Obsession Alert: 40’s and 50’s Style

When I think of the decades that have made the most impact on my own personal style, I immediately think “Vintage” but more specifically I would say that the style of my Grandmother’s youth, the 40’s and the 50’s have the most impact on what I determine to be both ladylike and exuberant. Today’s designers agree because I can find so much “modern” fashion that has taken it’s cue from these two decades. Lovely feminine details with classic hemlines is more my style than flashy flash and super short.

This love of these fashion eras has me in consignment and vintage shops looking for not only clothes from the era but also fabrics that are from the 40’s and 50’s that can be used on more modern patterns. What I love is that you can wear a turban with a sweater and jeans if you rock it with confidence.

What fashion decade inspires you in your personal style?

Concert Costuming

Obvi Lady Gaga gets attention for her outrageous outfits, Katy Perry brings up the rear with a different kind of fantastical outfitting and now Florence Welch (of Florence and the Machine fame) is being dressed in Gucci (which I would pay to see but unfortunately was sold out in my area)… this makes me feel not so silly for liking to step out of the box sometimes. By no means am I wearing a hat made out of human hair (seeing as I already have human hair on my head) buuuuuuuuuut these ladies are breaking the mold and making it accepted if not OK to be a little weird. I like being weird. Weird is better than boring, am I right?

Gucci Designs for Florence and the Machine

Inspired by InStyle and People StyleWatch

Color Me Cured

 

You know I am always down for a good charitable cause… but this one is just so special. Founded by Phoebe Steinfeld, a current high school sophomore in New Jersey, Color Me Cured is a non-profit organization with the sole purpose of raising money for cancer research. The money raised benefit Memorial Sloan- Kettering Cancer Center and aid in the fight against cancer. Color Me Cured features a line of nail polish and t-shirts. All of their products are of the highest quality, and the folks at Color Me Cured wish to spread the message of inspiration, hope and support, one bottle at a time.

Just had to share you guys… I totally dig this story.

Fabric and Beads

So I have always loved the look of this necklaces with fabric beads or beads covered in fabric, however they are made. I did a little research online and found that there were quite a few tutorials for different kinds of variations on the beaded fabric jewelry. Here is my go at it using some left over fabric from a dress I am making, some beads from a necklace that met its demise in Boston and a couple other little notions hangin’ around.

What do you think of my creation? Wanna try this for yourself? My favorite tutorials on the web are here, here and here.

Starry Eyed Fashion Inspiration

I am totally digging the star themed things floating around the designers’ new collections. Obvi, I have some favorites, ALL of which are far too expensive for this girl to buy, but it doesn’t mean I don’t want to share with you some of my favorites! The following are honorable mentions in the race to be my favorite star themed item ever:

Galaxy Print Biker Jacket by Christopher Kane

Multi Colo Star Necklace by Max and Chloe

Star Rolled Sleeve Tunic by Richard Chai Love

Star Printed Silk Dress by Adam

Printed Dress by Rodarte

Charm Bracelet by Aurelie Bidermann

But my all time favorite? I don’t even know how much this is, because you have to request the price, that’s how expensive it is… but it doesn’t mean I love it any less.

 Star and Moon Dress from Yves Saint Laurent

My Dreams Have Wings

“Far away in the sunshine are my highest aspirations. I may not reach them, but I can look up and see the beauty, believe in them and try to follow where they lead.” -Louisa May Alcott

When Stephey from Marked by the Muse first created the Courage to Fly blog hop, I was immediately inspired by one of the questions that she posed. This particular question fit the landscape of my life in the last year to an absolute T!OK, here is the question/s she posed:

Have you ever had anyone push you “out of your comfort zone” and in so doing freaked you out or made you resist in anyway? BUT! After that push, once the fear was breached, were grateful towards? Looking back, why did you resist? And to whom are you grateful for that – push?

A couple of years ago, I met my boyfriend (who I hope will become my husband in the coming years). When we first started dating, I didn’t tell him that I liked to sew and craft… I mean I told him that I dabbled in painting but I was almost embarrassed to tell him that I was interested in something that seemed not artistic but more so something an old woman would do… I didn’t want to tell him because I was afraid he would think it was stupid; what I found out was that this was my own insecurity.

