Let's have lots of fun this year!
Source: hobogestapo
strike.a.pose.
I really like the idea of having bright colours in your hair.
Just a bit of pink or purple in your hair seems nice.
out with 2009...
...and in with 2010!
I always forget that I just started my blog in April, feels like much longer. I just checked my site tracker (which I totally forgot I had installed) and found that I have already surpassed half a million visits! A big thanks to everyone who made this possible. I may be a terribly bad blogger but you guys have stuck with me all this time despite my shortcomings. I promise that from here things will only get better since I can genuinely say that I'm really into blogging. It took a while but I found my niche and will continue to explore it and hope that you guys stick around for another year!
2009 started out horribly but became much better almost instantly two months in. BF and I finally started dating (after what, a year and a half of mutual crushes?) and I developed a solid group of friends. I gained ten pounds but found someone who will take me out on food adventures, so I guess it's a good thing? I'm sitting here trying to figure out what else there is to note about 2009 but most of the things I can think of are weird and Pika-related. I try to keep it to a minimum on the blog but I really am a strange person and I'm glad I don't really have to hide it IRL since BF is equally weird and odd. Oh yeah, did I ever mention that BF = his initials? I guess it works both ways.
Things to look forward to in 2010: more consistent blog posts, graduation, and, erm... joining the workforce. I'm excited about that last one only because I'll finally be done with school but it still scares the shit out of me to think that I'll be there in just a couple months. Well, in any case, 2010 sounds like it will be an interesting year and we'll see where I'll be by the end of it :)
2009 started out horribly but became much better almost instantly two months in. BF and I finally started dating (after what, a year and a half of mutual crushes?) and I developed a solid group of friends. I gained ten pounds but found someone who will take me out on food adventures, so I guess it's a good thing? I'm sitting here trying to figure out what else there is to note about 2009 but most of the things I can think of are weird and Pika-related. I try to keep it to a minimum on the blog but I really am a strange person and I'm glad I don't really have to hide it IRL since BF is equally weird and odd. Oh yeah, did I ever mention that BF = his initials? I guess it works both ways.
Things to look forward to in 2010: more consistent blog posts, graduation, and, erm... joining the workforce. I'm excited about that last one only because I'll finally be done with school but it still scares the shit out of me to think that I'll be there in just a couple months. Well, in any case, 2010 sounds like it will be an interesting year and we'll see where I'll be by the end of it :)
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Happy New Year!
Happy New Year, my darlings. Thank you so much for a wonderful year; it has been so much fun to have you here. Here are a few fun links...and see you in 2010! xoxoA holiday birdfeeder.
Abbey's cuter-than-cute Christmas card.
Sherlock-Holmes chic.
Oooh, those LA views.
Times Square snowball fight.
A rad reindeer ad campaign.
Liking this sealife poster and nautical collection.
Plus, two videos:
A sweet wedding save-the-date.
Random but cute: A baby elephant who lived with a Russian family!
(Photo by Elisabeth Dunker)
bye.two.thousand.and.nine.
Wow.. another year just gone like that..
It always ends so quickly but this year seems to have passed by more faster than others.
Well, I want to thank you guys for looking at my blog, leaving comments and sending lovely emails. Thank you all so much. You know I love you guys right?
I have no idea what 2010 is going to bring all of us and I'm old enough to know that life can bring you unexpected surprises, but I wish everyone the BEST for 2010!
Enjoy the last of 2009...
x
Yenny
pulp.mag.
Christina Dietze for Pulp Mag
Photography by Alex Pott
Christina modeled and styled this shoot and I'm dying to see the full version of it!
The Shining
On Monday evening, Alex convinced me that it was a good idea for us to turn off all the lights and watch The Shining. Needless to say, I totally freaked out and had to check under the bed before going to sleep that night (seriously) (I'm 30). So, yesterday, Alex showed me this hilarious spoof trailer from 2006, which makes the movie look like a romantic comedy. I was dying laughing. Now that's more my speed.
Do you like scary movies?
