The Necklaces-K

If I had thought ahead, I would have taken a million pictures of the process of my making the necklaces.  That is, if I had thought ahead.  But I probably would have had way less fun and not changed techniques so much between necklaces.  On A’s necklace (the blue one), I tried to make it girly using bows and matching colors.  I wanted to counteract the industrialness of the nuts and chain I used in the necklace.  With my necklace, it was more about the pop of color than the way the ribbons look. 

            That being said, I had a blast with my first DIY project!  I went to the local craft store (not the fabric store) and looked around for what must have been half an hour trying to find stuff to make the necklaces.  The nuts and chains are from a brand called Industrial Chic (examples of their stuff is here: http://www.michaels.com/Industrial-Chic%E2%84%A2/products-beads-collections-industrialchic,default,sc.html, but I would recommend looking at your store for more options) , and the ribbon is just a yard each of four different colors.  The width doesn’t really matter, if your fingers are nibble enough.  I decided what I wanted to do and played around with different ways to do it.  Trust me, I know it’s vague, but the best way to make things your own is to realize what you want on your jewelry.  I didn’t have a plan, which made things harder when it came time for my own necklace.

            The whole price tag for the two necklaces was less than $20.  At most stores, a similar necklace would be upwards of $25.  Sure, there are some frayed ribbons, but if it unravels, it only costs $0.70 to replace and you know exactly how to fix it! The necklaces took under an hour to make, although I was sitting in front of the TV tinkering with them for a total of three hours.  Although I love the feel and look of DIY stuff, I didn’t want random frayed ribbon edges hanging out.  In the end, I turned A’s ends into bows and tucked my ends into other parts of the necklace.  It took awhile to figure out, but in the end it looked much cleaner.

            Of course, the best part of any DIY (or so I assume, as this was my first real one) is taking your piece out for a spin.  A and I wore them the same day, at a barbeque her family threw, so I was lucky enough to see them both in action.  Because of the strong colors, I would recommend wearing the cool, but neutral outfit. A rocks out a black and white jumper (jealous!) and I bounced around in a black ballerina-esque dress.  If you have more chill colors, wear more out there clothes, but I like statement pieces to shine (especially when I put so much work into them!!). 

            I am going to attempt to be slightly more adventurous in my next foray into DIY.  I am going to accent an old school sweater I have into something I might actually wear now.  I love the shape and size of the sweater, but with the super fantastic school initials and the dull navy blue color, I can’t seem to find anything to wear it.  I have a slight idea what I plan to do with it, but am open to suggestions, if anyone has any.  So they say a picture is worth a thousand words, and I have two for you here.  These are the necklaces.  Again, A’s is the blue and mine is the purple and green.  Enjoy and have fun making your own!

DIM- K

            This month, I chose to Do-It-Myself.  This should come as a surprise to anyone who has ever seen me attempt to make craft like things.  I can appreciate crafts and hand made objects, but my ability to create such objects myself, even when presented with step by step, no frills, so-easy-a-kindergartener-could-do-it instructions. 

            In order to begin my quest into craftdom, I visited my local library.  And then I paid a visit to the bookstore, then two craft stores in my town.  None of these three places had what I needed (not that I could quite put my finger on what I needed…).  I wanted a book that wasn’t kitschy, wasn’t filled with over complex or kindergarten material, and could help me in my quest for summer projects.  I couldn’t find a single book that fit that description to a T.  Perhaps I was being overly picky, but hey, I’m a new comer, I don’t need a specialized book on collage or jewelry (as cool as that may be). 

            I got home and continued my search on the world wide web.  Since most of the thing I plan on making will probably be from much cooler, more specific DIY blogs and websites, I’ll spare the details here (but I’ll link the site if you are interested in making some of the stuff for yourself).  I won’t tell you HOW to make it, but I can sure let you know what I did to make it more personal.

            The idea of DIY is that not only is it kind of a cool thought.  Taking something that used to be one thing and transforming it into a pillow, a blanket, or a corkboard is pretty awesome.  Things with past lives are so much more interesting to look at and think about.  Think about vintage jewelry and clothes.  Those pieces have seen so much, it’s amazing to think about stories they lived through. DIY is kind of like that.  Taking pictures, old clothes, and random baubles and giving them a new life and function gives the thing you are making (and maybe gifting) more depth.

            I plan on fully appreciating everything I make this month.  In high school, I left my last (mandatory) art class to the second semester of my senior year.  I was never the biggest person for creating.  Hopefully the things I make this month will inspire me to take stuff I don’t use or wear anymore and breath some life into them.

So what am I going to make this month?  Good question.  I will strive for 3 items, and we’ll see how well I do.  Item one will be made out of my old tee shirts.  I’ve always thought of making a blanket or quilt out of them, but I’m not sure I have enough shirts for it.  In my web travels, I’m sure I’ll find plenty of things to do with old, soft cloth that’ll give my dorm room a little oomph.  My second item will (I think) be some kind of clothing piece.  I could try some cool ideas for tie-dying ad revamping, and it’s always fun to get kind of messy.  I’m going to try and push to make something I might actually WEAR.  No random tee shirt I never take out of my drawer.  If I’m not excited to put it on, it is not worth the time and effort I am taking into making it.  The last thing I want to make is a cool piece of jewelry.  I accidentally left almost all of my jewelry at school (I think) and desperately need something to spruce up my summer outfits.  That should be simple, considering the number of jewelry making books available in every nook of the craft stores. 

