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Amber Renee

Crafts DIY

Acid Wash Your Own Clothes

08/05/2011

This started as a bit of an accident you see.. my husband unknowingly bought me a bleach cleaner recently. I’ve since accidentally bleached my new shirt and the carpet both while obsessively trying to clean our apartment. I got ready to trash the shirt and immediately wondered if there was some way I could salvage it…

All you need is a t-shirt (some other color besides white) and all-purpose spray-on bleach (or if you’re planning ahead use clorox in a spray-bottle).

First lay your t-shirt face up in the bath tub and give it a quick spray (with the bleach) all over; make sure to get some larger drops as well.

Turn the t-shirt over and spray the back in the same fashion.

If you’re dipping it to give it a fade.. pour the bleach into a bucket, dip and hang on the shower curtain to dry.

It will take an hour or so to dry and fully change color but you should see it begin to change immediately.

Viola!
Now feel free to leave it this way or dye it but make sure you do wash it before wearing it!
Try this on other shirts, jeans and jean shorts for an 80s flashback look.


The damage.


Thanks to The Ragged Priest.
Visual Splendor

It’s time to go back to California.

08/02/2011

I know this is months late.. but I figured I’d finally post this long, rambling blog.

So it’s time to take another trip to LA. To inhale the orange groves, fresh air and to fawn over the hot pink mountains burning from the sunset in the distance.

I love California, I should, I was going to move there immediately prior to becoming pregnant with my good luck charm, Colette. I’ve found (which I never thought would happen!) a very peaceful and lovely home in Indianapolis so for now California and I will meet up only occasionally for events and business trips.

One of my favorite little inland suburbs to stay in is Redlands. It’s about an hour drive from LA and is one of the cutest towns I’ve ever seen. My friends in LA complain about the drive… but I often stay there because one of my best friends calls it her home and I just cannot say no to a relaxing day of sunbathing and evening strolls.

Rainbows and sunshine fill the rooms, lighting up maneki nekos as though you had arrived to the cutest Cat Doll Shop in Japan. Speaking of the Cat Doll Shop, I would trek to Akiabara just for the shock of cuteness and my oh-so-annoying squeals of excitement. (My husband prefers I do not squeal when I am overtaken by cuteness which I remind him must be a symptom of my OCD because I simply cannot deny myself the pleasure of exclaiming over absolute, full body rush, cuteness.)

I met up with Stephanie of DollyBeast and off we went to Melrose to thrift shop for some finishing touches for our Sanrio outfits. It was rather hard to say no to the many puffy, pink and polkadot 80s prom dresses. I have to miss out on the 80s prom because I’m a mommy and I cannot stay gone longer than a weekend.. physically. I constantly have withdrawal for the sweet little family I have. It must be that insatiable sweet tooth. 😉

So off we go for shopping for ooh-ing, awe-ing and what-the-fuck-ing along Melrose. Stephanie and I are both huge foodies, if you can imagine that, although I’m ATTEMPTING a diet currently which I am SURE was not impressing to the bacon queen. <3 So she takes me to MILK knowing that the food would take me to a higher place. Did I mention they have macaron icecream sandwiches? Isn’t that your dream? Our readers are always telling me how much they appreciate all of the macaron articles and want more more more!

I still regret NOT eating one but I was starting to feel a bit sick (of course, I didn’t realize until later that I had actually forgotton to take my medicine) and anxious but I brushed it off.. I strongly did not partake in the icecream aside from Stephanie’s delicious Thai Tea milkshake. Thai tea and thai coffee make me very happy, it’s the only time I enjoy my coffee and tea NOT BLACK. (I’m boring, coffee is my drug and I love the bitter taste.)

After walking along Melrose and finding a special store Kimi and I always loved was changing it’s style we got a little tired and decided to head to Jamie of Japan L.A.’s apartment to prepare for the oh-so-amazing Sanrio VIP Party. We were joined by her precious kitties and Chibi (Persian) really enjoyed my Strawberry King costume to the fullest..

Chibi has his own wardrobe, a banana split costume that Stephanie just had to show me knowing I love cats and nonsense. Chibi was a great model and so we had a photoshoot with the banana split costume and with my scepter that he loved. He could not stop trying to climb into my bag so I assume Hobbes must smell quite interesting! What’s better that all of your friends being cat people?

(I heard all of you dog people exclaim: ANYTHING IS BETTER THAN THAT.)

So we proceeded to deck ourselves out in Sanrio cuteness and prepare for Liz (whom most of you know as Miss Kika) and her husband Nara’s arrival.

After too much giggling and eyeing each other’s costumes we were off to the Sanrio VIP Party to indulge in our shared obsession. Sanrio.

Diary

We’re On Our Way

08/01/2011

It’s been quite a busy week and there’s still so much to do before this weekend. I’m excited to tell you that I have fashion tutorials and possibly even some video tutorials coming for you very soon! I’ve also been working on several collaborations and I cannot wait to show you the results. Some great artist interviews are on the way with Kim Ripley of stoopidgerl and pop surrealist painter Camilla D’Errico. Wee! We also have a great load of new sponsors ready to support Miseducated in the coming months. (Email us if you’re interested in more information about advertising here.)


