It’s a tree story!!

Dec 082010

I got a little too excited and couldn’t wait to edit my op shop dress! Its now my Christmas Dress – all ready for the season. I haven’t finished the jacket yet or the belt – but here’s a sneak peak! Speaking of the season…I also put up my first Christmas Tree away from home this week! Instead of making things easy for myself and flat mates, I successfully did things the most difficult way possible…oops hehehe.

So I didn’t want to buy a Christmas tree this year and honestly none of us could afford to buy a tree and decorations. So I looked on freecycle – its a website where you post something you need and if people have it second hand they give it to you – freecycle is beyond brilliant! One lady emailed me a few days later and said she could give us one, but we had to drive 10mins away to pick it up. Which was exciting! We had a tree for free!

The lady said it would need a bit of a hose down but were like cool. So we drove out there and this tree is half buried in the front yard. I said to Ashlee my housemate “whatever we came this far may as well tough it out”. So we pulled it out of the ground and shake it off a bit and squish it into my friends little Celica very quickly because there is a veranda full of boys next door laughing at us stuff it in. Embarrassed we drove back to a service station to get fuel  and re-arrange the tree because there’s bugs all through the car and the whole time I was driving envisioning a huge huntsman crawling over the seat like in the movies. The tree put dirt and leaves all through the car so when we got back to our flat Ashlee vacuumed out the car while I scrubbed and scrubbed and scrubbed this tree down to get all the dirt and leaves out of it. We then returned Rachel’s car and drag this half wet tree into the house and rearrange the entire flat to fit it. Proud of our efforts we go next door excitedly to tell the girls about our new tree….only to find out Target is having a sale on trees for $7. I could have shot myself with the irony of it all.

Ahh well – it’s a cute tree for all the effort hehe. Plus it is an adventure and a tree with a story to tell. We called it Harry.




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Dreaming of a red christmas?

Nov 302010

In the Christmas Spirit I thought it might be nice to post some seasonal outfits!! I’ve had this dress for a while but ever took a nice enough photo, and in front of the christmas tree on my strawberry blonde housemate it seemed too much of a opportunity to ignore. My housemate usually wouldn’t wear anything from my wardrobe, although there is one particular red dress that I own that she has a special liking for. This little trench looking dress I discovered on day while visiting the op shop looking for some props for work (We were doing an 80s themed game show night). I didn’t have my wallet on me at the time though and prayed hardcore that I would get the chance to come back for it. The op shop closes long before I finish work so hope was dim.

A few days later one of the lads I work with was heading to pick up some snacks for our program on Saturday – I was heavy loaded with things to do and had no valid excuses on why I could leave work but begged him to find my dress if he was in the area. Reluctantly he agreed that if he had time and was in the area he would take a quick look. I tried not to get my hopes up but something told me that the red dress and I were ‘simply meant to be’.

I gave him my moneys and sketched out a detailed map of the op-shop (it’s a little sad that I know the layout by heart) and drew him a path to where the dress would be hanging with a big red X to mark the rack. I also drew a detailed sketch of the dress, colour, size and label. I  really really wanted this particular dress!

So the hours ticked by and I had to leave work to go to a BBQ and I texted my friend and no replies – I came into work to double check if he left it on my desk and low and behold there was the little outfit I’d been dreaming of! Im not the sort of person that my clothing make my life whole but when I see a treasure it makes me sad to think of it being wasted on someone who may not appreciate its value. To this day he is ever so proud that he found the exact dress and proves men do pay attention to the small details! Right down to the cherry colored buttons!





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Before and After..

Nov 282010

At the moment my friend/jedi padawan ‘Holly’ and I have started a project! We went op shopping for some old outfits and bits and pieces and are going to re-vamp them. We found a green 2 piece dress suit, yellow overalls and some waist high denim pants to play with.

We began yesterday hemming and pulling pieces apart so stay tuned to see the transformations!!





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Lucy B Lingerie!

Nov 172010

Now we all know – icing is useless without a cake right? You don’t just whip up some icing and adorable decorations and whack them onto a pancake? What is the use? Without a decently shaped cake – the decorations are being wasted. Using the same theory – why would one wear Grundies (granny undies) with a pencil skirt? Some of the best outfits can be ruined by visible panty-lines, poorly fitted bras and underwear that is too tight and muffins under a fitted dress. Undergarments can make or break even the most incredible ensembles!

Some of the best Pinup outfits are made through decent or well planned undergarments. For example, if one decides to wear a fitted ‘Wiggle Dress’, one should probably wear either really thin waist high panties, and a decent bra – or a waist cinch.

