on some cool stationary!

It was definitely a good weekend, and I hope everyone else can say the same. This week I'm going to be super busy preparing things for my clients on Friday and Saturday.

The business is moving along quite nicely, and as always for questions on our pinup studio, Vintage Vamp Studios, just shoot me an email @ tiffanyaprilmiller@gmail.com or comment on here.

xoxo Tiffany

Leopard Wall: How to 'Do It Yourself!'

Hi all,

Everyone is loving my new leopard wall! My home is also my photo studio, and it is my ultimate goal to have the entire space photo-shoot ready, all day every day! Right now, every item in this room is vintage besides the drapes and curtain rods (and the kitty)! Adding a decorative finish just made it more fun and playful, not to mention I am loving the warmer colors in the paint.

This fun, 'do it yourself' project is a great way to spend your weekend. Especially with weather that is not quite warm enough to play outside but not cold enough to stay in. Open the windows and add some decorative finishes to your home. My leopard wall is a great conversation starter, and it makes me happy every time I look at it! We also painted the two smaller walls that meet it on either side, since the orangy tan color did not look good next to our old yellow/gold colored paint. Okay, I will stop blabbing and let you in on how to do this yourself!

First:

- Decide which wall you are going to paint, and assess the rest of the room. Keep in mind the other colors of the furnishings and walls. Snap some photos of the wall on your phone for a quick reference.

- Make a trip to your local hardware or paint store. Chris and I usually only go to Sherman Williams for paint, but this time we went to Lowe's. The paint colors I used are: Marigold for the background of the leopard wall, Cayenne for the spots, and Faded Clay for the accent walls as well as inside some of the spots. We also purchased Gold Dust to sprinkle in the Faded Clay paint for a little extra shimmer.

-While at Lowe's pick up some practice boards. We used these as our stencils, as well as to practice using the stencils on before we painted the wall.

Next:


You will need to paint your wall the background color. I used Marigold. This will need to dry at least a day before you paint the spots. My wall took two coats of paint since it is Plaster of Paris and not a more modern "dry wall."

- While you have the paint out, paint one of your practice boards. This way you can practice your leopard spots later.

- Next, paint your accent walls if you need to. If your leopard wall color blends in nicely, it won't be an issue. This is why it's important to assess the room BEFORE you go to buy the paint, hehe.

I had a photo client coming the day after we painted the walls, so we had to put the room back together before we took it apart again to add the leopard!

After you paint the base wall:

- You will need to make your stencil. I looked at the pattern on my favorite leopard blankets and sketched it onto one of the practice boards. My husband then put his spin on the spots and cut them out using his dangerous-looking work knife and a scratch safe surface. If you don't have these things available, you can cut them out with scissors, just be careful not to bend your stencil too much.

- Using a small roller, put the stencil down on top of your painted practice board and apply the brown paint.

Little girl always has to be in the mix of what's going on!

The roller is blurry, but he is gently rolling the brown paint onto the practice board. We liked what we saw so the next step was the wall!

Paint the wall!


If your practice-board test run went well, the next step is the wall. Chris and I decided to do a stripe of leopard, starting in one upper corner of the wall, and moving down to one lower corner of the wall. Afterwards, we filled in wherever we needed to avoid a choppy line type look. We wanted it to flow.

As you can see, we also used a step ladder. Chris started filling in some of the spots with the Faded Clay color as we went along. You can do it this way, or wait until you are finished with the spots, it's up to you.

We tried to keep the colored in spots in a flowing line through the middle of the leopard spots.

Lastly,


After you paint the wall, you might have to make some tweaks. We didn't like how the leopard distracted from one of our candle sconces on either side of the mirror, so we painted over them with the base color.


Have fun with it! Don't forget to tell people where you got the inspiration, hehe! I'm going to keep the blogs coming as we do up the rest of our house, so please subscribe to Vintage Vamp Studios to see more ideas.


Thanks, and love you all!


