Browsing Tag

Vintage

Crafts DIY

Customizing Blythe: How to Paint Lips Like a Pro

04/15/2010

Hello! I customize blythe dolls for both fun and for some profits. So far I have been doing it for just a little over year. I started when I was 15 and my first doll was quite terrible (as I wasn’t very careful), but I got better and better with every doll,and have now done 20+ dolls. So here is a tutorial for re-coloring or customizing the lips of a Blythe doll, hope you like it!

blythe lip tutorial

Step 1

Gather your supplies: Blythe, fine-grit sanding sponge, a small flat paint-brush and a bigger softer paint-brush, chalk pastels in a lighter and darker color, and watercolor-pencils in a darker color and white.

Step 2

Sand off the original lip color (you may have to scrape the paint in the crease away with a some-what dull x-acto knife). With the small paint-brush, brush the darker pastel color in the crease of the lips and lightly outward.

Step 3

Use the darker watercolor-pencil to define the crease and add some lip wrinkles.

Step 4

Use the white watercolor-pencil to add texture with quick strokes, and lightly color with it to blend with the darker color.

Step 5

Brush the lighter color pastel on with the bigger paintbrush and you’re done!

… and it make take a few tries to get it right, so don’t get frustrated! 😉

blythe

Day With a Camera Visual Splendor

Day With a Camera: Thrift Shopping

04/14/2010

Spending the day thrifting is sometimes just what the doctor ordered, especially at the Midland Arts Antique Mall in Downtown Indianapolis. The scenes reminisce old Hollywood glamour and deliciously kitschy goodness.

.. and there’s no better way to thrift shop than with a camera and a friend in tow!

IMG_5476
IMG_5465
IMG_5464
IMG_6889
IMG_6899
Diary

Miseducated Scrapbook: Online Art Journaling

04/12/2010

Yikes! I’ve missed you so much lately and getting to be creative in both work and play. This past week was entirely draining but I left it feeling much more enlightened (..and slow ..and tired .. and pregnant).

I have never experienced happiness like this, absolute fulfillment.. Colette opened a new book of endless inspiration and motivation to create the world we want.

Did I tell you she’s kicking now?

So anyway, as of recently I’ve been getting back into keeping my sketch/idea book up to date and I’ve found out that still the craft of art journaling is still so fun and addicting. I decided to share it with you and inspire you to do your own journal, letters or scrapbooks! Big plans for these so if you’re interested in contributing please let me know!

So I’ve written you a little letter..

As for inspiration.. hit up your local thrift store and flip through the vintage magazines. When I feel uninspired I take a break with my magazine collection and then I imagine ways to translate home decor into web design and graphic art. It’s even great for inspiration to just relax and read as I’ve said before. Remember, a 20 minute break can help tremendously!

Until later, stay sweet, inspired and colorful.

letter

Visual Splendor

Rainbow Inspiration and Spreading Color Online

03/29/2010

I was recently interviewed by a fellow blogger and was specifically asked about my obsession with color and rainbows. This got me thinking about how much rainbows really mean to me (if i see a correctly hued rainbow anything, chances are I have to have it) and also how beautiful they are. Am I being totally cheesy? Probably, but one thing is for sure, they inspire me endlessly and they seem to inspire others as well. Namely 80s cartoon creators which wove for us magical tales of color and care.

rbow

Looking back on some of the toys and cartoons I enjoyed as a child, it’s very obvious to me why I love many of the things I love. They bring me to a simpler, happier time when my imagination could spin a web of adventure. I suppose in my situation all of this cuteness and color created an artist with an adoration for femininity, color and whimsical art.

Did the rainbow days of the 80s inspire who you are today? How so?


Picture 2

Do you love rainbows?


pst! If you’re a rainbow fan, feel free to place this on your blog or website — spread the color.
Business Features Visual Splendor

Inspired by Lovely Lovely UK

03/25/2010
lovely

I *love* Lovely Lovely — you may even recognize seeing some of their goods in my apartment feature — I had to have quite a few of their pop art cute, neon sugar clad brand. Years later, they’re still my favorite plates.

Picture 1
Picture 3

If your taste is anything like mine, the retro revival food (check out the rosy gelatin mould!) and cake-inspired palettes are enough to make your eyes gleam with eye candy overload.

Escapeland

The Coloring Book Down Nostalgia Lane

02/18/2010

Ever lounging with friends at home and whip out coloring books? It’s a collective moment where everyone (no matter how dazed) can relax and focus on colors and (usually) cheerful illustrations. I enjoy doing this with my friends while listening to music or watching tv and also at parties. Coloring pages can be fun at any age~

Coloring Pages

Sailor Moon, Hello Kitty, My Little Pony, Rainbow Brite, Strawberry Shortcake and Care Bears are all copyrighted characters.

Design Your Life

Cleaning out the Closet

02/09/2010

I figured I should write about something I’m currently tackling and how I dealt with it. I’m not just organizing my closet either, I’ve got everything (except my clothes) organized into boxes and in storage ready to move.. this ‘transitional stage’ is quite tough on a ‘nesting’ pregnant woman, but I found that I can feel confident simply by knowing I’ve went through and discarded/donated/saved anything I’ve ever had. I have a lot of junk. When I say junk I mean cute toys and nonsense from Japan, ridiculous amounts of assorted craft tools and art supplies, geeky technological computers and games (mine and my husbands combined), my husbands music equipment, my extensive Blythe doll collection (which includes a Blythe-size-inhabitable dollhouse)… wah!

array of clothing

I used to listen to others with absolute sympathy and little understanding as they complained about having to get rid of all of their Blythe doll boxes and anything they aren’t really attached to, having to slim down their collections, clothes and more.. I just guess being from the Midwest I assumed I’d always have a lot of space at my disposal.

