tie dye and lace: an outfit post

you know, i'm almost embarrassed to post this (almost embarrassed meaning i questioned posting a few times, but not quite embarrassed enough to not post it) because the pictures, well, they're crap. pure crap. i can't be entirely to blame though; in the words of milli vanilli, or the person who was really singing, "blame it on the rain, yeah yeaaahhh." the sun is finally back out today, but yesterday and the day before pretty much looked like dusk all day long. so dark and dreary i couldn't have taken a clear, non-grainy picture if i'd wanted to! but graininess aside, i wanted to show you something...

scarf: i don't remember, jacket: american eagle via tj maxx, dress: tj maxx, hand-dyed slipdress: lost cabin vintage, patterned tights: target, riding boots: vintage, arm party: vintage and flytiers jewelbox

the thing i was so excited about showing you is my dyed slipdress courtesy of the always-charming toni from lost cabin vintage! toni is awesome, and i've loved getting to know her through her blog and our daily emails. isn't that slipdress amazing though?! i really wish my pictures would have turned out better, and i even though about changing back into that outfit when i get home today to redo my pictures since it's sunny, but i know i won't have time before i leave to go see breaking dawn, and i've just been about to die to share! i can't wait until i can wear it so that you see more of it, but when the high is only in the 40's and it's windy, well, layers are essential! so, there you have it, one of my favorite new pieces in my closet!

i hope you guys have a great weekend, and PUH-LEASE come back on monday because there's going to be something very, very special waiting for you!

hey kona, what are you doing today?

i took these pictures of kona over the course of a few hours one day, and to be honest, i could have taken them over the course of 72 hours and they wouldn't look any different! my poor boy, he must get so worn out from all that dreaming, sleeping, and yawning...

snore. snooooore. snore. dream whimper. snore. snore.

"what are you doing? i'm too tired to open both eyes and figure it out for myself. i was in the middle of a really good dream, too."

hey, are you awake? kona? hey, did you fall asleep again already? hey. alright fine, i guess you're sleeping again.

kona, wake up! i just want to play with you. who wants a goodie?! "a goodie?! i'm awake! both my eyes are open now!" yeah, i thought that might get your attention.

"okay, i'm getting kind of tired. would you mind going and doing something quietly so i can relax for a little while? i'm drained"

what i've been working on...

lately i've been working my hands to the bone. okay, that's a bit of an exaggeration, but it's almost true; i got some metal splinters that i still can't pick out, so that's close enough, right? *edit* after i posted this i went to work hammering out a bracelet, and also hammered my finger. i wasn't sure for a little while whether or not it was broken, but i think it's still in one piece, just a nasty shade of purple! in addition to making some new pieces for my shop, i've also been working diligently to finish up a large batch of jewelry for the bridge's holiday shop, and last but not least, a few pieces for tumbleweeds' store in san diego!

and while we're on the subject of jewels, i just wanted to say (for anyone who might be in the market for jewelry for themselves or as a christmas gift, etc.) for a few more days i'll be donating 15% of sales from my shop to the rachael horton compassionate care fund, so get some new bling and help an animal at the same time!

have you been working on anything lately? if you have a shop, are you prepared for a christmas shopping rush?

if you can't buy it, make it: an outfit post

you know how sometimes you feel such a sense of accomplishment, and it just puts a smile on your face that almost nothing can take off? well, since i'm no seamstress, when i wear something that i've made of significantly altered, i also wear that smile. last friday i told you that i was wearing a skirt i made, so of course i wanted to do an outfit post showing it!

jacket: thrifted, shirt: forever 21, necklace: dinosaur toes, skirt: made by me!, boots: vintage

i never really had any intention of making my own lace skirt until... THE UNTHINKABLE HAPPENED. let me start from the beginning. it was a rainy day, that april 16th, circa 2pm. i can remember because it was my birthday, also known as the only day i can get chris to come shopping with me for clothes. we went to forever 21 where i tried on a small mountain of clothes, but had to narrow down my choices seeing as how i'd left a stack of birthday cash at home;i figured i could come back for the rest of it - the rest of it including one beautiful lace skirt. i went back not quite one week later and just inside the door was yellow tape blocking any entry into the store, and beyond the yellow tape, the only things left in the store were two or three racks of clothes and a few boxes. i tried to stay calm and tell myself that they were remodeling the store, but i won't lie, i was terrified. so four or five days later i went back to get the skirt i so highly coveted, only to find and empty store and a sign on the door telling me THEY LEFT! i think the angels cried right along with me that day. so, i didn't buy the skirt, and i figured i'd try my hand at making one (i still want that forever 21 skirt thought).

