Valentines: Yay or Nay?

 Helloooooo Valentines!

Okay so it's not quite here, but I am of course dressing to celebrate the holiday! I know a lot of people aren't the biggest fans of Valentine's Day. I'm assuming that's because they don't like being reminded that they're single, but there could be other reasons. If you hate V-day, let me know why!

 I for one am a big fan of Valentine's Day. This could be because I haven't been "single" in a good long while,  but really I've always thought of it as a way to celebrate love! Love for your boyfriend or girlfriend, friends and family, or even your pets (I'm talking to you, Kit)! Plus it's festive and I love festive things. People get to act differently on holidays, and I think it's all good, clean fun.

 While I may not hate February 14th, I certainly did hate taking these pictures. I don't know if I'll be going down to the trains much anymore. The white balance was all weird and my coat kept coming out like some shiny beacon. I had to turn the exposure way way down to get them half decent, and then halfway through shooting suddenly everything went dark and I had to crank it up again!

My friends today were referring to my body type as "willowy". I was like "um what guyz?" I mean, I hardly think I'm fat, but I've got a 34D bra (bet you wouldn't have guessed that) and 40 inch hips and I'm not even that tall. I always thought of "willowy" as the model-esque girls who tower above me and have ruler body types. Yknow? If my body had to be compared to a tree I'd pick something a little sturdier, maybe a maple?

 coat: wetseal

dress: for sale in my shop! use VDAY13 for 30% off at checkout!

shoes: goodwill

socks: old navy

sweater: f21

Art Lately

Here are some paintings I've done for myself lately.

Aaaaaand for school!

Just as a lame self-promo, I do portrait commissions for $15 and blog headers for $20. You can email me at ohavalanche@gmail.com if you're interested!

Monday Reds and Blues

 Pleats are my new favorite thing.

 So, I guess it's Monday again! I had a really nice weekend. I stayed with my boyfriend (like I do basically every weekend) and bought a lot more things than I should! Speaking of Travis, since Valentine's Day is coming up, I'm planning on a little feature as an excuse to talk about him more! I mean, honestly, he is pretty fashionable in my humble non-biased opinion, so there's no shame in putting him up on my fashion blog, right?

 Getting back from my lovely weekend sure was a snap to reality though. Last night it was all meetings that group members didn't show up for and package design that didn't come easy to me! At least I got to do laundry. I'm assuming I'm not the only fashion blogger that likes doing laundry? I mean, it's an excuse to stare at my pretty, clean clothes. Anyone? Anyone?

 Now let's all go have a great week!

Like a Disney Princess

 I took these pictures on a windy day. It was right before this big old storm hit South Carolina, and putting my tripod up seemed pretty treacherous. Most of the pictures turned out like this:

 At least it was warm! Unfortunately, I had a smudgey smudge on my lens the whole time I was photographing and I didn't notice it! But I did feel just lovely in this outfit. If I could wear this every day, I probably would.

 My friend Amanda told me this shirt reminded her of Kokoum. You know, from Pocahontas? With the little bear paw prints on his chest? Haha. I do really like that movie, despite the special edition DVD including the extra love song Mel Gibson sings (If you've heard it, I'm sorry). But it's not my favorite Disney movie. My favorite is Mulan! Closely followed by Hercules. I also like Aladdin and the Hunchback of Notre Dame, and the Princess and the Frog! I mean, I really love most of them. For all the grief Walt Disney gets for being a douchebag, he really is responsible for some of the most influential children's entertainment (and some amazing feats in the animation industry!) Which one is your favorite?

 shirt, floral crown: DIY

skirt: delias

shoes, necklace: Forever 21

Not So Grown Up

 More weird pictures in front of that cotton barn. Apparently this is where I decide to get creative with the camera.  I wanted this one (below) to be focused on the twig and have me be blurry in the background, but whatever. Kindof hard to control when you're just taking a selfie on the side of the road, haha.

So how about I'm wearing sneakers here! I got them this weekend because I've been wanting some new converses, and because of my recent ingrown toenail-surgery, buying shoes with some wiggle room in them seemed like a good idea. The "surgery" went fine, by the way, it doesn't hurt at all. My toe looks gross as hell now, though. I'm trying to pretend it's just painted half red!
I used to wear converses all the time in highschool. Like I have this disgusting pair with holes in them i wore almost every day, and I wore some both years to prom (not the disgusting ones). I tried to dig up a picture for you guys from the archives of facebook, but no cigar. When my highschool sweetheart and I split we deleted all the pictures of us together. Sad, right? But anyway, wearing these recently has been like a strange blast from the past. I'm not used to looking down and seeing them!

 With the combination of this apple skirt, sweater vest, and my shiny new sneakers, I felt like a teacher and a gradeschooler at the same time. But that kindof describes my style well, I think! Part librarian, part 8 year old!

 This outfit turned out a lot nicer than I thought it would. Last night when I picked it out I just wasn't pleased.

shirt, vest, skirt: Goodwill

shoes: Journey's

coat: Modcloth

Lately

 The Broad River flooded!

 Feeling cute in a thrifted handmade pinafore

 I made these peanut butter cookies from a just add water kit that expired a year ago. They were really good.

We had this crazy storm that rendered my umbrella useless.

 Got a really cool pair of earrings at Plato's for $3.

Cutting paper til my fingers fall off for my boyfriend's Valentine!

I made a couple Valentines cards to raise money for my class's senior show. Just as a reminder, there is a Valentine's sale going on in my shop!

What are you guys up to?

DIY Mermaid Shirt

I made myself a mermaid shirt! And I'm going to show you how to make your very own!

First, grab some supplies. You'll need a shirt (I got mine at Goodwill for 50 cents)

Foam core or some thick styrafoam (I reccommend styrafoam, it will be easier)

An xacto or wood carving knife

fabric paint

 1. Draw your shell on your foam. Mine's about the size of my fist, but I would probably have liked it a little bigger.

 2. If you're using foam core, first you'll have to remove the paper. Cut out the outline of your shape and then slide your blade under the paper layer to remove it.

 3. Now you'll need to carve into the foam. Remove all the foam that isn't part of your shell shape.

 4. Go in and do the details. You'll need to remove the paper that's on top of the shell, too, because the foam will absorb the paint better.

 5. Paint up your stamp!

 6. Stamp it, and go back in and fill any holes! Make sure you try the shirt on first and mark where your boobs are so the shells are in the right place!

 7. Ta da! You've got a mermashirt!

I felt as pretty as a princess in this thing. I'll show you how I wore it soon!