For any questions on the studio or anything else, please comment here or email me at tiffanyaprilmiller@gmail.com


I will leave you with some more fun photos of the process :)

Dutchess is so pretty! I love my little girl.

xoxo Tiffany

Stevie and Skippy, some of my favorite pin-up photos

Hi all,

As I move forward in the scary but fulfilling world of working for myself, sometimes it's fun to look back on some of the high notes of my short career. One of my favorite photo shoots of all time was with my sister Stevie and my cat Skippy!

Some of you might recognize this photo! It used to be the background of
this very blog!

Something about this shoot just makes me smile. I'm very hard on myself when it comes to my photos, but when I look at these I am reminded of my talent. We should be able to say good things about ourselves without feeling conceited, and yet I don't often praise my own accomplishments. I think these photos are beautiful, retro, and fun!

My cat Skippy is so pretty, but he's a rascal!

I like photos with a lot of movement, not just someone sitting all still and studio posed. However, I know I need to try other styles as well. There are many photographers out there who do the studio look, and I think they are fabulous. I'm practicing a more "cheesecake" pinup photo style, so we'll see where that heads :)

For today, I just wanted to share these fun and pretty photos with all of you. Happy Monday!

"Hey, good lookin', what you got cookin'?"

To see the complete album, please visit my Facebook like page:

http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.327542937297235.91503.194811453903718&type=3

What are your favorite Vintage Vamp Studios' photos?


Would you pose as a pin-up girl?


If you've done a shoot with us, tell us in the comments what your favorite photo was, and why.

As always, for any questions about Vintage Vamp Studios just shoot me an email @ tiffanyaprilmiller@gmail.com

xoxo Tiffany

'Adele' inspired makeup using Mary Kay products only

Hey all,

The makeup look I've created is great for those
into the vintage style, and those who are into
playing it safe with makeup colors! 

Everyone has been talking about Adele lately. I love her usual look of nude lips with a dramatic eye. Very 60's Streisand (I think). Just gorgeous!

So pretty!

There are some nude and peachy colors in the Mary Kay collection that really stand out, and good nudes are not always easy to find (haha). I also had fun styling the model's hair with no product, only bobby pins and a ponytail holder. She was going out later that night, and didn't want her hair teased or hairsprayed! Still, we came out with a fun hairstyle, and when she took it out her hair still looked great down. So without further ado, here is the look, product list, and photos! :)

My lovely model.

Mary Kay products I used for this 'Adele' inspired look:

FACE
Foundation primer *optional*
Cream Concealer Ivory 2
Medium Coverage Foundation Ivory 1
Mineral Powder Foundation Ivory 1

EYES
Blonde eye brow pencil
Cream Eye shadow in Pale Blush
Cinnabar Mineral Eye Color
Black eyeliner pencil
Black Ultimate Mascara

CHEEKS
Sunny Spice Mineral Cheek Color

LIPS
Neutral Lip Liner
Melon Sorbet Lip Gloss

Application:

Face: Begin with a freshly cleansed and moisturized face. I applied foundation primer. This step is optional, but I recommend it if you have any facial scars or wrinkles. The primer will settle in those crevices in your skin, and prevent the liquid foundation from settling in them. After primer I applied the concealer to under-eye area, and liquid foundation to face. I used a sponge, but fingers work just fine. I then dusted the mineral powder  all over face (helps set the liquid foundation) using a cotton ball. Cotton balls are great for makeup application, especially if you are trying to keep the look minimal.

Eyes: First comes eye brows. They are very important to these retro style looks. I watched a great Youtube tutorial by Pinuplovely87 on applying eye brow makeup. Her suggestion was to comb the brows DOWN, color in the arch, comb them back UP, and then color in gaps. I've found this method to work great with clients and myself. Pinuplovely87 suggests using brow powder, but I prefer a pencil. Just use small strokes and try not to press too hard. Good eye brow shaping is an art and you will get better with every application.

