Prettiness

So I am deep in the throes of finals. Yay. What that means is I have not been up to anything remotely interesting the last couple days. So, instead of an outfit or something of the sort, I thought I'd show you guys some of the coolest pictures I've ever taken. This first few will be ones that have not been retouched, then I'll show you some of the ones that picnik and iPiccy have made beautiful.

The non-retouched pictures:

When I showed Melisa the last one, she asked if I had taken it in Zambia. Nope! It was shot through my dorm room window!

These are some of the photos that have been "picniked" (I was so sad when Picnik closed! :'( but iPiccy seems to be an ok substitute.)

As I told a friend one night, "I love creating beauty". :) So which one is your favorite?

All photos taken by me. Please don't steal them. ;)
The camera used was a Canon PowerShot SX120 IS.

Green Fashion Show 2012

Wednesday was the annual Ashland University Green Fashion Show. The idea is that all designs entered are made from recyclable materials. The show was great. I myself didn't enter, but some of my friends did, and there were a ton of gorgeous, wearable garments on display! (Click on the photos for a larger version)

Picture by Meredith Liedtke

 The decorations on the front of this one are CDs. How cool is that?

Picture by me

Who would have thought bubble wrap could look this amazing?? I would totally wear this!

Picture by Meredith Liedtke

 I'm not sure what this one is made of (paper bags, perhaps?) but it's really cool!

Picture by me

The skirt on this one is made of hand-glued coffee filters! It moved beautifully on the runway. (I apologize for the weird lighting. They had the lights really low in Redwood.)

Picture by me

This is another coffee filter dress. Isn't it amazing how it looks completely different than the other one? People are so creative. ;)

Picture by me

Again, I'm not sure what this is made of (my guess is tissue paper) but it's really fun.

Picture by me

This was the winning design in the Fashion Merchandising category. I thought it was cool, but it wasn't my favorite. I loved the model's hair, though.

Picture by me

This is one of my fellow Fashion Merchandising majors with his model. Cute skirt alert!

Picture by Meredith Liedtke

I think this one might have been made out of toilet paper. I found it absolutely stunning. And HOW did she make the bodice so neat and sturdy??

Picture by Meredith Liedtke

 This was my favorite outfit from the whole evening. She made that dress out of records! How cool is that!! And I don't know what the skirt is made of, but it matches perfectly. I LOVE the headpiece. I think it is basically a melted record. You can't see it in this picture, but she also had a train with sparkly CDs on them. Here's another picture so you can see it better:

Picture by me

How cute is that? (And how cute are my two friends in this picture?? ;D)

 And thank you to Meredith, whose pictures I have used.

New Favorite Store. Oh Dear...

Yesterday my family and I went out shopping, and I discovered a sweet store. If my style could be summed up and put into a boutique franchise, it would be Vanity. The have almost every facet of my fashion sense. From lace, to neons, to blazers, to fluffy chiffon. It was so hard to walk out without buying anything! Sadly, most items in the store were between $20-$40. A little expensive for me. :( I am experiencing a llittle bit of buyers remorse for not getting this skirt:

Lace Belted Maxi Skirt

The picture really doesn't do it justice. It's more of an off white color (at least it was in the store) and it's made of lace. It was ADORABLE. Sadly, it was also $30. So I left without it. Maybe sometime in the future I'll find it on a sale rack.

Mirror Mirror (2012)

This weekend, my sister, cousin, and I went to see Mirror Mirror starring Julia Roberts, Lily Collins, and Armie Hammer. It's a retelling of Snow White. I really enjoyed it; the plot was decent, the aerobatic sword fights were entertaining (watch out for those giant dwarves!), and there was a minimum of crudeness/vulgarity.

But the best part was the costumes. Hands down. Fabulous. Spectacular. Breathtaking.

The costume designer was Eiko Ishioka. Sadly, Mirror Mirror was her last film; she died of pancreatic cancer in January 2012. Her work on it was absolutely stunning, however; she knew how to combine and use bright colors, with a fantastic attention to detail.

From what I could gather, the costumes are vaguely based on an Elizabethan time period crossed with a french revolution/Marie Antoinette mash-up, i.e., corsets, panniers and extreme opulence.

See? (Click on the picture for a larger view)

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Just look at that skirt. Wow. Love! The way it poofs up around her hips means she probably is wearing panniers, which are hoop skirts that are more oval shaped, rather than circular, in order to emphasize the hips.

