Shoessss

Hi there!  My exams are over for now, but I still have classes throughout the summer that are gonna eat my brain.  So for now, all I have are a few pictures of the shoes I painted:

I think that Blogger hates my images because for some reason, I can't upload the other pictures?  The rest are from Photobucket, which also dislikes me.

 You can't tell from the small pictures, but I've painted (from 2nd picture, top to bottom) the Swan Nebula, the Milky Way, the Crab Supernova, and constellations which include Leo and Cancer.  I got the idea from a friend, who wanted me to paint supernovas!  It took me about 5-7 hours on these?  I also finished them in glossing medium, which makes them shiny and a bit water resistant.

I am also very broke right now, after my tablet broke and I need to buy a new one.  I'm selling shoes with any kind of design you want on them!  Info on my page:  Here!

That's all for today!  Gotta go eat lunch. :)

Spring is Here!( And an update)

For once, it's starting to feel like Spring here on the West Coast.  It's sunny outside and everything is turning green.  A few weeks ago, while testing out our new camera, I snapped a couple of pictures of these buds...

 

 

And not of nature, but of henna:

I've always wondered what getting henna would feel like.  Recently, at a school's diversity day, I got the chance to try it out.  When the henna is first applied, it is cool and in a paste-like consistency.  It smells kind of medicinal and herbal at first, but I gradually got used to it.  Over a period of a few hours to a day, it dries into a dark crust.  After the first hour, it felt itchy, but after leaving it on for a night, I barely noticed it.  I washed it off the next morning, and it left a medium red-brown stain left, which darkened over the next few days.  It lasted about 7 days for me, and started fading around the 4th or 5th day.  My artist was quite talented, and drew a lovely paisley leaf design on my hand.  Overall, I thought it was an interesting experience and a beautiful cultural tradition that I got to participate in.

And an update on the Sally Hansen Nail Polish Strips:  Well, they didn't quite last for the ten days they claim on the package.  I took it off the 6th night, because I am quite rough on my nails and it was beginning to chip, though it looked good from a distance.  However, I have been typing and painting all week, so someone who doesn't abuse their nails as much might have better results.  Also, I found that if you have leftover strips, even if you duct-tape the container, they will still dry out.  I found the dried out strips to be less flexible and not as adhesive, so I couldn't use them.  That would allow you only 2 manicure with one package of the nail polish strips.  $5 a manicure might be less of a deal for you, however, I found the product unique enough to make it worth it, especially as I can never have a nail polish look excellent for 6 days.

What do you think?  Is it worth the money, or is regular nail polish a better deal?

Knock Out

It's surprising that I feel busier on break than on a normal weekend.  I, however, felt obliged to post up something that I recently purchased:

The rings on the right looks like a normal ring huh?  Except...

Bam!  It opens up to reveal a hidden compartment.  Personally, I keep a note in there, but a piece of tissue soaked in perfume would also fit.   A word of warning, though:  I got this on Ebay, and the seller didn't provide a picture of the inside of the locket, or the catch.  When I got it, the inside was tarnished and the catch didn't fit the locket well.  So buyer, always ask for more pictures if they are not provided!


If I were feeling more flush (and had a few thousand to spare), I would get this:

Edburga Poison Ring-Diamond by Wendy Brandes

image not mine, from her website

Sadly, I am broke as always.  But hey, at least the weather is getting better here!  (What a clever change of topic)  And the flowers are in bloom:

 At least it stopped pouring...

 

 In other news, some pictures from Target's GO collaboration have been posted!  I'll try to find a few to show.

Just Someone...Else

So I actually finished homework early today, so of course I have to procrastinate on my outline.  Yes.

And of course, as I was browsing through some blogs, I came across a picture of a tea cup.  Mundane, I know.  But soon, my mind began to wander...what kind of person would own that tea cup?  Where would they live?  What would they do...

The one tea cup...that started it all

 

Kaleidoscope Felt Collage Necklace

In my mind, this would be ideally in New York...not realistic or happening, though, since the apartments are in Poland, and I'm not sure if I want snow down on my bed?

Images from katespade.com, anthropologie.com, www.momoy.com, ewainthegarden.blogspot.com, and atlasshrugs2000.typepad.com

can you hear the whispers of a thousand hearts beating?

Yes, my hair has blue streaks in it.  In case you can't tell, it's on the left side of my head.  Had to bleach it twice because my naturally dark hair WOULD NOT lighten.  Also redyed it three times, because it's semi-permanent and started to fade.  It's not this noticeable in real life; it's only this bright when sunlight hits it (like a vampire? not!).

 

I could never be a nail polish blogger.  This teal is Sonia Kashuk's Taunting Teal from the fall/winter collection, and while gorgeous, dries to a darker shade than what's  in the bottle.  Like, really dark.  I'm wearing this with a slightly shimmery satin topcoat, so the color is not quite true.   Love it though.

I haven't been to the flea market in a while, but I ended up finding something for my friend's birthday(shh, don't tell her!), a mask pin, a scrap booking/inking pen, and a fleur-de-lis bracelet.  All for under $20!

The watch and the horse pin are not from this trip's finds; the watch was from Etsy and I added a chain, the silver pin was from a different trip.  I thought the mask pin was fitting, seeing as our school is performing a Shakespearean comedy!

That's all for now!  I'm beat, and I still need to study!

Everything Green

St. Patrick's Day is you know...tomorrow.  SO!, in honor of the hiding-behind-me-omg-its-close holiday, I made a collection of stuff I had that was green.  Beginning:

Clockwise: Sparkly nail polish from a quarter vending machine, two necklaces; the beaded one handmade, green gel pen, and Glitterati mint.

