By the sea diy mani

By the sea song  - screenshot from Sweeney Todd: The demon barber of Fleet Street  - pic via photobucket

This manicure is inspired by the song "By the sea"  from the horror musical "Sweeney Todd".The catchy motiv made me think at seafoam and retro striped swimsuits so I put them all together in a diy manicure. I hope you enjoy it.

How to make the seafoam 

You need

old brush
white nail polish

Pick some enamel with the brush.
Leave most of the color on the piece of paper.
Tap the brush on the tip of the nail.

Stripes and birds will be easy to paint with a nail brush or with a recycled eyeliner brush like the one above.
Paint little v to draw the birds that fly away.
Paint the stripes with firm hand. Pick a big drop of enamel with the brush and rotate the finger slightly to paint a straight line.

more diy mani this way.

A Moment with Alex Gorman

When and why did you decide to pursue writing as more than a hobby?

This question made me feel like my first college roommate. He and I were both in a writing class, one that every freshman was required to take. He’d sit in front of his computer to work on each assignment, only to find himself staring at the blinking cursor on the screen, unable to think of a word. Meanwhile, a few feet away, I’d be happily tapping away on the keys, the paragraphs just flowing out of me.

I know on at least one occasion, he mentioned how much this made him hate me.

As I tried to come up with a response for this post, I found myself sitting in front of my computer, staring at the blinking cursor. So I stopped trying to answer the question and spent some time thinking about it. I quickly realized that I’ve never had a moment where I decided that writing should be more than a hobby. I’d never considered writing to be a hobby at all. It’s just something I’ve always been compelled to do. The stories start to form in my mind and it’s my job to catch them, to find the right collection of words that traps them on the page. Sometimes this is euphoric, sometimes it’s a slog.

The closest I came to having a moment of decision about writing was around my mid-twenties. I had decided that I had other priorities. I chose not to focus as much energy on writing stories. I still wrote a little, blogging, doing a few articles for soccer websites, things like that. But those only offered me a partial outlet. The ideas kept building up. So I found myself leaving behind a trail of incomplete stories even during those years when I thought I didn’t want to write.

Maybe I’d decided to pull back, as young adults often do, because I was a little afraid, more of failing than of putting myself out there. Not too many people pay the bills with the written word, after all. It took a little growing up for me to realize that it wasn’t about paying the bills. It was about the stories, about learning and improving and becoming a better writer, so I could really bring those ideas to life.

The reality is that I’ve let hundreds of story ideas go, uncaptured. Some because I was too lazy to write them down, others because they never became more than a note on a scrap of paper, many because the words just never came together into a story I thought was good enough.

For those few stories that actually make the journey from idea to completed work, keeping them to myself was never really an option. I think if I considered myself a hobbyist, I’d be okay with not sharing them. But I’ve always wanted my stories to be read. After all, a story only comes to life in the head of the person reading it. I want my stories out there, moving in the world, interacting with people and helping create new ideas.

Alex Gorman lives in sunny San Diego with his wife and two children. He writes maniacally and has had work published in Big Pulp, the Triangulation Anthology and the Kazka Press.

Learn more about Alex Gorman and his adventures on his blog Nonsensicles.

A Moment with Hannah Adcock

When and why did you decide to pursue writing as more than a hobby?

I always wanted to write, or at least to make stories, since I was about six. Maybe even five. I was obsessed with rewriting fairy tales, and my own versions of them were, looking back, quite grisly. For example, Goldilocks would find Baby Bear lost in the woods and then raise him…only to have him turn around and eat her once he was big enough!

My first audience (who were my nan and mum) would read these stories and be going, “Why so gory? What did she do to deserve that?” - and laughing - and I’d say, “’Cause it’s funny.”

The urge to write came to light around the same time I got the urge to make people laugh. It was only when I started to read the Roald Dahl books, and the Beatrix Potter books, and then a little later the Narnia series by C.S. Lewis, that I began to get the idea you could actually do this for a living. It was like, “Hey - wait a minute. These people are adults…and they get paid to scribble down whatever they’re daydreaming about?…I want to do that!”

I wasn’t sure how. I still wrote, though. My first novel, aged seven, was a farcical story about a family of rabbits who constantly fell out and beat each other up. From then on I was known, by close relatives, as ‘Potty Beatrix’ until I abandoned that particular book. (If you can call all of fifteen pages a book.)

I didn’t try to write a proper book again until I was just finishing my GCSEs. I have to confess, whatever opportunity I had, I’d whip out my notebook and start scrawling when I should have been revising…not in ALL my lessons, of course…how the teacher never noticed I’ll never know. But the fact is, I wanted to write more than anything else, and this was because it was about the only thing I could do well, (apart from wonky comic strips which haven’t seen the light of day). It was like swimming, or flying. Brilliant.