Home Inspiration: Frame Walls
We're slowly but surely starting to put together a nursery (exciting!). I love the idea of having a frame wall, so the baby can look up from its crib and see all its loved ones smiling down on him or her. So, I think we're going to roll up our sleeves and make one! Here are two photos I'm using for inspiration. xo(Top photo by Todd Selby; bottom photo by Annie Schlechter/Domino)
i would rather be alone
roc21
This was written a year ago, but I still fight with myself: Love, or no love? Destroy myself, or fix it?
I have never known love.
I have never been held by somebody who said
“We fit together”.
There has never been another
And that is fine.
I can’t live up to someone’s standards
And I can’t give more than I can take
Of my heart to only one.
There isn’t a part of me
That I can let ache
Because I need him by me.
It means I'm not sure I can be faithful.
I can’t give up drinking, and messing myself up,
Until I am tangled and bent.
It is my art, and it is an instinct
To remain convoluted and tormented.
It’s not a burden I can lay on someone without guilt.
Everyone is shallow to some extent,
And unless he is beautiful superficially,
I won’t be able to step out holding his hand.
Walk, head held high,
Telling the crowd that yes, he is mine
And I am his.
There are parts of me I love,
Slender ankles, fragile eyes,
But too many that I hate.
So it is impossible to believe someone
Who tells me that I am deadly
Beautiful,
Until those parts are blotted out, fixed.
I will continue to deal with anorexia and depression,
States that will always threaten to asphyxiate me
And I understand these are things that most people can’t understand.
This sort of continual struggle
Which I let creep beneath my thoughts
Every single fucking day.
Parts of me that are locked away,
Quietly pushed to the furthest corners
Under the bed
Shamefully.
There are dreams of coffee in the morning,
Cigarettes after sex,
Fingers down my back,
And falling asleep on his lap.
But I am unsure of what to say, and how to act
So he won’t feel oppressed or worse
Unloved.
I swing between extremes,
And there is no in between.
I live explosively, and that’s not something
Easily accepted.
Terrified of all these rules and warnings
And reining back,
I would rather be alone.
-i'd like to remain anonymous.
kirsten.dunst.
I've tweaked my blog just a tiny bit to hopefully make it easier for you guys.
If you have any suggestions or feedback on my blog, please feel free to leave a comment or an email.
Also, tell me if you want me to link you on my blog roll because I'd be happy to do that too :)
Source: ru_glamour
J. Crew tees
J. Crew's floral T-shirts are so cute, and the best part is that they still stretch over my rapidly growing belly. (I really popped this week!)
Rainy wedding
I keep coming back to this rainy wedding in a California barn. The couple looks so blissful, and I'm in love with the bride's cream-colored wrap cardigan.P.S. Apparently when they rowed to the middle of the lake, it was just a drizzle...then suddenly the skies opened up! What a cute candid moment.
(Photos by Braedon Photography)
Modern wreath
How cheery is this do-it-yourself wreath made with felted balls? You could keep it up all year!(Via SeeSaw Designs and Black Eiffel)
The wonderful world of Wonderflex
This year I wanted to start with something complete new. I'm always searching for new materials, techniques and challenges. So the new MMO from NCsoft, Aion - Tower of Eternity, had some very good exsamples. There were a lof of commercials I saw on TV or the Internet and the details of the armor sets shown below were just awesome. I googled a bit and found a webside with all of the armor sets from the game. And I have to admid that I looked for the hardest and most complicated set in the game. I decided for this one:
I have never built an armor like this before, so I was eager to learn something new. And I already knew how I wwould realise it: Wonderflex.
I heard a lot about this material and read many reviews and tutorials. I already had the money and got my roommate into it, too. Two orders with shocking taxes and shipping costs followed.
Please look at the shipping costs and cry for us! But that was nothing compared to the customs...
So you see, it's very very expensive for me, to order it to Germany. But this awesome material inspired me SO much that I ordered it a second time. Now I had 7 jumbo sized Wonderflex boards. This should be enough. Or at least I hope so...
Here is a pic of this stuff and a further thermoplastic material called 'Friendly Plastic'.
My first experiments with this stuff ended in a completely finished bracer piece. I could not stop to work with it, he he. The day ended at 3 o'clock in the night. Wonderflex stunned me completely!