After seeing him for awhile, we started talking about what our dreams of all dreams were. I told him I had always dreamed of being a Fashion Designer and he a Game Designer… I mean, before telling him, I really didn’t tell anyone what my interests were except for my roommate… She did see me doing it afterall, my crafty stuff that is. Anyhoo… yeah so my boyfriend listened to me talk about all the things that I liked to do and not only thought it was cool but pushed me to take it further.

He told me that I should start blogging about it and to really hunker down and invest in what was an underdeveloped hobby and could be more in the future. So that’s what I did. In the very beginning, it was just the man who read my blog. I didn’t want to share with friends or even family what I was doing because I mean, I was still embarrassed and sort of scared of what people would think.

But as the months went on, my man kept on encouraging me, encouraging me to share my projects, get out there and throw myself into the creative community, which I did. He bought me a new sewing machine and dress form but more importantly he listened to my ideas even though sometimes they seem really stupid to me. He reads every blog post that I write. He even created a nook for me in our master bedroom so that I have my own space to create. He told me that others would think what I was doing was cool too, if I just gave them the chance to see it. He was right. To make a long story sort of shortish, this guy is my biggest fan.

I have been blogging now for almost a year now. In that year, I have put myself out there on Twitter and Facebook, the blogging world, asking people to be my friend, showing them what I do and learning what I can, here and there. I have made friends, I have gotten a small following. I have a voice. It is my hope to make it to The Creative Connection Event this year, which this time last year wasn’t even on my radar. The possibilities are endless when you actually have someone who believes in you and makes you believe in yourself. My man helped me to give my dreams wings and I am lucky to have him.

Anyhoo, I thought I would share in my inspiration because you never know when someone else can give you that push…off the branch… and you’ll quickly learn to fly.

Also, do yourself a favor and check out my partner in posting crime today, Brandi from Brandigirlblog!

Scarf Loving with a Dash of Buttony Goodness!

So my crafty self was looking at some of the fabric that I just had hanging around and thought that I should try to find a quick and easy project to work on so that I got some crafting satisfaction pretty quickly, ie instant gratification. Enter this little project off of the “I am Momma Hear Me Roar” blog, reconstruction-esque area of the site. Yay for fun projects whilst also being simultaneously awesomely easy! See my take on the Buttony wrap/scarfy thing. Yay!

I started with a scarf that has been in my “Ghosts of Scarves Past” drawer for quite some time. I mean, if I did a botch job on this, then well, I would give it a proper burial without shedding too many tears. Anyhoo, I took that, about a 1/4 yard of cotton fabric from “The Collection” for the pockets, and some buttons from the stash… and was on my way. (Note: Here is where I get nervous because, well, I am ashamed to say I had never done a button hole before)… Anyway, I did it and my only issue came when I realized the scarf was too short. Next time, I’ll know. All in all, it was fun and easy to do!

AND

Watch out for these guys today!

The Human Spirit

I have been feeling really moved lately by the human spirit. Now before you stop reading because you think this is going to get all mushy, I just want you to stop and really think about how powerful we all can be when we really put our minds to something. (Pause here… you should be thinking)

“Human spirit is like the wind,” said Jimmy Carter to the United Nations. “We can’t see it, but we can see its effects in every aspect of our lives, which are profound.” 

I watching this week’s episode of My Fair Wedding with David Tuterra (don’t laugh) and I am not kidding when I tell you that the episode made me cry with an outpouring of emotion over his latest bride. Kim (our bride) was diagnosed with Breast Cancer at the age of 30. 30 years old! Can you believe that?! Talk about hardship at an extremely young age. Anyway, David helped her plan an absolutely fabulous wedding themed totally around raising awareness for Breast Cancer. As you can imagine, the entire episode was emotional from the wig fittings to the grand reveal. Though this was a television show, I felt as if I could really see the genuine love and affection that this bride had for her groom but also through the things that they had experience together, some of it extremely difficult, the real human spirit in the both of them. Moving episode aside, I have now discovered that this beautiful couple are embarking on a Road to Surrogacy, in order to start the family that they always dreamed of… talk about trying to overcome major obstacles to get what you have always dreamed of, right? Gah, sobfest to the max but also touching to the max.

