Crafting Craziness <3

It began with the reading of blogs.  Sewing blogs got me pinning over fabulous 40s frocks, marvellous millinery, and stupendous shoes.   Then I found the cute blogs devoted to kawaii and kanji and crafts….

My foray into the world of frill {read as Hime Gyaru and sweet Lolita with a dash of Gal style thrown in} has resulted in a sensory overload.  Apparently there IS a thing as too much inspiration!

For the last two weeks I have been sitting at my computer absorbing all these really cool ideas, such as How to store lashes in a cake, or  How to make cute rose hair clips, or Purses covered in bows and lace and pearls, or Stud Earrings or….   ><

So much cuteness, so many cool ideas!!!    *meltdown*

Slowly but surely, some ideas started to reach to the top of the bubbling cauldron of my mind so that they could hop out and into my hands.  They took their own sweet time but they were worth waiting for.   

Clockwise from top ~ Pearl necklace with the bow & heart locket added by me, Big black ribbon broach/hair bow crafted by me, silver bracelet with half~pearls set in by me, black double bow ribbon ring crafted by me.

 

The backs of the hair bow and ring.

I have also been inspired by this tutorial ~ Decoden Ear Bud Headphones ~ for decoing  my own not~so~crazy~but~still~cute{I think} ear bud headphones.

 

 

I ♥ them sooo much!  I think they turned out really well.  I now have diabolical plans for future projects which include doing up my iPod and speakers and my phone.  Although with my phone I am tempted to try a full on decoden just to see if I would like it all.  I mean, I love how it looks in photos, but I am just not sure that I could live with it all the time…..  ;_;

To be perfectly honest, decoden scares me a little bit ~ it’s just so….  so…..  so…..   over the top.   I love cute, pearls and sparkles….  But my philosophy has always been “Less is more”.    Which does beg the question, why am I so attracted to the uber sparkly crazy cute decoden style? 

But upon further reflection I wonder if I could do it, but do it with a b. flare…  That of course means the bows, pearls, and lace as normally found in decoden, but only in black, white and red.  Silver is also acceptable. 

So not totally decoden as I know it, but another creature altogether.  Much like my fashion style which seems to want to be hime gyaru flavoured one day {in black and white naturally} and 40s vintage the next.  {I will put up photos of the tribute outfit to hime gyaru soon.  I wore it tonight on a date with my gorgeous husband   -_^ ~ ♥  but so did not have the time to take any pictures.  I will repeat wear the outfit and get photos this time.}

It is kind of hard when my clothing style swings quite dramatically from chic and elegant to cute and frilly without much thought, but at least I have one thing about my style straight.  I like skirts and I like heels.  And I will always adore anything in black with bows, pearls and lace. 

Beyond that who knows where it is going to go!

xox,

b.

 

~*~  Tutorials/Inspiration found at  ~*~

♥  ~  http://violetlebeaux.com/tutorials/

♥ ~   http://lolita-charm.blogspot.com/

♥  ~  http://blog.tizzalicious.com/

♥   ~  http://hearty2.blogspot.com/

Outfit Eleven ~ Victorian Velvet

Okay, so there is not actually a scrap of velvet in this outfit…  I just liked the name!  >.<

I wore this outfit yesterday when I was on the scavenge for craft and sewing supplies and ended up with a stack of lace and jewellery making bits.  More on that later!   I felt it was very Goth/Victorian inspired, harking back to my Goth Lolita inspired days rather than the new found 40s gal I am slowly evolving into.

I will always have a passion for bows, lace and black ~ preferably altogether..…  ^_^  

                                  

     

Accessories  ~  Hair Bow {b dot depictions}   Earrings  {Equip}   

Necklace  {given to me by my Mom, pendant by me.}   

Bracelet   {given to me by my Mom ~ isn’t she lovely? And pearls added by me!}

Top  ~ Best&Less    Lace Vest  ~  JayJays   Pinstripe vest  ~  New Look {UK} 

Skirt  ~  thrifted     Boots  ~   Parklea Markets {Sydney}

Pretty tea cup ~ I am so obsessed with fine china and this one is just gorgeous.  I collect tea cups and teapots, but none of them are in a set.  They are separates that I have gathered together from thrift stores and random junk yards instead.  o____o   I figure that way I can use them everyday and if one breaks, buy another one!  

 

Disclaimer ~ this cup is not mine though, I just borrowed it for the shoot.  Then it did not turn up in any of the photos, so I added it in at the end!   It is a bit of camera~whoring I am afraid, but I needed a picture to show you all how great it was….  >w<

Then a well deserved break from all the crafty projects and photographs is an excuse for more camera~whoring.   Plus photo spam!  GIMP is great for photo shopping.

 

xox,

b.

