Style Guide: How to Wear the Colors of 2016, Rose Quartz & Serenity

Trying to wear the new colors of the year - rose quartz and serenity - when you're so used to wearing nothing but dark colors? No worries when you are a true fashionista, it is not impossible, it is an awesome chance to show off your skills!

Please do not start panicking because no one ever said you have to wear the color head-to-toe. If your closet, like most closets, mainly consists of white, grey, and black, mixed with a slight hint of navy or burgundy then, don’t worry - there is hope.

Ever heard the word accessory? They were made for a reason. Just think of that nice cozy grey sweater sitting in your closet right now. Why not run out to get a rose quartz beanie or scarf?  Is there a flattering black dress that you always feel good in? Well, accessorize with a serenity color necklace to update the outfit!  Continue like this, and thinking small could lead to a huge impact on your outfit of the day.

Here at Winky Designs, we have our super fun water-resistant Slapwatches. Did you know that the slap watch faces and slap band straps are all interchangeable? Our Ice Blue Strap is a match for the cool Serenity shade. The best part is, once the trend is over, you can always change the strap to wear another stand-out color like yellow and purple, or stick with basics like white and black!

Now if you are feeling like you need a bigger change, consider adding some rose quartz and serenity to your hair. Rainbow hair is very up and coming these days! These colors complement each other very nicely and with the right attitude and style can be the best way to showcase your fashion abilities in adding some color to your wardrobe.

Some advice to remember: while wanting to stay trendy, always remember that as fun as they are it is always better to take inspiration and then make it your own. Now that you’re more comfortable with adding small splashes of color, like rose quartz and serenity, try adding prints. Knowing how to mix colors and prints together still show your personality in your wardrobe and also keep your fashion senses from getting dull. Have fun experimenting!

Comment below on how you would like to add the colors of the year to your wardrobe!

Glamping, Winky Styles!

Hello my fellow fashionistas!

            Summer is here and so are all of the amazing trips we have planned! So let’s pitch a tent and sleep under the stars because today we are talking all about camping! Don’t run and hide, ladies! There is a way of camping in style. Yes, we have renovated the old style of camping with a little twist called Glamping (glamour camping, yes it is a thing!)!

We all know the essentials to survival such as water, food and shelter. However, how does a girl survive the intimidating thoughts of dirt, sweat, bugs and sweatpants? We've complied our top tips for Glamping, Winky style:

First off, we want to wear something comfortable! Girls, do not go wearing your favorite wedges! I promise you will regret this decision.  There are ways to be cute and comfortable. Here are our favorite tips:

• Grab your favorite t-shirt, hoodie, or flannel! Graphic t-shirts are fun, fab, and comfy! The flannel and hoodie are must haves for later when the sun goes down and it gets a little chilly! Flannels are always trending and we know it! Until it gets cold tie that cute flannel or hoodie around your waist adding a little something to your outfit!
• Grab your favorite bikini for a dip in the lake! Winky Designs has the most popular bikinis for the season, which we've renamed Wink-inis! Available in the brightest colors, you'll for sure stand out in the lake!
• For the bottom half pull out those leggings, shorts or yoga pants! All three are perfect to move around in for hiking or relaxing by the lake with your favorite book! And let’s face it we love our leggings and yoga pants so why not find another excuse to wear them!
• For shoes, grab some running shoes or even your favorite pair of combat boots! However, don’t forget your favorite pair of socks. My personal favorite would have to be my fuzzy socks! Who doesn’t love fuzzy warm socks??

Now onto makeup and face essentials! Let’s focus more on simple, long lasting makeup tips. We are going to be sweating a little more being outdoors and moving around.

• Pack your favorite sunscreen especially a sunscreen specifically for the face. Your makeup bag essentials should include: BB cream or a tinted moisturizer, a small compact with powder just too set the BB cream to stay in place.
• If you are like me and feel naked without mascara, then pack some waterproof mascara that can weather all conditions - rain or shine! This way you can sweat or swim and your lashes will stay in place. You could also grab a waterproof eyeliner if it is one of your essentials.
• If you are a blush or bronzer lover then lean towards the cream blushes/bronzers for an extra glow!

Lastly, don’t forget to accessorize! Just because your camping doesn’t mean you can’t accessorize.

• Grab a cute soft beanie and scarf to keep you warm in style!  My personal favorite is the Wrap of Life scarves, since they are versatile and transforms from a beach-cover up to a lightweight blanket to a scarf for chilly nights! Does also help that they are super soft and come in a variety of colors as well!