This is the Bunny Queen in her palace.

Lately I’ve been up to a lot whole lot of working and mothering. I’m just trying to catch up and keep my head above the water. I’ve also been doing a whole lot of loving, which is obviously really important. Don’t forget to tell everyone you love that you care because there’s nothing like giving and receiving love. Especially right now.

Trying to keep positive and actually getting the apartment organized and clean.. I have company coming soon and I need to do a top to bottom spring (summer!) cleaning. I’m so looking forward to it! Now if I could just start and end somewhere besides the litterbox… I can’t seem to get past it. Keeping up with everyone’s (Colette’s, Hobbes’s, Wanwan’s) poop schedules all day long is daunting!

Have you been keeping cool?

Diary Portfolio

Sunshine, Painting and Friendship

07/25/2011

Lately things have been a bit crazy for me! Hard to get caught up and still keep my office/house as clean and organized as I would like to.. I always say I’m going to do better when things settle down but they never settle down. I’m going to have to become a workaholic and blog everyday whether I feel like it or not!

Today I was taking some photos of my new paintings and someone wanted to jump in the shot. He always wants to be exactly in the middle of whatever I’m doing, haha. (Sorry to those of you who saw this on my portfolio already!!)



this is in progress~

This coming month is going to be a big one for girly fun. I can’t wait! Do you have big plans for the summer?

Escapeland

30 Day Photo Challenge: Day 10

07/06/2011

I was surfing the internet looking for a new project and found this.. a 30 Day Photo Challenge on Facebook. This reminds me of the old LiveJournal days when we would give each other photo assignments (I loved those days!) so this is right up my alley.

I noticed that some photo assignments are impossible to complete without using a photo you didn’t take which I’m not sure I like.. I’d like to alter the list but that would throw off the whole challenge. Perhaps we’ll start our own photo challenge after this one is complete? I have some good ideas I’d love to share with you.

So since it’s a new month I thought it would be a great idea to try this challenge, although you can start it anytime!

Are you in?

30 Day Photo Challenge

Day 01 – A picture of yourself with ten facts
Day 02 – A picture of you and the person (cat ^^) you have been closest with the longest
Day 03 – A picture of the cast from your favorite show
Day 04 – A picture of your night
Day 05 – A picture of your favorite memory
Day 06 – A picture of a person you’d love to trade places with for a day
Day 07 – A picture of your most treasured item
Day 08 – A picture that makes you laugh
Day 09 – A picture of the person who has gotten you through the most
Day 10 – A picture of the person you do the most ****** up things with
Day 11 – A picture of something you hate
Day 12 – A picture of something you love
Day 13 – A picture of your favorite band or artist
Day 14 – A picture of someone you could never imagine your life without
Day 15 – A picture of something you want to do before you die
Day 16 – A picture of someone who inspires you
Day 17 – A picture of something that has made a huge impact on your life recently
Day 18 – A picture of your biggest insecurity
Day 19 – A picture and a letter
Day 20 – A picture of somewhere you’d love to travel
Day 21 – A picture of something you wish you could forget
Day 22 – A picture of something you wish you were better at
Day 23 – A picture of your favorite book
Day 24 – A picture of something you wish you could change
Day 25 – A picture of your day
Day 26 – A picture of something that means a lot to you
Day 27 – A picture of yourself and a family member
Day 28 – A picture of something you’re afraid of
Day 29 – A picture that can always make you smile
Day 30 – A picture of someone you miss
Day 31 – A picture of yourself


Day 01

Day 02

Day 03

Day 04

Day 05

Day 06

Day 07

Day 08

Day 09

Day 10
Diary

I don’t feel like writing an article

06/29/2011

Lately I’ve been feeling like I’ve let myself go. I haven’t been exercising, laying out or taking care of my skin. So I’ve decided to put my foot down. I’ve decided that I will now do all of those things and more. And I will write. I will make progress.

I haven’t been making progress here for awhile now. I could run away from work all day, spend it basking in the beautiful vitality of my always cheerful child. Spend it baking in the sun alongside my best friend. Spend it separating my toes and painting each one of my toenails a different color.

I’ve also been considering shutting down my blog or at least seriously changing things. I’m not inspired to write here because every single post has to be an article with some sort of purpose other than just writing and communicating about whimsical nonsense I encounter which is what I originally intended this blog to be anyway. Things always change. I usually resist it but lately I find it exciting. I need some change.

What do you think?





Design Your Life

Five Reasons Why You Should Keep Blogging

06/22/2011
ideas

So you’re blogging and you’ve reached the point every blogger reaches: Should I continue this blog? Before you close down shop and try something else go through the following five reasons below and ask yourself, am I helping anyone? Am I passionate about writing blog posts?

