Wednesday, July 30, 2008

Brief Intermission

lemon lime 30s

Hey everyone! I'm moving back to university this week so, I'm kind of slacking in the posting. We're putting new flooring in my place next Monday and Tuesday, so I might be a little incomunicado for a bit. Hopefully, I can still be around. I'll probably list that dress late tomorrow though. Also, hopefully once I'm back in my university town I'll be able to find a suitable sheet to make a fitted sheet bubble dress. The sheet I got turned out to not be suitable. I swear the gods are against that tutorial. Even so, hopefully that written tutorial will finally show up and I'll get my links updated.

Busy but Happy,
Ivy Frozen



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Friday, July 25, 2008

Dark Knight

Why So Serious?

Why so serious?

Dark Knight Creepy



Dark

Dark Knight visions



Knight

Dark Knight Cliche



Rules

Dark Knight Renee Pearl



.

Joking with the Joker,

Ivy Frozen


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Thursday, July 24, 2008

New Stuffs

purple people eater front vogue



I've been on a floral kick lately with all my creations. And I've been sewing, sewing, sewing. Click the Read More! link to view some of the results, if you haven't already spied them.




unicorn flowers front2



First completed was this little skirt, made from a pillowcase.


unicorn flower 3-4



It's a little tight on me, but loosens up with wear. Besides, I like a tight waist. It has a yellow zipper and yellow biastape covering the waist seam. I even put some stiff interfacing in the band and did actual gathering [instead of hand pleating] for the first time! It has two rows of stitching on the hem to keep it secure and look good. I love this little skirt. The pattern reminds me of unicorns.


queen of roses collage



I made this tank from a plain white shirt. It takes care of your bra flashing through. Plus, it's made out of soft, tee shirt material with no ribs. I made the bib and riffle detail from the left overs of the capris I used to make my romper; the fabric has some stretch to it. The bottons are from the left over part of a dress I turned into a skirt a while back. I love this tank too.


purple people eater side full



Last is this delicious little dress. It's my newest creation made from a thrifted skirt. I tried a bit of 50s Hawaiian dress style with it, but I made my neckline differently and didn't gather it. It's purple with gold-green leaves and blue flowers on it; a gorgeous combo. The halter ties in the back and connects the dress under the bust. It's a full skirt but not a full circle skirt, pleated at the waist. It should show up like this one with a crinoline underneath. The fullness I love without fear of a Marilyn moment.


purple people eater full



It was a pain to make though; the fabric was one of THOSE that just doesn't want to behave right. It's a really soft and comfy rayon though.

Loving all her creations and partially hoping they don't sell so she can keep them,

Ivy Frozen

P.S. Clicking on these pix takes you to their etsy listings, not my flickr =)



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Tuesday, July 22, 2008

Product Review: Renegade Craft Fair

black and blue and white and wind


While I was being a renegade on this blog, I visited the Renegade Craft Fair in San Francisco the Sunday before this past Sunday. I wanted to go when I heard about it, then I flip-flopped to not wanting to go for various reasons. But then, I heard the Threadheads were going to be there so I had to go. Click the Read More! link to find out more about my experience.



So, the fair. It was smaller than I thought it was going to be. They had a huge banner up on the wrong building. One building back and two to the side was the real craft fair, in a dark warehouse. My sister and I weren't sure we were in the right place until we located the Renegade Craft Fair banner hidden behind the crowd on the front of the Etsy table. From pictures I located online, looks like the fair had done good business on Saturday, meaning a lot of the sellers had downsized their booths. My sister located a map and we set off.


Me & Rob @ Renegade

Coincidentally, one of our first stops was the Threadbanger booth. They had a ton of secondhand fabric and three sewing machines so visitors could build their own bags. Totally the best booth at the fair, though it's hard to compete with that. My sister completed her first sewing project ever; she was so excited. I was more excited about getting to meet Rob, even though I was too shy to say much. He's just as mellow in person as on Threadbanger. Good thing my sister brought her camera because like the genius I am, I forgot mine. Corinne wasn't there on Sunday because she had gotton a call back for Project Runway. I hope that went well for her. I had been looking forward to meeting her too though.

While we were hanging out at the Threadbanger booth, the reason I wanted to go on Sunday started: Mucca Pazza. Their name wasn't on the flier, but I knew a steam punk marching band had to be awesome. They were. They had so much fun playing, which equaled fun for the audience too.


