A recent infatuation

The art nouveau movement! The colors, lines, Romantic characteristic, ... *sigh* it all makes me smile quite a lot. This picture is an illustration from the era. It was in a printing of Arabian Nights. The artist is Virginia Frances Sterrett.

I became interested in the art movement after seeing a few advertisement posters from the era and finding the to be really beautiful. This picture of the Sea Nymphs is by far my favorite, also by Sterrett. I adore the colors.
I've been thinging about getting a print made of this picture, but I have no idea where I would put it in the apartment.

School thing: I have to write a counter factual history paper and I've already picked my topic ...Wanna hear it? Of course you do!

I'm going to write about what would have happened if Henry VIII had a couple of sons with his first wife, Catherine of Aragon.

According to my general knowledge of English history and some guesswork, if old Henry had surviving sons with his first wife he wouldn't have remarried, have seperated from the Catholic Church, started The Church of England, cut off his ties with Rome or become the father of a certain Queen Elizabeth I. Shazam!! I think I can write seven pages on that.

Ta ta,

Claire.

Oh, what a baaad blogger I've been...

Hello dearies, I've been away from the blog for a few months. Ever since school started back up I've been more busy and feeling less creative.

'Oh, that's crappy' you say. Well yes my friend, it is indeed pretty crappy. Being underwhelmed with craftiness is like having your brain itch. You want to scratch that itch so badly, if only in the hope that something will happen. Doing this literally will only result in the loss of a clump of hair. Not cute.

None of this is to say that I've stopped making stuff, it just doesn't light me up as much as it used to. I'm still knitting regularly. I've recently finished a beautiful blue wrap for a friend's birthday present and two scarves that I plan on posting to Etsy. I'm currently working on a pair of fingerless gloves for a lady who is giving me a chair for my apartment.

Hahah, I can hear a bunch of you saying to yourselves "What apartment!?" My dear, dear, dear parents own the duplex behind our house, we're currently having some (okay, a bunch) of work done on it so that I can move in within the next few months. Exciting? Very.

Sooooooo, that's what's up. I'm going to try blogging and crafting more. This is what I want to do with my life. I want to make beautiful things that will make people happy and get paid for it. I guess I need to start getting good at it

A final note for the day, this is the blog of a very cool gal, she is my job inspiration. Her name is Emily Martin and she is able to support herself entirely off of the money she makes from her Etsy. Behold: http://theblackapple.typepad.com/

Bye bye!

C.

Golden Goddess Dress

You won't have to add any wiggle to your walk or bat your eyelashes when wearing this dress, it will turn heads all on its own. This stunning 1950s gold lame dress, by Lilli Diamond of California, is the latest addition to the Blonde Chicks shop, and we're very excited to show it off.

Pair it with an elegant wrap and wear it to a party this coming holiday season.
Wear it with a feather boa, gloves and costume jewelry to dress as a '50s movie starlett. No matter how you accessorise it, you have lots of fun in this flirty, fitted dress.

A New Favorite

I love shoes, love them. They are often my favorite part of any outfit I'm wearing. Throughout this past school year, one of my favorite pairs of shoes were simple white canvas tennis shoes. But the thing about white shoes is that they don't stay white. So, after washing them with soap and water a few times and seeing them promptly become dirty again, I decided to take a stand:

Last month I gathered up two of my brothers, handed each of them a shoe, some acrylic paint and sent them out into the yard to make my shoes pretty again.

I've always loved the way paint looks when it's still in wet blobs. The colors are just so happy.

Here's what I got back form the boys! Two beautiful, unique shoes. I love wearing them.

You can easily find plain white canvas shoes for painting almost anywhere shoes are sold.

Have a happy day!

Shop update.

Hey people, here are some of the things we've been

working on most recently:

First off, we've got these Blue Lagoon Earrings, made from viinage glass beads and new crystal beads. Making these was a treat, they're so simple and sweet, but they give off a jewel like shine.

Here's a shot of the hand knit Mermaid Cap, made from wool and cotton yarns. The texture of this hat is really rich and bumpy. I wish I had more of the same yarn to make a scarf out of.

Then we have the Green Envy Earrings, made entirely from vintage glass beads and rhinestones. Attaining the symmetry on these was a bit tricky, but well worth it. I'd had the rhinestone pieces for a long time and I was excited to find to find the perfect place to use them.

The Summer Wind Earrings, made from vintage faux pearl beads and newly made glass beads. Getting two matching pearl beads out of the many, many beads that I have..That was tricky, but it was downhill from there.

Also, these are named for the song "TheSummer Wind." Newton , Sinatra and Buble have all sung it. The colors made me think of beach glass and sand, which them made me think of that song. Funny how the mind works.

Below is a picture of the Tea Time Earrings, again, made from vintage glass beads. I like that I was able to use light and dark greens with these earrings, I think it gives them a bit more life.

All earrings are attached to nickle free earring pieces.