 Green apple candle from a friend, Weleda Skin Food cream, shell key chain from China, paper crane, paintbrush (and mint).

Green can stand for hope and harmony (I think so anyway), and is a color that the eye is attracted to but not overwhelmed by.  It is the color found most plentifully in nature, usually in the form of chlorophyll in plants.

Shamrocks!  They always grow in our yard in the spring.  These ones are at the front gate-sort of.

So bright and cheery.

We have a cross-country tomorrow, so I hope even normal clovers will bring me a bit of luck!

Random Pictures and an Update

 I sort of wanted to take good pictures this week, but it's been cloudy and rainy and boring.  So, I just rolled with the horrible lighting and piles of stuff I need to pack and a horrible camera to document (sort of) the stuff in my room.

The Orient watch I won from a giveaway on the La Petite Fashionista's blog, yay!  Unfortunate that I have small wrist so it keeps on slipping.  Boo.  Isn't it shiny?  I got some glare as I was taking this picture.  It's my grandfather's birthday present now.

Some necklaces and a bracelet.  

My Rodarte for Target cardigan.  So pretty, but it doesn't show up in this picture.  Would you believe that on teh second day the collection was released, this was the only cardigan left?!  (Sorry for the bad picture)

 My hiking boots!  Very expensive.  But probably worth it.

I'm going on a week-long hiking trip next week, to a place where it snows and rains.  With no phone or Internet access.  So no more posts until I come back!

Spring! *boing*

For a while now, I've been obsessed with cherry blossoms and plum blossoms.  I don't know why.  They aren't particularly large or showy, and they don't have very bright colors or a superb scent.  However, there is just something about the delicate shapes of the blossoms and the way they completely blanket  the trees with white, or the way they fill the air with a subtle sense of spring that gets to me.  The trees have been in bloom for a while now, but the past week has been rainy and cloudy, so I wasn't able to get decent pictures until now.

We usually have a Cherry Blossom Festival every year...maybe this year I missed it?  But for me, this truly means the arrival of spring...along with daffodils!

 Unfortunately for me, I'm leaving next week for a week-long school trip to a cold, wet, and snowy place...right when Jean Paul Gaultier for Target launches.  Oh well.

On a different note, all the Fashion Weeks seem to be against my schedule!  Just when I'm getting over a bout of SAD, the fall/winter collections come out!  However, this piece from Iodice's RTW collection is certainly ready for spring:

Wear this to somewhere warm...

Photo taken by John Aquino, image from wwd.com
Have a nice week!

Tavi...In a Bike

A gratitious post today, even though I'm still sick and hacking away at the stuff in my lungs:

 

From JAK&JIL blog

How cool is that?  I'm pretty sure my parents would have never let me do that when I was smaller. Our bikes didn't even have baskets attached to them.  It's great that Tavi Gevinson is getting positive attention.

P.S.Go Tavi for rocking that hat/bow at the Dior show!  If someone gives you a present, APPRECIATE it.

Buenas noche todos!

Inspiration + Infatuation

I was busy with sickness and school the past few days, and I was feeling a bit uninspired on what to blog about.  In an act of desperation, I turned to some wonderful blogs and photos.  On style rookie, The Clothes Horse, and Fashion Pirates I realized they had all posted on inspiration.  Such as, what is inspiration?  How does something influence you or inspire you?  Something that influences me:

from UK Yahoo

Sherlock Holmes.  Victorian England, dapper gentlemen, practical yet elegant clothing/accessories.  A modern touch on a classic in the movie, with fighting and skilled manuevers.

 Turns into this:  My Christmas present for myself.  I bought the face form Magnoliasupplie on Etsy, and used the chain to match it.  I wore it to see the movie!

Some more influence, this time from Teen Vogue:

from Teen Vogue

The name of that slide show said it all: Rebel Chic Fashion.  Edgy, clean, but colorful.  Everything is expensive though.

from FRUiTS magazine

What can I say?  I like street style.  I very much enjoy seeing non-models pull off what they want to wear.  I like color, especially since it is so foggy here.  I like contrasting elements too.

Overall, I'm not sure whether is is influence, inspiration, or just interesting to look at (but for your information, my bet's on all three!) but it's fun looking at culture + fashion.  I needed a break!  What do you think about this? 

Update

I have an update on the sewing machine scenario.My dad fixed it on Monday, yay! Now I don't have to spend $100 on a new one. On another note, I finally updated pictures from early November. It was still warm here then, but it has been getting chilly!

An iris blooming on the side of a small road, an artistic arrangement of a leaf, an interesting acorn, and a flower that looks to be one from the stylized design of a manga. (xxxHolic)


Our camera sucks like heck, and Blogger is being stupid, causing me to waste my storage because I needed to upload it five times when I accidentally deleted the picture. I don't even know where the storage went, since the pictures are not stored on my blog.

It's still cold...

I haven't really posted for a long time, more like a month. It has been sunny, and a definite end to winter. Today, though, the sunlight outside seems to be fluctuating. It was supposed to rain( which we definitely need!), but it was sunny for a few minutes, and really seemed like spring. Then, the clouds started covering up the sun. However, just when it was starting to sprinkle this morning, the sun came out again. If something is controlling the weather, they're either bipolar or having a seizure. However, the nature does not seem to mind.
Tulips in our yard
We also have a freesia plant, and it smells sooo good. If Brambleberry comes up with a freesia scent, I want it. Freesias are not obnoxious or heavy, like gardenias, they just smell floral and fresh. Perfect for spring.
Closeup:
Also, our lemon tree is bearing fruit! Only a few lemons are yellow, though. The rest are still greenish.
Happy spring!