Wednesday, July 31, 2013

52 Pick-me-up: 70's Flashback

Are you ready to Shake Your Groove Thing? It's 70s week at 52 Pick-me-up!

My 50's ranch home was remodeled in the 70s. It has lots of "mighty fine" touches, like wood paneling in my office, a weird welcome liquor bar built into what used to be an entry coat closet, and the kitchen -- ALL of the kitchen. Showcasing these areas would require some cleaning -- maybe I'll do it tomorrow... or Sunday...

Meanwhile, I donned my most "awesome" 70s-looking clothing and posed before the banana yellow 70 VW Squareback sculpture. [No, I still haven't put that thing on Craigslist.]
Can any of you ID the LP I'm holding?

Shake it!


ps: Since I'm wearing a hat, I'll be linking up with The Style Crone's new Hat Attack party. The first of the month, every month!







Tuesday, July 30, 2013

Digital Catwalk: Alicia does Feet First

CREATED/ LINKS/

This is only part one -- I have more to say!
I was running so late for work, that couldn't finish...
More on Thursday!:

Alicia calls her blog "Spashionista" for a reason. Her mission statement is: "The trials and tribulations of a 50+ fashionista with Cerebral Palsy who wants women of all ages and abilities to look and feel beautiful." I knew I needed to draw Alicia in her wheelchair, a new challenge! Here's my process:

First, I roughly traced over a screenshot from her post, in Photoshop using a Wacom tablet:
I made an extra white layer (set at 50% opacity) in-between the photo and the drawing layer so that I could see both while I was working.

I then printed out my line work and drew over that in my sketchbook
I like this sketch too -- it's more "real life" vs fashiony.

If you follow my Instagram or Twitter, I posted a totally different sketch to announce who was my 52 Pick-me-up muse for the week. It's Alicia standing (she DOES stand in some of her shots). I got that one colored up this morning:
Thanks Alicia for inspiring me to try something new!

Monday, July 29, 2013

Crazy Legs Hit the Town!

CREATED/ PURCHASED/ LINKS/
I'm happy to announce that I finally opened my ASOS Marketplace shop.
[No longer available on ASOS. Contact me directly]
Two pairs of the Crazy Legs tights are now available worldwide.
There may be another printing in more sizes, if popularity demands it. Not sure yet.
All have sold
Here they are, packaged next to the art that inspired them
I took them out for a spin to the closing party at SCA Gallery in Pomona, where the above print was on exhibit.
There, I met up with Leslie, who came in full mod:
Leslie vamps in front of Vibrate by Stevie Love
Put us together posing in front of art and hilarity ensues:

This morning, the torture clogs had to butt in and get the last word:
Do they match the outfit? They don't care. They just want to inflict pain.
You still have time to dress Feet First! Feel like plunging in? Add your link below!

Meanwhile, I'm linking up with Patti's Visible Monday.




Crazy Quilt SpyGirl
August Tour Dates: Santa Barbara, LA, KC, St Louis, Baltimore, Richmond, Knoxville, Nashville, Memphis

The SpyGirl Crazy Quilt Dossier, 70s Edition is still making its way around the country.
Where is it now?
Click here to check out the tour as it travels the US and get detailed information.
[August 2013 dates and venues are below -- but be sure to check the link above, as plans may have changed]
This sketchbook can be found on the shelves with a call number of 204.14-5 



Super excited to "be" in Santa Barbara, since there is a UCSB outfit in the book!
read the UCSB entry here
Jul 31
Santa Barbara, CA
@ Figueroa Mountain Brewing
5:00 - 9:00pm

August 1
Santa Barbara, CA
@ Santa Barbara Museum of Art
5:00 - 8:00pm

August 2- 4
LA, CA
@ iam8bit
August 2 | 11:00 - 7:00pm
August 3 | 4:00 - 10:00pm
August 4 | 12:00 - 6:00pm

August 14-15
Kansas City, MO
@ The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art
August 14-15 | 12:00 - 4:00pm

Aug 16
Kansas City, MO
@ Hammer Press
August 16 | 4:00 - 10:00pm

Aug 17
St. Louis, MO
@ Arts St. Louis
August 17 |

Aug 22
Baltimore, MD
@ American Visionary Art Museum
August 22 | 2:00 - 8:00pm

Aug 23
Richmond, VA
@ Virginia Commonwealth University
August 23 | 2:00 - 8:00pm

Aug 26
Knoxville, TN
@ Knoxville Musuem of Art
August 26 | 10:00 - 4:00pm

Aug 27
Nashville, TN
@ Watkins College of Art and Design
August 27 | 12:00 - 6:00pm

Aug 29
Memphis, TN
@ Crosstown Arts/The Dixon
August 29 |

Aug 30
St Louis, MO
@ City Museum
August 30 | 12:00 - 10:00pm

SpyGirl hopes to "see" you on tour!

