Fall 2016 Collection

 

COLLAB POST FEATURING:

JEWELRY/STYLING/PHOTOGRAPHY: ALLISON B. COOLING

MODELS: MORGAN JACKSON AND TATYANNA ALSTON with the DeAbreau Agency

CLOTHING: GENERATION BLISS BOUTIQUE


Nestled between emerald ivy leaves, wrought iron scrolls and weathered greystone lies a story. Southern charm is in full swing here, this hideaway garden serving as a fairytale backdrop. Like stepping out of a Shakespearean poem, my awesome models Morgan and Tatyanna totally embodied the look of my Fall collection!

Vintage treasures shine bright - from crystal bauble blooms, diamond-cut crystals and classically elegant pearls to crushed velvet and more, this collection is all about timeless modernity. Mixing these elements, all borrowed from a bygone time, with the simply chic silhouettes of a flowy maxi dress or fringe poncho keeps the mood fresh and fun. Feather accents were added in for a bit of whimsy!

Sugar sweet sparkles in the form of Swarovski accents send glittering prisms scurrying in the sunlight. I always think more is better - so layering here is key. Fall's colors were kept in mind; pumpkin spice orange, midnight black, leafy greens and ghostly white all come together to create the perfect autumnal palette.

 Enjoy the shoot y'all!

COPYRIGHT

Content within this post is copyright Allison Beth Cooling for Quiet Lion Creations.
If you'd like permission to use a photo, email me at allison@quietlioncreations.com

Fly the W Cookies

Hey Chicago, what do you say?!

💙🐻⚾️❤️

Calling all CUBBIES fans! Whether you're a Chi-town native, or supporter from anywhere in the country, these W cookies are perfect for helping cheer the Cubs to a World Series WIN!!

Clearly I'm a bit sports-obsessed, so these cookies are right up this alley. In partner with my baking buddy, Bianca of Mhm That Girl, these easy-to-make sugar cookies are a MUST TRY for any Windy City sports fan. We'll walk you through the steps we took to creating these treats below...



Start with a sugar cookie base. Bianca sent me a great recipe, but I'm lazy unfortunately, and grabbed this mix. I replaced the eggs with bananas and the butter with Earth Balance.



Mix mix mix your base....... we chilled this in the fridge to make it easier for rolling.
Roll the dough out to 1/4" thick, and cut into small rectangle shapes. We baked our dough at 375 degrees for 7 minutes.



Our cookies spread a bit, but clean 'em up by cutting off the edges. Perfect little rectangles!!



Use tracing paper to cut your W out, this will be your stencil.



Use an edible food dye marker to trace your W on the cookie.



Make yourself some royal icing (recipe here). Trace the outline of the W and frame the cookie as it if were a mini flag. Fill in the flag with "flooding icing" (essentially we added water to the piping icing) but read more on icing sugar cookies here, if 'ya wanna get technical.



Grab your blue food coloring and go CRAZY! Last time, we accidentally dumped the ENTIRE black food coloring jar into our icing. This time, we were oh so careful. :) A few drops of the food coloring turned the icing a nice Cubbie blue!



Pipe neatly into the W outline, popping any air bubbles with a toothpick. Ice the rest of the cookies in the same manner. Let the icing dry for a bit - of course, you can go taste testing at any time!!
 

These are great for dipping in some iced coffee.....in a Cubs themed glass, of course.

Create a whole plateful of these to bring to a World Series party (THIS TUESDAY), holla!!!

Thanks for reading, Cubs Nation. 2016 is our year!!

COPYRIGHT

Content within this post is copyright Allison Beth Cooling for Quiet Lion Creations.
If you'd like permission to use a photo, email me at allison@quietlioncreations.com

snake charmer

COLLAB POST FEATURING:

MODEL: KELSEY BELLOISE
PHOTOGRAPHY / JEWELRY : ALLISON B. COOLING
WARDROBE: GENERATION BLISS BOUTIQUE

snakeskin courtesy of Atlas the Python 🐍

Sssssparkle and jewelssss make up the majority of this mini snake-themed motif. Why not take chunky-cut crystal components and dress them up with the addition of delicately textured Python skin? I think of it as pseudo-recycling technique, a spinoff of sorts to my Tarantula jewelry (see those posts here and here!). And let's be clear -- no animals were harmed in this process!! I used clear lacquer to adhere small pieces of the snakeskin to each crystal, capturing the lace-like pattern permanently.

Creating the statement necklace from chainmaille - yet mixing with plenty of rhinestones to offset that Medieval edge - prevents the piece from being totally "Knight in Shining Armor". 

The two longer drop necklaces incorporate safety pins and gunmetal chain (I definitely think gunmetal/hematite plating will make a comeback soon, and I'm not complaining) for some punk rock elements. Something punk rock in aesthetic is clearly always necessary. Rhinestone cup chain and Swarovski crystal are the frosting on this reptilian-themed cupcake, adding that high class glitz against an otherwise mainly metallic palette.

Such accessories call for a badass attitude and matching wardrobe - it's time to pull out the combat boots, ripped jeans, leather leggings and oversized trench coats. Graffiti is obviously a recurring theme in most shoots, and this scene was literally PERFECT, from the subject matter to mix of colors. Sometimes you have to search places out, while sometimes they come to you! Central Avenue in St. Petersburg Florida has some crazy cool graffiti, with the murals being done by different graffiti artists. Each has their own specific vibe, which is what the art form is all about.

I'll leave you with the full photo post below, but be sure to check back for other creepy crawly jewelry (more snakes? spiders? I won't tell) in the future!

COPYRIGHT

Content within this post is copyright Allison Beth Cooling for Quiet Lion Creations.
If you'd like permission to use a photo, email me at allison@quietlioncreations.com

fall trend report: chokers

It's October already?! I mean, I literally dress the same no matter what season: all black, boots, and loads of jewelry. I'm not a firm believer in winter/summer style, or dressing specifically for any season. However, this fall particularly, I feel is style GOLD.

There's a couple trends in fall style that are just TOO GOOD to ignore. I usually would divert from anything that everyone else is doing, but I don't mind supporting F/W 2017's aesthetic.



TREND 1: CHOKERS
Why not dress up plain black leather chokers with Swarovski crystal? The ones you see here I created simply by using Swarovski Hotfix and an iron to adhere these crystals to suede. There's a lot of thin leather wrap-style chokers out there as well - however, I prefer the big, chunky ones! Create your own wrap by simply cutting a few feet of flat suede, and wrapping around your neck. Tie in a bow at the front and let the ends dangle down. CHIC.

TREND 2: INSPIRATION FROM THE EAST
We've seen embroidery and embellished clothing making a major comeback ever since Gucci introduced that oh-so-famous satin bomber. I'm so on board! I've pulled a few pieces from www.stylewe.com for the above collage. You NEED an embroidered jacket this season, I repeat, this is not a drill! I also love the mix of Eastern-inspired icons (mostly birds and floral) mixed with fringe for a bohemian edge. I've added the links below to these three StyleWe pieces, they were my favorites from the site:
1. Multicolor midi dress
2. Black fringe kimono blouse
3. Red wide neck top



So there you have it, simplified, as it should be. Happy fall everyone!!