Squee!

[self indulgence]

On Etsy, people can create what are called Treasuries. They are lists of items within a particular theme and showcases different artists (it is against the rules to use it for self-promotion). Being in bar review hell, I decided to create one called "res ipsa loquitur," which means "the thing speaks for itself." It's actually a term involving negligence, but I'm not gonna bore you with the scholarly specifics. I picked abstract artworks because a lot of people say they don't know what the heck they're looking at, but I find beauty in them. In other words, the artworks speak for themselves.

This morning I found out that my Treasury made the front page of Etsy. I was so stoked! It was only a few fleeting hours, but front page is kind of a big deal.

[/self indulgence]

Transferred Intent

There's only a month to go before the bar exam. Life is stressful and miserable right now, but "frivolous" things like crafting and fashion gives me some semblance of normalcy.

Last week I had my 6-hour simulated exam, followed by 2 days of reviewing the answers, 8 hours a day. After that second 8-hour day, I was just wiped. My fridge was empty, and my mental gas tank was getting close to the E. Since I've seen other people blog about their fabulous vintage finds and realized I haven't gone thrifting for a while, I decided to make a trip to the Goodwill. The supermarket was on the same street anyway. I got 3 interesting tops, and I'll show them on separate posts. It's gotten too hot to wear 2 of them, and one of them needs a little minor repair, but I just couldn't pass them up.

A while ago, I talked about babydoll tops. It's hard to find the right ones without the preggo look. It seems like a couple of things make them work: pleats in the right places, or fabric that drapes the right way. I didn't think that most of the huge tent dresses and blouses would work for a lot of people because they either look like muumuus or maternity wear. However, I think some loose tops can look very good when belted, as Eli of Thrift Eye has demonstrated. Most of the time, the belt is magic.

With this in mind, I decided to take the plunge and buy a striped top, probably from the 80's and home-made, since there are no labels on it. The puffy sleeves aren't my thing, but the colors, stripes, and pleats in the front make this top the cutest thing. My intent was to belt it, since wearing a large belt with my last oversized vintage find works pretty well, as you can see here:

You've seen this green top before, also in its belted form.

To my chagrin, the belting job didn't work very well for my new top this time. Maybe if I had a wider belt, it might work better. Maybe if it didn't have puffy sleeves, it might have looked better. Maybe if I had a wider belt that fits right at the waist, it would have looked better (though my attempt to force a fit did create an interesting twist, if you will). Fortunately, the top actually looks good without the belt, especially with the sleeves rolled up a bit. I didn't think tent dresses would look good on me at all, but I guess you never know until you try it. This particular one also has pleats across the front, and the fabric drapes pretty well. That's probably why it works for me. It looks even better when I layer a shrug over it.

You can judge for yourself.

Upcycling: The Reveal

I was going to hold off until next week, but I guess it too easy to guess...or did my pun of a title give it away?

It looks easy to cut out the shapes, but it really isn't. When you cut out parts that are very close to each other, the whole section can cave in. Judging by the number of holes there are, you can tell how many failed attempts it took to get things right.



The last picture shows the pebbled side where I got the shapes of the Mitosis earrings. If things go my way next time, more parts of the jug will be used and less wasted. The only part I don't use is the bottom, since it can be a bit dirty. The top portions are pretty clean.

Upcycling: Project 2

Bernie took a stab at what the main ingredient is, but at this time, I will neither confirm nor deny. For those of you who want to keep playing the guessing game, avoid looking at the comments until next week, OK? No peeking!

Here's project number 2. They're going up on my shop soon. You guys get to have a first sneak peek--don't you feel special?

I love the pebbled texture. I call this set of mix-and-match earrings "Mitosis." I know, they look like sunny-side-up eggs, but that's sort of the point.

Next week I'll show a picture of the material's source. It's a lot harder to work with than you think.