So, I typed up the novel, which was going to be a fantasy novel for older children - dead chuffed, had it all set up in my head - and, aged sixteen, I posted it to a publisher. And I had no idea what I was doing. No idea of how the publishing side of things worked. I was flying, yes - but by the seat of my pants.

They were very nice about it. I got a long letter back giving me words of encouragement and some suggestions about what I should try first before actually spitting out a book. Still kept the letter. I have it lurking somewhere in a frightening corner of my drawers. (Chest of drawers, in case you were wondering.)

After that I left it again for another couple of years. Did my A-levels, reasonably well, but by that time I’d decided I didn’t want Higher Education. I wanted to get off the treadmill and just get on with work. I thought I’d be a pre-school teacher and went on a childcare course for all of six months, and thought, “These people are all right, but I don’t belong here. This isn’t for me.”

So, I set out to learn a bit more - finally. I did a short course in creative writing with the Open University, read An Author’s Guide To Publishing by Michael Legat (written in the days when they still used typewriters, but still interesting), got the Writers and Artists’ Yearbook, and it was like, “Oh!” (slaps forehead) “That’s how it works! You send shorter stuff to magazines!”

I’ve been doing just that (as well as poetry) for almost a year now, and I’m overjoyed to say it’s working.

Hannah Adcock is a writer of fantasy, sci-fi and poetry (often with a humorous bent)living in a strange corner of Lincolnshire, England. Her work has appeared in Poetic Diversity, Clockwise Cat and Penumbra. She posts poetry, artwork and other oddments over at inspirationandlaughs.wordpress.com.

Learn more about Hannah Adcock her Facebook author page.

Sweet daisies DIY mani

This is just a fresh summer mani to match your girly dresses. It's very easy to do if you have a nail brush. If you haven't, you can recycle an eyeliner brush like I did today.  I washed it and used as a nail brush and worked fine.

You'll need:

white, yellow pink nail polish

Paint a layer of pink nail polish as a base.

Drop some polish on a piece of paper and pick the enamel with the nail brush.
Paint towards the outside of the nail to create the petals.
Put a drop of yellow polish at the centre to finish the daisy.

more diy manicure  this way

Roger Rabbit at Comic-Con 2013!

Comic-Con 2013 took place this past weekend in San Diego, and included a panel on the making of Who Framed Roger Rabbit?. The beloved animated movie based on the work of author Gary K. Wolf is celebrating its 25th anniversary this year, and the panel was led by a world class group of animators including producer Don Hahn, animation masters Andreas Deja and James Baxter, writer Tom Sito, special effects guru Dave Bossert, and a special appearance by the voice of Roger Rabbit himself, Charles Fleisher!

There is an audible buzz of excitement throughout the audience for the entirety of the panel, and served to be a great opportunity for fans wanting to discover the ins, outs, trials, tribulations and accomplishments of Who Framed Roger Rabbit?, both during its making and afterwards.

The panel begins by paying homage to Gary K. Wolf, who of course without his novel Who Censored Roger Rabbit?, there would be no script for the movie. The panelists then discuss how Who Framed Roger Rabbit? was one of the first movies to be a hybrid, which combines live action with animated character. At the time (1986), digital technology hadn’t progressed to the point of being even half as fast as it is now, so the movie shines as a “hand painted” work, where every facet of the animation is pure hand creation.

Charles Fleisher, the voice of Roger (as well as Benny The Cab, Greasy, and Psycho), seems very Roger-esque to this day. He hops around on the panel—alternating between sitting, standing, and cracking jokes. He also performs his Roger Rabbit voice after an audience member requests it at the drop of a hat, and it is still flawless, twenty-five years later!

Jessica Rabbit. You knew we were headed there, right? The panelists discuss how Rita Hayworth and various supermodels were inspiration for her. In fact, the animators would have supermodels come into the studio to walk and pose in order to capture an essence of Jessica on paper. Her main animator, Russell Hall, was very quiet and shy according to the panelists, and had a very hard time with her character at first. That is to say, he couldn’t quite bring her to life until he ultimately “exaggerated certain parts of the anatomy” (panelists words!). His routine was to smoke incessantly, get up and move about rather sensually around his office, then get back to his drawing board, never breaking focus. And for this quiet, chain-smoking man who danced solo around his office, we thank you for Jessica Rabbit!

The panel concludes with questions asked by audience members (one woman dressed in impeccable Jessica garb!). The best answer comes from Charles Fleisher, who when asked “How would Roger Rabbit react with current video game characters like Sonic the Hedgehog, Mario, or Optimus Prime?” responds with “He would destroy them all by making them laugh, and then stealing their batteries.”