Curious – I started checking out different styles of underwear that would accentuate my outfits rather than jeopardize them. For example: tule petticoats for summer dresses, stockings instead of tights for skirts and decent strapless corsets for underneath halter-neck dresses. In Indianna Jones of the internet style – I broke through the pyramids or whatever he does and discovered Lucy B!

Based in Los Angeles, Michelle Jouvence has made certain that every lady has the opportunity to have a draw full of cute or sexy retro lingerie that work with retro outfits! Lucy B stocks things such as swimsuits, baby-dolls, bras, camisoles, stockings and garters, panties and all the accessories you need to keep your secrets…well…secrets! Unless you decide to broadcast them online of course.

I fully believe that if you’re wearing fun or cute underwear, it can change the entire way you feel about your outfit for the day. Buying new stockings can make you feel like your whole outfit is new! Either way Lucy B is definitely checking out! Even if its just to admire Michelle’s amazing work!

www.lucyb.com




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Not only for legs….

Nov 122010

One of the many things that makes my day satisfying is learning random new facts. I don’t even have to know very important things…..just facts. Sometimes I get soo curious I can’t sleep, I lie there for hours unable to relax because I have so many questions I want to know the answers to. How do you wash your hair without shampoo? When was bottled water invented? If you’re swallowed whole by a shark do you die of blood loss first or suffocate There are many, many things that need answers….thank goodness I have Google on my phone.

The other night I was lying in bed in a state of curiosity, and realised that there were 2 patches on my sheets where little hard balls of fluff had congregated. Apparently lint balls, or some other strange things had decided my black satin sheets were the place they wanted to have a party. This wouldn’t have bothered me except that half of my bed sheet was silky, satiny smooth….and the other was all grossified by these little balls determined to stick to my bed.

So I Googled the question of what they were and how to get them off, most of the webpages said there was no way to fix it and I would have to get new sheets. This would not do at all! Not willing to give up so easy I kept reading and searching other questions and eventually found a site that suggested I use a leg razor and shave them off. I was a little skeptical at first but next day decided to give it a go…..and it worked!! . I simply pulled a piece of the sheet tight, worked the razor from left to right then top to bottom across a section of the sheet continuously, and every so often scrape the fluff out of the razor. It worked beautifully and now my sheets are smooth and satiny again without spending money on new sheets or expensive lint collectors. AND on top of that I discovered a new random fact. Razors have far more purpose in life than just silkifying your legs…..they re-silkify your sheets too!

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Poincianas, cicadas and moonlight complexions…

Nov 082010

In the past few weeks it has slowly been changing from Winter to Summer. In North Queensland we only have 2 seasons…summer and winter. We have about ten months of Summer and two months of winter. And I love it with a capital ‘wonderful’. Nothing beats yelling to your family because the cicadas are soo loud (they’re like crickets only more obnoxious), walking through a park full of bright red Poincianas or running through the summer rain and taming fluffy curls from humidity.

Me and my friend Lexi were at the park the other day and got to chill out and take some pictures where all the summer flowers are comming into bloom. I’m sad to say goodbye to Jacarandas but happy to welcome in the Poincianas. At my grandparents house their entire street is made up of old houses and lined with trees alternating between Jacarandas and Poincianas. If you come in at the end of October when they start to switch season the entire street is red and purple. Breathtaking.

Summer is my favourite time of the year nothing could make it bad for me…except sunburn. The strongest ally to Melanoma two of which I have had cut out already! Nothing worse than red painful burning followed by brown leathery skin – I don’t know why people find tans so attractive? Sure a bit of colour in your skin is nice but to be a dark dark brown when your not naturally? Not following ladies.

My friend ‘Ashlee’ has the most beautiful porcelain white skin – of which I’d die to have considering it almost impossible to keep in NQ unless you wear a matrix coat all summer. Whenever people walk past her they stop to tell her how white her legs are and why doesn’t she tan? May I ask generally what is wrong with these people? Her skin is flawless, freckle-less and beautifully pale and they want to know why she won’t go outsite and trade it in for leathery, sun-spotted cancer skin. Where is the appeal?? There is nothing healthy about a tan ladies.

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Dear Dorothy…

Nov 022010

If I could imagine a story to this skirt it would be that this skirt was once a picnic basket but decided there had to be more to life. So it teamed up with its friend lace and set upon an epic journey to become something more. It knew it had a greater calling in life – and so it became my skirt!

In ‘The Wizard of Oz’ Dorothy wears one of my favourite prints – Gingham. This fabric is adorable and looks great in floaty dresses and summery numbers. A while ago my Mum found me a gorgeous gingham waist high skirt for $5 from a op shop on the coast!