P.S. ~ I do plan to do a more detailed post about the craft ideas that have been floating around and finally getting made.  You will see more detail of the things I made that I was wearing that day.   ^^

How to ~ Html Direct Linking Tutorial

This is a “how to” on adding html to your signature so that when you comment you can leave a direct link to your blog!  No more copying and pasting URLs, other readers can click and go.

There are probably tech~savvy bloggers out there that do not need this tip; it’s pretty basic html so you can find it anywhere.  But I have noticed in trawling through comments on blogs I read, a lot of the commenters have blogs, but do not do a direct link.  Not that it’s all that big of a deal, but it does look slightly more serious when you have a link ~ like you mean business!

So my husband showed me the html you need to do a direct link a while ago, and I thought I’d share it with you.

xox,
b. of <a href="http://depictthis.blogspot.com">Depict This!</a>

 

It works like this:  

1}   Open Notepad or any basic text writer.  You are going to write you signature in there and save it, so when you need it on the bottom of a comment you can just copy and paste. 

2}   Write your signature in Notepad.  Mine is:  “xox,  b.”  then put “of” or whatever else you would like.   Do not forget to format  the text, spacing, etc how you would like it to appear.

3}   Then put in  <a href=“                  ”>               </a>

Now in the example above you can see the text http://depictthis.blogspot.com.   This is the URL of the website you want to link to.  Substitute it with your website URL and put it between the quotation marks.  Like so:

<a href=“www.exampleblog.com”>               </a>

4}   We are almost there!  For the last step you put the name of your website in.  This is the text that will actually be linked, so it is the place people can click on and be directed to your website.

<a href=“www.exampleblog.com”>Example Blog</a>

Now your signature should look like the one in purple, except with a different URL and name.  You will now be able to copy and paste this into anywhere that accepts basic html. 

I hope that this was helpful and easy to understand.  If you have any questions, or want to know other html tricks, just let me know.  :3

xox,

b.

Outfit Ten ~ So Me

Okay, I am going to apologize in advance ~ this outfit post is huge.  The main reason for that being that I actually took photos of my jacket look and the dress underneath.  Because I felt that both looks deserved equal attention, we have a really looong post I am afraid….  >>’

I wanted to get a lot of the details of my jacket because this is without a doubt my most favourite winter coat, maybe my favourite winter wardrobe item full stop!  The reason for that is that it is just so me.   I brought this jacket in Camden {London}, because when I saw it I could not take my eyes off it.  It was beautiful, it was lacy and so perfectly me. 

And when I tried it on, it slipped on like it was made for me…..  *happy sigh*  It makes me smile just thinking about it.  Of course, they wanted a lot for it ~ it is a beautifully tailored jacket; I have never brought high end clothing, but this coat feels so high end to me.  I do not recognise the brand though, Vila Clothes, so I do not know where the jacket came from.  I was just so glad I could bargain the sellers down from 90 pounds to 70!! 

It is without a doubt a ‘perfect purchase’.  You know, the ones you look at it and know that you will wear until the day you or it dies, and if you walk way you WILL regret it forever.

So, without further ado ~ Outfit Ten.  So Me!

       

 

I love the lacy detail of this coat!!  But now for the rest of the outfit.  You have already seen this dress, but I thought I would do a remix.  So here it is styled with different items.  The problem is it is not really a different styling as I still used the underskirt/cardigan/broach turned into a two fingered ring trick.  So it’s a sort of remix.  ><

 

 

 

Accessories  ~  Beanie   {JayJays}     Collar  {b dot depictions}  

Ring & Broach made into ring {Italy}

Dress  ~  SES         Cardigan  ~   Can not remember… It’s old though.       Skirt  ~  SES      

Shoes  ~  Hong Kong {the Ladies Markets}

Yes, my crochet collar has made another appearance.  I have worn it a lot this week.  I really like the touch of  difference it adds to my outfits.  I have also found that the crochet stitches have stretched a little and so it sits much better around my neck now.  :3

And yes, I was cold taking these photos at 5:30pm without nylons or tights on!  The things we fashionistas subject our bodies too…..

xox,

b.

The Beginning {Outfit Nine included}

I did promise a slew of photographs from the new camera, and being reluctant to break one’s promise I have the beginning of the slew to deliver to you…   ><

These images were taken when I was down with my horse on Monday, it was a lovely sunset so I took a few quick shoots.  Hmm, I just realized…. None of these are particularly sunset photos.  Oh well.   I did have sunset photos, but they were too average to show.  : p

   

  

     ~ Fences:  A Study by Bonita  ~          

And then the photo shoot I did with my younger sister of three old train cars/containers out on the road to Cooma.  

We hopped the fence to get better pictures of the train carriages and there were some animals ~ J. went nuts when she saw the chickens….   I *hate* chickens with a passion, but still a good photographer never turns down an opportunity.