Well said.

To watch the You Tube video of the Who Framed Roger Rabbit 25th Anniversary at San Diego Comic Con please click HERE.

Remember to be on the lookout for Gary K. Wolf’s new novel in the Roger Rabbit series, Who Wacked Roger Rabbit? available for pre-order by Musa Publishing on October 22nd, and for release on November 22nd! And be sure to check back here for any Roger related news!

How to make your manicure last longer so you have more time to craft!

pic via wola beauty

Keeping a perfect manicure is nearly impossible for diy enthusiastic like us. It doesn't matter if your favorite activity is sewing, jewelry making or artistic recycling. If you're busy pulling threads or taking off paint from your hands you'll  likely  stress and ruin your manicure. 
What can we do to make our manicure last longer?




Prevention first. In order to make your manicure last longer pay attention to a couple of details that will extend the life of your nail polish.

pic via all laquered up

Wrap your tips. The top of the nail is the most exposed to chipping. If you paint the edge of the nail, the coverage will make your manicure last longer.

pic via wikihow

Roll nail polish between hands before applying it. If you owned that bottle of nail polish for a while you'd better mix its content. The enamel will be easier to apply and you can avoid thick layers of paint that won't last long.

pic via fabfashionfix

Let it dry, but quickly. After applying nail polish I can't wait to get back to my activities and I often ruin my manicure because I'm impatient. Dip your hands into cold water for a couple of minutes to dry the polish quickly.

Coat your manicure with transparent nail polish. Ok you already know that, but that thin layer of clear polish will really extend the life of your manicure of a couple of days.

Fix it!

pic via mynailart

What to do when your manicure it's damaged. Ok so you're really proud of your latest diy masterpiece but it took a lot of glue and you're peeling it off your hands when, wait you've damaged your manicure and you have to be on the red carpet in an hour (warning, this may be a dramatization) and you don't have time to re-apply your manicure all over again.
With the remaining glue, place a giant rhinestone on top of your nails....no wait just kidding!!

Paint the tips. Nail polish damages at the top of the nail first. Fix it with a french manicure. Paint the tips with a darker color.

If the manicure is damaged and you are in a rush, paint all your nails with a darker color and relax.


 

How to wear white pants and avoid wardrobe malfunctions

Harper's Bazaar

Wear white clothes or clothes made of light weighted fabrics can be tricky because they can be transparent when worn and show undergarments. This undesirable effect can be avoided easily borrowing a trick from men wardrobe. Forget wardrobe malfunctions with a lining. In fact, men tailored trousers are lined. The lining is sewed along the trouser fabric and arrives at knee length.

 If you're making your white trousers from scratch you can cut the white lining with the same pattern of your trousers, put it over the fabric and sew all the layers at once.

If you already have a pair of white trousers

Option n°1 Take them inside out, stretch well the fabric flat and sew the lining on the seam allowance along the edges of the the front and the back panels of the trousers (stitches won't be visible on the right side of the fabric).Cut a rectangular piece of lining, pin it along the seams and cut the excess, no pattern needed. Be sure the lining is not tight and follow the seams. Cut two pieces of lining for the front and two for the back for a better fit. The length of the lining is up to you, you can make it at knee length, but the "shorts" length is perfectly fine.

Option n°2 Make a pair of shorts made of lining and sew them at the waist of the trousers or keep them detached and wear them under every light colored pair of trousers you have.

Now wear your white trousers with confidence.

the lining sewn with the trouser fabric pic via seh kelly

 men trousers inside out showing the lining - pic via a tailored suit

A Moment with J.M. Scott

When did you first become interested in writing?

I became interested in writing fiction when I was at San Francisco State University. Between classes, I had a lot of down time, so reading more than just my text books became a standard practice. I’d spend many foggy afternoons enjoying the works of authors like Peter Benchley, Michael Chrichton, and occasionally, Stephen King. I respected their creativity, but at that point in my life, never thought that I would try to write my own stories.

During my senior year, I took an advanced screenwriting course. It was very educational but extremely labor intensive. The instructor wanted a completed script by the end of the term. Needless to say, I spent countless hours penning my screenplay. When it was time to turn in the assignment, only a few students had completed the work. The sheer volume of the project had disenchanted many of my fellow writers. It was then that I thought I might have the qualifying skills to merit publication. I wrote a couple science fiction pieces and eventually sold one to an online magazine. That same summer, I was hired as an English teacher at a local high school. I was very enthusiastic about my new job, so I went back to earn a master’s degree in Education. Unfortunately, because of the demands of my fledgling career I had to place writing on hold.