We All Fall Down



After that, I was a lot more jazzed about the fair. My favorite products? These awesome clock face necklaces with little charms. The clocks didn't actually work, which I found a charming spin. One booth had a sewing machine pendant necklace which I also wanted, but it wasn't worth to me what it was to the seller. But, my absolute must have for the fair was a cow skull pin by JB Lowe. I wanted it so badly, but unforutunately, he only accepted cash and I didn't have enough left in cash after unforeseen travel expenses. There was only one atm at the event, which quickly went out of order. So, I left without a pin. He said he was planning on opening an etsy shop soon, so I'll be waiting.

Renegade Loot



Since I couldn't get the pin, I settled for a cute wallet/coin purse hybrid by Amies instead. I needed a new wallet, and this is a perfect. I also picked up some free lute from the Threadbanger and Burdastyle Booths.

My ultimate review of the fair: I think it lacked "Wow!" power, perhaps because it was Renegades first time in San Francisco or perhaps because I went on the second day when many sellers. Looking at the sewn goods made me feel better about mine. I didn't buy any because I didn't like how the sellers just let the ends of their sewing lines go wherever, instead of keeping them straight. (I try really hard with that in my sewing, though I understand if they're rushing to build a lot of product for a show why they'd do that. Really doesn't effect the outside of the garment.) They had a lot of screenprinters and artists; I was disappointed that none of the artists seemed to have magnets. I was also disappointed that there was only one place to get food. I would have liked to see some crafty food. All in all, it was a good fair, but just lacked that extra oomph that would have made it perfect, although Mucca Pazza very nearly made up for that. I give it 7 ivy leaves out 10 and look forward to seeing how they improve next year.

Making like a renegade,
Ivy Frozen
P.S. Since I forgot my camera and my sister had some diffuculties with hers, I had to seek some photos out on the web. Click pictures to be carried to their source.


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Monday, July 21, 2008

Upcoming Attractions

reow!



Sorry for the lack of posts last week. Everything I wanted to write about, I had to wait for pictures of. So, I just kind of pouted and didn't write anything and sewed instead. I have losts of new posts that I'm anxious to post up now, so this week should be full. Also, I wrote the instructions out now just need to take pics (since my computer won't screenshot) for the bubble dress tutorial, so don't worry international peeps who can't view the video, a written version is coming. And I hope to finally get around to updating my links bars this week too. Click the Read More! link for some international contests held by Japan.

So, I received an e-mail featuring international contests held by Japan asking if I'd announce them on the blog. I can't vouch whether these contests are real or not, so do your research if you decide to enter one. They look like they're all art contests. So, now a lazy copy and paste of the contest information from the e-mail:

UT GRAND PRIX 2009
UNIQLO’s annual T-shirt design competition since 2004, the 5th “UT Grand Prix” will call for entries from July 15th.
UNIQLO has actively developed its global expansion as a casual wear brand from Japan, opening flagship stores in New York, London, Paris, Hong Kong, Korea and China, and also shown the global promotion campaigns that world people can participate such as UNIQLOCK and UT LOOP!
Based on the concept of “T-shirt Design Olympics”, UT Grand Prix calls for T-shirt designs from young & upcoming creators from all over the world. Works will be chosen from more than 10,000 submissions in the first and second phases of judgment, & these will be shown on the web. In the final stage, 20 designs will be selected by presiding guest judges, & these designs will then be sold as UT (UNIQLO T-shirt) at UNIQLO stores. Cash & other prizes will be also presented to the winner(s). The Grand Prix (top) prize is 3 million JPY (or equivalent in local currency at current rates).
Submission Period: July 15th - September 21st, 2008
http://www.shift.jp.org/en/blog/?p=216

AMUSE ARTJAM 2008
AMUSE ARTJAM, a new art competition by a Japanese agency for all-round entertainment “AMUSE”, will open calling for entries from August 1st.
This is a competition that has counted more than 5000 submissions and total 70000 visitors in the past 6 events, gathering attentions as a gateway for young artists to success. This year as a new project, they will open a new gallery for contemporary art called “ArtJamContemporary” in the art complex building “NADiff A/P/A/R/T” in Ebisu, Tokyo. The participants of ARTJAM will be mainly featured in the gallery and sent to the world.
Anyone can participate in this competition regardless of genders, nations, ages, educations, professionals or amateurs, and genres. However, the competition winners need to participate in the award ceremony, which will be held in The Museum Of Kyoto on October 5th, 2008.
Submission period: August 1st - 31st, 2008
http://www.shift.jp.org/en/blog/?p=215

