Vancouver shopping alert!

FEATHER BOA SALE

If you live in Vancouver and you've always wanted a feather boa, Dressew has them on sale for 50% off. What a bargoon. I am ashamed happy to say I bought two.

They have a wide range of styles and colours. The ostrich ones are gorgeous, originally $30, now $15. If Dressew is sadly missing from your shopping repertoire, it is located at 337 W. Hastings St. and it's bursting with fabrics, vintage and new, notions and masks and hats and...

I'm not getting paid for this promo, by the way, merely doing my part at promoting good mental health through boa therapy. Tell the cashier I sent you - she's the guilty party responsible for my purchase of not one but two boas. You won't get an additional discount but maybe a smile.

Yellow Skirt Freak Show Update!! and more...

Temptress Amber  of  Butane Anvil

has had her way with

the Travelling Yellow Skirt HERE,

and so has her HEN!!? 

See her twirl, mysterious in the cracking light

DO NOT MISS THE

Freakishly Wonderful Styling of this World Wonder

Go! GO NOW!!

_________________________________________________________

In more mundane news, I have finished my stretchy-boot upcycling project. (What a let-down topic after Temptress Amber and her Alpha Hen...)

BEFORE (as seen in post of May 13, Lurex in the alley)

AFTER

Groovalicious boots of blue and aqua MADNESS. I am very satisfied, I am.

Here's the process.

NOTE: I do not recommend painting stretchy fabric but desperate boots require desperate measures.

HOW TO:

1. Cleaning/Mending. I scraped and picked the remaining vinyl stretchy bits off the boot uppers to the extent possible with a wire brush and toothbrush and thoroughly cleaned and sandpapered the smooth surfaces. I sewed up a rip in the rear seam of the upper too.
2. Masking. I taped the boot soles and zippers with painters' tape and masked my calves with paper towel because I had to wear the boots during painting to reduce paint-cracking later.
3. Base coat. While wearing the boots, I applied two coats of gesso as a primer using my fingers to avoid brush marks. I wore rubber gloves for this. Although gesso is more brittle than regular acrylic paint, I wanted super coverage and adhesion on the stretchy black substrate, especially on the fleece-like areas where the adhesive wouldn't come off.
4. Painting. I applied coloured acrylic paint with rubber-gloved fingers. I wanted colour variation so one boot is noticeably more greenish than the other. For a clean line, I hand-brushed areas along the zipper and sole.
5. Finishing. I applied a coat of clear acrylic for protection and added shine.
6. Decoration. I hot-glued a fabric stripe down the front of the boots and added daisy zipper pulls that I bought at Dressew fabric shop for $3.00. I had to buy a glue-gun for this step.
7. DONE. But these can only be worn in fine weather. Do I care? NON!

This project took a couple of days with all the fiddly scraping, masking, and multiple coats of paint (while I was wearing the boots), but the time was worth it. Depending on how gingerly I wear these (not very I imagine) these boots will last a little longer, and when they start to deteriorate more, I'll love going crazy with more paint AND safety pins. The good thing about working on something I would otherwise junk is there is no risk of screw-up; that's true freedom.

I owe this project's success to Pao at Project Minima where I first learnt about shoe-painting. Hugs to you, Pao and all the other bloggers I have seen since in their upcycled footwear.

AND - 

Over at blog taibhsearachd (Gaelic for second sight), Janet of Yellowknife in the Yukon was needing an emergency yellow skirt fix so she upcycled a big sundress into her own version of it.  

Very cool - the perfect outfit for this beautiful indoor garden. Thanks, Janet. Gorgeous.

That's all from here. Hope you're having a swell week, everyone!

Am I just a reflection?

Do I exist?

I see my reflection.

I feel the wind on my cheek.

I hear my heels clack on the sidewalk.

But how do I know it's real?

How do I know any of this is real?



I caught this image in the mirrored window of a local business. It's Sunday so I hope they were closed.

The white letters in the photo are a poem that someone has stuck to the window - and someone else has unstuck. My sweater has the word "Wi" (why) on it.

Sometimes when I come out of my coffee shop after journaling, my mind stays behind at my little table, still ruminating over those pages which are now safely stowed at my side in my toolbox handbag.

This dress has headed to the donation pile more than once, but this morning I found a rescue and it's now one of my favourite pieces. I put mitten clips on the sides to shorten it which created this interesting pear shape. The knit sweater was also destined for redonation until I chopped it off, hemmed it, and embroidered that kitty head with the sticking-out-tongue on it yesterday. I didn't use a pattern, I just started, and I'm glad I left everything to chance because being raw it feels alive. I started to stitch "Why?" but decided it would be too long and stopped abruptly before I had finished the "H," only to realize that the H arm could transform conveniently into an "i" with the addition of a dot - same word, different spelling. "Wi."

The mitten clips were only 50 cents a pair at my favourite local fabric shop, Dressew. From them I also bought yarn, a bag of 3 balls of odd eyelash black yarn with metallic silver threads, for $3.99, and a pair of metal darning needles for 25 cents.

Those are my cool stripey socks over my cool plaid leggings in dark brown with blue and rust-coloured lines. I had to play with the photo contrast and colour to get that pattern to show even faintly. I brought along my brown wool shawl but didn't need it; my knit top was perfect for this cool sunny day.