Winky Designs Mint Green Dolphin Scarf

• You also Also bring a few items of jewelry. You don’t have to bring out your Tiffany ring but you can still add something to your glamping look. Winky can also provide you with cute dainty, stackable rings! These rings are plated with 18k Gold, Silver or Rose Gold! They are perfect to add a little something without being over the top! 
• I need a watch to keep track of the time on a hiking expedition! Grab a watch (waterproof recommended) that would be perfect for any experience! Winky Designs' slap band watches have the luxury of being waterproof you can go jump in the lake without worrying about damaging your watch in the water, and you can mix and match different straps the s since the watch faces and straps are all interchangeable!

Jelly Turquoise Slap Watch to add an extra pop to your swimwear!

And there you have our top picks for being prepared in the wilderness! Remember ladies, you don't need to compromise your own style, to be an outdoor adventurist! Camp on!

An Interview with a Fan: Teacher Joyce Patzke

Joyce Patzke has been teaching for 18 years spanning across the United States. After graduating from Radford University, she jumped into the teaching field at full force. Se began in Virginia, transferred to Texas, and is not working in our home school district of Clark County, Las Vegas.  She has seen it all. Most importantly, she has seen her students grow up into mature, bright-eyed, young adults.

"As a teacher," she said,"you hope that you spark something in your student's lives: big or small." this has been her mantra throughout her teaching career; hoping to change a life in some small way, shape, or form. I then asked her what she felt was her favorite part of teaching.

"The notes." She said. When I prodded further she said that this was how she knew what her students really thought: both of her and their peers. It was the way they got to know one another.

"Being in fourth grade, they still haven't hit the age of cell phones and a lot of technology. They still pass notes. Not just to one another, but to me as well. It's nice to have a kid pass you a note that simply says, 'Thank You' on it." When I told her that Winky Designs was coming out with a unique teacher iconic slap watch, she was overjoyed.

"I actually have the red slap watch and love it! The kids love the colors too. I can't wait to get the new watch face!" She then continued on to tell me how she loved all the little icons on it. It really felt personalized with teachers in mind.

"It's great when the kids are being especially gross." She laughed. "The waterproof watch helps when you're a teacher and need to wash your hands...a lot! Getting sick simply isn't an option." I proceeded to ask her which icon on this functional watch meant the most to her.

"I really like the globe. It's a sign for teachers and has become a staple in an American classroom. It's also a sign that I would like to see education spread to these developing countries that do not have the same resources as we are blessed with here in America. It's a constant reminder to keep persevering everyday, even when it's hard."

Get the brand new Iconic Teacher Watch now!

Green with Envy?

Are you green with envy or are you green with pride? This St. Patrick’s day, you can be a little bit of both! Envious of these green accessories (so you won’t get pinched) and proud that you can possibly call it yours. Here at Winky Designs, we are always on board for sassy and functional fashion. You can see some of our quirky fashion favorites below!

Grape Green Slap Watch

As featured in Every Day with Rachael Ray magazine, our slap watches are a crowd favorite. Great for the beach and summertime, they come in a variety of colors AND are waterproof!  How could you not be “slap happy” with these colorful watches?

Winky Designs, LLC 

Mint Chocolate Sweet Dreams Watch

From this snazzy collection, our gemstone wrap watches will be sure to be the best addition to your outfit! The gold brings out the warmth in any skin tone along with our real African Turquoise gemstones giving it an earthy feel. I love wearing this watch with a flowing Maxi dress like the one pictured here:

Forever 21/Winky Designs, LLC

And why not pair all of these unique gifts with what this holiday means to a majority of people? Green beer! Bottoms up! 

4 Things I've Learned About Fashion Modeling

This week we did a swimsuit shoot (say that five times in a row) for our summer lookbook on our slap watches. So instead of the typical style guide I’ll give you a behind the scenes look on what it’s like modeling for Winky (with of course some of my bikini pictures ;)). It’s actually really fun! I’ve never really modeled before, nor am I built like one. The key to modeling is being comfortable with the person shooting you, and of course yourself. If you're not happy in your own skin or aren’t confident in who you are…it’ll show on your photographs. I’ve gotten pretty good on picking up what Winky wants for her photo shoots. For example, she’ll smile behind the camera which is my cue to cheese-it-up. Honestly, I usually can’t help but giggle when she does it, which in turn gives us genuine pictures. Winky isn’t afraid to tell me when I’m doing an unflattering pose or if I need to suck it in. Hey, I’d rather she tell me than see it later on the blog or website and wonder what the heck I was doing. Yes our photo shoots have a purpose. But it’s also fun and exciting to find new places to shoot…and it’s an excuse for us to take a breather outside of the office for a while! 

It was a nice warm day here...the water not so much. I thought my legs were gonna fall off in the pool! 

