some time ago, i posed the question: polyvore, anyone?

since then, the site seems to have taken off…everyone and their mom seems to be using it. are you?

connect with me if you are! as might be guessed, i go by bitsandbobbins ’round those parts as well.

i haven’t been playing with it as much as i’d like…but when i do sit down and poke around, i play with the site and it’s offerings in an indulgent way, putting together ensembles that go with my own personal tastes and trends, rather that those that seem to be currently on offer in the fashion world at large. i guess one can expect that sort of thing from me…i’m ever the stubborn one. ha!

how are you using it, if you are? for illustrations on your blog? just playing around like moi? do tell.

i can’t abandon one of my first color combo loves, the classic complimentary paring of red and green. the addition of a dash of chartruse and some blues keep things interesting and in my opinion, steer things away from the inevitable christmas color commentary.

while orange (in most of it’s forms) is still my greatest love, i am starting to cultivate a new appreciation for electric blue. i think it’s especially lovely when paired with gray. and really, what isn’t lovely paired with gray? it’s a superb and subdued foil for all those great bright, eye-bleeding colors i can’t seem to be separated from.

i’ve always loved african fabric prints, regardless of whether they are chic at a given moment. (ethnic look, what?) it’s something about the vivid colors and unapologetically bold geometric patterns that has got me hooked for life.

clickity click on any of the above collages to find sources (and shop, if so inclined).

jeez louise, am i dreadfully behind on my etsy love posts! gawd, i am so BAD. i should be flogged!

anyway, w/o any further ado…

this go ’round, it’s all about RedaretheRoses!

i was tipped off to the bright and happy wonderfulness that is RedaretheRoses by fellow fashion blogista, smagglestyle (she sent me an comment about RedaretheRoses’s work, telling me it looked like it was right up my alley…and boy, was she ever right!).

according to the RedaretheRoses etsy shop profile page, all this riotously colorful accessory goodness is the brainchild of a gal from dallas, texas named shawna, who says she’s been a crafter since childhood.

i am convinced that this clearly talented shawna is truly a woman after my own heart as far as her color philosophy is concerned. proof positive of such is this smart quote from shawna herself:

“I love bright colors so my accessories are not for the faint of heart! I like trying out new color combinations and I truly feel that you can make any color combo work, it just needs to be done the right way.”

damn right, sister! i feel like i could have written that quote myself! any color really does go with any color. BELIEVE!

the power of shawna’s work is in her simple though inspired use of one primary material: plastic. in each piece, lacy and feminine retro/vintage pressed plastic shapes and flowers in each piece are layered and collaged together just so…but let’s face it, it’s the punchy juxtaposition of colors in each ring, necklace, or hair comb that really makes shawna’s work truly genius.

so yes, considering those color combos, perhaps many of shawna’s baubles aren’t for the ‘faint of heart’…and that’s just fine!

i have to say though, after perusing her vast catalog over at her aforementioned etsy shop, the sheer diversity of shawna’s shown color combos might just kindly prove that point wrong. i’d argue that there’s something for everyone, no matter what shades and tints they favor…or at least anyone who wants to take a chance and at least wear a fun and funky little frippery in their hair or hand. one of these beauties might be just the ticket to energize a more subdued look. take a look, take a chance! you never know…

want more? check out RedaretheRoses

viva etsy!

this past week’s episode of threadheads featured a how-to lesson on making contact paper screen prints, from brooklyn-based printer and maker karine persan of better than jam.

i absolutely LOVE silkscreening…it’s a process that has so much potential for application (to paper, fabric, and WAY WAY beyond). imagine what flair you could add to thrifted finds or plain pieces that need a little pizzaz that are already hanging in your closet. or, you could even go all the way and make your own fabrics, which you could then turn into amazing, one of a kind pieces of clothing! oh yes, yes, yes!

the method karine demonstrates is even do-able for total beginners to the silkscreening/printmaking process. check it out! and also check out the offbeat imagery karine uses in her own work…so innovative and unique (things like brain x-rays, bagpipes and other oddities).

great work as always, rob and corrine!

i’ve had a busy few weeks. came back from hawaii the monday before last, a short week commenced, and then my in-laws came that friday and we spent almost the whole day with them for four days in a row. and then, another short but ridiculous week started for me…and it’s the one i still find myself in. lots of appointments and such like to attend to from now until the weekend. i need some rest! i am yearning for a real “day off”. whatever that means…hopefully it means just zoning out and staring at the wall a little! or, ok…maybe something more productive, like knitting or sewing…that would be exceedingly lovely. *sigh*

some other things on my mind of late:

-the maker faire was amazing. we went on saturday and took my in-laws with us and also had the company of some friends as well…and i walked around as much as i could, trying to take in all the sights and sounds. big hellos again to everyone i met who recognized me from this humble little blog! you are sweet. i wish i would have had more time to mill around the bizarre bazaar and such, but alas…

-i’m freakin’ addicted to kashi cinnamon harvest cereal right now. i get sort of antsy when i get to the bottom of a given box! i usually slather it in a layer of bananas or strawberries, depending on what’s around.

