Hither, Dither, Down

My first tattoo design

2012-02-23T19:52:00.001-08:00

Hey, check out a new post on my art blog about my first ever tattoo design! It is for my friend and talented photographer, Emily Bradshaw, who provided some gorgeous photos for me:

Photograph by Emily Bradshaw

Inheriting Style

2012-02-10T09:31:00.000-08:00

Outfit: crochet top--mom's closet, jeans--F21, boots--Sears, glasses--vintage 50s

I grew up surrounded by creativity. My family members are creative in more ways than one: they are visual artists, they are photographers, they are writers, they are musicians, they are animators, they are seamstresses. The list goes on. I consider myself extremely lucky to have been immersed in various creative processes throughout my life. One way my family has encouraged creativity in me is with fashion--to be precise, my mom has been my inspiration.

She has always taken risks with fashion, and at first I didn't really understand her style. As I've gradually edged my way into adult-hood, I've begun to find myself dressing more and more as my mom has always dressed. Like her, I now frequent thrift stores in search of new (old) styles. I love vintage pieces now, rather than just the American Eagle and Old Navy that all the high school kids always wore (including me). As I matured and began to recognize what I really love in the fashion world, and what really suits my personality, lo and behold: it turned out to be along the same lines as the funky, vintage-y clothing my mom has always worn.

my new favorite necklace, a Christmas gift from Dad, ordered from Noble Town Vintage

This weekend I got the chance to "shop my mom's closet", since she was doing her semi-annual closet clear-out (to make way for more thrifted clothes, naturally!). Among my new collection is this hand-crocheted top, which reminds me of a vintage doily or tablecloth. Thanks, mom! Not only for the wardrobe refreshments, but for influencing me with your creativity and fearless - fun fashion sense :) .

So Little Time

2012-01-21T16:54:00.000-08:00

photo taken by Dylan

Some people argue that 'you are what you do'; meaning that you are your job. After being in a full-time position for three years, I find that I strongly disagree with this saying. I would rephrase it to say this: IF you are in a job that makes the most of your natural talents, that utilizes your hard-earned skills, and that makes you feel full of life and happy to wake up in the morning, THEN you are what you do.

A full-time job uses up a major portion of your most precious commodities in life: your time and your energy. More of your time is spent at work than at home--more than half. Any time that is left when work is done must be spent maintaining your functional human existence, i.e. preparing and eating food, keeping your house livable, and sleeping. The energy consumed by work may be physical or mental, or both. Maybe you're just spending energy on being dissatisfied with what you do all day long. In any case, we spend a lot of our given resources on working.

How then can anyone say that you are not, in fact, what you do?

Well, if you are one of the many that spend your time and energy doing something that leaves you dissatisfied and unfulfilled, then 'you' are most definitely not 'your job'. What are you, then? How do you define yourself if not by how you use your time and energy?

I think there are many possible answers to this question. I'm still figuring it out myself. Personally, I am struggling to find ways to maintain a sense of self during a period of life when almost all my time and energy are being drained by a job that is in a word, irrelevant to what I believe I should be doing. So far I've learned a lot about the importance of self-motivation, determination, and squeezing every last drop of productivity out of oneself. At the end of a long, physically strenuous and mentally vapid day of work, it takes a lot of determination to force yourself to work even more. Add to that the pressure of the duties you feel you should be tending to at home (cooking, laundry, tidying, and an avalanche of other household obligations) and you may feel like you are juggling more than a person should be asked to manage.

It's hard to swallow now, when fear of failure is a crushing force and slows your every step, but I believe it to be true that the harder you have to work for something, the more fantastic it will be when you achieve it. Not only will you have gotten what you've worked so hard for, what you've poured so much of your limited time and energy into, but you will also have something that's even more valuable. You will know what you are capable of. You'll know that you accomplished this on your own steam, that you've built up your muscles and you're now strong enough to go even further. You will understand what it takes; know what the hard work feels like, and know that you can do it. Then you will be free to imagine what more you can do.

Right now, the way to proceed feels like a great mystery, one that I hardly know where to begin unraveling. The one thing I know is that the best thing for me to do is to work hard for myself. When I leave my 9 to 5 job, I become my own manager and worker all in one. A friend gave me some wise advice, saying that I should work just as hard for myself as I would for an employer. The truth in that is humbling and inspiring.

Work hard, be disciplined, and endlessly seek to do what you are.

Crafty Me: Vintage Book Collage

2012-01-06T11:03:00.000-08:00

When I'm not blogging, making art, or being crafty, I am working in a gigantic used bookstore. We get such a huge amount of books in the store that a lot of them end up in the recycling bin. Sometimes though, a book is just too good to let it be shredded into paper pulp, and I do some recycling bin-diving. Lately we got a huge assortment of vintage paperbacks, the kind sold for 10 cents back in the day. The kind with really awesome covers. As I rooted through them, an idea sparked and ignited in my head.

