Crib Notes OOTD

OOTD means outfit of the day. On days when I'm feeling particularly awesome about my fashion choices, I'll start posting my OOTD. you'll also see more fashion blogs popping up on my faves list. I've gotten way into a few that I'd like to share with my loyal readers. So here's the first of many!
Smooches!

Mossimo Little Black Dress dress, from Goodwill but originally Target. Found this girl today for $8.99 and was quite pleased, since I just gave up my two other LBD's as being too big (YAY WEIGHT WATCHERS). Earrings are 'Swell' via Target and the scarf is also Target, from two seasons ago.

Cardi is Relativity via Herberger's which is my mom's favorite word to say. Insanely clearanced, I think it was $9 or something. I love the bright purple/pink shade, very spring-y.

Boots which you can't see are my go-to black boots from J.Crew. They were also very clearanced back when I got them 2 years ago, I think they were originally $150 and I got them for around $40. They have been re-heeled once already and even though they are salt-stained right now, these are my go-to black boots.

Tights, unsure. No label. They are faux-fishnet.

The Old Magic Crept Back

my little submission for the 'foot in the door' exhibit at the MIA. they only do it every 10 years, and they accept ALL Minnesota artists. so it's not like a *huge* deal. but i did grow up going to this museum all the time for school and family trips. and when my mom worked at the MIA in the ed. department, i got to go to work with her during the summer or when i was sick. i spent hours wandering the museum during the days, usually one of only a few people in the place. it was certainly magical. so i decided to bring some magic of my own to this challenge.

the dyed paper flowers came about because i wanted to use up some old dye that didn't work for tye-dyeing anymore, so i used it on the book pages. the crystals and shell centers of the flowers have long been in my stash. the tree limbs were an abandoned attempt at a mobile hanging device. and of course, the mousie was made by moi. the more i look at it and think about it, the more i want to do something to the walls and back of the IKEA frame. i better get it turned in before i change my mind!

More, around the way....

I need to get a medium-sized order in to the Bibelot tomorrow so I have been focusing on that, but here is another Easter preview for ya.* Look for them in my ETSY shop starting very early on Saturday AM.

I wove these nests while watching the Vikings season crumble like a cracker, and then made the wee birds to fit inside. I will be making an edition of 4 in brown/blue, and a few more different color schemes as the days go on.

I had made a nest with wee birds a few years back, with my older style of long-legged bird and some TINY little baby birds....and sent them out to my first ever out-of-state show in California. I've come a LONG way since then!

















*My facebook friends can get them for 10% off through tomorrow! Go to duckie uglings' facebook fan page for information!

What happened to that stuff you dyed?

Well, I made some cute pins out of them! The pin at center top is wool I had purchased, but the other ones are from my blueberry dyeing experiments. Cool, eh?

If you are interested in purchasing them, they will be going on ETSY on Friday. But before then: if you're my FACEBOOK fan you can get 10% off!!!

Look for Duckie Uglings on Facebook and become my fan, m'kay?

Me and you and a berry named blue....

I got a super sweet white woven wool coat at the thrift store. While debating if I was going to completely cut it up or not, I decided to cut up the sleeves and leave the 'body' whole for now. However, after this experiment, the whole thing may soon become fodder for this exciting process. This is by no means an exhaustive post on dyeing, but just a way to experiment with it.



You need:
Frozen Blueberries (unsweetened)
Glass container with lid that can go into your microwave (VERY IMPORTANT)
100% wool fabric, cut into managable pieces
Water (tap is totally fine)
A fork
Paper towels
Microwave
Air Freshener
Clothes you don't mind getting some spatters on.

OK. So start by making sure your wool pieces fit inside your container, then fill the container with water. Microwave for 1 minute, making sure the wool pieces all get completely soaked. Drain off the excess water, being careful not to burn your hands!

Without wasting much time, dump some frozen berries on to your wool! I used about 3/4 of a cup of berries and frozen water that had accumulated in the bag. They started melting almost immediately in the hot wool, which is totally fine.

If you want to make sure your pieces are all dyed to a uniform color, add water to cover. If you prefer a more random look, do not add more water! Cover your dish, and place in the microwave. Nuke for 1 minute, let rest for 30 seconds, stir the berries and wool with the fork, and repeat. You will hear some of the blueberries exploding and thank yourself for covering the dish.

Be prepared for a funky smell. The wool smells like a wet dog, and then you get the high sweet notes of the blueberries. It's real, real weird.

If you have sensitive family members, spray the air freshener.
Then tell them to buck up, you're making art!!!!

If you want a deeper, more intense color, nuke one more time. Otherwise, you can carefully take your container out of the microwave, and fish out the wool pieces with your fork. Rinse the wool until the water runs clear. The color will change slightly as you rinse, just make sure you squeeze and scrape off all the berry bits.

Don't get rid of those berries in the container, you can dye another set to a more subtle
color using the same process!!!

I even left some flowers overnight in the leftover juice and berries, they gave me the lightest colored flowers you can see in the photo, which represents 3 different 'batches' of dyed wool.

The finished color of the wool gets lighter as the wool dries, but with luck you can get a good range of purples and blues. Don't eat the berries after you've used them for dyeing. They may look tempting, I don't think it'd be a good idea.

I have used vinegar in dyeing yarn before, but I didn't have any in the house so I skipped that step. But I am going to try this again with blueberries and vinegar to see how that affects the color.



I wouldn't recommend trying this with very large pieces, as you really need the wool to boil to really set the colors. If you try this, please link back and let me know how it goes!

Winter Wanderland

Piggies! They are all at the Bibelot Stores, in time for Valentine's day! I doubt that I'll be making any more of these little guys, but you never know, do ya?

January is so. close. to being over.

But somedays I feel like the winter has just begun. It can get so blasted cold here. I usually wear long underwear or tights at all times. And multiple pairs of socks.

That new banner up there shows you a beautiful morning when the hoarfrost covered all the branches with a layer of frosted ice. The photo doesn't really capture the quality of light. It was a hazy, dreamy blue. The light out here in the country is really spectacular, all throughout the day and night. If it wasn't so cold, I would be spending more time outside in the moonlight this week. It is bright enough to read by, I swear.

In other exciting news, I hit the official 25 lb mark at Weight Watchers on Monday. I had to take off my glasses and socks to make it, but I did it!!!!

I am trying to only have items in my closet that fit, flatter, and are in top condition. Everything else has gotten donated or turned into rags or PJ's. Which means I have very few cold weather options right now!!!!

I know there aren't many pictures of me on this blog, since in the past I haven't liked having my photo taken, but as the winter ends, I will try to focus the camera on myself from time to time. This butterfly shall emerge from the cocoon of waffle-knit leggings and polarfleece zip-ups!!!!

for keeps

i had to keep this little guy.

something about his face.

his super long tail.

that little pout.........

i heard a story (perhaps it's an urban legend) that rivers cuomo (of weezer fame) has a notebook that he fills with data, analyzing successful pop songs of the last 40 years.

he looks at every aspect of a song, from the repetition of the lyrics, to the chord progression, to figure out what made a successful song. he uses the formulas to write hit songs.

i will use this monster for the same purpose. i wuv him so.....

And the winner is......

Deena from Minneapolis generously bid $100 on Henny LaRue. I will match that $100 and so we will send $200 to Haitian Earthquake relief. Look for another auction in 6 months and 1 year, also to benefit the victims of the earthquake.