Space is over-rated, having things is over-rated. First thing any psychologist will try to explain to a hoarder is that memories are not items. You can get rid of everything you have except your basic needs and you would still have your memories. Take photos of a cherished item. Store it in an album. There are many ways to reminisce without filling your house with everything you’ve ever loved. It’s easy (for me) to do.. but it’s not good, being attached to any item is dangerous.. Instead use that attachment on people and new memories, a 60s tumbler from your grandmother might be irreplaceable to you, but remember not to confuse the attachment you feel towards your grandma with the item.

It’s hard for me to get rid of anything I had in Japan, I feel if I lose it I’ll forget.. I just love visiting my room at my parent’s house and holding random items from my time there, it’s like the room is actually frozen in time and I’m still that same girl in school when I visit.

Before I move out of state I have to decide what I really do and do not need of course and start living a simple life, stop trying to save everything. After living in cute, tiny city lofts I quickly realized STUFF is exactly what I do not want. I did not want to carry boxes and boxes of junk down that tiny, spiral staircase and into the basement-looking living room. I quickly realized being on my own that stuff was useless — and yes my dolls were still with me all the way.

I do hope to someday have a home with more space, but I’m not ready to settle down yet. I’ve still got a lot of career-obsession driving my life.

Tips ala Real Simple

I found a lot of organizing tips in Real Simple Magazine, these were the ones I found most helpful.

If you are on the fence about an item, “flag” the hanger. As you wear each item, remove the flag. At the end of each season, items that are still marked with a flag should be donated. If the item is in good condition and/or if you paid a lot for it, think about selling it at a local consignment store or online at a site such as eBay.

Use every square inch of your closet. Hang shoe racks on the back of your closet door. Classic belt hangers with multiple hooks are also a good solution for hanging camisoles, bras, or scarves. Always remove sweaters from hangers and fold them. Hangers will ruin the shape of sweaters over time.

It’s possible that no matter how much you try to edit and organize, you just have too much stuff to fit in your closet. If that’s the case, then you need to resort to a seasonal system by rotating your fall/winter clothes with your spring/summer clothes. Out-of-season clothes and kept in your attic or basement or under your bed in storage boxes.

Self Decoration

Miseducated is Pretty and Pregnant

12/13/2009

Sometimes it’s hard to feel sexy when your formerly flat stomach is starting to sport the ever-decadent ‘pot belly.’ Your clothes, once so important, slowly become useless, way-too-tight and obstructive.

What’s a girl to do?

Pregnant princesses are taking the cuteness cake (and eating it too!) with their blossoming bellies and beauty. Gone are the days when maternity wear was scary — these days women have about as many options as they want.. and if one of a kind pieces are what you’re looking for you already know you can check etsy and ebay ala our maternity finds post. Maybe you’ll even get inspired to break out the sewing machine and create your own maternity wear?

happiest girl in the world my new bump

Maternity Patterns

Create or alter your own maternity clothes.
Alter What you Have
Hip Skirts
Burda Style (beautiful and easily alterable patterns)
Vintage Maternity Patterns

Pregnant Princesses

I didn’t take any of these photos — I just obsessively collected them in search for cute pregnancy styles.

Self Decoration

Recycle and Upcycle Happy Meal Toys

11/10/2009

Eh, so sometimes when my husband and I are running late or feeling really nasty we’ll grab happy meals — mainly just when the toys are cute… but what the hell do you do with the little plastic toys after you eat your meal?

Make something out of them!

My plan was to attach gems and glitter all over my lovely ponies and headbands with sweet unicorn emblems. Every headband is on it’s way to a special home for fun and whimsy instead of being chewed up in Wanwan’s bed or thrown in the garbage. 😉 Perhaps soon we’ll do some more silly DIY with all the plastic junk we always come across! ha

(go ahead and keep the box too for silly gifts to friends — haha)

Show me the plastic flash

Unconditional Kisses

Eating the food is like eating the box

You want dis?

Photos by Benjamin Amick <3 Dress: Manoush; Headband: DIY; Shoes: Russe & Rilakuma

Miseducated Inspired Love


Ariel: The Forest
Crafts DIY

Recycle your Vintage Scarf into a Necklace

10/29/2009

This is a style that I wear all the time and it’s easy easy to make. I’ve loved vintage scarves but for ages I was stumped as to how to wear them without looking like the queen! Finally a brainwave brought me to the knotted scarf necklace …

You will need a patterned scarf of square of fabric, about 30″ (76cm) x 30″ to start!

scarf

1. Lay your scarf flat, pattern side down.
2. Fold it in half, so the patterned side is on the outside.
3. Start rolling from the corner …
4. … Until you have a long sausage.
5. Tie three knots – one in the centre, and two either side.
6. Finally, tie at the top, and there you have your necklace.

I’ve used a green paisley scarf for this one, but it works with any pattern, or even a plain silk scarf. I especially love it in a nautical or equestrian print.

I think I’m Miseducated because I don’t wait for beautiful things to come to me, if I have something pictured in my mind, I’ll try and make it. Sometimes I succeed, sometimes I fail but it’s all worth it when you get complimented on your outfit and you can say ‘I made it myself!’