Gingham made its first appearance in the 17th century, where it was imported to England and then migrated to the American colonies. Originally, using two different color fibers to produce a striping effect created gingham. But as time went on,gingham fabrics began to appear that had a checkered pattern, as well as plaids. Blue and white was the color combination of choice for many years.

Gingham has also made a popular appearance in Curtains, Tea Towels, Aprons, Picnic Blankets and Pjamas! Such a fun and versatile fabric.

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Mall Crawl

Oct 312010

Armed with a camera-phone, glasses and friend for support I hit our local shopping centre today undertaking a secret mission….I have noticed more and more girls are wearing these half-shirt things. As I was out and about the other day watching them all walk past – I wondered if any of the girls notices half of their shirts were missing?? Who would pay full price for half a shirt??

This style is never going to be ok….

So – I hit the shops wondering if there was anything left for the girls whom I love with an addiction to 40/50s inspired clothing. I am glad to say that there are still waist high pencil skirts, h-line and wiggle dresses alive and well! Although most of them have been toned down or modernized there is still something out there for the girls who would rather hit the mall than the online pinup sites. The ones who prefer to tone down the outrageous rockabilly colours and settle for softer tones. Personally I adore obnoxious colours but not everyone does.

Ally – The first shop we hit. There wasn’t too much on the racks that wasn’t floral in ‘Ally’, but there was one cute denim number that looked like something out of ‘Grease’ and a few cute playsuits. They were sweet little numbers but sadly there would have only been about 2 or 3 worthy garments in the entire shop.

Forever New – My second favourite real life store in the World. (I don’t count online stores otherwise ‘Pinup Girl Clothing’ would win for sure!) There wasn’t much in the way of Rockabilly fun in ‘Forever New’ but the cuts and fabrics are always the best. There were about 3 cute polka-dotted playsuits and some gorgeous H-line dresses but nothing very original or eye-catching. Too bad because their silks and lace are the best.

ICE – this shop hasn’t got the best reputation for very feminine or flattering clothing. The fabrics are quite cheap but that means that the clothing is budget as well. Most the time the items in ICE are reasonably priced. I was pleasantly surprised at the amount of potential ICE had. I found a few cute dresses that would pass – only problem was the fabric was floral. Very Betsy Johnston. There’s nothing wrong with that but for those of us who love spots, dots and stripey bold colours it was a little bit of a letdown. Regardless I found a few cute numbers to mention.


Jay Jays – Probably the biggest winner of the day. Not only did we find some adorable flouncy dresses, but they were spotty and I even found one with cherries! Also, in the sales bins there were a few 50s cardigans that were adorable but hurry – because I doubt the winter stuff will stay in the shop for much longer. Nothing stopping you from buying for next season!



My advice for the day to day shopper -
• Avoid Supre, Fashion Fair, City Beach and majority of the surf shops. You may find the occasional treasure but it’s probably just not worth the time.
• Head to ICE if your looking for Audrey Hepburn square necklines and tight wiggle-type dresses, there is a lot to play with in the mix’n'match department. Also is abundant in waist high belts.
• Head to Jay Jays if you’re after a afternoon tea full skirted dress or something for a summers day date.
• Best bet – head to the Op-Shops and scout out the originals!!! These dresses always have a story to tell!

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Hannah’s Joy

Oct 282010

My friend Hannah requested I make her a beret with a very large bow on the front. So I set about it with some cute soft fabrics I had left over and voila! I have to say though – Hannah I don’t think I’ve seen anyone look more adorable in a hat as you do!!

I decided last night that ‘Youtube’ was to teach me how to speak french! I’ve been learning some fun new words and now I can say “jusqu’à la prochaine fois lecteurs beutiful” which means “Till next time beautiful readers!”

-Stephii xx

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Wilfred the Owl

Oct 252010

My friend Lexi came to me the other day and asked me if I could make her a owl if she got me the fabric. I was soo excited to have my first project request and instantly accepted.

Thus began the planning and construction of….Wilfred the Owl. I sent Lexi on the mission to buy a few different colours of felt, once she gave me all the colours she wanted I set about drawing Wilfred’s body onto the first 2 pieces. Lexi wanted him to be vintage inspired, so I used zig-zag stitch to roughen his appearance. In the end he took about 4hours to make and we stuffed him with a old pillow from Vinnies. Wilfred is about 50% reused or 2nd hand materials and totally adorable.

And I quote from Lexi herself ‘I love him to death’.

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