Over the years, I’ve had the opportunity to read and teach many incredible works of literature, but I always felt that there was something missing. Most English teachers appreciate and critique the written word often, but few make an attempt to publish work for other people to read. It became important to me to show my students that I could demonstrate the skills that I was teaching them, so one fateful day I started typing.

I made every mistake in the book, but after two years of believing in myself and listening closely to editors and other trained authors, I started to find some success. I finished my first novel, Tarus Falls, and was able to write several short stories that are either out for consideration, or have been published.

I enjoy the craft immensely and still get excited when I take a course or purchase a new book on writing. Optimistically, I’ll continue to learn with each word that I press onto the page, and with a little luck, build a readership that will enjoy my work for years to come.

J.M. Scott is a writer from Fremont, California. When he is not working on his next story, he enjoys an active life of scuba diving, Aikido, and amateur marksmanship.

Peek-a-boo - DIY your sheer with scissors

Dior spring 2013 pic via splurgerina

See-through garments are a hit of the season. They're intriguing and with the proper cuts you can show just the right amount of skin without reveal too much.
Your new sheer garments are those you already have in your wardrobe after a quick refashion treatment. Sheer panels can be smart too. You can cut away faults, enlarge clothes that are too tight, renew garments you don't wear because they are so last season.
Get inspired by some of the season hottest pieces and make your sheer garment with a pair of scissors.

Misterious, elegant and feminine, this Dior gown has a romantic allure given by the embroidered lace and it shows legs with nonchalance. In order to get this look you can cut a maxi dress around the side seam. Place the dress flat on table and then, without the need of any pattern, pin the lace/sheer fabric on the cut part and sew it on the dress exactly like I did with the Stella McCartney inspired sheer skirt, you can see the tutorial here.

Versace spring 2013 pic via style.com

Like I said before this technique can be used to fix faulty garments. In fact, you can substitute the damaged/stained part of fabric with a sheer panel. You can make sheer or lace sleeves, you can add a sheer panel at the bottom of a skirt to lengthen it or if you dare, you can add a sheer panel at both sides of a dress to enlarge it a bit.

Stella McCatney fall 2011 polka dot dress via coolspotters

Versace spring 2013 pic via style.com

This is a perfect festival look. The corset detail makes this dress unique and the diagonal line makes it fresh. You can use this trick to make a shirt a little bit larger. If you feel that this look is too daring, you can make this detail on the back of the shirt and it becomes instantly more wearable.

Jarrod, Jessica, and Roger

This year marks the 25th anniversary of the movie Who Framed Roger Rabbit?, but its literary basis, Who Censored Roger Rabbit?, by Gary K. Wolf, first hit the shelves over thirty years ago, in 1981! Needless to say, Roger fans of both the screen and page have been quite hungry for more, and this upcoming fall they will be greatly rewarded when Musa Publishing releases Wolf’s third book in the series, Who Wacked Roger Rabbit?

With this release approaching, it’s only right to recognize those fans that have been waiting over twenty years for the third book. Fandom surrounding Roger Rabbit has never been lacking, and a common fan favorite has always been the ever-sultry Jessica Rabbit. If you’re wondering what she’s been up to these past few decades, look no further than the only Jessica Rabbit news site and photo archive on the web: ImNotBad.com, to discover everything Jessica. Below, I ask the site’s author, Jarrod, a few questions about his personal journey and experiences with Jessica Rabbit fandom:

Tell us about yourself and ImNotBad.com—how and why did you start it?
I've always loved art and animation ever since I was a kid. It impressed me that people were drawing those characters. I enjoyed watching the process of that as well - the behind the scenes stuff. I loved art, and drawing. I would often copy what I would see in a picture or on TV and try to match it as close as I could. I still do art, traditionally or digitally. I created my first ever Jessica Rabbit custom doll. I never painted before and it came out better than I expected.

I originally had a Who Framed Roger Rabbit Yahoo group, but the character Disney was focusing more attention on, surprisingly, was Jessica. So In 2003 I started the Jessica Rabbit Group. I started mainly because she was my favorite character and thought it would be fun. It allowed me to make lots of new artwork of her, which I put on the site monthly. Then her collectible pins were really taking off and there was a smattering of other merchandise - so I knew Disney was pushing the character more. Why they did it still remains a mystery. I had wanted a true stand-alone Jessica website. There were only two good sites before which didn't last long. After a few years on Yahoo I knew I needed to branch out, so I started ImNotBad.com- really thinking only a few people would see and visit. There's actually thousands of visits a week during holiday times and when big news hits. It's exciting.

