Back with a vengence!

I am back to blogging! I have been absent for the last couple months due to a personal emergency, but things are a lot more stable now. I am glad to report some major changes as well. Simon and I are back in Tucson. We are currently living at my grandmothers house, in a spare room she has graciously provided. We will be there until all our finances are in order enough to get our own little place. Simon got a job at a Mediterranean cafe, and I got a dream job at Buffalo Exchange! It has been the first time I have ever loved my job. I get to look at and eventually buy cute clothes all day. Who could ask for more? :) An awesome part of my job is the constant update on fashion. We are supposed to know exactly what name brands and styles are current. This is what brings me to the meat of this post. I have had SO much information pumped into me the last couple days, I thought it only right to share it. So listen up fashion buffs...I have the trendy run down!

Top 10 fashion pieces to have this winter...

This time it's just for the ladies, I'll do guys in my next post. :)

1. The knee high/Thigh high boot

This might seem extreme, and even a little "lady of the night", but the look is one of the biggest in Fall 2010. Keep away from shiny pleather and you should be fine. The huge boots look great with tights and a pair of shorts, as well and pairing them with some long socks and a little dress. Any neutral color is fine. Black, gray, cream, brown, etc.

2. Vintage (or looking) lace

This means the little stretchy lace is out. Thick, bulky, hand made looking lace had replaced it. What had also changed is how you ware it. Fashionising.com explains that the lace has graduated from a part of clothing to the whole thing. Dressed, shirts, and skirts are all in lace, and the brave are strutting down the streets of New York City with nothing but their panties under it. The look is actually very elegant, feminine, and sexy in the midst of a more masculine shift in fashion. A great way to strut your stuff!

3. White tights

This means flat colors. No sheers that make you look all vampire on us. You want them to almost look like leggings. This is a really nice way to brighten up your winter wardrobe. The tights can be worn with black for a contrasted, fierce look, or with neutrals for something more soft.

4. The Aviation Jacket

This chunky but beautiful jacket brings us back to the Amelia Earhart days. You know, another time when women kicked ass. The jackets are a natural leather color, puffy, but tight around the bottom, and have beautiful white fur on the inside. They seem to be another guys look gone girly look. They look amazing paired with jean and heals but also seem great at keeping you warm! Might have to wait a little longer to where them in Tucson!

5. 1960's Structure

This is all about the structure of these garments. The full skirts and straight lines that are the definition of neat and tidy. They are a continuation of high waist which I love, but come in all shapes and sizes. This season it seems the mystery of showing little is sexy. I am loving the vintage pieces that I get to show off because of it!

6. Socks and Shoes

Remember when it was absolutely necessary to never show a bit of sock under your shoes? Well were going for exact opposite. People like Dolce and Gabbana and Armani are pairing cute socks with heals to boots. Even thigh high socks are great, especially for the high boots. Keep the socks classy or soft and avoid the school girl look by keeping away from plaid skirts.

7. 1970's Business

The 1970s has been being explored for a while, but this season is changing some things up. The more business sophisticated is popular. This includes high waists, soft and flowing blouses, tucked in roll neck sweaters layered with necklaces and a vest, and finally, if you are brave enough, hot pants and jumpsuits. Yes I said hot pants.... careful with that one. haha

8. All Things Knit!

I love this part of the season. It all seems so warm and soft. Like the lace, a lot of the stitches are big and look homemade. Everything from socks, to sweaters, to dresses are knitted right now. Wear the over sized sweater with some cute shorts over some even cuter plain tights. You can wear the socks with some great pump heals. The possibilities are endless...almost.

9. Lots of Leather

There are a lot of things that are leather this season but they are keeping colors soft and traditional. This is more of a sophisticated look, rather then a rock star one. Get some great brown leather books of your knit sweater outfit, or include it when you ware your aviation jacket. The leather is being used in many places, so be creative.

10. Clog Heels

These are definitely a hit or miss with a lot of people I've been talking to, but i think an open mind and a great outfit should look great with them. They are still a pretty heavy shoe, but they are being made with all sorts of jewels and frills, you would hardly recognise them as a clog. It makes perfect since that they have clunked right into the high fashion. The shoes are a great chunky accessory to a layered and fun wardrobe.

Cheap and Temporary Decoarting!