1. You’re the only one who can effectively blog your one-of-a-kind niche. Whether you have a fashion blog and there are hundreds of fashion blogs, yours is different. You have a different view, idea and purpose — all of which are valid points for blogging. Your content is exceptional and you’re the only one who’s going to release it.

2. You let others peek into the glorious world that is your own. Take photos, draw pictures, get people hooked into viewing things through your lenses.

3. You have to get better. Rome wasn’t built in a day, was it? How many times have you heard this? You have to start somewhere and that somewhere is pretty damn exceptional. So your layout isn’t what you dreamed and your first post didn’t get many comments, keep going. You can only improve.

4. You haven’t finished the task you set out to do. Why did you create your blog? What is the purpose behind marketing yourself and your business? With a set goal in mind you can effectively see if you’ve achieved it or not. Be sure your goals are trackable as well.

5. You’re simply experiencing writers block. Can’t seem to churn out the same expressive and inspiring content you were producing when you started your blog? Bring on guest authors, try mind-mapping and update past posts with new, valuable information.

Visual Splendor

Moblog: The First of Many?

05/24/2011

Hello friends! I’m testing out WordPress’s blogging application for mobile blogging so I can see just how well it works.

Sometimes you just have to blog on the go! I’m afraid however that my obsession with post formatting won’t allow me to stick with it! Let’s see if I can take you along on my daily adventures as they happen! In fact I’ve had to format it already so it’s not actually mobile blogging! eeeek.

Here you can see some of my daily life.. my home, myself and wherever I may be going.

Let me know what you think! Xo

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Escapeland Giveaway

Happy Birthday CAVEY Giveaway

05/20/2011

Remember the feature I did on Holly recently? As I said we’re planning a special Cavey Giveaway especially for you ladies of Miseducated to celebrate the exciting birthday of Cavey! These plushes are so very covetable I wish I could enter in the giveaway! I wish each of you the best of luck!

The Prize

How to Enter

Follow @heycavey and retweet the following before May 26, 2011:

“Happy birthday Cavey! follow @heycavey and RT to win a Cavey plush at Miseducated! #caveycomp https://www.miseducated.com/?p=11508”

Send Cavey a Birthday Card

Also, for some extra fun why not make Cavey an extra-special birthday card? Holly will be displaying all birthday cards and Cavey artworks at the birthday party! Send to: Cavey, Po Box 2384, Watford, WD18 1RP, UK by May 26th 2011.

Artist & Designer Features Design Your Life

Getting Plush With Holly Stanway

05/17/2011

Holly is a remarkable artist. She and I were friends back in the old school days of Miseducated through LiveJournal. Because of this I’ve had the privilege of watching her work blossom from something beautifully eerie into something absolutely drop-dead stunning and magical. I had to feature her both because of her A Litte Stranger creations and because of the cutie Hey Cavey which is taking the plush scene by storm.

In fact we’re so smitten by Holly’s work and by her Cavey creature that we’re planning another giveaway this month especially for Cavey’s birthday! Stay tuned for the details!

Hello, Holly! First, let me ask you what is your passion?
Creating. I love learning new crafts and ways of creating things, and i’m always looking to find a new way to do something. I love the feeling of starting out a project not really knowing how its going to loo and seeing it evolve and morph into something I can be proud of.

How long have you been making toys and plushies?
I’ve been making stuff forever, but in a professional capacity for about 8 years.

When did you decide that this was your calling?
I kind of stumbled into the plush thing by accident, I studied model making at University, and took a job prototyping toys after I graduated. I’d always done sewing and made little toys in my spare time and run a small webshop selling plushes and doll clothes while I was at Uni. We did a lot of work on action men while I worked prototyping clothes and I convinced my boss to let me do the clothes and little parachutes and stuff and it all went from there. I’ve always just kind of made opportunities, and even now I don’t really know what’s around the corner, I just take things as they come. 🙂

When did Cavey come into play?
Just over a year ago, the idea came about all of a sudden and i started making these little prototypes out of scraps. I tried him long, thin, fat, with feet, paws, a tail etc eventually deciding he looked best super simple with just a little face.

What makes Cavey special? How is he different from other characters?
The idea behind Cavey was always that he appearance of the character was very simple, and was very personality driven. I like to keep him ambiguous, Cavey is neither a boy or a girl and he’s always called Cavey to let his new owner find a name for him if they choose.

Do you have creativity blocks?
Occasionally. (but thankfully not too often :))

If you don’t mind my asking, how do you remedy your creative blocks?
I’m a bit of a workaholic so when i’m struggling to see the woods for the trees, so to speak, I try and take a bit of time out and do something completely different for a while; go for a run, go out to eat with a friend, once I’m not so deeply into something I’m usually good to go again 😀

What inspires you most?
I’d have to say animals and pets. Fantasy films have always been a big influence on me, and the magical characters in them. And anything Jim Henson.

Holly’s Creations

The Forest Sprite

Custom plush, Melek

Space Dragon

Cavey!

Redcoat

Single Tentacle necklaces

New blue sleepy monster

Finished Octopus necklace