What does Jessica Rabbit mean to you?
There is a wide range of characters I like - but Jessica Rabbit is THE favorite. She was such a different female cartoon for that time: A great combination of sexiness and Disney, which we had never seen before. Knowing real people created her by hand also added to it. The animators really put effort into the film and it shows. Because of the look of the character I think she became hard to create as a collectible back then, so her merchandise was rare. It was like a hunt to find anything, but I enjoyed it. Aside from that, the movie came out during a very hard time in my life when I was so young. It really was my escape. The whole experience of the movie was like fate helping me through something so difficult. So it all grew from there.

Do you have a wide collection of Jessica Rabbit memorabilia?
Yes, though I definitely don't have everything. I own the merchandise I review on my site. I have Jessica statues, snow globes, mugs, shirts, and just over three hundred Jessica pins. The Jessica Rabbit store was open for about a year and by chance I was able to visit. Had I known it was going to be temporary, I'd have stocked up!

Have you always been a Roger Rabbit fan? What's your earliest memory of first watching Who Framed Roger Rabbit?
I've always loved the movie, and all the characters. The first memory I have of seeing the characters was in a commercial for the film. It pretty much stopped me in my tracks, and all I knew was I wanted to see it - especially when I saw Jessica walk across the screen. In fact I insisted leaving a friend's house early to see the movie with my family. For some reason I think I knew this was going to be something special, so I didn't want to see it with anyone but them.

How would you describe the fandom surrounding Who Framed Roger Rabbit?
With the Internet, people really got vocal about Roger Rabbit when the Blu-Ray was released. It was also shown on TV around that time, and people were commenting how it was one of the best movies ever. I think that’s great. I feel the true "fandom" got whittled down to less people when Roger and Co. disappeared from the parks for whatever reason that was.

…versus the fandom surrounding Jessica?
The fandom for Jessica alone was different, because her merchandise kept going, and she was a character who collectors kept alive. I hoped that would be enough to keep her in the forefront of minds, and perhaps it was. Now, you see many women dressing like Jessica at conventions. So she's definitely remembered, and people want more of the character.

On ImNotBad.com it shows that Disneyland (in Paris) has finally represented Jessica Rabbit in the parks—this is something a long time in the making.

Do you think it will ever carry over here in the states?
I really hope so. The fact that they did this is huge - at least that's how I view it. No matter how it that mask looked, it was so cool to see Jessica along with all the other characters. People want to see her in the parks. That's been wanted for a while now.

The reactions you got from people about Jessica being a face vs. masked debate in the park seems split. You say on ImNotBad.com: "The shape of Jessica's face alone does not match a real human, so if a woman were to take on this role as a face character - as good as she might look - she won't really look like Jessica." Which I agree with, but I also agree with Gary K Wolf (the creator of Jessica Rabbit) when he says: "...I think this could be a better Jessica. In this rendition, she does look a lot like a blow up doll." Is there any way Disney can improve upon her masked look?
Yes, Gary is right on that. It's missing the whole attitude of Jessica Rabbit we know from the movie. She has no expression at all. The mask is also really small - character heads need to be slightly bigger and exaggerated. I tried to translate as much from Disney Paris messages boards as I could, and people think perhaps she was a last minute addition. Either way, I wish people were a bit more open to the fact Disney tried this than criticizing the look.

What is the Jessica Rabbit community like?
The community was mainly collectors. It is definitely expanding though, even after all these years. People love the character. Jessica Rabbit was like our Betty Boop of the 80's. I see women Tweeting about how they wanted to be Jessica when they grew up, or are now copying her hairstyle. The men have always liked her for many reasons, but male collectors do have an eye for her as an art piece. I think if you like Jessica, you're kind of forced into being a collector because her merchandise was usually higher end stuff. A Premium Format statue was released of her, the most accurate you can find. People not even a fan of the movie were buying it because they said it looked so good. That's the power of Jessica Rabbit, and that statue helped push her out in front little more at conventions.

You've been running your site for over 10 years now, what are some of your fondest memories and best interactions with your readers?
People have asked me for certain pictures or merchandise knowledge. I do my best to accommodate when someone is trying to find something in particular. Readers will tell me how much they enjoy the site, I'm happy they are even visiting! Someone gave me the heads up on Jessica in Paris, so it's cool that they are helping me too. Some really great interactions have come from the Disney Artists I've interviewed, sharing all their stories about creating Jessica. I also talk with other artists who create custom pieces of Jessica and feature them on the site. There are some really talented people out there.

