December 13, 2012

DIY Hardware Necklace

Merry Christmas, ya filthy animal! 
Your gift this year is two DIY posts in one week. (I know I'm like 2 weeks early, but 'tis the season... right? Plus, Hannukah is happening RIGHT NOW, so...)
Remember the days when I had the time and ability to post 5 times a week?! Old times were good times. 
But new times aren't so bad. I mean... I have a life these days, and that's pretty cool. Definitely not mad about that.

Last time we met, I told you about my adventures in the Home Depot. I failed to mention that in addition to plumbing parts, I also purchased some small pieces of hardware that caught my eye. Yes, sometimes hardware catches my eye. No, I do not think this is peculiar, hardware jewelry is in and I'm on the train.
Get with it, guys.  

I used one variety of such items to create this radsicle geometric necklace:
(Can we make 'radsicle' a thing? Please?!)
Ya, I know. It looks good. 

And, ya, that is a nebulae backdrop. I got this excellent book at The Strand called 'Far Out: A Space and Time Chronicle' and now it is my favorite thing in the entire world ever. It's a coffee table book featuring images of all the nebulae and it makes me so super happy. Let me describe how I feel when I open this book using a rage face:
Ya, it's like that. 

December 11, 2012

DIY Hardware Candelabra

My particular neighborhood in Brooklyn (Bed -Stuy) is not considered the most desirable location. It is my humble opinion that that's complete bull-shit because it's an awesome place.
...At least in my area. Further out may not be cool. I don't know, I don't usually wander too far over.

In any event, I'm not really mad about the dangerous reputation because, quite frankly, it makes me look like a bad-ass when I tell people where I live. Also, the rent is still manageable and that's simply the tits. 

 But, despite popular belief, Bed-stuy is a really great place. Apparently they say that it is gentrifying faster than Bushwick because it's so architecturally beautiful, and lezzbe honest, Bushwick is nasty. The community here is super friendly and people don't act like isolated robots while walking down the street. People say 'Good Morning!' and cheer you on if you run past. Most importantly, and pay attention, I am walking distance from a mother fucking Home Depot. Walking distance! 

I could go on about the greatness of Bed-Stuy, but Home Depot is kind of the agenda for this post. I went on a long walk to Clinton Hill on Saturday and hit up the new Utrecht store near Pratt to get some art supplies and maybe a descent bagel. (Bagel was a fail. I didn't know they made bad bagels in New York. I was not pleased.) 

I decided to take the less scenic route home and stop off at the Home Depot to browse their hardware. I can't really explain that impulse. It's completely out of character and my mother will probably become worried when she reads this. We are not Home Depot kind of girls, but I found myself in the plumbing aisle browsing hardware materials. Glamourous, I know. But that's when genius struck.

Hardware Candelabra!

Side story, in college I worked at the Free Poeple store. It was cool because I didn't have much cash and I got 40% off at Free People, Urban Outfitters, and Anthropologie. Not a bad deal in exchange for being a retail slave. I bought these awesome candles that drip colors when they burn from Urban for my then-future apartment. I unearthed them while engaging in my aggressive pre-thanksgiving fall cleaning event and decided I really needed some bomb candelabras to let these babies burn. They have been waiting for this moment for years.

And then in Home Depot I was all like, Eureka! I shall make industrial candelabras for my cool drippy candles and it shall be wonderful. This shall redeem my shitty weekend and I shall be happy with my creation.

Three hours of scouring one shelf later, I found the correctly
shaped and sized parts. (Acutally no I definitely did not - one of the employees finally came over to help me. He/she found everything I needed.) I went straight home, inhaled my crappy bagel, ignored my new art supplies from Utrecht, and made these:
Yes, that is a phonograph. Yes, I do use it to listen to records. Yes, it is awesome. Yes, stealing it from my parent's basement is the most 'hipster' thing I have ever done. No, I'm not sorry. Yes, Haters gon' hate. 
In the meantime, I'll be here, listening to beautiful music. 