So now I’ve outlined the month, and I have to search for cool things to do myself to keep me busy and my mom (Hi, Mom!) from going crazy with me just hanging around the house all day.  If anyone knows of any crafty things, feel free to send them my way in the comment section!

You Know What They Say About All Good Things -K

Harry Potter was my childhood.  When I think of the books, movies, and toys I needed (not just wanted), most of them are Harry Potter related.   I waited in line for the last book, and I’ve gotten tickets for both of the book 7 movies.  It is nearly impossible to believe that the era is almost at an end.  My kids, my grandkids even, might know what the series is.  They might read them, just like we’ve read C. S. Lewis and they might even like them.  But after this weekend, the magic and energy every Harry Potter fan experienced will be gone.

            Call me dramatic if you will, but I have been caught up in the phenomenon.  I collected the collectables, I played the board games, and I even read the websites.  Nothing was enough.  I could not get enough of the new material.  Going into the movie this weekend, even though I know what happens, it becomes real up on the screen.  I knew kids who thought Hogwarts would send them an owl on their 11^th birthday.  Those kids have grown up.  They are in high school (hopefully not watching Twilight) and though they might still be fans, they stopped thinking one day they’d be learning from Professor Flitwick.

            For just a night, I want to believe magic is real and that Hagrid exists.  Evil can be defeated by a 17 year old boy and his awesome friends.  For a night, we should be those kids who were so excited we stayed up all night with a flashlight under the covers reading those books (no? Just me? Really? Moving on then…).  Harry Potter was new, and fun, and as I got older, so did the characters and they grew up just like me.  J.K. Rowling made me want to read and know all the little details that made those books so interesting and intricate. 

            I am obsessed, but not like I used to be.  Staying on the phone for hours just quizzing friends on the smallest details (Hermione’s eye color?) was the height of my day when I was younger.  I haven’t been so excited about that kind of stuff in years.  I haven’t wanted to stay up all night to read, or known about a book weeks before you could even pre-order it.  Was it the book, or was it just how kids are and as you grow up, things like that fade away? 

            I don’t want my excitement to fade away with my years.  The depressing thought that I might never be as excited for a movie as I am for this movie is astounding.  I was bouncing up and down the day the first movie came out and haven’t missed out on an opening weekend since.  The anticipation right when the lights dim, the deep breath everyone takes when the lightning bolt like name pops up on the screen- I can’t imagine never wanting to see a movie so much that I hold my breath beforehand.

            I hope everyone has something in their lives that has been so exciting and obsessive as Harry Potter has been for so many people.  The idea might be silly (a book series making me so excited), but sometimes it’s the light and fluffy things that give you the biggest rush.  Beating the Angry Birds level and seeing a new movie with an actress you really love can be the most fun part of the day. 

Everyone needs to go into this weekend believing in the magic of a group of people so excited by a story, so inspired that they’ve spent 11 years of their lives watching and reading.  They should appreciate the people who spent years and years of their lives trying to figure out what was going on in J.K. Rowling’s head.  This weekend, the last movie comes out and Harry Potter will slowly fade away into another amazing series, but to our generation, it wasn’t just a series.  For many of us, it was the first chapter book we read by ourselves, our first brush with magic, and the first time we were left wanting more. 

Day in the Life of a Beauty Product Addict -K

Now, as you may have gathered these past two weeks, I am a fan of the beauty product.  Walking into my bathroom is akin to stepping into Target and Sephora’s lovechild.  The view from my bed contains three types of lotion (all used for different things).  To the casual observer, this may sound like I am an unattractive girl attempting to overcompensate for my failings.  Truth is, I’m a fan of my looks.  I just feel a hundred times better with soft elbows and smooth legs. 

            That being said, I am absolutely an addict.  I could spend 8 hours in a makeup store debating between red lipsticks and colored eyeliner.  Just to prove to myself (and my lovely boyfriend) that everything serves a defined purpose, I’m going to document my day, start to finish, in terms of what I use and why I love to use it. 

The day starts at 10 AM.  I brush my teeth and wash/tone/moisturize my face.  To be honest, it’s the least favorite part of my day.  I hate washing my face (I turn the color of a tomato), so generally I do smaller tasks in the middle.  I put in my contacts and such to prepare for the real challenge: the make up.  Six days a week (at most) I wear make up out and about. 

Make up is the one part of an outfit that can always be daring.  On any given day, a woman has to make the decision- eyes or lips, sharp or soft, fun or natural.  All of those decisions factor into one face that shows the world what you are.  And nothing shows your mood or the ways you are different day to day more than your makeup.  One day, my lipstick may be a “trying to seem French and cultured” red, and next day it’s a “I’m going for the timeless look” coral.  If I’m working, blue eyeliner adds a splash of personality in my otherwise black attire.  Having a huge make up collection gives me a million things to do with my face, which to me is the coolest idea ever.