Assuming you have met your fair share of Jessica fanatics throughout the years, do any stand out? Any impressive impersonators?
I've become friends with two other fanatics, Andoni and Mark. They often help me with the site if they find out news or merchandise. For a long time I thought it was only the three of us - but I know there are more fans out there. I think Jessica fans were shy. I don't know what's up with that. I think it was because of the nature of the character, and that she wasn't as well known. That's changing though. I've never met anyone in Jessica costume, but the ones I've seen on the Internet lately have been amazing!

How do Roger fans feel about the upcoming release of Who Wacked Roger Rabbit?
They are hungry for it, especially with being teased for twenty-five years now of a movie sequel. The books might be the only kind of sequels we ever have, so I think it's great that Gary K. Wolf is continuing with the characters stories. We have gotten to a point where a successful book is immediately looked at for making into a movie - which could still make it possibility. The fans are in support of this new book fully - as well as the other Roger Rabbit projects Gary has in the works. Those other projects garnered quite a lot of interest.

What are you hoping to see for Jessica in Gary's upcoming novel?
Just more! I'm afraid that Jessica's popularity has eclipsed Roger's slightly because her curvaceous look, and that her merchandise kept her in the public eye, but Roger is such a wonderful character. The two of them are peanut butter and jelly - different, but made for each other. They both make the other more unique in a complimentary way. So, I'm hoping that there's some great interactions between the two of them and we get more of a look into their relationship.

What are you especially looking forward to see in the upcoming novel?
I've gotten a few clues on what might possibly be in the works, but I think it will be so much fun to have the character's back again - in a way that is a reminder of how it all really began - with Gary's wonderful storytelling.

Reuniting fans with their beloved Roger Rabbit characters in Who Wacked Roger Rabbit? will absolutely be a wonderful, worthwhile reward after all these years.

Thank you Jarrod for sharing your Jessica Rabbit expertise! Check out ImNotBad.com to see what is happening with Jessica worldwide on a daily basis, and stay tuned here for more Who Wacked Roger Rabbit? news!

Sew your tuxedo dress

Elle cover June 2013 dress Lanvin- pic via style.it

Minimal, sleek and feminine, the tuxedo dress looks like a garment stolen from a man's closet and this is the beauty of this design. It's both minimalist and sexy. It looks like the perfect summer dress to me. You can wear it when you're in a rush and still have a distinctive, contemporary style.
I just found a couple of patterns (white, black) that are perfect to obtain this look.  They are ready to sew, but you can also make some alteration to them. Make it sleeveless and take down the neckline a bit if you want it to look more like Phillip Lim's vest dress  Have fun sewing!

Diane Kruger in Phillip Lim tuxedo vest dress pic via fabsugar

Tuxedo dress patterns by Burda style patterns : left -  right

Print your high fashion stickers

Marie Claire July 2013 cover pic via Style.it

There's no summer without flower prints. Don't worry if your clothes are not in full bloom,  you can stick some flowers on your summer staples just like Holly Fulton s/s collection suggests. She decorated plastic garments with flower stickers.

If you want to get this look there are a few options you can consider.

• Buy plastic tablecloths. They are sold by the yard. Plain clear plastic and those with printed flowers are both available. Use them  as a fabric for your Holly Fulton inspired garment. Plastic is not very comfortable, but you can use it successfully to make clothes that don't cling on the body (like a circle skirt for example) or you can make plastic inserts on your everyday clothes like a front panel on a cotton top. 

•  Make your stickers Print some images of flowers on adhesive paper, spray pray them with transparent paint to protect them from liquids and stick them wherever you like, on plastic garments or on accessories. Last year I made a plastic bag using printed flowers, you can read the instructions to make it here

• Make your fabric stickers aka your custom patches. Iron a sheet of heat and bond on the back of your floral fabric. Cut out the flowers, the fabric doesn't unthread now. Remove the protective film behind the adhesive sheet and iron your custom patches on your clothes wherever you like. To get an idea of how it is done read my tutorial: how to make an embroidered top without embroider, the method is the same.

More Holly Fulton inspiration below.

Holly Fulton spring 2013 pic via style.it

Holly Fulton spring 2013 via Style.it

Clear bag DIY TUTORIAL here

The Creative Domino Effect

by Martin Rose

I'm sitting in the lobby of the Ace Hotel while amused film director, producer and screenwriter Stephen Soucy of Modernist Enterprises attempts to pry space between my overflow of words so he can speak. We cradle coffees in the half-lit atmosphere, overlorded by the stuffed heads of antlered mammals. We're caffeinated and entering a hazy hinterland where magic floats in on hotel lobby dust and the bowed heads of professionals tapping away at open laptops. Anything seems possible with enough caffeine.

