SpyCam: Fun Feet in Venice CA

52 Pick-me-up: Out With the Old

A new cycle of 52 Pick-me up (Round 3!) will begin on July 5th.

Maybe you missed a deadline during the last year, or you feel like revisiting a challenge?
Here's your chance to link!
The Linkup will remain open for months.

Below are the prompts from Round Two of 52 Pick-me-up, which ran from 6/29/2014 - 7/4/2015.
I've left an open Linky at the bottom, in case you feel like adding something THAT GOES WITH A THEME.
(Random linkups WILL be deleted).  
The prompt links go to my post from the week of the prompt.

  1. Minimalism
  2. Dress like your vehicle or transport
  3. Fairy Tale
  4. Disco Diva
  5.  Orchid
  6.  Favorite Dessert
  7. Woodstock Nation
  8. Goddess
  9. Rococo
10. Sunflower
11. Back to School
12. Grunge
13. Hibiscus
14. Plaid
15. Trend salad -- wear as many trends as you can IN ONE OUTFIT. [no link]
16. Favorite Toy
17. Animal
18. Marigold
19. Layers
20. Cartoon
21. Medieval
22. Black
23. Morning Glory
24. Crazy Legs
25. Frozen
26. Bejeweled
27. Cyclamen
28. You have not worn it for a year. Now is the time.
29. Pantone Party
30. Read between the lines -- inspired by a book
31. Amaryllis
32. Hat Trick
33. I Heart...
34. Movie Mania
35. Magnolia
36. Dots
37. Int'l Women's Day/ Week

38. Baroque

39. Match your scarf

40. Iris
41. Fresh Fruits
42. Pattern Max
43. Hey Cowgirl

44. Forget-me-not
45. Hero

46. Stripes
47. Stagecraft -- inspired by Broadway
48. Best foot forward

49. Queen Anne's Lace

50. United Nations

51. Surfin Safari

52. Wild Card

52 Pick-me-up: Wild Card

CREATED/ GIFTED/ PURCHASED/ 

We have reached the last prompt for this round of 52 Pick-me-up: Wild Card.
Here's your opportunity to post whatever -- a crazy outfit, a photo of your pet, what you ate for breakfast, a pretty flower, a lurid sunset. Or maybe you missed a deadline on one of the year's prompts (you can find the list here). The operative concept is: Go Wild!

Here is my look:

Rainbow Girl!

I finally wore the rainbow shirt that Joyatri gave me a year ago, when me met for breakfast in Cambridge, MA.

Maybe not the best thing to wear during a heat wave.

The Sandcastle brand oversized shirt (beach coverup?) is 60's/70's era polyester in all its glory.
Meaning, the fibers don't breathe.
Add to the mix an 80's nylon/spandex bubble knit bodycon dress, my new poly/spandex Crazy Leggings, rainbow socks from Ruth, and 90º temperatures and I created an all-day hot flash for myself.
It was an unpleasant experience and will not be repeated.

So let's make a TinyPlanet of it and move on to some linking.

 How wild will you get? Link and tell!

SpyGirl Visits a Shoemaker at CAFAM

Chris Francis, shoe designer, has set up his atelier inside the Craft and Folk Art Museum.
From the outside, it looks intriguing:

The metallic texture on the platforms is made up of thumbtacks! 

(photo by Ruth) 

Inside it's a fascinating jumble of shoemaking materials, tools, and antique machinery:

Sadly, Chris was on a lunch break during Ruth's and my visit.
We shall return! 

The museum has devoted its second floor to an exhibition of Chris's shoe designs. They are functional pieces of art:

"Untitled" by Chris Francis. On display at Craft and Folk Art Museum. | Photo: Courtesy of the museum.

If you love shoes and are in LA, go visit!
The exhibition and residency run through September 6, 2015.

See more images and read more here.

52 Pick-me-up: Surfin' Safari

PURCHASED/ CREATED/ 

In the Northern Hemisphere, school's out and summer is here. Time to hit the beach!
Grab your Hawaiian shirt and a large brimmed hat and go on a "surfin' safari"!

Unless you live in Southern California, that is.
Where almost every morning this month has looked like this:

It's called "June Gloom"

If you are craving sun and heat, you will have to take your safari inland:

It was 106º in Joshua Tree yesterday morning

Yes, you'll have sand. A beach? No.

Where will your surfin' safari take you? Link and tell!

Chakra Wisdom Oracle with Tori Hartman

GIFTED/  

Last Friday I had the opportunity to meet with author Tori Hartman to hear about her 
Chakra Wisdom Oracle Cards and Toolkit. 

gifts from Tori 

It was a really interesting session. There were four of us around a glass table on her back patio. Tori told us her story, we told ours, and then we did a couple of fun exercises involving our intuition. Tori suggested that I begin by working with the Heart Chakra/ Green exercises in her Toolkit book. When I got home, I was inspired to clear off my bedside shelf and make myself a green zone:

Finally a use for the jumbo Pantone postcards that I bought a couple of years ago!

Those of you that play my 52 Pick-me-up challenge -- get ready for a colorful year! 
The new prompts will be published by July 5.

Get a taste of what the Oracle cards say here.

From her website:
Thursday June 11, 2015 - Tori appears at Barnes & Noble at The Grove

Do you live in Los Angeles or the surrounding areas?