Sunday, July 28, 2013

The 4th Annual Two Point Oh! LA Blogger Picnic

PRESS SAMPLES*/ CREATED/ LINKS/
LA's premier fashion, beauty and style blogging group, Two Point Oh! LA (TPOLA), hosted it's 4th Annual Picnic poolside at
Isis Living in Glendale.
Kelsi Smith, founder of TPOLA, really outdid herself this year. There was a burger/taco bar, sundae and dessert stations and some wicked mixed drinks!
[Sorry, yet another reporting fail -- no photos. I don't think you want to see my melted sundae, do you? Really?]
Lulu's, Sole Society, and Chilli Beans all had setups adjacent to the pool.
There was also a special private gifting suite/patio upstairs:
Everyone loved the patio's groovy retro swing chairs! So good for posing!
Jacqueline of TGIF Guide
Laurie of LaurieBstyle
I already discussed the great *totes from Thursday Friday that we were given to hold our collections of goodies.
Here's an summary of what I snagged:
clockwise from 11:00 inside the bag:

*Neutrogena Shine Control Primer
*Clean & Clear Morning Burst cleanser
*Glytone Rejuvenate facial cream
*Stur water enhancer [taking that to work!]
*Capwell necklace
*set of Pati Dubroff  lip balm crayons
*lipsticks and eye powder from Jouer
I will go into greater detail about the items as I use them.

Mostly, I hung out with Marla of Marlita on the Run and Roni:
cute couple alert!
And, of course, I sketched:
What came to mind, as I thought about the event, was the difference in my sketching this year compared to last.
2012 on the iPad, 2013 starts out analog
Kelsi last year on my iPad
This year, I set myself the challenge to improve my fashion sketching and to work out a method for "on the fly" live sketching. I have figured out that I'm most comfortable sketching with a brush marker on paper and then coloring the drawing in Photoshop. Color/print reference I get with photos -- my own or Instagram/Twitter feeds. Hashtags such as #tpola4thpicnic make it super easy to get intel!
this year's Kelsi
I'll be "painting" the rest of my sketches this week.
Keep an eye on my Twitter feed, where I'll post when I upload them to SpyGirl's Society6 page. 

A big THANK YOU to Kelsi, all the staff at TPOLA, and all the generous gifters for a really fun event!

Wednesday, July 24, 2013

52 Pick-me-up: Feet First

PRESS SAMPLE*/ PURCHASED/ LINKS/
It's Wednesday, time for a new 52 Pick-me-up theme for the week:
"Choose your shoes first. Then get dressed."

Behold the Sven "torture" clogs, my starting point.
They look so innocent, with their sweet ditsy print, right?
They're still too tight across my metatarsals!
I'll be working on stretching them this week.
I utilized my new print matching system from Florals Week, with the addition of black into the palette:
Severo pointed out that my cute new *tote from Thursday Friday (carrying my emergency change of shoes) matched my ensemble. This was a gift I picked up last Sunday at the Two Point Oh! LA 4th Annual Picnic.  It held all my free loot from the gifting suite (which I'll elaborate upon later). This is as close as I'll ever get to an "it" bag -- not being one obsessed with designer bags.
a look inside -- fully lined, very nice
If you like the concept (a fancy bag printed onto a canvas tote), click on over to Thursday Friday.
They are offering a 40% discount to my readers. Use the code: TWOPOINTOH!

OK, back to shoes. Are you dressing Feet First this week?






Sunday, July 21, 2013

Go with the [Remote] Flow

LINKS/ CREATED/ PURCHASED/
So I did some twirling experimentation with my new iPhone remote that I helped fund in an Indiegogo campaign
[now they are on Kickstarter if you'd like to get one]

Some of the results:
this is what I actually wore on Saturday
For some reason, it takes a smaller resolution image, which is a drawback for outfit shots.

