20/20: day 3, the uniform

i told jason last time i wore this outfit: "if we had to choose one outfit to be, like, our uniform, and everyone wore the same thing every day, this would be mine." so i guess it's pretty much a shoe-in for my twenty pieces! it's just so comfy, and i love the shape and lightness and detail of the top... however, i'm glad i DON'T only have to wear one outfit every day (for many reasons) - joey's dirty diaper seeped out onto this one not half an hour after these shots!
the outfit:
twenty pieces: 2 - jeans, thrifted, and top, anthropologie; also, green undershirt, ; shoes, american eagle, thrifted; necklaces, handmade (i wore two today because at MOPS they were having people stand up and show-and-tell what they make, so other people could see if they wanted them for christmas gifts... but i was too chicken to try to explain my jewelry... as jessica said, "you're an artist, not a crafter! there IS a difference" thank you, jessica :)

ps. sorry about the pathetic backgrounds the last couple days... jason has been getting home later, and the sun has been setting earlier, so we don't have time for "destination" shots (and yesterday even had to use F**** (flash ;) - maybe i'll start recruiting other photographers... but jason's just so good!)

spotlight twelve and a half: radio flyer art necklace

we went on a trip with our life group to Oak Glen this weekend and got a few tastes of fall ;) apple pie, apple donuts, apple burritos, apple cider floats... you get the picture. so yummy and autumnal ;) i had to wear something "fall-y" - it was essential. orange and brown? heck, yes. we took most of these while my sister took joey and max (his 18-month-old bff) to the animal park - she was brave! 

the outfit: top: thrifted, skirt: old navy,
necklace: altered little vintage tin for some kind of throat lozenges. i took one of jason's shots of our rusty radio flyer wagon and encased it in beeswax inside its little "frame". i made this piece as just a pendant over a year ago, but it just finally got to become a necklace, with a chain and all. 

oh, and in this pic (below),  you can sort of see the back, too. it has instructions about the medicine that used to be in the tin :)

joey sandwich!!!!

spotlight four: drill gauge necklace

the outfit: top, H&M, thrifted; dress, ross; boots, gifted, and necklace, handmade

this little beauty has been over a year in the making! i discovered that i could "rivet" found paper (in this case a vintage paper measuring tape) through these holes and create flower-like shapes, while playing in a class a 14 months ago, and it stayed just like that until this week when i varnished it and added a chain, and voila! a necklace! :)

we were in uptown whittier this week for our date night (thank you, kristi :) and had to do our photo shoot outside this building, because it's "my" building. i had big dreams of opening "The Rusty Artichoke" in real life there, as a big art studio space/cafe/gallery/shop :) i picture having the front be a little coffee shop, comfy couches, books... and then the back being an open art space where people can come and be creative (maybe like a "color me mine" kind of idea but for art), host classes, etc. and i'd be able to have a space to sell my inventory of art, clothes, accessories - mostly handmade, some vintage embellished... so i called the owner to find out about leasing it (yes, DREAMING ;) and it's like $7,800 a month.  not gonna happen. but what made me even sadder than that was that he had a plan for this particular building that involved knocking down the cool industrial distressed stuff in and around the building. :( it is SO COOL. if you live nearby, go check out 6728 Bright. i love everything about it, from the huge doors to the address numbers to location, location, location to the side door made out of motor oil cans to the garage-sized door that leads into a side alley to even the broken windows - it just has such a cool feel to it. i will be sad if they renovate. but there's nothing i can do to stop them ;)

i'm a semifinalist...!

in the cloth paper scissors artisan 2012 contest!

in two categories!! one was the "art journal" category, and the other mixed-media jewelry... you've already seen this first necklace, but here are the other two that comprise my entry... now i have to send them off to massachusetts! i wore this top one today because it might be the last time for a year, and i'm gonna miss it! it's my favorite!

renegade!