I have been working on the APT for a while, when I came across a small hurdle. I have this out of place wall that has a couple pipes going through it and is slightly raised from it;s other half. I have tried to hang art there, hang photographs, but nothing has worked. It had become really annoying actually. I knew that painting it a different color or adding some texture with some wall paper would probably work, but they dont allow that where we rent from, so that was not an option. Finally, I figured it out! This is what I came up with...
We have been going through a gradual decoration change toward a more retro look, so that is where my look was inspired. I am sure with a little imagination, there are thousands of designs that could be made in this way that will fit your look. This is how I did mine.

1. The supplies: Enough sturdy paper for your design. I used three sheets of black, one sheet or gray, and one sheet of light blue. You also need some scissors, a hot glue gun and some glue sticks and a compass or something else round to trace.




2. Trace out all of your circles. Make sure to keep them fairly large if you are covering a large space. You don't have to spend too long on this by piecing together tiny little shapes.




3. Cut out all of the circles and fold them in half to get your guide line.





4. Cut all of the circles in half and put them in their own color piles.



5. Using glue from a hot glue gun, place them on your wall. A couple things to note here. First, I decided to use a hot glue gun because I have before. With my walls, the glue easily peels off when I am done with it. The glue has been very useful for temporary hanging for me, but make sure that the texture of your walls acts the same. You don't want this to be glued on forever. That's the point of this project. Also, you might want to use some sort of guide when attaching the half circles to your wall. I just eyed mine, but you could use a ruler if you wanted to make sure everything stays perfectly straight.





6. Repeat for every row until you are finished. For a more interesting look, you can mix up the colors a bit like I did with the blue and gray. It is more striking if you keep one color the same through the whole design, like I did with the black. Good luck and I hope it turns out for you!

Art on the mind...

The last few days have been full of chores and decision. We had to work out a glitch with school and financial aid, deal with the never ending stream of work or thinking about work, cleaning the apartment, and cooking. With all of this mundane stuff, we decided to do a little life evaluation to spice things up, and we ended up planning on moving back to Tucson. I am actually really excited about it. I use to say that as much as I liked Tucson, i would never move back because it would feel like a step in the wrong direction in this big life path we are all on. I am also one to know that things change, mostly due to that same path. We are still planing on going out of state for school in the summer of 2012, but we both want to be near friends and family in the mean time. 

Besides that new event, I have been filling my brain with art. Now that I have decided to buckle down and go to art school, I have been driven to learn as much as i can before I apply and leave. Barns and Noble is Prescott's only large bookstore, and it has a great selection of magazines. Today I found two modern art issues that I fell in love with. The first one is called Hi Fructose and is filled with Illustrative type artists. The other is New American Paintings which is large, very well printed, and pretty expensive. It might as well be a book that comes out with a new addition every other month. Both of these offer regular updates on what is happening in the art wold right now, and are pretty easy to get.  

When I was in high school, being involved in the fine art world didn't really interest me. The world is filled with snooty clicks who like to abuse their power. People tell you to be yourself and then judge you for it. They tell you that there is no way to succeed. That was all I knew about it. Don't get me wrong, that side still exists, but there is more to it. And I think most of all, i decided not to care if that was their attitude or not. See, the art world is a funny place. You will never be forever satisfied and on top, and there is a big chance you never will be. The point is that if you are an artist, you know that it doesn't matter. If you know that if no one would ever see or care about your work, you would still do it. Even if all you were doing was filling a barn full of canvas, you would be painting away at the new one. An artist's journey is not finding what the masses like, it is finding that piece inside that matters. You are constantly looking for something with out know what it is. It's the journey that becomes the muse for your creations. Knowing this, I realized that the material side of this universe didn't matter. I am going to school not for the degree, but for the education and the greater chance in finding my own journey. 

These thought have lead me through a lot of new outlooks on the world of galleries and black dresses. I realized that knowing the artists of today is just as important as knowing the artists of the long past. Even though many have fleeting fame, the pieces they create are inspiring and personal. This is what our generation has to say about our world. We should know how to listen to it. I now find myself marking gallery openings on my calendar and flipping through my college catalogs over and over again, just to see what the student are creating. I am excited to be moving to a bigger city in a few months, and an even bigger one in a couple years, even if it's just for it's art and music scenes. For so long i was afraid to involve myself in this culture because i was intimidated. Now the thought of it is invigorating and inspiring for me.