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This scene is during the Costume Ball (hence the bunny ears). The Evil Queen (Julia Roberts) is a peacock, but a stunning, satiny, red one.The embroidery on the front of that dress is beautifully intricate. I am impressed with the stand-up sleeves- I don't know what they are made of, but they match the dress perfectly.

Here's a peek at what's underneath (at least in the movie):

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This looks like a corset/hoop skirt made of oisers, or willow bark. In the movie, she is cinched down as far as she can possibly go, but I personally didn't think it was really that tight. It didn't seem to define her waist nearly as much as a real, properly cinched, corset would.

While they were not as elaborate as the Evil Queen's, Snow White also had some beautiful costumes.

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This is one of the more obviously Elizabethan dresses in the film. The flat bodice, lowish neckline, fabric folds at the waist, and full, hooped skirt all scream Elizabethan England.

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I LOVE this cape. The color, the fullness, the bows...it's so feminine! It's fascinating- Lily Collins' color season is most likely winter, and winters don't normally look good in bright, warm colors like this yellow. But  Eiko Ishioka found a shade that looks great on her.

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Snow White shows off her rebel side with this pirate-inspired look. This is such a difference from the style of the Queen, that it really shows Snow White's transformation from a small, cowed girl in the shadow of her stepmother to a confident, self-reliant woman who is the rightful Queen.

And that is what Mirror Mirror is all about.

I'll leave you with the most beautiful costume in the whole movie:

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Enchanted April

Several weeks ago, Ashland University put on the production Enchanted April. It is a very moving story about four women who take a trip to Italy, and there rediscover the meaning of love. I had the opportunity to make several of the costumes, as well as work backstage taking care of the wigs. The costumes for this show were absolutely beautiful, because the show is set in the 20's.

Some beauty shots:

It was a lot of fun to work on this show. I got to learn how to make a proper Edwardian corset (and now I want to make one for myself. Go figure.), and I did A LOT of Magic Hemming (magic hem is a type of hem for loose, flowy fabrics that makes them look nice and neat, but it takes a long time.)

Some of the wigs:

One more shot from the show:

Al'Italia!

The best beauty product ever

Is......

Vaseline! Or petroleum jelly. Whatever.

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Seriously though, I love Vaseline. It has so many uses, and a little goes a long way, so you get a huge bang for your buck. (major plus for a poor college student like me!) These are some of my favorite uses for it:

1. Lip balm. I use Vaseline as lip balm all the time. It gets rid of chapped lips super fast, and it's really shiny. (I only wish they had slightly more portable containers!)

2. Mascara. Ok, it's not really mascara, but I don't know what to call this one. I apply a little bit to my eyelashes and then comb them, and it makes them look really good. Very black and glossy. Another plus, you don't end up with gross, dry crumbly lashes.

3. Moisturizer. I put is on my hands and my nails to keep them looking good, and I also slather it on my feet at night and then put on socks and go to bed. I wake up with much softer heels!

4. Ring removal. My purity ring is on the tight side (which is good, because larger rings fall off easily), so sometimes I have difficulty getting it over my knuckle when I need to take a shower or something. Slather on a little Vaseline, and it slides right off!

5. Eyebrow gel. I have never used eyebrow gel, but when I have unruly hairs, a little Vaseline smooths them right out.

So what do you use Vaseline for? What's your I-can't-live-without-it beauty product? Let me know in the comments!

Water-marbled nails

Hey guys!

I recently figured out how to water-marble nails!! It's really pretty. See?

The technique is a little bit confusing, but it's like this. (sorry I don't have any pictures of the process.)

First you get a little cup (I used a medicine cup) and put some room-temperature water in it. Then you drip different colors of nail polish into it so you end up with a bulls-eye. Next you take a toothpick and gently drag it through the polish to swirl it into the design you want. Put Vaseline on your finger (except for the nail) to protect from the nail polish, and dunk your nail in. You have to kind of bend your finger so you go in flat. While your finger is still in the water, use the toothpick to "clean up" the extra polish, and then pull your finger out. One done, nine to go!

I realize that it is hard to understand of you can't see what is going on, so here is the video I used to teach myself:

She uses scotch tape instead of Vaseline, but the purpose is the same.

The colors I used were both Pure Ice. The white is Super Star and the sparkle is Oh Baby. I don't know if I'd really recommend them for water marbling; The white did ok, but the sparkle didn't want to drip at all.

It was fun though, and I've found it is very relaxing!

Sweater week results!