 i had jason take these shots over a month ago now, as i was rushing out the door to the Renegade Craft Fair in LA (for an hour on my way to work that night - haha). i finally got inspired to post them after reading another blog post about wearing a skirt as a dress (here i thought i was the only one who did this! at least everyone looks at me like i am when i tell them it's a skirt... guess they're just not as much of "outside-the-box-thinkers" when it comes to their clothes ;)

i love this skirt-turned-dress because it hides (some of) the extras... and it's so "my style" - flowy, layers, ruffles, lace... kind of boho-indie-hippie but in a sweet kind of way. that's me :)

 couldn't complete the photo shoot without joey jumping into at least ten shots! he climbed up on the couch with me for this one ;)

and, my favorite part - my necklace. i took this closeup a different day (for my other blog), but wanted to show the detail of it here, too. i made this almost a year ago now, after coming home from probably the most inspiring class i've ever been to: Keith LoBue's mixed media jewelry class (can't remember what it was called) at Art Unraveled in Phoenix. i discovered there that i could "rivet" paper by putting a roll of it through a hole, and smashing it! the front ends up this lovely flower shape (and the back is just a smashed oval mess - you decide which side's the front after you smash it ;). this was something i invented myself, not an actual technique he taught - can you tell? ha.

 so when i came home, i immediately riveted these music pages into this metal gasket, added a chain, and voila! my favorite (and most popular) creation of jewelry ever! so many people ask me about this one (including this day at the Renegade Craft Fair! a couple of artists with their booths there were trying to get me to create a "line" of these! maybe i will! maybe i will...)

my purse and its contents, or...

alternate subtitle: is it fall or spring? california never knows (all these shots were taken on a july day at the park)

i love my purse. i scored it at an estate sale for a buck. i had been looking for something organized-friendly, with a lot of space, but squareish to keep it all easily accessible (most of what i have in the main pocket is rectangular: pocketbook, checkbook, moleskine journal(s ;), bible, glasses case, coupon organizer...). this lovely leather find was good, but not great... until i added the lace. then it was perfect! just a little touch of girly-ness and whimsy added to the all-business of the natural leather... love it.

and now for the insides...
i made this coupon organizer a few months ago (when i was super domestic-inspired), from scratch! you won't hear me say that much! i am so not a seamstress (yet?). i had bought this honduran burlap coffee bag (loving the print on it!), and had covered a wallet for jason - since fallen apart - a) not a seamstress, and b) he abuses his wallets. but i needed something for ME! so this was perfect. and i barely use it, so my burlap's staying together fine ;)

and this little checkbook holder i also found at an estate sale (little old ladies have such better taste/class than Chase Bank provides me with ;) - jason will no longer write checks due to its girlyness.

and now my favorite part: my "pocketbook". 

i feel so grown up saying my "pocketbook". i think i always had a squarer version, and it was always a wallet, but somehow this baby has to have a classier title ;)
i had been in need of a new wallet ever since joey's milk spilled all over my previous one (plus i was ready for a new one that was more "me", so i just became especially motivated at that point ;)
found this roxy pocketbook (okay, now i'm feeling pretentious saying it ;) at Savers for a couple dollars, and brought it home and added the lace and fabric flowers and a bead, and voila! beauty! (also very functional because i did NOT start from scratch - someone who knew what they were doing made the insides with spots for ID, credit cards, cash, etc ;)

ta-da!

my first ever fashion blog post!

    today, most of my wardrobe has been specially chosen, designed for one main purpose: to hide the belly. nothing too tight on top; fullness, gathering, and ruffles are definite pluses. but a lot of times it backfires. when someone asks me now if i'm pregnant, and they are surprised by my "no", they blame it on the clothes "because they look like maternity clothes". they are. a lot of them at least. and then there's the plaid, basically shapeless ones. i don't love plaid, but i love that these shirts are the only ones i never get asked in!

    here's the yellow one (a Savers find), paired with cutoff jean shorts (also from Savers years ago, originally full-length jeans... i guess my altering of my own clothes isn't as recent a development as i thought!), a little halter-back-sleeveless-jacket thing? i can't figure out what to call it... the handmade rosette is attached to an alligator clip (hence the migration from headband to shirt... i've also worn it on shoes and purses!) and by far my favorite part: the shoes!

i altered the shoes today (see before & after photos below). i know, you're like, "they were pretty darn awesome to start with!" yeah. i know. but i have this weird thing about peace signs left over from growing up ("don't you know they're upside down broken crosses??" sigh.), and i thought they'd be better without them... so i covered them! sewed on a circle of fabric, then some vintage lace, and then three tiny beads. i love how they turned out, and that they're the STAR of this photo shoot! :)

p.s. i did this whole shoot by myself. the photos will be much better in the future, i'm sure, once i get my (amateur - "for the love of it") photographer husband involved!! :)