Summer is just around the corner and we figured what better way to show that the slap watches are water resistant (up to approx 98 feet) than doing a swimsuit shoot. We also used our scarves as sarongs to show their versatility. This is my tenth shoot with Winky and since this doesn't come naturally for me I thought I'd share some tips I've picked up along the way.

 

1. Keep moving and give your photographer some variety. When I run out of ideas I just do something goofy. Winky will usually have me move to a different area and have me do it again 'til she gets the shot she wants.

2. To make it look natural...is very unnatural. If Winky tells me to look away, and if I look too far away all you see is the white of my eyes. So I'll look a half a foot above her head and to the left or right depending on my angle. Did you think was actually looking at something? Most the time I'm looking at a trash can, or a weird spot on the wall.

 

3. Frankie says Relax! - You have to be very relaxed when you're modeling or the pictures will look forced. I still have some trouble with getting my hand placement just right. Here's a tip for hand models: Don't spread your fingers apart or make a fist, cause it ends up looking awkward and dismembered. I'm still working on it too and I'll get it right one of these days (I hope!).  

 

4. Have fun! No one's perfect so let loose like no one's watching. You never know, you may even surprise yourself. 

Shyann and I had a blast doing the photo shoot together at the Artisan hotel pool. Did you know thats it's a topless pool? I wasn't aware...until I saw a completely naked lady less then 3 feet from us! I also didn't know topless meant completely nude either. And that's all she wrote!

Home Sweet Home - Partnering with the Animal Foundation

Instead of a style blog this week, I’m announcing our new partnership with The Animal Foundation of Las Vegas! At Winky Designs, we are huge animal lovers (who isn’t?!) and so when Winky assigned me the task of seeking out a local charity for a long-term partnership, animals were the first thing that came to mind. The Animal Foundation has been in Las Vegas for over 35 years and currently operates and manages an 8-acre Las Vegas campus that houses a multitude of services and provides a refuge for more than 45,000 lost, unwanted, neglected and abandoned animals every year. Each animal here has a story of love, loss, and we always hope at the end, triumph.

We met with the Animal Foundation a couple of weeks ago, and they graciously gave us a tour and showed us all the work they've been doing for these animals. We figured that the best way to help them was to design two brand-new watches specifically for The Animal Foundation, a dog and a cat themed slap watch (available in white and black colors). The watches will be carried in our store and online starting around mid-March. For every watch sold at $40, we'll be donating $20 to help The Animal Foundation care for the animals that they take in and to fund their many programs. So sorry guys! No fashion this week, but I think you’ll like this shoot just as much…if not more. 

This sweet little girl is named Kim Yu-Na (named after an Olympic skater who just took home a silver medal). She was super shy, and was hiding under her blanket when we first found got to her cage!  She was hesitant to come out at first, but once we got her into the play area she immediately climbed into my lap and settled in. I’m not usually a big chihuahua fan but she was so sweet that it took a lot of strength to not stick her in my purse and hope my husband didn’t notice when I got home. 

This next dog is called Gandalf after the Lord of the Rings character (presumably due to his white beard?!?) and he was so stinkin' cute! I could have melted into those big brown eyes of his and daydreamed of rings ;)  (Update: it looks as if Gandalf was adopted recently! Yay!)

 

Seriously...look at this adorable face! 

 

Big Momma lived up to her name...she almost knocked me down a few times! She has both a brown and a blue eye, and a beautiful black spot over her blue eye which made her look like she was a pirate with an eye patch on :) She was just stunningly unique and had a great personality right from the start!

This beautiful lady is Mia Hamm. When people say pit bulls are vicious...I can't help but laugh! Oh Mia! You're soo "scary" you have me shaking in my boots! Pitbulls are one of the most misunderstood breeds due to their reputation from bad people who use these dogs in dogfights. Pitbulls actually have very sweet temperaments and make amazing companions.  Pitbulls are one of the most common breeds in dog shelters, and they all need homes!

Preview of our "Dog" Iconic slap watches (available in both black and white).  Each number is a silhouette of a different breed - can you identify them all?

Winky and I must've had a lot of strength not to take all these adorable faces home!  Currently the animal foundation is having a winter olympic sale and you can take one of these cute animals home for $50 off the normal adoption fee. Don't hesitate and go now!

After meeting all the dogs in the shelter, we went to see the cats! One of the kitties which immediately caught our eye was Amy Von. She's the softest kitty you will ever have the privilege to lay your hands on. She was also wary of us at first but soon warmed up when I picked her up and gave her some TLC!

 

 Here's a sneak preview of our "Cat" Iconic slap watches (available in both black and white).  Each number is a silhouette of a silly cat in a different position.  We especially love the ball of yarn symbol at 12 o'clock! So cute and it makes the perfect gift for cat lovers!