Behold: a way to re-use those neat old vintage paperback covers--

This collage was very simple to make. Step one: dive into that recycling bin and rescue some awesome colorful books covers. I used an exacto knife to cut the covers off. Step two: find a big frame in a simple color, like white. I got this one for around $15 at the thrift store next to the bookstore where I work. (WOOT for so much used-goodness in one location!) Step three: use a piece of plain brown paper the same size as your frame and line up your covers on it, trying to balance the colors a bit so it's not too blue in one area and too red in another. For some books, I took both front and back covers because the image went all the way across, and I lined those up together. Step four: glue covers onto brown paper with a glue stick, and frame your collage. Step back and admire!

Hanging in our living room where I can oogle it anytime. Don't mind Captain Janeway on the speaker there, she's just chillin'.

This is a great way to brighten up a frowny blank wall, and it's so nice to give some old cover art a second chance!

Try it yourself!

Heritage Stitches

2011-12-28T07:54:00.000-08:00

This year I had a very handmade Christmas. Every gift I gave was handmade by me. It was time-consuming, yes - but I consider that to be part of the gift, really. I poured my time and skills into these gifts, which makes them special to me, and hopefully special to the recipient !

I tried my hand at something new this year: embroidery. I was mega-inspired by these beautiful and creative works by 365 Lucky Days , a blogger who has spent one year making something by hand every single day. I love the collage effect of her embroidery, with the graphic lines she makes using black thread . So for my Christmas gifts to my mom and my sister-in-law, I made some embroidery with our family name on it and tried out this collage effect.

This one is for my sister-in-law

I found inspiration in tapestry - style depictions of trees, with a scandinavian flair to them. Does that make any sense to anyone but me??

I chose the tree as a traditional symbol of family, and added a bird carrying some string that spells out our name.

The fabric and embroidery hoops I bought at A.C. Moore, and once the embroidery was done I added a layer of fabric to the back to cover the stitches, then I trimmed it around the edges of the hoop and painted a layer of glue into the edge to keep the fabric firmly in place.

This one is for my mom

This design has some bits of crocheted lace cut into the shape of leaves, some braided hemp with beads, and buttons. I pretty much raided my sewing drawers for any bits and bobs I could find that would look neat.

This was such an enjoyable project! Stitching is so relaxing and satisfying. I will definitely be continuing this experiment next year, trying out different types of images. I would love to do a portrait, and some more lettering as well. I'll be sure to share whatever I come up with here on the blog!

She's a lumberjack, and she's OK

2011-11-25T06:28:00.001-08:00

I have a new favorite winter uniform, and I foresee many days of repeating this outfit:

Outfit : Jacket - Target, Flannel shirt - thrifted, skinny jeans - F21

This flannel lumberjack shirt was exactly what I was hoping to find when I walked into the thrift store a few weeks ago, and there it was, obediently waiting for me at the end of the rack. Just for fun, I decided to see if it had a brother in the men's section for my husband, and again the thrift fairies came through for me--in the proper size and all! I was on such a good luck thrifting streak that I proceeded to browse around and found the perfect Christmas gift for my husband too! Thank you, thrift fairies!

@ Walker Creek in Essex, where I grew up

On Thanksgiving, we went to my parents' house and spent a nice quiet day there. I insisted we take a walk down to the marsh, which is golden and beautiful in the fading season. I must admit, last winter made me dread this one, but slowly my mind is accepting the inevitable, and I'm gearing up for some frosty days and fun winter activities.

Old haunts

I love this outfit because it's a little on the rustic, outdoorsy side, but with some accessories it can be just feminine enough :) .

bracelet : from mom, necklace : Etsy

And in the spirit of Thanksgiving, I twisted Nate's arm and got him to pose for a matchy family portrait with me:

He put up with matching Thanksgiving outfits--what a good sport!

Here's to family, to home, and to lumberjack flannels!

Add it to the Wacky Quacky Files

2011-11-22T17:58:00.001-08:00

If you missed the first Wacky Quacky installment, let me explain the concept to you : some things I come across in life are just bizarre in a hilarious way. I thought I'd share the weird things here on my blog, cause they make me smile and maybe they'll tickle your funny bone too. Without further ado, I give you my latest find :

This children's book is self-published...could you tell???

Of course the cover pulled me in, and I had to open it up and investigate further...

Freckles has little circular friends with stick arms! Tee-Hee!

I began to suspect that a Teletubby had gotten it's head stuck in a globe and somehow sprouted wings...

Freckles' friends the circles tell her secrets?