I've added the link-up for this week's 52 Pick-me-up "Go with the Flow: Long, Loose, and Drapey" below for your convenience.

Meanwhile, I'm floating on over to Patti's Visible Monday. Come with!

Saturday, July 20, 2013

Goddesses of ASOS Le Shoppe by LAFC in Odylyne

LINKS/ CREATED/ 
What was my favorite part of the Los Angeles Fashion Council's photo shoot for ASOS Marketplace Le Shoppe? It had to be when Annette, Chanelle, and Zoe all posed together in Odylyne.
Three goddesses caught convening in a parking lot off Santee in downtown LA.
dress here

sketch here
dress here

sketch here
dress here

sketch here

Wednesday, July 17, 2013

52 Pick-me-up: Go With the Flow

Greetings! This week, it's time to let out your inner goddess! Waft about in long, loose, drapey layers.

Will you channel Athena, a goddess of antiquity?
ATHENA GIUSTINIANI, Museo Pio-Clementino, Musei Vaticani, Vatican City
[source]
Isadora Duncan, a goddess of dance?

Isadora Duncan on the Lido in Venice (Raymond Duncan 1903)
[source]
Stevie Nicks, a goddess of rock?
Stevie Nicks, Bella Donna cover, 1981
[source]
May your cup be filled with ambrosia this week!



Sunday, July 14, 2013

Floral Mixing 101

LINKS/ PURCHASED/ GIFTED/
Floral mixing: easy or hard?
I had no idea that I have this many floral shirts!
Half of them I got from Larry last year...
Some people can pull it off seemingly effortlessly (Sacramento of Mis Papelicos comes to mind),
others not so much (I will refrain from pointing fingers).
Is it possible to have a method to mixing? Perhaps!

I thought to look to interior designers -- they constantly have to juggle colors, textures, and patterns. And, since the body is the home for the soul... why not decorate it with the same deliberation?
I found a nifty book on Amazon, Fabrique Technique, where Jennifer Birdsong Raffo lays out a system for mixing what she defines as the six room design characteristics: Color, Pattern shape, Pattern size, Contrast, Texture, Sheen.
I'm thinking we can leave out Pattern Shape, Texture, and Sheen and concentrate on the three others.
Oh, wait, there's the small issue of the garments -- three skirts that coordinate nicely won't do you much good!

See? Complicated!

For this post, I'm concentrating on florals, but you could use these guidelines for any sort of pattern mixing.
Step 1: Color
Choose your primary floral garment-- for Jennifer's system, it will have at least 3 colors.
Make note of the colors. Your next patterned choice should have at least two of them and your third will have a color [or more] common with the first two.
Now is the time to abandon the concept of mixing three florals if you can't get the colors to sync!

Step 2: Pattern Size
Variety in scale is easier on the eye. Ideally [for a room], you would have small, medium, large.

Step 3: Contrast
Dark, medium, light
Wow! It works!
Definitely worth a try -- If nothing else, it's a new way to mix things from your closet!
Have you shared your experiments with the 52 Pick-me-up link-up? Please do!

Meanwhile, I'm linking up with Patti's Visible Monday.




Thursday, July 11, 2013

Foot Fetish [Almost] Friday -- The Art Clogs

CREATED/ LINKS/ PURCHASED
Citizen Rosebud is hosting a Shoe Shine party and I must join in... it's Thursday in California, but it's Friday somewhere, right? She's asking us to share the shoes that make us Summer Stars and this week my studio clogs are in the limelight.
I took photos of them during my week at art camp, as they became encrusted with paint:
What did I paint? Bella in the pines as Citizen Zombie! She may eventually get more lively looking, but I've got to wait for the paint to dry... and you will have to wait for an image (unless you check my Instagram feed).

I also did Melanie in a reverse painting technique:
Oh! The fun I've been having at art camp!

Wednesday, July 10, 2013

52 Pick-me-up: Floral Bouquet

LINKS/
Welcome to the forth week of 52 Pick-me-up!
This week's theme is: Floral bouquet: mix your florals with…

I had grand plans for a post all about floral mixing. Maybe on Sunday when I get home from art camp, because I'm too tired to get it together! And I didn't bring any floral garments with me [oops].
How about if I give you some photos of real flowers that I pulled from my iPhone?
I'd love to see what sort of floral combos you can orchestrate! Please share below.