12TH JAPAN MEDIA ARTS FESTIVAL
CG-ARTS Society with Agency for Cultural Affairs and The National Art Center, Tokyo will start calling for entries for 12th Japan Media Arts Festival. They seek vibrantly creative works that are opening up a new era in each division of Art, Entertainment, Animation and Manga.
Submission Period: July 17th - September 26th, 2008
http://www.shift.jp.org/en/blog/?p=212

DOTMOV FESTIVAL 2008
Online magazine SHIFT presents DOTMOV Festival 2008, a digital film festival aiming to discover talented creators and provide them with an opportunity to show their works. Works submitted from all over the world will be screened throughout the world venues from November 2008 (Date will be different depending on the venue). Last year's total submission was 297 works from 34 countries. This year's tour will be Sapporo, Sendai, Shizuoka, Tokyo, Osaka, Kyoto, Fukuoka and Sao Paulo.
Submission Period: September 20th, 2008
http://www.shift.jp.org/mov/

SHIFT 2009 CALENDAR COMPETITION
Shift has been trying to offer artists many platforms to showcase their works online. The Shift calendar competition held from 2003 successively, pushes the boundaries between online and off line using a "calendar" as its medium. Entries are invited from all over the world and selected works will be distributed throughout the world in the format of a physical calendar.
This year, selected works will be exhibited and sold at PRINT'EM web site for a year with support by PRINT'EM, a graphic print center operated by Mitsubishi Paper MIlls Limited.
Submission Period: September 10th, 2008
http://www.shift.jp.org/2009/


[End lazy copy and paste]

All the links carry you to the lovely shift blog, which has lot's of pretty images and international news of art related events. If I can find the time, I might look into some of them.

Domo Arigatou Mr. Roboto Domo,
Ivy Frozen



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Friday, July 11, 2008

Chrismas in July

Jump Jiven


I don't really care for Christmas music at Christmas time. But when the sun gets hot in the summertime, I get the itch to sing Christmas carols. I guess the contrast just appeals to me the same way singing "You're the One that I Want"--especially "It's electrifying!"-- in the shower does. Did I mention I love awesomely bad jokes too? But we are about the clothes here, so let's discuss the tricky color pairing of red and green sans the Christmas conotations. Click the Read More! link to discover the super secret secret to wearing red and green together in the warm months.

If we're going to talk about red and green, we need to call in some experts. Style and color experts. The first is Vasiliisa, one of the foremost color mixing experts on Wardrobe Remix. She is in fact the one who showed me that such a pairing was possible.



The the easiest way to wear red and green together is to use a lighter shades of the colors. Lighter and brighter variations of red and green scream of the warmer seasons and bring images of watermelon and other summer fruits to mind. Here the brighter shades and fun check print of the dress invoke images of a picnic, not Saint Nick.

Here Vasiliisa is using the traditional Christmas colors and she's even sporting pattern on the skirt associated with the cold. She keeps it spring-y by combining it with warm weather accessories. Those shoes are unmistakibly summer-like and help bring out the warm weather nature of the miniskirt.

The colors on this dress are the same colors as my strands of multicolored christmas lights. Again, the trick to working these colors are the unmistakable warm weather accessories. She warms the outfit up with the sock and shoe combo. Her hair up and the sunglasses also speak of the sunny seasons. And the shape and cut of the dress is easily seen as a summer shape. She also mixes other colors in to take down the Christmas connotation.

Just want to wear Christmas red and green sans other colors? Let's look to Strawberry Kitten for help.

Photobucket

While being cute as a button doesn't hurt, Strawberry Kitten manages to make apples dance through our heads instead of sugar plums by actually wearing an apple. She then matched the shades of red and green on the shirt for a tasty combo.

Photobucket

Then she adds a leather jacket which really doesn't have much to do with this post per se, but I love a good kitty has claws look: a sweet outfit worn with some tougher elements.

Those two ladies make me want to trip to europe to see Finland and Germany, as opposed to the usual tourist spots as France, England, and Italy. Luckily, both of them blog. Vasilissa's blog is currently on a hiatus, but it's well worth it to poke through the archives. Stawberry Kitten posts pictures of her killer sense of style regularly and she also makes some of her own clothes.


Noooooo!

Here's another look at my take on the red/green color combo. I went for using brighter shades of the colors and using a patterned piece featuring the color combo in a small dose. Then I picked up the red on the dress with the shoes and scarf.