Moving on :)

Apply cream eye color to eye area from lid to brow bone. Use a nice thick coat. When it has dried (a few seconds) apply Cinnabar eye shadow to crease only. Follow the crease of your eye and go slightly above it, while still leaving space under your eye brow. Look at the pictures if you need to for an example of what I'm talking about :) Don't blend too much, we want to keep a little drama in the eye look.

Line upper lid only with a black eye liner pencil staying as close to lash line as possible and filling in any gaps. Go slightly out on the side with cat eye, but not too far. This isn't gel or liquid liner, so we're not doing a huge cat eye (I know Adele does sometimes, but this is a more casual, quick, and easy look).

Apply two thick coats of black mascara to upper lashes, one good coat to lower lashes as well (but no eyeliner down there!)

Cheeks: Apply blush to upper cheekbones. Blend slightly, but keep it dramatic without going overboard. Blush is good to apply a little at a time, but this color is almost impossible to mess up with! I used a cotton ball to apply the model's.

Lips: Line lips with neutral lip liner (fill in lips with pencil for extra long lasting color). Fill in lips with gloss.

That's it! Pretty simple!

You can substitute your brand or what makeup you have for Mary Kay and still accomplish this look. However, I am a big fan of all these colors, and a huge advocate of Mary Kay products! :)

For Summer's hair I simply separated a "bang" section, and took the top part of her hair at the crown and twisted it into a bump. Pin with bobby pins. This is a great way to fake a bump without teasing! :) I pinned the bang section to the side, and then pulled all the hair into a side braid. Very pretty.

After the shoot she kept the makeup but switched hairstyles!

Heck yes to super long hair! So on trend, but I guess it's the trend we should have been thinking
about three years ago haha. #growingtime

Please comment on this look and let me know what you think.

What celebrity look would you like to challenge me to recreate?

What trend are you loving right now?

For more information on Vintage Vamp Studios, please visit my Facebook page

http://www.facebook.com/vintagevampstudios

Or just shoot me an email :)

tiffanyaprilmiller@gmail.com

Love you all!

xoxo

Tiff

Christmas Shoots, Pricing, Fun photos of my friend Chris, Volunteering today

Hi all,

Christmas shoots are in full effect! They will go on all the way until the Monday before Christmas. That's my cut off because I want the time to edit them and get them back to you!

For my past customers, just want to let you know I called Shutterfly and they informed me they will print calenders and books that contain nudity. So for those of you who, like me, plan on printing out nude or suggestive photos, they would be the ones to go through! Just remember, if you're planning on giving them to someone for Christmas, you need to order soon. It usually takes a few weeks! Hopefully, it's not already to late :)

I will print out photos for you, for not much more than it costs me :) But just remember if I print them I'd prefer you bought them, lol. That's one thing changing your mind about that can be a big deal, haha. Moving on...

Pricing:

Money is tight this Christmas. When I see people shopping carts look rather empty. I want people to be able to afford these Christmas shoots at Vintage Vamp Studios. As a result, I'm lowering the price from $150.00 to $100.00. Do I think the shoots are worth $150.00? Of course! But I know as women we tend to put everyone before ourselves, and I want you all to be able to afford it. I'm also going to have a cheaper option, as well as a higher-end option, so let's get down to brass tacks as they say.

$100.00 Christmas Shoots
2 outfits
Hair and make-up
100 shots
7 edits

$75.00
1 outfit
Hair and make-up
75 shots
4 edits

$150.00
4 outfits
Hair and make-up
200 shots
10 edits

To book a shoot simply email me at tiffanyaprilmiller@gmail.com !

Also, email me or comment here if you have any questions :)

I did one of these shoots with a longtime friend on Thursday, and I'm just loving all the photos so much! Can't wait to do more!!

I'd better go, I'm volunteering at a battered women's shelter today.

Love you all!!!!!

More winter makeup looks coming soon!!!! As well as no-heat hair styles!