-with all this fatigue i’ve been having lately i have been finding myself getting into slap-happy giggle fits. this post about photobombing (particularly the first link) set me off in peals of laughter this morning.

-a fascinating fashion tome i picked up in antwerp, belgium last year and just now started reading: the fashion reader. amazon describes it better than i can manage at this juncture:

The Fashion Reader is designed for students, scholars, and anyone interested in contemporary fashion. The book brings together the key writings on the subject, covering the history, culture, and business of fashion. The extracts are drawn from a wide range of sources–books, professional and academic journals, magazines, interviews and exhibition catalogues.

best for those who want to delve a little deeper into all things fashion (like yours truly, natch!) instead of skimming the surface of said world.

i am in deep, deep love with these wearable knitted bits and bobs by japanese knitwear artist/designer mafuyu:

(bonus factoid: mafuyu is also one of the artists behind the knitted homes (officially entitled ‘my town in my home’) that made the rounds on the internets some time ago.)

keeping busy…trying to stay relaxed and inspired.

amen for my creative juices starting to flow again. amen for the second trimester. amen for baby kicks.

sorry so quiet this week. this time it’s my fault…i’ve got a beastly head/chest cold and pretty much zero energy. bah.

but here you go! tons and tons of links to make up for the lack of post-age on my part!

-not many fashion announcements of fashion lines get me all excited and stuff, but damn, i’m looking forward to the much talked about marimekko/h&m collaboration, available in h&m stores starting in april 2008 (via the telegraph). beats all that target/go-international stuff by a mile, i say! marimekko! mid-century modern finnish goodness! WOO HOO! let’s hope it lives up to the hype, i might actually cave and buy some. *crosses fingers*

see also: a preview of the marimekko/h&m collection at nitrolicious

-marc jacobs and his designs for his various labels have been so hit and miss/been boring the hell out of me for most of the last several years/seasons (what happened to all the good stuff he was churning out in the early 2000’s? i miss the old, unfit, more creative marc! come back, old school marc jacobs!). one of the more interesting things he’s churned out of late were the LEGO accessories he showed during the spring 2008 show. such a thing is so easy to copy it’s silly! c’mon, who’s he kidding, anyway??

so on that note: morgan of panda head shows you how to DIY your own marc jacobs-esque LEGO belt on a recent post on brightest young things…in this case it’s WAY better than dropping a gazillion bucks for the real thing.

get a gander at what those studious smarties over at university of california at berkeley are wearing right now by checking out this slideshow of such over berkeley.edu. those berkley beauties have also launched their own fashion mag, bare, that comes in a quarterly format.

-a curious but slightly non-sensical body art trend that reminds me of those strangely popular inner lip tattoos: tooth tattoos! (via offbeat ink)

-vanity sizing: why does this still persist?? (via the seattle times) why can’t we just pick a number for a size and stick with it? NUMBERS DON’T MATTER, whether something FITS you does. sizes are a joke. if i ever have my own line of clothing (ha!) it’s all gonna just have measurements (bust, waist, hip, whatever’s applicable to said garment)…none of this arbitrary random number crap.

-inspiration, ahoy! outsapop has posted 99 pages of clippings from her inspiration book. i suggest following her suggestion: also check out the inspiration book flickr group. some time ago (years now? wow.), i also posted some snaps of my favorite pages in my fashion clippings book (they start w/ that photo, scroll through). maybe i’ll do that again. what catches our eye says so much about us, just like what we wear, collect, eat…and everything else!

-cycle chic is hitting critical mass! (pun intended) it’s a good thing too: biking is good exercise, and good for the environment. forgo the odd spandex shorts, people: you can and should look stylish while pedaling around! make the effort! garner inspiration from the likes of london’s cycle chic, copenhagen cycle chic (who’s been mentioned here before, back in november!), and flickr’s velocouture.

see also: this round-up of ridiculously cute bike baskets on cool hunting

and check out: wardrobe_remix’s own madebytess, one of the most fabulous fashionistas on two wheels (or off!)…

-william good (the san francisco area goodwill venture that restyles discards that i mentioned here this past fall) is looking for a new lead designer. if i had 3 years of actual factual design experience, i might apply! perhaps you or a friend qualifies? spread the word.

quick quick and dirty dirty:

-i don’t give a crap if shrugs are ‘out’, this nob hill shrugy pattern thing on knitty is lovely. and something that a preggy person with an ever-expanding belly like mine could actually wear *right now*. ‘cept in a bright color or somethin’, natch.