Throughout the day, I’m splashing on lotion and chap stick like there is no tomorrow.  Every time I pass my bathroom or rifle through my purse, I smear a little on myself.  By now, it’s more of a habit than anything else.  Nothing else to do? I’m probably a little dry on my shoulders…

Now comes the huge deal: the shower.  Body scrub, a loofa, soap, exfoliator for my face, and shampoo and conditioner make for a quick but busy shower.  I absolutely love the feeling of scrubbing myself raw to let new skin show, don’t you?  I don’t do it frequently enough to do any harm, just enough to constantly feel clean and new.  At night, washing my face is a hundred times better.  I feel so ready to dive into bed and curl up with my smooth (and covered in body butter) legs.  The feeling of ending the day just as I started it (only with softer skin), winds down the day.

Seeing my schedule laid out like this makes me rethink defining myself as an addict.  I don’t spend hours in front of the mirror fixing every little hair into the right place.  I can’t stand the feeling of caked on makeup.  I refuse to buy any moisturizer that claims to “do” something.  In that sense, I’m not an addict.

I realize this seems to be an odd follow up to last week.  It might even seem contradictory.  To me, it compliments it perfectly (let’s be real, of course I’m going to say that).  I just think people need to do what makes them feel better.  If it’s makeup (my case) or wearing sweats or even dressing up in a meat dress, being comfortable in your skin is what’s important.  I’m comfortable in lotiony skin.  What about you?

Lovin Me Some Tattoos -A

Tattoos.  People get them for all sorts of reasons.  To remember a loved one, to declare their love for someone, as a result of a drunken night; the opinions on them vary between each person.  My cousin is a tattoo artist, so he is always telling my family and I about the wide range of art that people ask him to permanently draw on their bodies.  I was chatting with my friend’s mom and she was telling me about the tattoo that her oldest daughter wants to get across her entire back: a rainbow fairy dipping her foot into a waterfall.  She was trying to figure out a way to hide her daughter’s money so that she has no way of affording such a tattoo. 

            Here’s the thing with tattoos: it’s permanent.  You will have it until you die.  People with tattoos tend to be stereotyped, and if you honestly don’t wonder about a tattoo every time you see one, you’re lying.  If you see a guy at the pool, let’s call him Tito, with tattoos covering his chest, arms, and legs, everyone assumes him to be a certain type of dude who drinks and smokes and probably doesn’t run with a great crowd.  But what if we looked closer at his tattoos?  Let’s set up a scenario:

We walk near Tito, sketchily pick a table near his so we can look at him with our sunglasses on so he doesn’t see us staring, and we start reading everything he has put on his body.  This is what we see: a bible passage on his shoulders, the face of Jesus on his forearm, a cross with a crown of thorns on his leg, and his children’s names across his chest over his heart. 

Now if you started a conversation with an untattooed man, he probably wouldn’t introduce himself by saying “Hi, I’m Dave.  I have three kids that mean the world to me, my grandfather, who I was incredibly close to, died on February 6, 2007, and I’m Methodist.”   These are things you wouldn’t ever find out about a person on your first meeting.  So instead, Tito found a way to express his beliefs and virtues via body art.  Who are we to say that tattoos shouldn’t be a perfectly acceptable way to express your religion or beliefs or important parts of your life? 

            This brings me to my point: why must religions or beliefs be expressed in a specific manner laid out by someone hundreds of years ago?  The world is changing, and in order to keep the world actively and happily engaged, I think acceptable ways of communicating faith needs to evolve. 

Example: I have Jewish friends who only go to synagogue to please their parents.  When they’re at temple, they don’t pay attention or necessarily take anything to heart.  The culture surrounding the Jewish religion engages and gives them faith more so than reciting the Torah.  Then, we have the rapper Matisyahu, a thiry-one-year-old Jewish artist with a full beard and Yarmulkes, who sold hundreds of tickets at University of Maryland to both Jewish and non-Jewish students.  

Imagine, if there were more rappers than just Matisyahu engaging the Jewish youth of today, how much faith would spread.   I was at a church service today, and it was instantly more interesting from the get-go because there was an electric guitar and tambourine accompanying the opening hymn.  So why is it that, if music is the way that people express themselves best and spread the word, religion is so stuck on classic music?

            I was on a boat with my friend’s family the other day and her mom wanted to make sure we were sailing towards the sunset at dusk, because, in her own words, “she felt closest to God at sunset.”  So why can’t we have services in the location where we feel closest to God?  The Catholic Church doesn’t marry anywhere but inside of a church, but why should couples have to choose between getting married in a place where they feel close to God and where someone tells them they should feel close to God?  What if that particular church has no meaning, but under a sunset is where you have made memories, and prayed, and had thought-provoking talks with people you care about?  It would make sense that they should be able to get married wherever they choose.

            After making a super short thought incredibly long, I just wanted to share the current thoughts that were running through my head while I sit on a lifeguard stand (I’m a lifeguard) and watch people play in the pool for hours at a time. 

Peace ‘n’ blessin’s,

A