Walking in a Summer Wonderland,
Ivy Frozen



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Ronald Style

Who knew McDonald's was so stylish? Click the Read More! link to see the men's version.



Who knew Ronald was so hot,

Ivy Frozen


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Thursday, July 10, 2008

The Lost Projects

Gardenia Spread

The dress is done! I've completed a few projects that haven't been written up here so a project and thus image heavy post follows. This baby will be up in the shop tomorrow.

gardenia belt con doby

I love these breezy dresses in the hot summer months. This is my latest tent dress made from a skirt. It's made with this awesomely breezy material that moves like a dream. I wanna call it chiffon, not really sure if that's right or not though. It is dry clean only so be forwarned and has a few not really noticeable spots on it. It's so lovely though and can be worn with either side in front. This side in front is advisable though if you don't have anyone to help you do up the button. Yes, that's a button at center front in this view.


Gardenia in the hood

It's really fun to play with. It's lined since the top layer is sheer beyond decency.


Wild Thang

I also promised you all this romper. I completed it last week. Since I couldn't get the sides of the bodice to match up perfectly at the zipper, I'm keeping this baby for myself. It seems I didn't cut it quite right either. Really though, the flaws with this little darlin are only noticeable by people looking for them pretty closely. Easily wearable.


Sick Sick

I made it from some thrifted capris. They had this amazing print that I knew would be perfectly showcased on a romper.

Mew Mew


I hope to make some rompers for the shop later. I might have to remake my pattern though if it turns out my cutting wasn't the issue. I suspect it's my cutting, thoguh my pattern pieces are kinda mangled.


Dawn

It's pretty and comfy since it's stretchy. After wearing it, I see the appeal to rompers now. I can run around without fear of flashing anything. I can hang upside down, sit on my hips, etc. without fear of being exposed. I wish I had more of this fabric to make a matching skirt. It should be noted of course that rompers are not for the weak of bladder. They're not the most restroom-friendly items.


Musical Chairs

The last item is this skirt. I made it from and old dress of le Sabre Kitty's. I took the neckline off of the dress to create the band for the skirt. I think I'll shorten it though, since I tend to wear shorter skirts more than my long ones.

Trippen


It is lovely long though.

Slaving--er--Sewing away,
Ivy Frozen


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Wednesday, July 9, 2008

Style Icon: Mary Ann Jackson



This past weekend I went to the Silent Film Theater in my town. Silent films are kind of big around here; our claim to fame is that we had a silent film production company based here and Charlie Chaplin shot five films here. While Charlie Chaplin was absent from the theater on the day we went, Our Gang short was more than happy to fill us with laughter. Modern audiences may recognize Our Gang by another name, The Little Rascals. While appreciated the humor of the story centering on a devil man tricking the children into doing their chores, I was fixated on little Miss Mary Ann Jackson's style.


Mary Ann was the tomboy of the group. She entered the Our Gang series of films at the tail end of its silent film life. In fact, the film I saw was the last Our Gang silent films. She proved a valuable addition to the gang as they moved into talkies, with her snappy delivery of lines.



Our Gang was actually just a series of comedic films following the adventures of poor children. There was no storyline that tied the films together-- in one film the children are orphans, in another neighbors, and in yet another siblings--but the films were tied together by the basic idea and cast. There was no Spanky or Alfalfa. The Little Rascals characters we know didn't come about until later in their talkie years.

Even though Mary Ann was just a little girl when she appeared on the show, I could easily envision her style on a young women. This picture is actually from the film I saw this weekend. Floral minidress and are those cowboy boots? A girl after my own heart. In the film, she was wearing brown saddle shoes with socks with the dress, which was also amazing. I love that she's a tomboy who wears dresses everyday. She's tough and smart and cool and can roll with the boys in a floral minidress and lacy socks.


Mary Ann Jackson was no Shirley Temple. She wasn't a beauty and egregariously girly and cute. At age 8, Mary Ann left Hollywood feeling it was "sick" for children to distort themselves to fit into Hollywood roles. She died of a heart attack in 2003 and apparently she took to wearing '50s garb in her old age. I see what I was drawn to about her when I saw her in the film. She easily outshined her Shirley Temple clone castmate. I only wish she had been in more films. Katherine Hepburn, eat your heart out. Mary Ann Jackson is my retro tomboy style idol.








Mary Ann Jackson's Wiki
All images from Silent Ladies and Gents

Florals and Cowboy Boots, O my!
Ivy Frozen

P.S. The last picture doesn't have Mary Ann in it but I love the little girl's dress. Again, it seems like modern young woman wear.

