Little People, Big World

I absolutely ADORE this blog. Slinkachu creates his own version of street art - tiny people! It's such a good idea and has created a buzz all over the world. I love his little figure graffiti-ing the side of an architectural model, and the policemen at the Acropolis. All so adorable. Check it out!

Little People - A Tiny Street Art Project

Let's Bring Charlie Chaplin Back

JAK & JIL blog by Tommy Ton posted the most stunning photos of the John Galliano Show at Men's Fashion Month. Inspired by the 20s stage, the Charlie Chaplin make-up looks stunning on these men. John Galliano is a design idol of mine because he uses a dramatic theme for each of his shows, and then makes a spectacle of it all. It's a stunning collection, check it out!

Tommy Ton's Photos of John Galliano's Men's Collection '10

Caringbah Markets

Yesterday morning, bright and early at 5am, I woke up to join my friend Erin in selling a few old clothes at Caringbah Markets. I sold a few things - a pair of boots and two bags - but I didn't do as well as I hoped. I did, however, buy quite a bit, which meant that I broke even by the end of the day. I say it's the perfect way to shop :D. The markets are fantastic, lots of vintage clothing and lots of crockery. I was able to find a side table with drawers for "Schelling Point" that I can paint, and had my eye on a gold phone until it sold under my nose.

A group of us were manning the stall, and we ended up just buying things off each other! How funny. Here are the great finds I grabbed off the girls:

 

A bright red sweater and a cream turtleneck blouse

 

A bright blue blouse and a blue plaid pencil skirt

 

An adorable aqua dress and some white 60's beads

Those little items are awesome, but the BEST find of the day was this AWESOME pilot's jumpsuit for $15!! I was so excited when I saw it (ask Erin) and the lady I bought it from thought I was psycho! She asked, "now what are you going to do with that?" and I said, "Wear it!" The look on her face would baffle a dog (I just made up that saying). It was quite funny.

I'm thinking of going as Slim Picken's to the opening of "The Schelling Point" (it's about the making of Dr. Strangelove), but why give up an amazing opportunity to get all dolled up like Joan or Betty from Mad Men?

...............

Unrelated to the markets, my most recent purchase is this amazing Cue dress. I've had my eye on it since the Winter '10 collection came out, but it was just too darn expensive for my tastes. But then the whole recession kicked retail's butt and it came down in price. I ran to my Miranda store to find that it had sold out! I was shocked! I didn't think Shire girls would wear this type of thing. And the girl wasn't much help, she just said, "Sorry" and turned away after making some comment about my boots being awesome. I emailed Cue's information, desperate. I even called my friend and asked if her friend still worked at Cue. No go. The girl left the store years ago. However, my friend did check the stores in the city and they didn't have the dress in my size but they were able to track one down at Myer Hurstville. I called and put one on hold straight away - I wasn't letting it go again. And then I heard back from Cue's information and they had tracked it down for me too, and I had to tell them that they're customer service was just awesome (except for Miranda's store)! Today I went and picked it up. It's gorgeous. I'm so happy. And it was MASSIVELY on sale. $90.98 down from $329.00. (Said in Maid Marianne voice) "Oh, I'm so happy!"

 

P.S. Thank you, Jane, for modelling.

Bell Sleeves

This is a stunning new vintage Mod dress I bought on Ebay early this week and arrived yesterday. I was so excited to wear it! It's stunning! It has a black skirt, black bow, white shirt with BIG bell sleeves. The sleeves got me a lot of comments at work today, though they did get in the way a bit. 

I'm also wearing a charm necklace from Stylust. It's new and pretty exciting. I love the big flower, and how it's not in the centre of the necklace. 

Meet Jane

  

Mini Top Hat

How cute is it? I just love Japanese accessories. They always make the cutest things.

 

Nail Stickers

Nail stickers are my new obsession. I found them at the dollar store for $2 a sheet. I've been trying to experiment with nail colours and patterns, but these things make it so much easier! I've got the pretty lace flower pattern you see below AND Hello Kitty!! I'm so excited to try the hello kitty, but I thought I'd go with the lace flowers to match my new Bunny Ears.

Bunny Ears

I love mail. Getting something in the mail always feels like Christmas. Today my knock-off Maison Michel bunny ears arrived. I can't wait to do a lace photoshoot with these ears and my DIY maxi skirt which I'll be sewing tomorrow night. I love them. Now I just need an excuse to wear them without looking like a play-boy bunny. I think they'll be for private use at home and photos.