Soucy was discussing an array of projects and the string of events that can pull a man from the ordinary work-a-day life into matters of myth and fiction. Having done his time with the corporate world, a story brought him to New York. A story brought us together for an instant at the Ace, and more stories would send us forth into places yet unimagined.

While he discusses the ins and outs of what it's like to produce the film Paperdreams, the man is on fire with future ideas – namely, Soucy's taut screenplay based on John Morgan Wilson's short story "Edward on the Edge," coming to life as a short film called Tightwire.

"You're a story teller," is what I blurt out.

Many writers I know, particularly those in the speculative fiction field, share a similar complaint; in gatherings of friends or family, their assertion that they are artists, writers, filmmakers, all meets with the same stubborn silence or general derision – as though such an occupation were only fit for reprobates or amoeba with no other options.

"Sensible" – or perhaps, "secure" – occupations are desirable, but should you be toiling in the midst of a sea of cubicles and wake up to discover you are a story teller, woe is you. (It is just such an awakening that led to the creation of "Company Man," in Penumbra's August issue.) Misled and bamboozled, you'll find a way out – and I know some have elected for homelessness rather than return to the long snooze of "comfort" and "security." No occupation, no matter how plentiful and promising, guarantees you success – unless you yourself have something genuine to offer. If you plan on bare-knuckling it through that upper tier of professional story tellers, you must pursue what resonates within you, or run out of steam before you even begin.

The moment I realize that Stephen Soucy is a natural born story teller is the moment I understand that nothing from here on in is going to the be same. A story gets inside you and must find release; something authentic and unbeholden to anything surges within and will heed nothing without the chance to be heard. Stephen Soucy is infected with the spirit of the story teller and I smile and sip my coffee because this is the future – story tellers are the future.

It takes a special kind of creature to become a story teller. In any of these artistic endeavors you study the nuts and bolts of what moves and evokes people. The mechanics of seducing an audience of one or an audience of a thousand. Many mistakenly believe that artistic endeavors must surely be easy because so many of the greatest make it appear so – but this couldn't be further from the truth. To evoke visceral response in a reader, a viewer, requires a touch as practiced as that of a heart surgeon. We cull emotion instead of blood and vessels. And like surgery, we must put you to sleep first so we may provide the fertile ground to ferment dreams – and wake you up gasping, crying, screaming.

Hardly an endeavor for the weak of heart. Not all will make it.

Artists of every stripe have long shaped the dreams and the culture of nations. Dante was exiled for it. Caravaggio was hunted for the audacity of introducing realism into his art. Dostoyevsky was sent to Siberia for years of hard labor. Salman Rushdie. Female artists who took on other guises: Charlotte Bronte as Currer Bell, Amantine Dupin as George Sand. And the list goes on, and on. Art is no joking matter when how you choose to express yourself can cost you your life, and yet, so many come to me with the same disappointment – why am I doing this anymore? Why is this so hard? What's the point? Why does no one approve?

Get used to it. No one ever approves. It's never easy.

We forget that words, notably stories, have power. A gun may only fire one bullet at a time but with the increasing velocity of communication, we can break the hearts of millions with a keystroke. This is nuclear fission on a human scale. It's easy to forget, given the barrage of words and images we must wade through on a daily basis to ferret out the meaningful, the genuine, the authentic.

While Soucy and I depart to carry on with the business of life, it is the stories that remain – ideas that grow and take shape into lives of their own. I doubt John Morgan Wilson, a winner of both Edgar Allen Poe and Lambda Literary Awards and an accomplished author, realized at the time his story would gain momentum through Soucy's efforts – a creative domino effect. I await Tightwire with anticipation; and when a writer laments their creative condition, keep in mind what magic you wield when you put pen to paper: Name yourself a storyteller, and make no apologies.

Martin Rose writes a range of fiction from the fantastic to the macabre. He holds a degree in graphic design, and resides in New Jersey. Look for his zombie detective novel, Bring Me Flesh, I'll Bring Hell, forthcoming from Skyhorse Publishing. Learn more about Martin Rose on his blog.

Can you handle 6 meters of chain on your neck? Make your Mega fringe necklace!

Metal fringe necklace tutorial on Style.it

Extremely light, despite the amount of chain used, this necklace is made with 6 meters of gold chain. That's it. You don't need anything else to make it. Chain and pliers. No beads, no jump-rings, no rhinestones. It's chain connected to chain. It shines on its own and it's enough to make a statement necklace.
Wanna read the tutorial?