And here is a little making of my first work:
The second bracer followed:
... and for the second one I made a tutorial for you:
Like always I used half a styrofoam ball as the base and cut the form out with a cutter. Then I covered it with 3 thicks strips of wonderflex. Unfortunately you cannot form Wonderflex on curves like on this ball perfectly. So you see, I got some ugly foldings there. Not so nice, is it?
But we have a solution for this problem: Friendly Plastic
Friendy Plastik is the granule I ordered with my Wonderflex. It's also a material which you can form after you heated it. A hairdryer or hot water are enough for this and you can model it, when it becomes transparent. (You see it in the first picture. Some of the granules are already transparent.)
Then you take some pieces and press it on your wonderflex. Spread it well on the foldings and borders. Unfortunatly the plastic will already be cooled when you are finished. But you just have to heat it a second time to continue working. When your Friendly Plastic parts are transparent again you have to search a hard, flat surface like a desk. Keep in mind that this surface is clean and don't have any PVC on it. Wonderflex and Friendly Plastik loves to glue itself to everything it finds. Now you have to press the part of the Wonderflex and the granule as hard as you can on the desk. Press, roll, heat and repeat it. Over and over, until you get a smooth and flat surface and all of the irregularities are covered with Friendly Plastic. Now you can add some patterns and details with wonderflex if you want. Just cut your form out and heat both parts, to put it together.
Now comes the dodgy part:
I already told you how to build your puzzle parts.
For 3 dimensional details you can use Friendy Plastic. Loops, flowers, points, etc. Just try it and play a bit with it. Heat it a bit, form it and put it on your wonderflex. You don't need any glue for this, because Wonderflex and Friendly Plastic become very sticky, when they are warm enough. So be careful with your clothes, carptes, PVC or other Wonderflex/Friendly Plastic parts. So you only have one chance to put the parts right togehter. Otherwise breaking it will end with flaws and holes. But just in case you can fix this too, if you have no other option. So with a bit of luck and skills your armor parts are finished. And tadaaaaa, finished!
Now we get to my feet armor stuff:
As usual: Styling, trimming, blow-dry.
It could be difficult to find the right form, because you often have to think in 3D but to paint it on a 2D paper. So try a bit, until you are satisfied with your pattern.
Small parts, which don't have to be as thick as a normal armor part can be cut out of just two pieces of wonderflex. For this you can heat long pieces and put them together. Now you have a double layer wonderflex. Press it well and watch out for air holes inside it. As long as it's warm it's very easy to cut your form out. But with the missing craft foam inside there is no more steadiness. So be very careful!
Now you have a very flexible wonderflex part and can make curves like in the middle picture. But the cutting and forming make also some poor borders. I covered it with some stripes of wonderflex and built a nice armor look with it.
In additon, I have to tell you that this feet armor consists of 20 seperate parts. So you see, it's a huge puzzle you have put together if you want to build such an armor and you need a lof of time and patience for it.
But it's worth it!
Now I have to get busy again and I wish you a happy new year! ^^
I heard a lot about this material and read many reviews and tutorials. I already had the money and got my roommate into it, too. Two orders with shocking taxes and shipping costs followed.
Please look at the shipping costs and cry for us! But that was nothing compared to the customs...
So you see, it's very very expensive for me, to order it to Germany. But this awesome material inspired me SO much that I ordered it a second time. Now I had 7 jumbo sized Wonderflex boards. This should be enough. Or at least I hope so...
Here is a pic of this stuff and a further thermoplastic material called 'Friendly Plastic'.
My first experiments with this stuff ended in a completely finished bracer piece. I could not stop to work with it, he he. The day ended at 3 o'clock in the night. Wonderflex stunned me completely!
And here is a little making of my first work:
At first I cut the form I needed for the bracer out of craft foam. Always make copies of these, because it's very hard to find the right form a second time if you make a mistake!