Sweater week is over! Melisa and I wore sweaters every day this week, and took pictures in our favorite spots. We both got most of our sweaters from Goodwill or Salvation Army. (We love thrifting!) Because of this, I won't be posting links to the stores online. We both highly recommend you stop by your local second hand shop, though!

Monday:

Melisa and I took this pic in our lobby. (The happy birthday on the wall is for our RA) We both went pretty simple for the first day, with just a plain black and white cardi for me and a neutral pullover for Mel.

Tuesday:

Tuesday was Oversized Sweater Day. We took these shots in the elevator. Living on the 6th floor means the elevator is your best friend! The lighting was very yellow though, and made my cozy pink sweater look like a weird shade of salmon. It set off Melisa's Fair Isle sweater great, though.

Wednesday:

Yes, the laundry room. A college student's best friend, or worst enemy. We found out after taking the picture that you really shouldn't sit on the dryers. Oops! It wasn't on purpose, but we both ended up wearing pastel sweaters on this day.

Thursday:

Ah, Fat Bar. That is what AU students call the dessert/ice cream/slushie bar. It is definitely one of our favorite spots on campus, and a perfect spot for pictures in our favorite pullovers!

Friday:

We were kind of lazy on this day, and just took pictures on our beds. They are some of our favorite spots on campus, though! (Please excuse my messy covers. No, seriously, stop looking.)

Saturday:

We took this picture at the most important place in a college student's life: Wal-Mart. The coffee aisle. Yeah baby.

Sunday:

We went a little dressier for Sunday, because we were going to church. Yes, a sweater dress still qualifies for Sweater Week. And yes, that is the kitchenette on our floor.

We had a blast figuring out different ways to wear sweaters this week. I thought about trying the backwards sweater trend, but I just wasn't brave enough. Maybe that will get it's own post soon. Have you been wearing sweaters this week? Do you have any other sweater-styling ideas? Let me know in the comments!

Sweater week

It's sweater week!!

Every day this week, my roommate/cousin Melisa and I will wear sweaters and take pictures around campus. On Saturday, I will post the results! Stay tuned!

Melisa and I

First Day of School

I'm back at school! Yay! My first day of classes was yesterday. The fun thing about college is things change so quickly. In high school, I was used to doing all my courses, every day, all school year. Here, I have Monday-Wednesday-Friday classes and Tuesday-Thursday classes, AND I get totally new subjects every four months! It's so nice to change things up. The other advantage to having all new classes, etc. is you get an extra first day of school. Instead of one a year, now there's two! So this was my January First-Day-of-School outfit.

I love this sweater. I found it at Sears for only like $8! And it's soft and cute. :)

These are my cute jeans. I have comfy jeans, skinny jeans, and cute jeans. I love the wide bell-bottoms, and the sparkly bling on the pockets doesn't hurt.

These boots are perfect with these pants. The hem is kinda long, so I am continually stepping on it and wearing it out. The heels on these ankle boots are 2 in. - not enough to make me stumble, but just enough to lift my pants off the ground.

I found this bag at an antiques/second hand store and fell in love! The bright color is so cheery, and it's made of silicone or vinyl or something, so it doesn't get dirty easily.

Sweater: Sears
Jeans: K-Mart
Boots (I couldn't find this exact shoe, so here's a similar style): Payless
Bag: Thrifted.

It's the New Year!

I don't usually make New Years Resolutions. Well, if I do, they are never anything specific. Maybe something like, "Grow closer to God," or something generic like that. So, this year, I decided to do something different, see if I could keep a New Year's Resolution. I'm going to try to post on here at least once a week. I know, I know, "real" bloggers post once a day, at minimum. BUT, that's a lot, so I'm going to start small and see if I can handle this whole blogging thing.

Wanna help me out? leave a comment. I think the reason I went on a blogging hiatus the last six months was that there was no indication anyone was even reading my crazy ramblings. Also, perhaps, that I had been almost solely blogging about sewing-related topics. Of course, there will still be plenty of that. But, I'm a college student, so that means I don't have a lot of time for sewing anymore. Super sad face!

I have been sewing in the costume shop of late. I was lucky enough to get a work-study job there, so I get as much of a "sewing fix" as I can there. I don't know what I'll do when we close after our last show of the season!

Some other things I've been doing this past semester: Learning how to draw the proper 9 heads fashion figure, having fun times with my roomie-cousin, actually working out, I NEVER went to the gym in high school. Oops. Making midnight runs to Wal-Mart, Attending Ugly Sweater Christmas parties, and having an amazing time of growth with my Freshman Girls Small Group.