“The human spirit needs to accomplish, to achieve, to triumph to be happy.” -Ben Stein

A friend of mine lost her 16 year old brother this past week and of course, I am worried about her. It is never easy to lose someone you love. It is never easy to experience heart ache. It is never easy to keep moving forward but I know she will get through this stronger and more resilient. She is one of the best people I know, has a huge heart and the love and support of family and friends. This is an example of where the human spirit moves us forward.

I am constantly inspired by how people can overcome such complex hardships, how people make up their mind to go for their dreams, how people can profoundly touch others’ lives with their actions… the list could go on and on and on. The human spirit will help Christina Aguilera get past her National Anthem snafu because I am pretty sure she is feeling pretty low right now. Let’s shout it people, the human spirit is an amazing thing! Will you join me in celebrating it?

“The human spirit is stronger than anything that can happen to it.” -George C. Scott

 

The Creative

This Martin Luther King Day, I was most inspired by the following quote that was popping up on all of my social media platforms.

 

“Almost always, the creative dedicated minority has made the world better. ” – Martin Luther King Jr.

Because I do make it my business to be dedicated to my creative endeavors, I decided to see if I could put this quote to work in my creative world, my online crafty community… in essence to see if it “stuck”… and it did.

Just in my creative world alone there are so many who are giving of their time and resources for something other than just “looking out for #1”. Some would say well, MLK was talking about making the world better as a whole, big picture type of stuff but in my mind, there are no small “good deeds” or “nice gestures”. A kind word can travel light years if met with the right recipient. One can never know how they will affect someone’s life on any particular day.

I am going to give some examples of what I think some of my peers have done to make the world better. Some may tell me that these are not the type of things that could/ would “change our world”… but to them I would say that the world I want to live in is a world where these are the values that would make a difference in my equations.

Ok, so why not get started… I’ll start with the good that I don’t feel can be physically measured for the most part. One of my favorite things to participate in are blog hops. These are usually orchestrated around a theme ( my most recent? A Crafty Holiday and 2011 Creative Goals) and multiple bloggers participate with their take on it. I think personally the blog hop is an absolutely amazing way for people to be encouraged by their peers and also instill a sense of community/ camaraderie amongst like minded people. My involvement with blog hops has, no lie, made me more excited about what I am doing, who I am sharing it with and makes me want to bring more into this happy circle of friends. Encouragement will lead to more encouragement. People need to feel loved and supported. Friends will need our support and we will eventually need theirs.

Speaking of my circle of friends, check out “The One Moment Weekly Meet Up” from Linda at Alamode Stuff. It is something I try to participate in weekly if I am able. Every week, I find a touching story from one blogger to the next and have honestly taken some life lessons from other people’s daily experiences. It sounds silly to people that are not involved but I dare you to “meet up” a couple of weeks in a row and NOT find some encouragement as you follow along. I sincerely believe that sharing these moments in our every day lives can and does help others.

OM is a weekly meet up that promotes living in the moment. Whether funny, sad, ridiculous, or banal, actively looking for and sharing these moments will promote balance in our lives.

Besides the blogger to reader effect of the One Moment, there is also the content shared that is the actual “act”. Angela Flicker of The Artist’s House shared her “One Moment” this past week; I think it is the perfect example of how we can touch and be touched by someone’s life and maybe not even know it. Her Moment, ” A Custom Made Quilt“, touched me but more importantly she shares how this stranger ended up reminding her of something very special. The good that came from this interaction cannot be measured but I know in my heart that it was something crazy off the scale.

Not just for the “sharing is caring” attitude, I believe that the creative community with which I am involved has also changed the world by literally working with meaningful causes… so much so that I am sure that I could fill multiple blog posts with just the ones I can name off the top of my head. Have I peaked your interest? Check out the massive creative uprising to raise much needed funds for the flooding in Australia. All proceeds from auctions from this MASTER list of products go to the Queensland Flood Relief Appeal. I was TRULY astonished by how many participants that there were; truly astonished that so many would hop right to in order to help… but then thinking about it? I actually wasn’t that surprised. Community is community and the creative community took action when they were needed. This type of act can be measured and in my opinion is making this world better for those who are suffering right now. (Thank You Above All Fabric for ensuring I knew all about this!)