These pieces can be found in The Blonde Chicks shop on Etsy, of course.

If you'd like to see us make earrings in another color or style, please tell us, we're always looking for what will make our customers happy.

Have a fantastic weekend!

-The Blonde Chicks

07/18/09

In the film The Brothers Bloom, Penelope Stamp (played by Rachel Weisz) is an eccentric millionaire who dresses quite wonderfully. The classy coats, beautiful dresses, slouchy sweaters, black tights and Dr. Martens are a dream, as is the entire film. 

Have a great rest of the weekend!

-Abigail 

Insperation, 7/17/09

Lately my crafting ideas have stemmed from feathers. Their range of colors and textures make them a dream to work with. Combine this with classic vintage styling and you've got one of my fascinations that has been going on for months.

It all started when I got some packets of fly-fishing feathers. They were beautiful, some long and white, others short with black and orange stripes. Ater seeing some headbands online with feathers attached to them, I decided that hair accessories was the way to go. From there I figured out a technique for sewing them onto perforated metal discs. Add some faux pearl beads and voila, a cute feather peadant to attach to a bobby pin.




Here's one of the first feather hairpins I made. I love wearing it because the style is very vintage inspired and the color stands out.



Aside from the way they look, I love actually putting together these pieces. Getting out my needle and thread, finding the perfect colors and shapes, arranging them in just the right order. The work that goes into each detail makes my heart sing.


In the upcoming weeks you can expect to see hair accessories made with feathers added to the Blonde Chicks shop on etsy. They will be made in a variety of colors and each piece will be unique.








Have a happy Friday,

Claire.

Super New Necklaces

Hello all, here at The Blonde Chicks we're super excited to say that our Etsy shop is now up and running. We only have a few items posted so far, but we've already made our first sale. As you can imagine, many happy dances have occured.


Here are some pictures of the latest additions to the shop, we hope that you'll see something you like. For more photos and prices, go to our Etsy: http://tiny.cc/Xzl0D



Made entirely from vintage glass beads, this necklace in alternating shades of green and opaque white, would look beautiful around any neck.

This beach glass inspired necklace is like wearing bit of Summer around your neck.

This piece, made from vintage plastic beads and faceted teal crystal beads, would be a lovely addition to any jewelry box. Perfect to wear with a floral dress or a blouse and jeans.

Have a happy weekend!

Dresses!

Have fun in the sun with this mini-dress. The yellow, brown, black and white color scheme allows many options when it comes to accessories, and you can't beat that.

Stand tall in this floor length column dress. It zips in the front and has a pretty floral print against a faded cobalt blue background.




Simple fabric and sophisticated shape make this white and sheer striped dress a winner. A unique collar and 3/4 length sleeves give more structure to this piece, balancing out the use of a more delicate fabric.
Be pretty in purple (lavender actually) with this vintage cotton dress. Applique and rhinestones neck detailing give this uber cute frock a little something extra.

~Edit: This dress has been sold, no point in longing for it now.~

Coming to a mailbox near you!

Here are some of the things that we're going to put in The Blonde Chicks shop really soon:

Rock this necklace with your favorite dress or wide necked blouse. Any way you wear it, these cool green and white beads will bring a touch of elegance to any outfit. Newly made from vintage beads and rhinstone clasp.






Simple is the name of the game with this silky smooth shirt dress. Pale blue with a dot pattern, so you can look cool when the weather gets hot.

Set yourself apart in this wine red overlay dress. You can pair it with that teeny black dress or go more modern and wear it unbuttoned with jeans and a tank top, the choice is yours.

Be the belle of the ball, or cocktail party, in this vintage lace and chiffon overlay dress.

Future Photo Series

Prints of these origional photographs will be available on the Etsy shop,Blonde Chicks, in the upcoming weeks.


1: The double exposure of this photograph keeps you looking as the layers of the image reveal themselves. Shot with a Holga. 

2: White lights shining through the far windows in this picture give the sink a chilling glow while its surroundings crumble down. Shot on 35 mm film. 

3: This rainbow of toy cars and trucks delights the eye, reminding us of when we were little. Shot on 35 mm film. 

4: This lone tree surrounded by a blue sky and dreamy hues of pink would bring a touch of warmth to any wall. Shot with a Holga. 

5: Glistening glass and dull metal bring beautiful contrast to this photograph of the inside of a cathedral in Prague. Shot on 35 mm film. 

Let's Get This Party Started!

Welcome to the Blonde Chicks blog, we're happy to have you! The idea for starting up a blog and an Etsy shop, (which will be up and running soon), has been in the works for almost two months; so we're glad to get the ball rolling.

In this blog our goals are to show our creative processes in making garments, accessories, taking beautiful photographs and finding vintage pieces for our Etsy. By sharing this with you, the reader, we hope to bounce ideas off of you, find out what our followers like and *fingers crossed* get some people interested in purchasing our our delightful creations and finds.

So, keep checking this blog, it'll be worth a look.