DIY: Romantic Tutu

 

Tutus are a classic DIY project. They are so easy to do and always have a fantastic result. Here's how I made my romantic tutu for "The Schelling Point."

Step 1: Get lots and lots of toile. I got 4m of stiff toile (if that's the name), 2m of soft toile and 2m of a pretty sparkly fabric like toile for the top layer.

 

Step 2: Cut all the toile into widths of 28 inches (the length of the skirt you want to make).

Step 3: Measure your waist and then cut and needle some thread (doubled) to that length, plus 15cm. You will use this to gather your toile to the length of your waist.

Step 3: Tie a knot with the threat at the end of the toile. Because it's a netting material, you'll need tie the ends together.

Step 4: Make a running stitch along the top of the toile to gather it together.

 

Tie a knot at the end.

Step 5: Repeat with the other layers of toile.

Step 6: Sew the top layer (the sparkly layer) to the 2nd layer. Lay out the top layer with the wrong side up, and then flip the 2nd layer so it is upside down, pin, and sew along the waistline. I hope that makes sense. By doing this you're creating more body in the skirt due to stiff layers facing up instead of down.

Step 7: Sew the bottom layer onto the rest of the skirt. You don't need to flip this layer upside-down because the tough toile is strong enough to keep its shape without needing the extra lift.

Step 8: Sew threw all the layers on the sewing machine. This will give it strength.

Step 8: To create the ribbon to tie the skirt together, cut out a 1.5m long strip of fabric that is about 20cm wide. Find the middle and measure the width of the waist and mark the ends with a pin.

Step 9: From the end of the strip to the end of the measured waist, pin the two ends with the right sides together and sew. Remember to stop sewing where the waist starts!

 

And sew both ends of the ribbon!

Step 10: Cut the ends of the ribbon on diagonals and sew together

Step 11: Turn the ribbon right-side out and iron flat.

Step 12: Baste under the edges of the middle section of ribbon. This is where you will attach the ribbon to the skirt.

Step 13: Litterally shove the skirt into the pocket you've made in the waistband and sew all the layers together. Do this on the sewing machine first (be careful because I broke my needle) and then go over by hand if you missed any sections (you will most likely miss sewing the back of the waistband onto the skirt.

Step 14: Remove all your basting.

Step 15: Prance around in you're new tutu and uggs! 

Making over a Vintage Phone

Now, I stated in my post about my Production Design Work that I had to make-over a phone that some lady decided to destroy with paper mache and glitter glue. I thought that since it's such a big project, and was quite fun, that I'd share the process with y'all.

The BEFORE photo

Step 1: I popped off all those dreaded diamontes. Diamontes are a good thing (i.e. Blingin' Headphones), but only when they're done properly. Cheap plastic Diamontes in baby pink, green and blue are not a pretty sight.

Step 2: I removed the cover of the phone and the earpiece from the electronics bit. It was a bit difficult because the lady painted over all of the screws, so I had to dig around to find where I could separate it.

Step 3: To loosen all the glue on the paper mache, I soaked the cover and the earpiece in water overnight. By the next morning it was flexible enough to scrape off. Which leads to step 4:

Step 4: I scraped off all the junk. Now this was a big feat! There was a layer of paint, 2 layers of paper mache and a layer of glitter glue. I used a paint scraper and a stanley knife to scrape off everything. It took about 3 hours to clean.

Step 4: My dad (I think he was bored and he just decided to do it himself) sanded down the whole phone with sand paper designed for plastics. This took off the laquer layer so when we spray painted it the paint would stick. (These are photos of me sanding the other phone I bought - I need 2 red phones for the play)

Step 5: I spray painted it. Using special spray paint for plastics, I laid out the pieces of the phone over newspaper and tried to evenly paint over all the surfaces. Spray painting evenly is a skill, and one I haven't yet mastered, so I had to let the pieces dry and paint a second coat, and then a third.

Step 6: The plastic paint was supposed to have a glossy finish, but it didn't turn out that way. Probably because we hacked at the phone so much with the sand paper that the surface was too uneven. So, after all the red coats had dried, I spray painted 3 final coats of clear glossy paint. This paint also filled in all the cracks to create a smooth surface.

Step 7: Once all the paint had dried, I had to assemble it all back together. This included the electronics, which I'm sure I got wrong. The phones aren't in working order anyways, so there's no point. 

The AFTER Photo 

They look good, eh?

I'm still working on costumes for "The Schelling Point." I don't want to post all of my work, but I will tell you guys how to make a tutu next.