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Speaking of Above All Fabric, she is awesome. Melanie blogs under “Caring Communities” which is giving back with Above All Fabric. She sets out to help in her community with her craftiness. Great idea right? Why not give back and do something you love at the same time? Genius! Her ideas and projects have really inspired me, myself, to help out in ways I know I can as well. Take the Conkerr Cancer project with pillowcases. I know I can make a pillowcase. I am pretty sure you can make one too. Shouldn’t we be making this as we go along? Simple as that, we have made a child happy, we have made our world a better place to live in. Check out Melanie’s other great projects for different ways to craft/help out with good causes.

Ok, now I am starting to ramble here and this post is getting dangerously long ( so no one will read it) but I just wanted to show that I firmly believe that creative minds are changing the world all of the time, in even the smallest ways. I could list so many organizations that are out there, that need help (some below) but I guarantee you can find one in your own community or circle of friends, one that touches your heart and calls your name. Creative dedicated people are making a difference at every turn and that I can prove.

Source

Check out:

Quilts for Kids -Volunteer quilters transforming into patchwork quilts that comfort children in need.

Threads of Compassion– A Chicago based charity that works specifically with survivors of sexual assault. The charity supplies scarves to rape crisis workers who then pass them on to people who have undergone a sexual assault. 

Warm Hears- Warm Babies– They sew, knit, crochet, and quilt for premature infants and babies in need.

Heartmade Blessings– A world-wide group of volunteers dedicated to providing hand-crafted items to those people suffering a loss, tragedy, or going through a rough time that need to be reminded of the simple fact that people care.

Red Scarf Project–  Sending red scarves to orphans as a means of encouragement.

CraftHope– A great organization involved with many different causes.

Chemo Angels– A volunteer organization dedicated to adding a ray of sunshine to the lives of those undergoing IV chemo treatment.

Soldiers’ Angels– May No Soldier Go Unloved

Stylish Blogger, What What?

Well a thank you very much Miss Angela Flicker of The Artist’s House, you have very sweetly given me the Stylish Blogger Award! I have to thank Angela because I joke that she is my blogging mentor… her blog is one of the first creative blogs that I really took a shine to and LOVE to read. She also let me creepily befriend her via Twitter Haha ;so thanks Angela for being awesome! If you haven’t checked out her blog, please do yourself a favor and hop on over there!

So this is how the award works.  Honorees do the following: thank and link back to the person that awarded them, share 7 things about themselves, and pay it forward to 15 recently discovered bloggers. This is a great way to make some hard working bloggers feel special! I know I work pretty hard to make my blog stylish and in the very least, decent to look at and read… ok, so let’s get to the juicy stuff!


7 incredibly INTERESTING things about me, in no particular order:

• It took meeting my boyfriend to really believe in myself creatively again. Going to school for Business really took a lot of the creative juices out of me. He is the guy who gave me the push to be a “crafter” again and blog about it. He is the guy who encourages me even when he might not know what he is looking at. He is the guy who reads every single blog post. He is my biggest supporter.

• Some of my favorite people are actually animals. A Shetland Sheep Dog named Henry Winkler (after the Fonz) and a Calico named Sigourney Weaver (her mother looked pregnant with Aliens)

• I am a Bravo TV addict. No ifs, ands or buts about it. I will watch 99% of any programming on Bravo. It’s probably pretty pathetic but I don’t care. Real Housewives of Poughkeepsie? I’d watch it.

• Celine Dion has been one of my favorite people since I had her on cassette in the early 90’s. Think Twice? Almost best song ever. I met her in person and she was dazzlingly French Canadian.

• I collect fabric like it’s going out of style and in the process am probably collecting fabric that actually is going out of style… so all in all, I have a lot of fabric. 

• Human suffering, in any shape or form, even my own, keeps me up at night. I worry a lot. Even though I don’t know you per se? I’ll worry about you, so don’t worry. 

• Despite my best efforts in NOT adopting some of my mother’s less desirable habits? I now have a “sock” basket. ( This is a basket where socks are thrown when they come from the dryer. This basket acts as storage for said socks and often leads to pairs being separated from one another for extended periods of time and sometimes, GASP!… never reuniting. How sad.)

 
I really appreciated the Stylish Blogger Award. More than anything? I am really happy to have some great blogging encouragement out there. My blog just turned 6 months on the 4th of January and really, I cannot believe how far a little hard work and encouragement  has taken me so far. The online creative community is an amazing one and I am so happy to be a part of it, every little part of it.