now that i've told you the good part about making something, it's time to get to the honest part. i used a pattern twice before on clothing i've made (a wrap skirt, and a pair of leggings), and to be honest, i just didn't like it. i know that there may not be as much error involved in working from a pattern, but personally i just feel like there's not as much room for creativity when i use a pattern. so, in true danielle style, i laid on top of the fabric, put little marks to know how wide i was and went from there! it generally works fine, but one thing i didn't take into account quite as much as i should have: this fabric doesn't have any stretch. the skirt fits fine, but the only thing is, it's just barely big enough to pull the smaller waist over my butt without ripping seams! so, the good news is, if i keep this skirt out in plain sight, it might keep me from eating donuts for a meal for example, because hey, if i do, i won't be able to wear the skirt!

have you ever made any clothes? what did you make?

P.S. don't forget to enter THE GIVEAWAY that ends later this week!

my pop's ghosts

yesterday was a really nice day. although i'd told myself on friday that i would board up my windows and doors, unplug the phones and disconnect from society altogether so that i could get some jewelry finished for a gallery's holiday shop, i did no such thing. instead i saw two aunts, two cousins, and then finished the evening off with dinner at my pop's house. so, although i may not have made any jewelry, at least i had quality family time, right? after dinner we started a conversation that i want to share, but just to put you on edge and give you a little scary visual stimulation, check out a ghoulish awkward family photo...

monster teeth suckers courtesy of auntie amy! okay, now begins the story. when i used to live with pop and tricia, it wasn't unusual to find lights turned on, or turned off, to hear the stereo turn itself on, to hear footsteps when no one else was home, etc. it got to be that we were used to getting up in the night, knowing we'd turned a lamp off, only to find it, and maybe a radio, turned on at 3am. all of us at some point went looking for the person creating the loud walking noises, only to find that no one else was home. that went on for years, and pop would always tell me that he knew, as we all did, that there was some sort of spirit, ghost, whatever you'd like to call it, in the house. i told him several times that i wanted to come over with a recorder and try to record some white noise, but of course i was always too scared. lately though, it's gone from things turning on and off, and hearing "people" walking, to these spirits making themselves known even more.

several times now my dad has seen these smoky silhouettes; once standing in the doorway when he was watching TV, another time when he got out of the shower, and the only time it really scared him - when he was outside in his shed. he's also had them say things to him. when tricia was telling him one evening that she wakes up at night with her arms numb, a woman's voice said in his ear, "oh my!" he's been greeted with a "hey!" when he's gotten home from work, and he's heard distant voices going up the steps. i asked him if he was scared at all, and he said it wasn't fear he felt, but more of an anxiety. the one time though he was scared was when he saw the figure outside twice within a few minutes. about that one he said, "it scared the hell out me!" when i asked him why that one scared him but not the others, he said he figured it was because he was used to it in the house, but he wasn't prepared for it outside!

in conversation at work one day, one of my stepmom's co-workers mentioned this lady she knew that was a psychic or medium (i'm not sure what term she uses). dad and tricia met her one evening, and when she shook my dad's hand, she said she could tell that it was him they were connected to, because he was a free spirit with an open mind, and that he wasn't scared. she also said they were most likely just trying to make some sort of contact and that she would really like to visit their house one day to see what she can find out.

i don't know if you believe in this sort of thing, but i can tell you that I DO. i've always believed that spirits, or ghosts, are right here with us, and some of us (not me, because i'm too scared) are perceptive enough to be able to communicate with or see them. i also believe in these things because i lived in that house long enough to know that there were other people there besides my dad, stepmom and siblings! so let me ask you, have you ever had a paranormal experience? if so, i'm curious, tell me about it!