Read the full tutorial on Style.it

For more diy necklaces click here

TIME TRAVEL

Sci-Fi Deak Style
by John Deakins

Fictional Time Travel is so universal that every SF writer feels obliged to write a Time Travel story. “Our heroine’s time machine leaves 2013 Chicago and emerges in . . .” 1913 Chicago, future Chicago, Jurassic Chicago, Native American Chicago; etc. What wonderful possibilities! Unfortunately, Time Travel carries the worst scientific flaws of any major SF idea.

We live in an Einsteinian universe. Newton’s laws also work pretty well. Time Travel requires a Ptolemaic, geocentric universe, of which this ain’t one.

If you travel in Time from a particular spatial location, you should emerge in that same location: Right? As the Earth rotates, Chicago is rolling eastward at 1600 km/hr. In the next second, your position will separate from your original by over 400 meters. Five minutes in Time is over 130 kilometers in space. The spinning Earth just won’t hold still!

Unless you repeal Conservation of Momentum, when you arrive with a twelve clock-hours difference than the time of day you left, you’ll exit onto an Earth in which everything on the rotational counter-side will be slamming into you at 3200 km/hr.

Just make sure that you travel exactly multiples of one day. Chicago will have rotated to the same spot . . . except that the Earth is revolving around the Sun at 30 km/sec more. Five minutes is almost 9000 km away. Even a quick jaunt leaves you breathing vacuum.

Don’t forget the Sun’s orbit around the Milky Way’s core (Add hundreds of km/hr more.) and the motion of the galaxy relative to the space-time continuum. Unless your time machine is also a sealed space craft, you won’t survive to appreciate just how much airless space the universe contains.

What about reentry? When you reach a new space-time locus, will you simply push the air aside as you expand from an infinitesimally small point? That would produce a whopper of a thunderclap. Arriving secretly would be impossible. If your machine were too flimsy, the rebounding shock wave would crush it.

Will you and the local molecules simply become one? Writers agree that arriving inside a solid, regardless of method, would be a poor survival idea. With untold trillions of molecules present, some of yours would arrive inside other molecules. You might blow up like a balloon, or simply blow up. If your atomic nuclei appeared in the same space as local atomic nuclei, and the strong nuclear force would fuse them, with fatal radiation and energy release. Nuclei that were close, but not close enough, would be repelled at particle-collider speeds. You’d create thousands of fast particles that would shred your cells like a radioactive shotgun blast.

We don’t want to give up Time Travel, but what can be done? You can always Ignore It. Your readers are also geocentric. They won’t notice that you can’t travel from now-Chicago to then-Chicago without cheating on the universe’s rules. Have fun.

That’s a solution? We’re Science fiction purists. There has to be a better way. More next time.

John Deakins, B.A., M.S.T. is a four-decade veteran of the science classroom and author of his own fantasy series Barrow.

To read an excerpt from Barrow book one, please click HERE.

Cut Out Festival dress DIY

Recently Boohoo invited me to customize one of their maxi shirt dress to create the perfect look to wear at summer festivals. They also sent me a DIY kit to have fun with.
I decorated the dress with roses, crown and a winged heart with the rock writing inspired by the classic tattoo drawings and the spirit of rock.

Boohoo DIY kit

Glue (diyer best friend)  puffy paint and lots of stick on gems.
Lot's of good stuff but today all you need is

• carbon paper (for fabric)
• scissors 

Thanks to my sister for modeling for me.

Wear the dress and insert a pin where you want the cut out part to start. It can be on knees or above them.
Measure the length from the pin to the hem of the dress, this it the height of your triangle.
Measure the width of the front panel of the dress at the hem and this is the base of your triangle.
Draw your triangle on paper and use the shape as a guideline.
Draw into it whatever you like.
Every part of your drawing must be divided into small parts because you don't want to create big holes into the fabric.
Don't cut out hems to keep the dress intact.

Put the dress on your table and fold it in half vertically to find the middle of the front.
Baste the center line so your drawing will be well centered!

Place the carbon paper between the dress and the drawing and trace the outline of the drawing.
Put the dress on a stiff surface and press the pen to be sure the drawing will be transferred on the fabric.
I also added two little birds just under the bust. One on each side.

 Now the fun part!

The drawing transferred on fabric.

Follow the drawing and cut inside the edges with a sharp pair of scissors.

This is how it looks once cut. That's it! Repeat for every drawing on your dress.

Now that you have the dress let's talk about music festivals around Europe and the tour dates you can't miss (in my opinion) if you're around (tour dates in the link).
My suggestions are

• Skunk Anansie
• Depeche Mode
• Blur

The Exit festival in Serbia which is getting bigger and bigger every year. Five days of music from 10th of July to the 14th.

Prodigy, David Guetta, Fat boy Slim will perform among others.

Which concerts you just can't miss this summer? Send me suggestions, they're really appreciated!