Then she put on a pair of Hobbit ears to show her circular friends...

Note that Freckles' pupils have morphed into stars now. One of the circles is concerned about this development.

But it all ends happily, with flower necklaces for all. Through further investigation, I learned from the back of the book that this story was written by three women who call themselves "Eights Take Flight". Giant question marks appeared in my head. Apparently the book's purpose is to promote world peace.

Obviously.

By investigating even further, I found that this book is available on Amazon (!!) and that it has literally a rave review from the happy customer : "One of the best written and illustrated children's books in many decades."

Well how about that!

I hope you've enjoyed Freckles as much as I have.

Rustic Herringbone

2011-11-06T15:49:00.000-08:00

It's a beautiful autumn day in New England, and it inspired me to dress up for church.

outfit -- cardigan : J.Crew outlet, skirt : thrifted, shoes : Kohls, bracelets : from mom

Sometimes it's fun to look like a librarian--that is what this outfit reminds me of. It's that herringbone texture in the skirt, with the cosy cardigan and thick glasses.

I love the colors this flowering tree turns in Autumn...and there's the dog behind my legs, oops!

Oh, and let's not forget the classic librarian bun in the hair.

I achieved this hairstyle by taking the front portion of my hair and teasing it a bit with my brush underneath, then pinning it with bobby pins so that it had a little bump in it. Then I took the rest of my hair and twisted it into a bun right below the bobby pins and fastened it with a hair clip.

And presto, librarian style achieved!

I love hairstyling. Sometimes I think I should have become a hairdresser, but my personality is so opposite from what a hairdresser typically is like--loud, chatty, gossipy...it's just not me!

Does anyone else like to dress in librarian fashion? ^_~

October 31st

2011-11-01T08:17:00.000-07:00

I always have fun dressing up for Halloween, and this year was no exception. My new tradition as of last year is to take some clothing that I already own and put a spin on it so that it works as a costume (with a bit of sewing, usually). Last year I was Red Riding Hood, with just the addition of a handmade cape:

costume : dress--F21, knee socks-- Target, shoes--Kohls, belt--thrifted, cape--handmade

And this year, as a salute to my love of vintage, I dressed as a sort of retro-inspired sailor. With a navy shirt dress I already owned, I sewed a sailor collar by hand with some scrap fabric from a pair of pajama pants and some white shoe laces and a fancy white knot I found in my sewing kit. Then I tried my hand at vintage hairstyling, something I really love doing. Here's the result:

costume : shirt dress--H&M, collar--handmade, glasses--vintage, pearl earrings--Macys

And the hairdo:

the secret to this hairstyle : sleeping with rollers in my hair--this creates really strong curls

Here's a few vintage images that inspired my costume:

found on kskvintagesales.com

found on www.postershoplive.com

Happy Halloween!

Wacky Quacky

2011-10-27T12:44:00.000-07:00

There are some things in this life that I see which are so absurd that they bring joy to my heart. Working in a used bookstore brings many opportunities for moments like these.

So many odd, sometimes self-published, books come in through the donations we get, and I just look at them and wonder what sort of planet the person/people who created them came from.

And why/how did they come to create such a book. The answer is : who knows, so let's just sit back and enjoy these wacky quacky books.

If you're wondering what book these images are from, here is the action-packed cover for you:

And if you're wondering where you can purchase this piece of literature, there is only one place that I know of that would sell such a thing : The Used Book Superstore of Danvers, MA.

What a gem.

Creative Outlets

2011-10-23T18:42:00.000-07:00

Hello! I've made a new blog! In case you don't know, I have another blog out there called The Living Words, which is a place for me to share my artwork, specifically illustration. However, I find myself wanting to share other material besides art, which is why I created this blog. It is meant to be a mish-mash of subjects like fashion, crafting, vintage, sewing, and anything else I find beautiful and worth mentioning.

outfit- top : Anthropologie(sale rack), cardigan : thrifted, jeans : F21, boots : Sears, locket : gift, ring : flea market

One of my interests that has grown over the years is fashion, and most recently, it has been thrifty fashion I'm fascinated by. Not only because it's affordable, but because there's much more of a sense of discovery and creativity when you're not just picking whatever's "in style" from a rack in a stylish store. With thrifting, you can hunt through decades of good (and bad) fashion in a single store, and pick up something you'd never look at twice if you knew it was from the women-over-forty section of Sears (I just made that up, but you know what I'm talking about). And you end up loving it! Not to mention that thrifting means re-using, and generally it also means that a portion of your money is going towards a local charity rather than into the already bloated pockets of the large chain stores. I think it's a great way of experimenting with styles and taking some fashion risks--go ahead and wear those shorts that possibly once belonged to a boy scout! Add some interesting stories to your wardrobe!