Even though I have a long way to go for my personal journey, I am happy to be finally involving myself into the art scene. I know that if I just remind myself that it is my path and feelings that matter, I will succeed in what I set out to do. To always be  pushing myself and my art to the furthest reaches that i can take it. So with all of that, here are a few of my favorite images that I have seen the past couple days...

Artwork by Nicomi Nix Turner  ( http://nicominixturner.com/home.html)

Artwork by Seth Clark (http://www.sethsclark.com/ )

Artwork by Daniel Danger ( http://tinymediaempire.com/ )

Artwork by Polly Morgan ( http://www.pollymorgan.co.uk/ )

Easy Rug Re-do

So yesterday we did some major shopping for our apt. Well, major for us. We got this beautiful coffee table that is a giant india style plate on a 60's style stand. Then we also got some new sheets and a new rug. When i purchased the rug, i didn't realize how dark it was, and with the gold coffee table and our off white couch it was looking pretty dull. I decided to brighten things up a little with some paint highlights. Here's how I did it...

1. The materials: A tube of acrylic paint. I used white because I wanted it to match the room, but you would use any color. Some water to thin the paint. A paint brush. And finally A LOT of patience. 

2. Put a little paint onto your pallet and add enough water to make it the consistency of cream. 

3. Using a fairly thick paint brush, apply a little amount of paint in the area you wish to change. My rug already has a pattern so I just added white to the lighter areas. 

4. Rub the paint in so it looks more natural. You don't want hard chunks of paint stuck on the top of your rug!

5. Continue until finished! So easy but can be time consuming. I have a big rug! You can easily incorporate stencils, spray paint, or fabric paint. Experiment! Thats part of the fun. Just don't ruin your good rug! :)

Lights..Camera...Action!

These past few days have been a blur and I completely blame it on America's favorite form of entertainment, the TV. Simon and I don't even have a TV, and from this week I think that is a good decision, but we are able to access a lot from the internet. This past week i found out about the crazy world of True Blood, and I love it. I was able to watch all of the seasons 1 and 2 and catch of on 3, so every spare chance I got I was glued to the screen. I am SOO glad that is over. Don't get me wrong, I enjoyed every minute of it, but now that it IS over, I feel like I waster SO much time. Instead of being the one who et out there and did stuff, i watched someone else do it. Even if it is fantasy. Have you ever noticed that the Characters you watch on tv or in a movie never watch it.  A huge part of that is probable because that would be very boring to watch, but that means they are experiencing things. I have always wanted to be the one experiencing, not watching the experience. So, now that I am back to myself, I am going to walk away from that kind of entertainment. 

Now that I have that soap box out of the way, I wanted to talk about movies. I think movis are healthier then box sets of shows. In a box set, you are always tempted to watch one more because of the stories un-fulfilling endings. In movies, ou watch it for a couple hours, and your done. You can move on. So here are a few movies I have watched lately that I LOVED. If you would like to zombie out for a few days, I recommend True Blood as well. (True blood is a very mature show. read about it before watching and make sure it is appropriate for who ever sees it. )

1. Cash Back

This is an interesting twist on a romantic film. Made in the UK, it is about an artists who has insomnia and decides to work at a late grocery store to do something while he is awake. He finds powers, friends, ad love he didn't have before and see his life finally start to move forward because of it. 

2. Gigantic

This independent film is amazing. The main character is a mattress sales man. When selling to a client he gets roped into delivering the most expensive mattress they sell to the client's home. That is where he meets the clients daughter. This interesting film takes you though the main character's life as he finds himself facing new friends and situations. 

3. Good Dick

This low budget, independent film takes you into the lives of two very different people. A woman who is bound be a secret tragedy spends her life in her messy apartment, only to venture to the video store to check out soft-core porn. Her life is shaken when the clerk introduces himself and decides to break down her walls and pursue her in an unconventional fashion. 

4. The Darjeeling Limited

Three brothers get wrapped up in a spiritual and exciting adventure through India together. They brave the country, the people, and each other as they make their way around by train. 

5. The Invention of Lying

This hilarious film is about a fantasy world where the ability to lie was never developed. In a state of desperation, the main character suddenly found himself with the new and powerful ability. He is now faced with new situations he never dreamed possible. 

A little bit of the city...

