Tuesday, June 22, 2010

Good Morning

Hi! Sorry I've been MIA, but I've been in New Jersey.
My cousin George just graduated yesterday!
Though it was oppressively hot outside, it was a very nice ceremony.
My little cousin Marianna was a really good sport. It's not easy sitting there for two hours!
Afterwards, we had a graduation party back at my cousin's house, and I got to see my uncle start the grill with a leaf blower.
Don't try this at home, kids.

Friday, June 18, 2010

I don't write my stuff anymore, I just kick it from my head, know what I'm sayin?

Hello there!
Tube top: Hollister, Blue shirt: Calvin Klein, Shorts: Abercrombie, Necklace: Vintage, Shoes: Aerie
I think now is the first time in a long time that I'm actually content with the length of my hair. Back before I started this blog I had LONG hair. For some reason that entire summer I was dying for super, super short hair, and so I cut it over Thanksgiving up to my neck. I loved this length, but as it started to grow in it looked super awkward and I just didn't know how to style it without fussing with it.
I don't like to fuss with my hair. When it was super long, I would throw it in a bun before bedtime and call it a night.
So it's been about seven months, and my hair now hits just below my shoulders, and I like this! Finally!
Have you ever gotten a short haircut, and then months later you find yourself missing your lengthy locks?
(Title brought to you by Ratatat- Seventeen Years)

Wednesday, June 16, 2010

Peace & Love

Hey!
I'm glad you guys liked the cardigan print in the last post! I'll be doing more crafting soon.
Tank: Hollister, Shorts (which are actually mint green and striped): Forever 21, Flip Flops: Old Navy
I really like the little detail on the tank. It reminds me of something that you might find at Anthropologie. I got it from work for $3!!
Yeah, we're having a pretty awesome sale right now.
This necklace is from hippieshop.com. I got it a couple years back during my hippie phase. Everyone has one.
This ring is from Tiffany's! It was a graduation present.
That's it! I'm going to sit and enjoy the air conditioning for a little while.
Have a lovely day.

Monday, June 14, 2010

Miss Blue Sky

When I'm cleaning out my closet, I try only to get rid of clothes that don't fit me past the point of no return. If pants are too short, I roll them up, if a skirt is an unflattering length, I shorten it.
I bought this cardigan last semester but never wore it because I already owned a blue cardigan. It was too late to return it, so I miserably kept it in my closet, knowing I wouldn't be wearing it any time soon.
And then I was inspired to do some potato printing from this post from J&L's blog. What better way to turn a boring cardigan into something fun?
Cardigan: Old Navy, Cami: Hollister, Shorts: Hollister, Shoes: Target
Now I have a pile of things to reconstruct on my desk. I have a lot of crafting (and printing) to do!
I do my crafting spontaneously, so I when I feel like doing it, I just go for it, and I almost always forget to take before and after pictures, let alone pictures of the process, but this was an exception! Just before I was past the point of no return, I quickly snapped some pictures so that I could show you how easy potato printing is!

Supplies:

Paint. Preferably acrylic paint, but use whatever you got, it’s DIY.

Paintbrush. A narrow brush is best if your design is small.

Potato

Newspaper

Toothpick

Knife

Step 1: Lay out newspaper and your fabric item. Then sketch your design so you have a good idea how to go about transferring it onto the potato.

Step 2. Using a toothpick, etch out your design in the potato. Go over the outline a couple of times so you can see your design clearly, each time digging your toothpick deeper into the potato.

Step 2 1/2. If you mess up (which I did), just cut that slice of potato off and start over. Aren’t potatoes great?

Step 3. Using your knife, cut a couple millimeters into the potato around your design. If you etched your design in deep enough, the slice should just fall off, revealing your design, raised like a stamp. You can fix it up too. Make sure the design is really defined otherwise it will look like a blob if you try to apply it to fabric.

Step 4. Make sure you’ve got newspaper laid out, and also make sure you have newspaper between the fabrics you are about to stamp. (For example, I put a piece of newspaper inside of the cardigan so that the paint didn’t bleed through to the back.) Put a layer of paint on your potato stamp, and then stamp away!

Step 5. Once your first layer of paint has dried, fill it in with your paintbrush. I had to do two more coats to get the shade I wanted.

Step 6. Let it dry and then wear your beautiful creation out on the town!
I had to add a thundercloud into the mix, it's very reflective of the weather we've been having in the northeast lately.