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Tuesday, July 8, 2008

It Is Up!

Sabre Kitty in my hat

Ivy Frozen Productions etsy shop is open. Click here to take a look. This week dresses will be going up, followed by skirts this or next week. After that, I have some tees and hats and necklaces planned so stay tuned.Click Read More! to read more about it and get the image for this post explained.

The girl in the image heading up this post is le Sabre Kitty, one of my best friends. She's sporting a hat I made for her for Christmas; I knew she'd do it justice. She's just so fierce. She's also the line artist of the kitty on the banner in my etsy shop and that I'm sporting as a avatar in some forums.


sabrekitty_purrfect

There's the original version scanned in. She's an amazing artist makes me feel inadequate at art. She's a furry, so she loves drawing animals and is really good at them. She takes comissions if you like her stuff.

Enough pimping for now. We'll return to our regularly scheduled posts tomorrow with a post on Mary Ann Jackson style inspiration from her Our Gang years.

O! and I'm about to edit my side bars so now is a good time if you'd like to do a link exchange. Just leave a comment or send me a message. I'm happy to link to any positive blog related to fashion/style/diy/sewing/clothes/shoes/accessories/shopping. I will not link to blogs that just put people down.

Cheer and sunshine,
Ivy Frozen




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Monday, July 7, 2008

Pretty Dresses

Staind Glass Secret Pockets

Last week I left a cryptic message promising pretty dresses for last Wednesday. Unfortunately, I got a bladder infection and a reaction to the antibiotics I took to treat it. And then I had to dump the creep that I called my boyfriend. Let's just say, I understand the power of orange knickers on a new level. But fear not, for I return and bring with me three of the four promised dresses. The fourth is basically complete and is just awaiting a finishing touch.

Staind Glass Belt Surprise

The first is awesome. It has secret pockets. I love the secret pockets. They're just so awesome. You can secretly rub your tummy or hide secret things in them that no one will know about. The pattern is red, blue, and yellow flowers, kind of in a stained-glass way. It's cotton and trapeze style; comfy and cool for the summer. It started its life as a long, big skirt. I took off the waistband, pleated the excess fabric onto the front, and then attached a new waistband and the ruffle collar-straps. The pleating in front makes it look really great belted too. It also has elastic on the back to make it adjustable.

Tessela Doll

The second one I also love. The bodice is made from houndstooth old lady pants and the skirt is made from old curtains. It's a full circle skirt. What I especially love about this one is the pale pink ribbon handsewn inside the bodice and the maroon-ish zipper. Nice, hidden touches of color. Of course the outside of the dress is adorable too. The skirt has silver and white circular line designs on it. It tricks the eye into wanting to see black circular line designs on it too. It's a sweet, flirty dress that due to its muted palette can also be quite demure.


Dottie Front 2

Guess what? I love the third one too, despite all the trouble it gave me. It's just a very flattering dress. It is black with small polka dots about half the size of a dime. I have it a bit of a sweetheart neckline with a dart down the center front. It was inspired by '50s halters but instead of a full circle skirt, it has a straight skirt that is gathered at the sides and back. The front has a section of ungathered skirt about 4-6" wide. It almmost gives the dress more of a wiggle dress silhouette. Very sexy and flattering. I made it from an soft cotton skirt.

I love all of the dresses; I wish I was keeping them. They're all going to go up for sale on etsy once I get my store up either later today or tomorrow if all goes smoothly. I'll post a link/announcement up here when they're up.

Mas info if you're interested: They all fit me at about 33" inch bust and a 25-26" waist i.e. the fit a women who wear a size small. The trapeze dress can expand to fit up to a size large comfortably, and the polka dot dress can be let out to fit up to a 28" waist and 36-38" bust. I haven't measured them yet to be entirely sure, but the polka dot and circular print dress should have a 34" bust and 26" waist. Both the polka dot dress and the trapeze dress are made of 100% cotton. I'm not entirely sure of what the circular print dress is made of, so if you have fabric allergies, I'd avoid it to be safe. Some serged edges are left on the dresses I reconstructed from other garments, otherwise the seams are flat felled or covered with bias tape, except for the back seam along the zipper which may be zig-zagged to leave the dresses able to be taken out a bit. And last, since I use repurposed fabric they may not be in perfect condition. However, they don't have any big, glaring flaws that would need to be covered up. You'd have to be actively searching for them with a rather close view of the fabric to find any.

Sewing up a storm,
Ivy Frozen



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