A Little Tour of Belle Blossoms

Hi Dolls! Welcome to Belle Blossoms! This is where it happens. My little studio. My favorite space, it reflects who I am and the things that I love and what I love doing.

I usually stand at this little black cabinet to make Belle Blossoms.



My desk that I never use except to sit things on.

Just in case I have any company so they have somewhere to sit or sleep (it's a futon)

Some of the vintage hats that I bought to restore and sell but I love them all so much I can't part with any of them. One day I know that I will work up the courage to wear them somewhere besides around the studio. That little number on the black candlestand by the way is to die for! So Marilyn! I am in love.

My $10 garage sale find. I love this piece. This is where your blossoms get wrapped up and packaged.
I love this chandelier which I got a steal on at overstock.com

a couple of fascinators that were on my desk that I've been working on.

a little bowl of feather butterflies ready to go on clips or headbands


The top of a bookcase with my old suitcases and cameras

the top of the other bookcase.

I hope you enjoyed your tour of Belle Blossoms as much as I enjoy working here.

Back to Memphis

'I'm going to leave here in the morning and walk down to the station
I've got just enough money to pay my transportation
I'm going back to Memphis, back home with my Mama
If I have to ride that bus barefooted in pajamas
Back home in Memphis, no moaning and groaning
I know everything will be all right in the morning'
-Chuck Berry

I lived my first 20 years of life in Memphis, TN. The birthplace of the Blues & Rock and Roll, the best Barbecue, and the home of Elvis Presley. The place most of my early memories reside. The place my heart lives. No matter how long I'm away this is always home.

My parents moved 3 months ago to Texas. I knew that going home this time would be very different. I wondered how Memphis would 'feel', would it still be home.

I went to visit my little sisters (actually cousins but we are closer than cousins and sisters fit us much better). And we did a couple of very 'Memphis' things. The touristy things that you just don't do when you live there. Well, that I never did.



I've driven by Sun Studios a million times and have never set foot in the door. I really wanted to do a tour, but my baby is 3 and they don't let children under 5 on the tour. But I did at least get to go into this historical place and bought a shirt...my new favorite.




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And another really cool thing we did was eat at The Arcade. This was my first time eating here and hearing the amazing history. This 50's style diner is the oldest diner in Memphis. A diner that still has Elvis' favorite booth for you to sit in. Original boomerang countertops worn on the edges from the thousands of people that have visited this famous restaurant before you.

Elvis' booth is the last one next to the window right in front of the mirrored Arcade wall.


Those were the two historic Memphis things we did. We also went to the Farmer's Market downtown, had cupcakes at Muddy's Bake Shop (the best cupcakes in the world), and went to a concert at Levitt Shell where we saw The Cowboy Junkies. And where every person in our group got chiggers. Yes, chiggers are real. I can attest. I don't know if they are just in the Southern United States or if they are everywhere but they are terrible.

Even though my parents weren't there and I missed them so very much. Memphis still felt like home. Driving down Summer Avenue like I've done so many times before, just is home. Memphis has changed so much since I moved away 15 years ago. It's nice that some parts stay the same.

Oh Rats!

I first have to mention that I grew up in a beauty salon. Both of my parents use to be hairdressers. It was in my blood to become a hairdresser, I suppose. So, I went to school and learned and practiced the art of hairdressing. I learned finger waves and pin curls among the many other things. Since this was in the early 90's and finger waves and pin curls were not popular by any means, I thought this part of learning was irrelevant and thought it very silly that the instructors were so keen on making me learn these useless old techniques. We had to practice over and over again to get the perfect waves and the perfect bases for the curls. We were tested...even the board test had a big section on these techniques and we had to perfect them. This has been over 20 years ago, I gave up hairdressing about 15 years ago, but I guarantee that if someone wanted finger waves or pin curls I could do it. A haircut not so much.

OK, so that had nothing to do with the subject of this post. I just wanted to give a little background to let you all know how involved in the hair world I have been. And the irony that now I am happy that I know how to do pin curls and finger waves. And the fact that I have never heard of the magical things that this post is actually about.

So getting to the subject. Rats! When watching Lisa's tutorials when she mentioned using a rat, I always assumed she meant a rat tail comb. That was the only rat I've ever heard of...besides the icky furry ones. I have to say that when I finally found out what she was really talking about I was so excited. I went right out and bought them and my hair has not been the same since.

You all probably know what a rat is. I just got stuck in my own time and never knew :) For anyone who does not know, I'm going to tell you. It is a mesh form for making rolls in your hair. Probably not the dictionary definition, but hey. What I found is called a chignon form. It looked like a blond donut when I bought it. They come in several colors and you get the one that matches your hair the closest. Since you can't really make victory rolls with a donut, I cut mine in half. So now I have two pieces. These things are great for victory rolls or Betty bangs when you have long bangs. (I didn't know that you could see mine until I saw this picture, I should have placed it farther back).

My first attempt at using my new rats. I rolled my hair in hot rollers. I rolled the sides with one big curler on each side. I pulled up the sides and placed the curler in like a Victory Roll. The front section I placed the curler in going down and toward the side. The back I just randomly placed curlers going down. After I took it down and brushed it out, I pulled the sides up in victory rolls. Now, I am not really experienced at victory rolls. I only got them right the one time (my last post). I was able to put in my victory rolls and large pin curl in about 5 minutes. If you are having trouble getting Victory Rolls, try using rats. They make it so incredibly easy. If you can roll your hair in rollers you can use rats.

Interesting Tidbit...Do you know how victory rolls got their name? Victory Rolls were a fighter-plane maneuver in World War II. Ladies wanted to honor soldiers, so they adopted the name for this popular hairstyle.