Details

• dark brown dress with squiggles, rescued, sample sale
• mitten clips, Dressew, 50 cents, new old stock I presume
• plaid leggings and stripey socks, retail
• black knit skirt worn under dress for warmth and dress-flying-up protection, sample sale
• buttery-soft brown leather ankle boots, thrifted, Value Village, $7 I think (1/2 price day)
• knit top, thrifted, Value Village, upcycled with scissors and yarn

I'd never embroidered with yarn before but the idea of stitching big yarn into loose knits appealed to the slacker sewist in me - you can accomplish a lot in a very short period of time. I'm on a roll now...

My hair has finally taken root in the sense that the white colour feels Right now. Since I had my hair done, the transformation was not sitting well on my head. I think I feel better because I've been experimenting with cosmetics, which has been very exciting. I'll post some photos soon. If only these products would come off my face with as much fun as they go on.

I'm heading to Patti's Visible Monday to see all of you in pixelated reflections. How odd is that? How interesting and great that we can slip into this netherworld of hardware and dots of light.

PS. VOGOFF magazine has put out a call for submissions. Check my previous post for details if you're interested.

Do these booties make me look like...

...I'm having too much fun? Because I am! And they passed the new-footwear test - I survived my inspiration walk without a single blister. These heels are not as challenging as some others in my closet because of the built-in platform.

I made the skirt from a new old-stock roll-end of fabric from my favourite fabric store, Dressew. It is a stretch synthetic blend that feels like a thick '70s ski-pant fabric. I simply stitched the piece together at the back and hemmed the top, bottom, and back slit. Done. No zippers or buttons. But...this skirt does have a tendency to slide down my body so I added the suspenders. 

In typical slacker fashion I made a single cross-sling suspender which would involve less sewing. Sewing was required because the device is made from backpack strapping with little clips sewn onto the ends, and the strapping had to be shortened. It also has a backpack-type clasp which you can see at the front, and a little pouch on the back side of it to carry pens and such. Handy! Plus, I didn't have another suspender even if I wanted to maintain some symmetry.

The stuff:

• skirt, I made from new old-stock fabric
• suspenders, I made from bits and pieces
• ivory silk blouse with mother-of-pearl heart-shaped buttons, old, retail
• black glitter platform booties with wood heel, retail (shameful!)
• black compression knee socks (because they don't fall down), retail
• two vintage slips, thrifted, for warmth
• brown wool cape, not shown, super sale, retail

About the booties, they are the worst quality I have experienced in years -  that will teach me to buy retail. When I got home from this inaugural walk the soles had divots all over them. Worn once and already I have to take them preemptively to the cobbler for shoring up. I'd feel totally ripped off if I didn't love the profile and the glitter so much.

Here is a close-up of the crappy, dreamy booties.

They came with black laces but I replaced them with these mismatched laces made from strips of kimono fabric. The laces were given to me by my friend Sharron, whom I recently featured on my street style blog - here.

Overall, while everyone outside today was huddled under their umbrellas (a light sprinkle), I was ready for some serious ninja action, power-infused by home-made style and glitter booties. New song of the day: "Your Sole has Divots."

If you had to write a song about your day, what would you call it? Hugs, all.

Maxi dress across the universe

Such a huge job for such a wee maxi dress - transporting me across the universe - all for the low, low price of $4.99 at local fabric mecca Dessew.

The dress is a new old stock garment made of jersey knit fabric so the plasticization effect that often occurs with old polyester is not quite as deliciously cringeworthy as it would be with a heavier-weight fabric. The triad of blue, striped middle, and bottom are cleverly sewn into unified magnificence. I love the shoulder pads in this too, which is odd because it's one of the first items to go when I buy a period piece. 

Obviously I am continuing the space theme I started a couple of posts ago. I carried my gold bag out again to protect from cosmic rays, but I think in this dress I am impervious to meteor showers, cosmic rays, and other such space matters - except Dr. Spock.

Details of the outfit:

• new old stock maxi dress, fabric shop Dressew
• long-sleeved black T under short-sleeved dress
• black tights, retail
• Frump heels, retail
• universe, free for all

It looks like I'm falling from one world into another and orange energy is spewing out of my head. I sometimes feel like the expression on my face. 

I didn't retouch these photos except to crop them - I simply curled onto my painting's surface on the floor under my camera, which was balanced (precariously!) on its tripod jammed into the painting rack. I don't have a remote so running back and forth with the timer was challenging - especially when the shot demanded absolute repose in the galaxy enveloping me.

Below is an excerpt of lyrics from the Beatles song Across the Universe:

Images of broken light

Which dance before me like a million eyes

They call me on and on across the universe

Thoughts meander like a restless wind 

Inside a letter box 

They tumble blindly as they make their way

Across the universe

I did that painting a few years ago. It's big, and until now I never much cared for its galactic imagery; now I love it. If you've got art you are not fond of, try putting it on the floor and rolling around on it - and photographing the process. I guarantee you'll feel differently about it afterwards...

Gorgeous Patti is hosting her magnificent Visible Monday again. Of course Monday's there are great, but her blog is welcoming any day of the week: Not Dead Yet Style.

PS - If you couldn't watch my band's (Just Bad Enough) debut "music" video on your system, I've put it on YouTube. Fabulous Miss Simmonds commented already because I gave her a sneak peek, but sadly I took down the original (and her comment - so sorry!) because I reposted it with better quality. So if you haven't seen it yet and want to question my taste even more, go have a look. Watch out for Language.