If you do…we have fantastic news! Tori Hartman will be making her first ever appearance at the famous Barnes & Noble location at The Grove in LA.

Not only will she be signing copies of her card deck and meeting everyone, she’ll also be doing a workshop where you’ll get a mini-reading with the cards and intuitively experience her technique.

As the bestselling author of the Chakra Wisdom Oracle card deck, Tori’s events are always fun-filled with activities and exercises to empower you to tap into your intuition in ways you’ve never done before!

Through teaching her simple techniques, she has helped thousands of people to start businesses, do their Masters Degree, live a healthier lifestyle, write books, and even find the love of their life.

So head over to Barnes & Noble on June 11 at 7pm so that you don’t miss out on this FREE intuitive experience!

Date: Thursday June 11, 2015
Time:  7:00pm
Location: 189 The Grove Drive Suite K 30, Los Angeles, CA 90036
Cost: FREE

For more information, you can also visit Barnes & Noble's event page HERE

Full disclosure: I was gifted a set of the Chakra Wisdom Oracle Cards and Toolkit. No affiliate links are in this post.

52 Pick-me-up: United Nations

PURCHASED/ 

My effort this week is entitled "Multicultural Mashup with Hippie Skirts"

I have a lot of long flowy Indian skirts that I can't stop myself from purchasing whenever I rendezvous in Artesia (AKA Little India) with my friend Deborah. It's all Deborah's fault! I've decided that they overwhelm me and work better if they're hiked up and worn as dresses. Also, I can't wear long skirts at work because I'll trip on the stairs in and roll my chair on them.

I decided to experiment mixing the skirt-dresses with tops from different countries [for the prompt] through the filter of selfies to see what worked. Looking at a photograph often works better for me than the mirror.

First I tried an African fish tunic combo:

has potential

Next was a Mayan top (not sure whether from Mexico or Guatemala):

no. too much fabric and side seams wonky

I really like the fabric on the skirt, but cutting slits at the sides for armholes and placing the waist at my neck doesn't work. I wore it like this for work last Tuesday:

I look like a giant baby. Or a Cabbage Patch Kid. Nooooooo!

I settled on my favorite combo of Mayan top/ Indian patchwork skirt-dress:

It was 90º in Claremont at the "All U Can Eat" show. (20º hotter than at home).
This outfit was comfortable.
And
I sold 2 out of 3 pieces! (You can see them here). Yay me! I then bought two paintings to take back to my lair.
Here I am with Anne Seltzer. I bought her piece, she bought mine.

Linking up with Patti's last Visible Monday for the summer.

Can you create an international cocktail from your closet?
Link and tell!

SpyGirl Watches: L.A. Frockstars -- From Grit to Glamor

CREATED/ 

I enjoyed L.A. Frockstars so much on the Smithsonian Channel. Sadly, the episodes are no longer airing and the Smithsonian website only has tantalizing snippits to cause you to crave more so that you'll download it from iTunes, Google Play, or Amazon. And to pray for a Season 3!

I never got around to posting my One to Watch from the final episode six. I really wanted to capture a sketch of Sarah, but that was not in the cards. What captured my attention was not even a person, it was an outfit!

This was pulled for the costume designer Mark Bridges.

In the episode, he talked through his design process and shared bits of his character reference book -- old school style analog collaged inspiration:

[While trying to fact check, I made a sad discovery: 

Noooooo! I'll have to pay for downloads too!]

Anyway.

I did my own bit of costuming -- to me, this ensemble screamed MELANIE!

I had the opportunity to meet Doris at The Way We Wore yesterday (well, yeah, the shop IS only 10 miles from where I live) and what a treat. You know how when you meet a blogger pal, it's like you already know her? I felt that I "knew" Doris from watching L.A. Frockstars, it was so strange (in a good way). I had a quick tour of all the nooks and crannies of Doris's domain, including the Inspiration Room next door. All I could think in there was, I want to organize it so that I can look at and touch EVERYTHING. Was I having an Enid in the Scarf Closet flashback? Perhaps!
[No photos. I didn't want the capturing in the way of the experience.]

I was given access to screeners of all six episodes of Season 2 back in February. I have since downloaded Season 1 and 2 on my own dime. The above verbiage is all mine.

SpyCam on 3rd

Cute dress at Polkadots & Moonbeams

TARDIS Tuesday X Crazy Legs

PURCHASED/ CREATED/

It's Maricel's ::My Closet Catalog:: TARDIS Tuesday today.
Yesterday, I put this very LOUD pattern mix together and since there is a bunch of TARDIS blue in the mix, I'm linking up.

The very special aspect of this ensemble is, it's a newer brighter better interation of the Crazy Legs!
Remember the custom tights from two years ago?

They just weren't bright enough.

When Society6 started offering leggings, I knew exactly which prints I'd utilize.
(You can see the initial three choices here on my Pattern blog or the current array here on my Society6 pattern shop).

I ordered XL, because of my waist size, and they aren't super tight.
From the knees down, they fit more like the bottom of Indian Churidar pants.

I adore them! Now I'm pondering what prints to do next.
Probably some sort of mosaic-looking pattern in a rainbow of colors that I can use to color match.
Like this:

Design by Heather Dutton [source]

FULL DISCLOSURE: Society6 compensates me about $5 per pair of tights sold. Thanks for your support!