November 29, 2012

DIY White Button Down Shirt: REMIX

As Lena Dunham so accurately describes in her show 'Girls,' the post college era is a mess. A real shit-show. It sucks for everyone. It is confusing, poor, full of bad decisions, peppered with low self-esteem, and generally not sober. Hopefully, in spite of that, or maybe because of that, it is also a time of great growth. 

I would like (hope) to think that I have officially passed the 'post-college' phase. I have a steady job, I'm killing it on the blog (yeah, I'm tooting my own horn - my stats are excellent), I have my own apartment that I actually really really like, I finally know how to cook a healthy meal and can manage to do the dishes afterwards, I like my friends, my furniture (kind of) looks intentional, I can afford a nice meal, I have a kitchen table and I use it, I belong to Equinox - most of the ingredients for functioning adulthood. SCORE.

I first realized what a changed bird I was a few weeks ago. A foreign friend came over for dinner. We had not had a hang-in since college. He was amazed at my life and kept asking how proud my parents were of who I have become. I was confused, because even though my parents are very loving and proud, they have not been exceedingly, extra proud since I last saw said foreign friend. In fact, they were probably more proud then because, ya know, I was graduating college and that's kind of a big deal. It was clear there had been much time and space since my amigo had last come around and he was in shock to see that I was no longer a dysfunctional college student. (Go me!)

Then again, right before I headed home for Thanksgiving. I was doing Fall Cleaning (Let's make that a thing instead of spring cleaning. I am so much more inclined to stay inside and scrub when it's cold than on a lovely spring day.) and found my sketchbook from freshman year. That thing was DARK. I don't at all recognize the person in those pages. Strange, because these days I wear a lot more black, much less glitter, and absolutely no peace signs. (Not even sorry.)

Speaking of, I also found some photos from my college days and another mammoth change has been my wardrobe. Granny-chic is not my thing anymore. Nor is hippy-dippy. Nor is desperate wannabe hipster. Also, I grew out my short granny hair and decided to stop wearing particularly baggy, shapeless dresses and intentionally ugly glasses. I used to look like a person who has many, mulitple cats, and was proud of it. I don't. I have one cat and that's enough. Maybe one day I'll share a photo of my college ID, because it is HILARIOUS. Today is not that day, though.
Too soon.
Sorry. 

As I filed through old photos I began to comprehend how much clothing I have purchased and soon after discarded over the years. Super wasteful. So, point of this very long, self-appraising story, happening now: I have pledged to try to 'upcycle' my clothes before committing them to the red cross.
(See how I used 'try'? Giving myself an out. Because my follow through is lackluster at best.)

I had previously purchased an over-sized white sheer button down from American Apparel back in my I-prefer-to-wear-clothes-that-look-like-bags days. I have been thinking about eradicating the thing for a while because I never wear it. Part of this has to do with the shape (or lack there of), but I think it mostly has to do with the shitty detailing. Let me clarify: AA is great for basics. However, anything beyond a t-shirt, leggings, or tights is usually poorly sewn and has crappy details. Case in point, the aforementioned shirt. Whoever chose the buttons on that shirt should leave the fashion industry. It's not for you. 

This is what the updated shirt looks like now:

This is the lame before version:
OK, it doesn't look THAT bad in this photo, but you have to remember, this is the BEST CASE SCENARIO for the shirt. It will never actually be this clean, or pressed, or on a model figure, or professionally photographed. Notice how the fabric pulls near the seams on my shirt but not on the model's. Just sayin' - IRL, it's a very different shirt. 

So I made it better with pretty buttons. Duh. 

November 15, 2012

Find Me At The Craft Fair!

Since I already know you are planning to come hang out at the Renegade Craft Fair Holiday Market in Brooklyn this weekend that I told you about here and here, let me show you where you can find me when you arrive!

Check out this sweet map that the bad-asses at Renegade provided:

I am booth No. 2. Right near the food! And the photo booth! And the muthafuckin' DJ! And far from the stinky bathrooms! Score.

I'm  super excited about meeting all ya fools. 

LET'S BE FRIENDS, YO.