I found this picture on another blog and thought it was a really neat image. i have always been attracted to type art or typography. This is a cool way to bring a little of the city into your home, no matter where you leave. You will need: a few different sizes of paintbrushes (at least a med/large one and a small one), a container of water, two colors of paint, a surface to paint on and sandpaper. 

1. Fine a scrap of something. The cool thing about this project, is you can paint it on canvas, or cardboard, and it can be any size. I found mine in an old frame I got from school. It is a worthless and pretty ugly print, so I thought I could recycle it. Keep your eye out EVERYWHERE for things to paint on. New canvas can be expensive, and if you are not planning on showing it in a gallery (or, sometimes, even if you are) don't worry about your supplies so much.

2. If you finds something with a rough surface, you can skip this step. If like me you found something that was previously painted, has paper on it, or is just smooth, you will have to sand it. Really, and fine to medium sand paper will do. You just want to create a surface that the paint can easily stick to. 

3. Next, because this is a distressed look, we will be painting an undercoat. I was my sign to be a traditional black and white, but you can go with any color-scheme. Opposites look great in this project so couples like purple and orange, green and red, and blue and yellow look good. Refer to a color wheel to get some ideas. With your under paint (the one that will show through with distressing as well as the color for the lettering) paint a coat over the whole surface. Since this color will only be seen with our distressing, you do not need an even coat. This can be quick and painless! Now go get some coffee, maybe a snack, and let the paint dry.

4.  Now get our your next paint. This layer will be seen, so take a little more time and maybe another coat and paint a fairly even layer of paint over your surface. You don't want to make it too thick though, since you will be trying to get some of it off when it dries, during our distressing step. back to watching paint dry. Step out and get a little fresh air while you wait. 

5. The fun part! Distressing is not a difficult technique, so don't let yourself fret over it. The process should be fun and therapeutic. If your mad, try distressing something. ;). There is no set way to do this. Collect some blunt and rough objects and use them to scratch and chip off the layer of paint you just applied. Every project and material will require a different degree of force, but use some common since. If you are using cardboard, don't go at it with a power saw. you want to have something left over when your done! Other then that, have fun!

4. Once you are fully distressed, decide on your words. If it helps, use a scrap piece of paper to give yourself an idea how you want to lay them out. Because this is supposed to be "subway art", the best words would be some famous streets of the city you want to represent. I think New York would be a good theme for my black and white color pallet. Your type should be all different sizes, and even fonts. Use a type program like Word to get ideas. One you have what you want, use a pencil and write it out on your board. Use the computer fonts as reference if you need to! To help keep yourself straight, use a ruler to create line to write on. 

5. Now it is time for your steady hand. REMEMBER, even though paint it a little more permeant then the pencil, you can always paint over mistakes. Don't let this stress you into quitting. You are just following the lines you just created. If a white line is too wobbly for you, use some black paint on the side to straighten it out. When the white letters are fry, get some of that frustration from painting them out by giving them a little distress. Keep it less then the background though. 

7. Alright! Your done! You can either frame it or, if the surface you used is thick enough, you can attach a frame hanger to the back and hang it up as it is. Enjoy!!

Closet Renovation!

So, I did it! It actually wasn't that hard, which makes me think I might have some more things to get rid of that is in my laundry. Oh well, got some piece out that I have liked and kept for a while, but don't really match my new look. I am going to put them on craigslist to try and make a little money for new clothes. 

I am planning on getting new clothes wether or not I sell anything. Every pay check, Simon and I divide it into bills, necessities, and a sort of allowance. This friday, I am going to use the majority of my extra money to get new pieces for my closet. Yay! Shopping! I'll make sure to keep everyone updated as I go along. 

So what am I looking for? Well what is in style but still has my vintage flair? I want to make sure I have a plan before I go out, so I am going to pick out some key elements to start out with. This fall, I need to be looking for:

1. Tights, scarves for my hair, and high socks

2. Vintage styled shoes and heals

3. High waisted skirts, both short and knee length

4. Heavy fabric, fitted dresses

5. Plaid, fall colors (reds, maroon, orange, gold)

6. dark and red lipstick

7. Jean and collared shirts

8. charcoal and mushroom color nail polish

9. pencil skirts

Well there you have it! I will keep you updated on what I get. I am going to try and find everything at thrift stores since I will have a pretty strict budget. See you next time!