I will definitely be potato printing more in the future, it's so easy to do.
Hope you found this little tutorial helpful!
(Title inspired by ELO-Mr. Blue Sky)

Friday, June 11, 2010

I'm walkin on sunshine

So I'm trying to do a lot of things this summer. I'm trying to pick up knitting again, I'm trying to read more, and I'm trying to not to spend anywhere NEAR the amount of money I spent over the summer last year.
But still, I just got done with a particularly rigorous school year, and I ended up doing quite well, so I think I deserved a little reward..
Dress: Bleubird Vintage, Shoes: Macy's
I have fallen in LOVE with the liberty print 90's-style dresses that have been popping up all over the blogosphere (what a great word). And I've been looking for just the right one to snatch up. I had been eyeing this one from Bleubird, but it sold out. As soon as I saw this one listed in the shop, I had to have it!
And I have to say, this is one of the few times that I haven't experienced buyer's remorse from buying something over the internet. I couldn't be happier with it!
I highly recommend Bleubird Vintage. If you too are looking to reward yourself with a one-of-a-kind vintage item, you need look no further. (PS- her blog is really cute too.)

Thursday, June 10, 2010

Daisy chain

Helloo!
We've been having some cold dreary days lately, so I've been able to bust out the pants again..
Tank: Old Navy, Jeans: Delia's, Shoes: Target, Bracelet: Vintage
I hate it when I realize that my favorite shirt is getting too small or that my pants are just not fitting as well as they used to. These pants used to be my favorite, until the day I realized that they fell to just above my ankles.
It was a depressing day.
Instead of abandoning them or cutting them up into yet another pair of denim shorts (I just don't need anymore pairs of denim shorts), I did a simple rolling of the cuff, and now I can continue loving them. HOORAY!
I wish I had more to say! I've basically been reading and knitting my life away these days. Ah, summer.

Tuesday, June 8, 2010

Go, Go, Godzilla

Oh, look at me all smiles in my Godzilla shirt.
Actually, it's not mine, it's my brother's.
Shirt: Stolen from Brother, Shorts: Hollister, Shoes: Steve Madden
Yeah man, I'm feeling extra inspired by Japanese movies (and Japanese-influenced movies) at the moment. Just watched Battle Royale last night with my boyfriend. I wrote more about it over at my tumblr. If you like an exciting albeit disturbing plot line with a generous helping of blood and guts, you should definitely check it out.
Well, today I'll be crafting and cleaning out my closet. Exciting stuff!
Have a nice day.
(Title brought to you by: The Blue Oyster Cult- Godzilla)

Friday, June 4, 2010

Dark Blue

Oh man, I was so crafty yesterday.
I love all day crafting days.
The first thing I did was bedazzle some champagne glasses.
My mom's birthday is tomorrow, and we'll basically be celebrating all day long. Been looking forward to this day for a while.
I then went to the fabric store and bought some new buttons for my plain black trench coat.
Obviously, I was very inspired by Elizabeth Lau's trench.
Ugh, it's so cute, really wish I could wear it out right now.
Dress: Hollister, Bracelets: Handmade and Coach, Flip Flops: Old Navy
Just noticed that I wear a lot of dark blue. Like, A LOT. I may wear something dark blue every day. Is that strange? Wow, I really need to expand my color spectrum.
Yesterday's final craft was remaking a bracelet I had gotten years ago from Claires into a cloth bracelet by wrapping each individual bead in fabric.
It was a labor intensive process, but I'm very pleased with the results!
Sorry for such a rushed entry, tomorrow's a big day.
BYEE.

Tuesday, June 1, 2010

My day in pictures

Today everybody was busy, and I had nowhere to go, so I stayed around the house and took pictures throughout the day.
10AM- Breakfast.
11AM-Folded 3 loads of laundry.
12PM- Luigi and I chilled out on the deck
1PM- Snacked on cherries, my favorite fruit.
I also read the new issue of N.E.E.T magazine! It was fantastic, so be sure to check it out if you haven't already.
3PM- Out of nowhere, it started to thunder and pour rain. It only lasted about 15 minutes.
4PM-Did a few simple reconstructions. One is a B.B Dakota cropped jacket, and the other is a pair of pants I loved in high school.
5PM- Started watching Million Dollar Baby. Great film.
7PM- Played some games.
So very addictive. I could take pictures of Pokemon all day.
8PM-Family viewing of I Love Lucy. It was the golfing episode.
9PM-Watched Gaga on Larry King Live.
I love their matching outfits.
Watching interviews with Gaga is kind of strange, because she's so subdued. She also gets asked a lot of the same questions over and over again, which I'd imagine is a little irritating.
And that concludes my Tuesday.