Now that you have been overloaded with cuteness (you're welcome), next time when you're in need of another fuzzy baby, hopefully you'll remember these faces and adopt from The Animal Foundation. The adoption fees are really reasonable and the animal is guaranteed to have up-to-date shots, spay/neuter taken care of, and have also passed all behavioral tests with both humans and other animals. For more information check out the Animal Foundations adoption page here.  Thanks for listening!

Catching Up With Blogger Signe of The Daily Savant

We came upon this lovely lady's blog last year and was immediately smitten. Signe of The Daily Savant blog fame is a self described "world traveler, stylist/blogger, climber of castles, and Oreo enthusiast" and that's when we knew we had to work with her. We love her for her sense of adventure (not to mention sense of humor!), funtastic style, and her joie de vivre which she communicates through her sense of style and honest writing. We sat down with Signe to ask her some hard hitting questions (spoiler alert: throwing darts is a great way to plan your next getaway!) that we were dying to know and knew our fans would love to hear too, so pull up a seat and join us as we get to know Signe a little better.

Winky Designs: Describe your personal style.
Signe: My personal style is always changing. In the last decade, I've  gone through grunge/skater, vintage, nothing-but-Juicy-tracksuits, and a little something I liked to call “city chic” when I lived in Manhattan. I am currently feeling a sort of conservative hippie/bohemian vibe that I’d love to take and run with, but my day job as a dancer/instructor requires me to live in leggings and things I can move in, so I've had to curb my style a bit.

W.D.: You've worn our Milk White Slap Watch quite a few times on your blog (THANKS!); which was your fav look?
Signe: Oh gosh… I live in this watch!  My students are all super young and have never seen a slap bracelet, so they love watching me slap it and all want to give it a go! I have two favorite looks with this watch. The first was a hippie look from January and the second was a super comfy, bohemian-feeling outfit that I was able to wear to dance in a few weeks ago….

W.D.: Has your wanderlust affected your style any?
Signe: My wanderlust has absolutely affected my style. I love to travel and I love to observe people, and I especially love to observe the people that live in the places to which I travel. I take lots of style cues from my travels, though they don’t always translate the way I’d like them to in my tiny village or on the air base.

W.D.: What was your favorite trip in all your travels and why? Any great tips to share with us and our readers?
Signe: I think my favorite trip was actually before I officially moved to Germany. I visited Soldier Boy (my significant other) right before he deployed last holiday season and we traveled all over the place. We spent New Year’s Eve in Prague and I cannot think of a better place to have rung in the new year. There were fireworks everywhere and the architecture was stunning! We've really been slacking on traveling lately since we've both been uber busy working, but are going to start literally throwing a dart at the map and going wherever it lands whenever we get a long weekend! Our last dart landed on Greece, so we’re busy planning our getaway!

W.D.: You’re pretty open with your readers, do you ever feel any hesitation about what you share/how much to share?
Signe: I definitely do feel some hesitation to share things with readers, but at the same time, blogging can be incredibly therapeutic and is the only way I can get feelings out. Since I moved to Germany in July, I got caught up in the rush to find a job, to get my visa and avoid deportation, and then I started working full-time, so I haven’t had a ton of opportunity to meet new people and with the time difference between here and sweet home Chicago, it’s been difficult to stay in touch with my friends at home. I've had a hard time with depression for the better part of my life, and only really started dealing with it head-on a couple of years ago. I've had a tough time connecting with people here and know that mental illness is something of a stigma to the military community, so I tend to stay quiet about it with people here and save my brain explosions, ups and downs with cyberspace. I try to preface posts that are going to be brutally honest about anything iffy, but I've yet to really have a super negative reaction to any of them.
W.D.: Thank you Signe for being so candid with us! We applaud your bravery in dealing with depression and we urge anyone also going through tough times in their lives to talk to someone about it. Psych Central is a great place online to find support groups with others dealing with mental health issues.

W.D.: What personal goals and aspirations do you have for 2014?
Signe: In 2014, I want to learn more about myself and about the world. I've found that I go in and out of these phases where I feel totally connected with myself and then end up feeling like a stranger in my skin. I’d really hoped that by now, I’d know myself pretty darn well, but I’m a mystery even to myself! I've also noticed that my travels have done quite a bit to shape me on a core level, so I'd like to continue traveling so that I can continue to grow as a person with something resembling global awareness!

Thank you again Signe for taking time out of your very busy schedule to sit down with us. We're excited to see what the future has in store for you and wish you the best with your travels and life with Soldier Boy! We'll be waiting in anticipation for your next lovely post on The Daily Savant!

Make sure to stay in touch with Signe:
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