etsy wednesday - fall fashion

some great etsy staff picks for this fall fashion. my faves are this sweet velvet vest from secret lake for $34; sleeveless volume top from neue for $70; the modern leg dress from my dear thing for $128; and this sweet capelet from stephanie teague for $80.

fashion blitz - face hunter love

some of my favorite looks from face hunter.

found painting - francoise nielly

francoise nielly does beautiful work - i love her palette knife strokes & firey colors. i like this, taken from her bio, "...her painting is sexual, her colors free, exuberant, surprising, even explosive..."

found via looks like good design.

recent sewing

i mentioned previously that i'd been trying to get a bit further into sewing - especially with my uncommitted fridays. in august, i had someone come in to walk me through sewing with a pattern. her name was kristen & i found her via craigslist; she lived in my neighborhood & only charges $100 for about 5 hours of assistance & tutoring. she forced me to take my time & pay attention to the details of the pattern, as well as explain parts/instructions i didn't understand. we made a pair of black flowy pants (aka new look 6896) & i can say i know how to add an invisible zipper, pleats, pockets, darts & a waistband to projects. i'm not sure this means i'll change my ways & only sew from patterns, but i'm sure i'll make a few more pairs with this pattern to get used to it before adding these things to my own projects.









the next project on my list (for weeks now) was to refashion a men's shirt. plaid seems to be all over this fall & i new it was time to get it done. this one was kind of a disaster, but i'm fairly happy with the results. i started to follow this tutorial, but couldn't handle the puckered sleeves. here's how i ended up handling it:

1. detach sleeves using a seam ripper.
2. use a shirt that fits you to lay over the men's shirt - use as a pattern & cut shirt appropriately.
3. Sew the sides of the shirt until 6" from the bottom (if you choose to do a split on the sides).
4. if straight along the base of the shirt cut into the edges to create rounded sides.
5. iron hems along the sides & the bottom of the shirt, sew using a straight stitch.
6. reinforce side seam where it splits.
   
7. turn sleeves inside out & sew a seam creating a more fitted arm.
8. pin right sides of each sleeve to the armhole in your shirt. mine happened to be the same circumference (dumb luck?!)
9. using a straight stitch, attach sleeves to body.
10. for a final touch, i added to 2.5" darts to the mid back for a better fit.
    

it all seemed sort of haphazard & i'd probably take a bit more time on the next one, but it's the perfect weekender shirt or might look cute tucked into a wool skirt.

music to listen to - ain't nobody

i've been hooked to this song for days. bart & i have watched the video every night this week, today you will to - chaka khan's ain't nobody.

handmade days

i want to make ten! these oversized flowers by grosgrain would be perfect broaches or accents to home decor - love love. her full tutorial can be found here, along with printable pdf patterns. but wait, there even more tutorials here.

etsy wednesday - artmind ceramics

belgian artist misty sells the most clever ceramics at her artmind etsy shop. each piece represents an emotion; some are sweet & some are funny (sleepy, torn, & patience shown above). prices range from $30-$120.

fashion blitz - iconic lykke li

the first time i saw the little bit video, lykke li's style intrigued me as much as her music. she has that ever-so-characteristic, effortless swedish style. mysterious, bohemian, kitschy & feminine - she's got the look i long to pull off.

found photography - marc bordons

this is just a teaser, marc bordon's portfolio is to die for; dark, quiet, vintage & sexy.

music to listen to

oh those lovely swedes. producer & member of the meat boys, kleerup has worked with artists such as robyn & lykke li. until we bleed (with lykke li) is a wonderful, yet meloncholy dance hit i've listened to twice a day for weeks. put it on your list for sure!

handmade days

i love all these styley tees from j.crew. i'm convinced i can make one, i'm putting it on the to do list. i'll have to pick up a cheap t from h&m or second hand, it might even look nice on a cardi. it looks like the sequins & beading are done on a piece of tule which i imagine could be glued or stitched to the tee, then complimented by some ribbon. ohhhh, i'm excited. full tutorial to come.

etsy wednesday

there is much necklace love these days. i'm trying to decide if i should splurge (ever so lightly) on one signature piece for fall/winter or get a few less expensive (ie h&m, XXII, etc) ones. what do you think?

if i were to splurge, etsy seller, laura lombardi might be the one to convince me. how gorgeous are these?!

fashion blitz

i'm oggling over this $10, resin necklace, featured on the moment blog. apparently it's from bijoux terner, a mostly east coast, mostly airport store. i want to go to there.

found mixology

this isn't a new find, we've been sipping on the inside kid since early spring. but, it was last night that bart & i had one of the best we've had & named it the inside kid.

it started at via tribunali, where they suggested a makers, campari & grapefruit juice over ice, with a blood orange garnish. the drink was a delicious sipper, a drastic change from my standard vodka soda with lemon. the next was at a friend's party where he poured me a whiskey, campari on the rocks - it was a little stiffer, but still a solid choice. at this point, i was hooked. having a drink that no one knows gets tiring, especially when you haven't perfected it yourself. we had many terrible versions (garage, chutneys) & we've had some great ones (oddfellows, pink door). pink door made it official:

1 part makers (or whatever whiskey)
1 part campari
splash of sweet vermouth
served on the rocks with an orange garnish.

the perfection of the drink & our goofy moods made naming it at that moment neccessary. bart insisted on inside kid, i think it's a sexier drink. his argument - the drink is so classy & sexy that the name then becomes that. sure. so there it is, a found cocktail now known as the inside kid. learn it, drink it, love it.

music to listen to

we were graciously hosted by chris while in nyc. he had a great apartment in chelsea, made us breakfast every morning (mmmm turkey sausage & blueberry pancakes), filled our coffee cups, hailed our cabs, opened doors - it was perfect. i should also mention that chris led us to many great places including, dinner at la esquina was perfect, dancing at fat baby, walking the highline, & soup dumplings at joe's shanghai.

we had three 4am night, which led to some rough mornings last weekend, but i will remember them fondly with booka shade playing in the background.

clio home

while wandering the streets of manhattan, we came upon clio. it's a sweet shop filled with ceramics & housewares from artists around the world. i could have spent hours there looking at all of the details, taking note of the artists. from a more extensive anne black collection than i could find in copenhagen, to sophie cook, jason miller & esther derkx - clio had a wonderful collection that can also be found online.

if i got to choose a coast

some of my favorite shots over labor day. new york is an amazing place; one i'm not sure i could live, but one i could definitely visit many times a year. so much to see, to learn, to admire.

check out some of my bike shots at iva jean rides.