Blog Posts by Piper Weiss, Shine Staff

Ida-Marie Corell spent $330 for a dress she bought at Ikea. And like anything else from the Swedish home decorating chain, she put it together from scratch.

The British-born artist stitched together 555 blue Ikea bags, the 59 cent ones that hold all your Gosa Plats and Sprittas, while you're lost in a maze of model living rooms.

The ultimate kids' room by Ikea

For Ida-Marie, one wasn't nearly enough for the gown she constructed wear in a Zurich Gallery, for the opening a group show. Using the neon yellow handles as straps for her shoulders she let the rest of the voluminous patchwork of plastic wrap around the room.

Corell's "ID(E)A dress" is part of Oh, Plastiksack!, a group exhibition running through October, about the world's most stigmatized accessory: the plastic bag. The Swiss exhibit features everything from superheros toys preserved in clear plastic freezer bags to suits and furniture made from repurposed to-go bags. But it's Corell's fashion innovation that's attracting all Read More »from Artist's Ikea Dress Made from 555 Blue Plastic Bags. It's a Little Big

(Julie Garcia/ UT San Diego)This summer, the Pulitzer Prize-winning San Diego Union Tribune, hired a new writer. Her name's Lauren and she's 10. Her column, Ask Lauren, offers advice to kids with kid problems.

What qualifies her as an expert? "I'm a kid just like you." She's also more open than most girls on the cusp of fifth grade. "I have been through a lot in my life, like being bullied, changing schools, having my parents divorced, family illnesses, friendship problems, pet deaths and lots of other experiences, some good and some not so good," she explains in her introductory column published in May.

By the time I discovered her (while researching a story on viral wedding proposals), she'd already fielded questions from local kids about braces and being afraid of the dark. They may seem like kid problems, but take away some of the metal and monsters, and the concerns are no different than those of a 33-year-old woman, this one in particular.

Avery, 9, is having problems sleeping. "I am tired all the time,

Read More »from 10-year-old's Advice Column 'Ask Lauren' is Younger, Wiser 'Dear Abby.' Seriously, Ask Her. She'll Help

(Think Stock)In the first week of August over 100 schools around the country are already back in session.

Instead of the standard 180 day cycle, several charter schools and even a handful of public schools have added about 20 days to the academic calendar, The New York Times reports.

Advocates of the shorter summer break say those extra few weeks give students a head-start, particularly for those in low-income areas where class size is at a maximum and extra-curricular support is at a minimum.

"The kids' education is more important than all of these breaks that we have," Debra Phillips, an Arizona-based mom with two kids starting school this week, tells the Times.

By shortening the lag time, study habits are easier to pickup again in the new year, especially if kids have had minimal structure during their time off. At least, that's the idea.

But can 20 extra days really give kids an academic advantage? For now, there's no definitive data on the benefits, though Arizona's Balsz Elementary

Read More »from Should Summer Break Be Shorter? Schools Shave a Month Off Vacation, Start Classes Now

Dude, Tote, wake up! We're late for the BlogHer conference! See this here tote bag? It's been crashing on my couch with some of its friends all week, because.....we're all going to the BlogHer conference today in New York City!

In case you haven't heard, it's like only the biggest female blogging pow-wow in the country (just ask the President and his daughters).

Shine's Food Editor Sarah McColl (@sarahmccoll) and me, Piper, (@momstyleicons) will be on hand all day, looking starstruck and taking covert pictures of famous internet bloggers and pretending we're just texting someone. Is there any attendee you'd like to virtually meet or throw a question to at the conference? We'll do our best to track them down today send your love!

Just tweet us @YahooShine with the hashtag #blogher12. We're hi-jacking Shine's twitter account today and will be live-tweeting about the people we meet, the snacks we eat, and the crazy smart things women say about about the business of being read.

Are you going to the conference? Whoa, us too! Tweet us and we'll

Read More »from Shine's Live at BlogHer '12. Follow Our Twitter Coverage All Day!

Winning isn't everything. For the world's top Olympic athletes, the real challenge comes after the games when advertisers start their round of judging. Sometimes the offer is so good, they just can't say no. Other times, wished they would have.

-Piper Weiss, Shine Staff

(Boux Avenue)Robyn Lawley is a size 16 and proud of it. Australian Vogue's first 'plus-size' cover girl has just broken another boundary in the fashion industry as the new face of a U.K. lingerie line for women with curves.

"I am delighted to be chosen as the face and body of Boux Avenue lingerie," Robyn said in a press statement."The brand is striving to promote a healthy body image and their size range reflects this."

Demand for more body types in fashion grows

Notice she didn't use the term 'plus size.' "I'm a normal size. I wish we could all be known as models, rather than 'plus-size,'" she told The Australian in a recent interview.

At 6'2, the 23-year-old Sydney native spent the early part of her modeling career struggling to be the opposite of "normal" to suit fashion industry standards.

'I stumbled across pro-anorexia websites and scoured them for tips,' she admitted in a 2011 Fabulous Magazine interview. "I began starving myself and making myself sick after meals."

Watch: When did size

Read More »from Vogue Model Robyn Lawley's Plus-Size Lingerie Campaign. Total Game Changer

Related on Shine:

The cost of raising a summer Olympian

Gabby Douglas' mom talks about raising an Olympian

Why one mom's kid quit competitive sports

Jordan Weiber's mom opens up

Read More »from Candid Moments from Olympic's Gymnastic Dream Team

Colorado shooting victim Ashley Moser, her late daughter Veronica Moser, and grieving dad-to-be Jamison Toews. (CBS)A week after losing her 6-year-old daughter, Veronica, in the horrific Aurora movie massacre, Ashley Moser suffered a second tragedy.

Colorado suspect charged with multiple murder counts

The 25-year-old mom, who was critically wounded when a gunman opened fire at a Colorado Dark Knight Rises premiere, suffered a miscarriage as a result of her injuries this past weekend.

''Ashley Moser is recovering from an additional surgery she had this morning,'' read a statement from the Aurora Medical Center, where she's been receiving treatment. ''Tragically, the extreme trauma she sustained also caused a miscarriage."

Heroes of Aurora shooting risked lives to save others

After being shot in the abdomen and neck, Moser was in critical condition. Her family waited to share the devastating news about her daughter Veronica, the youngest fatality in the shooting, until Moser's condition improved last week. But by this weekend, it was confirmed Moser had also lost the fetus she'd been carrying for

Read More »from Double Tragedy for Colorado Shooting Victim: Pregnant Mom Miscarries Days After Her 6-Year-Old Dies