The second step was to cut fitting parts out of wonderflex for the craft foam. Be sure that the wonderflex part is somewhat bigger than your craft foam part. Now you have to heat the wonderflex. For base parts like the bracer itself I took a 3 mm thick craft foam, for detail parts only 1.5 mm. Wonderflex becomes very soft and flexible when it's warm enough, almost like fabric. Then you can put it on and around the craft foam and form it like you want. For the base part I used only one wonderflex part for covering, for details I made a sandwich of 2 parts wonderflex and one part craft foam. Watch out that you use the right side of the wonderflex. It has one surface with a fabric structure and one rough side. I use the rough one, because if you cover it with Gesso it gets a flat and soft surface.
The second step was to cut fitting parts out of wonderflex for the craft foam. Be sure that the wonderflex part is somewhat bigger than your craft foam part. Now you have to heat the wonderflex. For base parts like the bracer itself I took a 3 mm thick craft foam, for detail parts only 1.5 mm. Wonderflex becomes very soft and flexible when it's warm enough, almost like fabric. Then you can put it on and around the craft foam and form it like you want. For the base part I used only one wonderflex part for covering, for details I made a sandwich of 2 parts wonderflex and one part craft foam. Watch out that you use the right side of the wonderflex. It has one surface with a fabric structure and one rough side. I use the rough one, because if you cover it with Gesso it gets a flat and soft surface.
The second bracer followed:
And also 2 pauldrons:
First one...
... and for the second one I made a tutorial for you:
Like always I used half a styrofoam ball as the base and cut the form out with a cutter. Then I covered it with 3 thicks strips of wonderflex. Unfortunately you cannot form Wonderflex on curves like on this ball perfectly. So you see, I got some ugly foldings there. Not so nice, is it?
But we have a solution for this problem: Friendly Plastic
Friendy Plastik is the granule I ordered with my Wonderflex. It's also a material which you can form after you heated it. A hairdryer or hot water are enough for this and you can model it, when it becomes transparent. (You see it in the first picture. Some of the granules are already transparent.)
Then you take some pieces and press it on your wonderflex. Spread it well on the foldings and borders. Unfortunatly the plastic will already be cooled when you are finished. But you just have to heat it a second time to continue working. When your Friendly Plastic parts are transparent again you have to search a hard, flat surface like a desk. Keep in mind that this surface is clean and don't have any PVC on it. Wonderflex and Friendly Plastik loves to glue itself to everything it finds. Now you have to press the part of the Wonderflex and the granule as hard as you can on the desk. Press, roll, heat and repeat it. Over and over, until you get a smooth and flat surface and all of the irregularities are covered with Friendly Plastic. Now you can add some patterns and details with wonderflex if you want. Just cut your form out and heat both parts, to put it together.
Now comes the dodgy part:
I already told you how to build your puzzle parts.
For 3 dimensional details you can use Friendy Plastic. Loops, flowers, points, etc. Just try it and play a bit with it. Heat it a bit, form it and put it on your wonderflex. You don't need any glue for this, because Wonderflex and Friendly Plastic become very sticky, when they are warm enough. So be careful with your clothes, carptes, PVC or other Wonderflex/Friendly Plastic parts. So you only have one chance to put the parts right togehter. Otherwise breaking it will end with flaws and holes. But just in case you can fix this too, if you have no other option. So with a bit of luck and skills your armor parts are finished. And tadaaaaa, finished!
Now we get to my feet armor stuff:
As usual: Styling, trimming, blow-dry.
It could be difficult to find the right form, because you often have to think in 3D but to paint it on a 2D paper. So try a bit, until you are satisfied with your pattern.
Small parts, which don't have to be as thick as a normal armor part can be cut out of just two pieces of wonderflex. For this you can heat long pieces and put them together. Now you have a double layer wonderflex. Press it well and watch out for air holes inside it. As long as it's warm it's very easy to cut your form out. But with the missing craft foam inside there is no more steadiness. So be very careful!
Now you have a very flexible wonderflex part and can make curves like in the middle picture. But the cutting and forming make also some poor borders. I covered it with some stripes of wonderflex and built a nice armor look with it.
In additon, I have to tell you that this feet armor consists of 20 seperate parts. So you see, it's a huge puzzle you have put together if you want to build such an armor and you need a lof of time and patience for it.
But it's worth it!
Now I have to get busy again and I wish you a happy new year! ^^