-a video about how “buttons are made” (via craft:). starring indie goddess miranda july. hee, hee, hee!

-a tutorial on linoleum printing on indie fixx. do it up on some fabric and make yourself some clothes out of it! yeah!

-these mary jane baby booties are so twee they make me squee!! i plan on making several for le girl bebe with various bits of leftover yarn (of which i have much).

again, send me your links! heard or seen anything cool around the nets you want to share? tell me and i just might put it here in a future (not so) random links post.

(need some ideas? send over bits of interest or suggestions on websites, cool links, other people’s blogs, and news that others might find interesting too…fashiony, stylish things of any of those descriptions that you just can’t keep to yourself!)

i’ll post the highlights some of your sent-in links in another future post! (thanks to those who sent some my way!)

my online pal, writer and crafter/designer susan beal (of west coast crafty fame) just came out with a gorgeous new jewelry-making tome called bead simple, which is jam-packed with information, instructions, and a huge selection of projects that promise to make the making of jewelry with beads and baubles super-easy, and the results of such making stunning.

the thing that really sets bead simple apart from the pack, i think, is the clean, modern feel of the art direction of the book as a whole. well-lit, thoughtfully-arranged photos and simple illustrations abound, and are coupled with easy-to-understand instructions. as a complete work, the book is a superb, approachable launch pad for any reader/crafter’s creativity and idiosyncratic personal style.

another facet of the book that i feel takes it to another level is the inclusion of reams of projects created by a cabal of crafters whose names are well-known to those in the know: jennifer perkins, leah kramer, and many, MANY more. this gathering of creative folks gives the book a diverse feel…ensuring that there’s something for everyone as far as projects and inspiration are concerned.

some of my favorite projects from the book include…

this riotously colorful bracelet formed from deliciously disparate beads (by jennifer perkins):

i’m a vintage button fangirl, so why this one caught my eye is obvious:

and…full disclosure: i have a project in the book as well! it’s these low and swingy ‘pop organic’ earrings, that can be found on page 55 (should you possibly be interested).

thanks, susan, for allowing me to participate and create a project for your book! i’m so proud of you.

as i mentioned in the most recent wardrobe_remix(ers) o’ the week post, i’ve been quite busy this week with personal stuff. mostly work, dr. & midwife appointments, and the like. and just resting some. so i am a little slow with things like etsy love posts and such, and for that, my apologies! will of course resume posting with some regularity soonish…my backlog of to-be-posted posts can attest to the fact that i have at least been making a stab at this blogging thing! life just happens.

but on with the obsessions:

-the biggest one, the one that’s been unspoken to a large degree and as yet unmentioned here but HUGE for me this week: we found out that we are having a little GIRL! i am so insanely happy about that, i can hardly even speak. now that i’ve had a little tiny peek at her (via ultrasound this past monday), i’ve fallen in love with her even more, and i feel like i can actually start preparing for her arrival with the making of twee baby dresses, knit or crochet garments, blankies, and other needs. i had sort of had a moratorium against making such until this juncture, out of fear (long story). the little sea monkey seems happy…she’s kicking me with vigor regularly for a couple weeks now!

-finding clothes that actually fit. i’ve finally started to bust out belly-wise and regular jeans and skirts just don’t cut the mustard anymore. if you can believe it, i was still wearing my pre-pregnancy jeans somewhat comfortably up until about a week ago (with some clever macgyvering, natch). but such rigging measures have finally lost their efficacy. *sniffle* i’m slowly acquiring new garments that more comfortably accommodate my changing shape. i am wanting to write about my experiences thus far and more about pregnancy style. i hope to do so again sooner rather than later. so many ideas, yet, so many things to do and too little time! ha.

-going to hawaii at the end of april. oh yeah!!! looking way forward to that. resting and relaxing on the beach, woo! with a ginormous belly, woo! it will be good. i need a break from life and i think that little vacay will be just the ticket for me and the mans (and a calm before the storm that shall be a new baby in our lives).

-and, reading. voraciously. right now it’s born in the usa. it’s deep, it’s medical, it’s kinda political. it’s sort of my regular fare at the moment (baby/birth literature). unsurprisingly.

(ok, it’s almost all baby- or pregnancy-related. oops!)

i am completely and totally head-over-heels in love with these brooches by amsterdam-based german jewelry artist jantje fleischhut. the juxtaposition of shapes, materials, and textures she uses are unexpected yet perfectly arranged, and the use of semi-precious jewels and semi-precious and precious metals gives all the pieces an undeniably luxe feel. some of the materials are salvaged, which of course speaks straight to the times we live in and what forms a large part of the arts as time progresses: refuse reused is really right now.

(via dear ada)