{Read the “Chickens are evil rant” here: 1 Day in the Life of an Italian WWOOFer }

      

 

Of course, the chicken was evil and refused to pose nicely, unlike the sheep and the horse.

Then there was the sunset; which only came out well with the Polaroid filter attached.

 

Finally, the Railroad Crossing signs ~ these are my favourite pictures.  I think that they have the best composition and lighting.  {Although the one directly above this text is pretty nice too…}

 

My gorgeous sister ~ I love this photo of her, but I wish I had have gotten her shoes in.  Then it would have been a perfect portrait picture.  I love doing pictures of people; trying to capture their personality on camera is exactly the sort challenge I adore.

                             

Last, but not least ~ What I Wore.   In other words: the un~official Outfit Nine.   Nothing special as I had no idea exactly where we would end up for this photo shoot, but I did know that it would most likely involve hopping fences at some point.  Jeans and sensible shoes where essential, plus the not caring factor as I also knew I would probably end up on the ground searching for that perfect angle.  

Hence the semi~casual chic farm girl look.   Please note that this is wayyyy more fancier than most outfits I wear out to the horses/hiking/messing about.

 

Accessories  ~ Straw Trilby Hat {Valley Girl}   

Belt  ~  Thrifted

Glasses  {yes, these are my long distance glasses.  I need two pairs and like to pretend I do not need glasses at all!   Oh for a pair of contact lenses…..} 

Jacket  ~  JayJays

Jeans  ~  Tempt

Boots  ~  Horseland {they are my jodhpur boots.  Aka, special extra tough horse riding boots}

J. took the photos ~ Thanks J!

Oh, and I am holding the other lens for the camera.  I think the pictures were taken with the 18mm ~ 55mm lens and I am holding the 55mm ~ 250mm lens.

We had a lot of fun on this photo shoot.  I just wish I did not misjudge the timing of the sun set.  We did not have enough light.  : (    But I guess there is always next time!

xox,

b.

Lolita Fascination ~

Okay, I will admit it.  For all of my new found obsession with vintage and sewing and all the charm of worlds past, there is still another fashion discourse that absolutely fascinates me. 

Not from worlds past, but other worlds far away….   Let me fill you in on the back story.

Myself being the usual hyper attention deficit artist that I am, I can never pay attention to one source of inspiration at a time.  And ever since I was a little girl {around 10 or 11} I have had an obsession with Japanese/Asian/Oriental culture.  It all started with a love of bonsais.   Yes.  Miniature trees. 

 

I remember it most distinctly ~ I was at the Old Bus Depo Markets with my family and I saw a  stall filled with these tiny trees.  I wandered past them, but something kept drawing me back and that something has stayed with me through all the years.  Now what has that got to do with anything you may ask? 

Well, I was reading through some posts on Lolita Charm ~ {Lolita being a Japanese style of dress that I used to semi~sort of relate to.}  Sweet Lolita looks like this ~

No I never actually wore the get up, but I liked the aesthetic of Goth Lolita/Punk Princess and used to apply that idea to my clothing style.  Gothic Lolita looks like this ~

However, back to the post I was reading!!  I found it interesting that once again the relationship between a woman, her body and her clothes was an issue for an entirely different subset of culture.

I asked the question yesterday whether us vintage style ladies deal with a mass of unwanted emotion caused by the number on a tag {or a sewing pattern as the case may be} and I find myself drawn back to this topic again.

A lot has already been said on the case of sizing and body image distortions.  Gertie, from Gertie’s New Blog for Better Sewing, has already had a number of posts address this issue in thoughtful, insightful discussions.  I can not count the number of posts I have read about body issues on various fashion blogs.  Unfortunately, no matter how much we may want the art of fashion to be about expressing ourselves through the clothes we wear, {for me this is a very important element of my artistic expression!}  it always seems to come back to what you can fit into or not.

I must confess, I thankfully have never had any eating disorders, but like most women, still have that love/hate relationship with my body with a quite a lot of “Let me stay at home with a brown paper bag over my head.” days.   And as such, I am always interested to read what other people have to say about the matter.

Victoria, from Lolita Charm has this to say on the topic ~

Yogurt is Not Cheesecake: And Other Lies We Tell Ourselves

The average woman has a very weird relationship with food. ….

 Fashion is to create an artwork out of an ordinary human being - to be a work of art. But when the canvas you see in the mirror is not like the ones you want to create, how do you cope?

 Measure out clothes in beauty and comfort.

~*~ Note: For the full post please click on the title.  ~*~

So, what you think?  Is this a topic we can never talk too much about, or do you think that we mostly are down with and can ignore the messages we are being sent?

Or for that matter, do you think the messages of “thinspiration” are still being pushed because mainstream fashion on the street is still crying out to be skinnier? 

xox,

b.