Nicole and Gabby's Thrifting Adventure

So, I love to go thrifting. Yes, it is sometimes not soo fun to sort through the dirty, dusty old store, but when you find a fabulous lamp shade for three dollars like I did today it makes it all worth it. I have been doing it for a while and think that it doesn't take a rocket scientist to find the hidden treasures located at Value Village but it does take a good eye and a little bit of practice. Here are some pics and tips to keep in mind when you go on your own thrifting adventure...

Nicole's Thrifting Tips...
1. Pick a thrift store in a decent area. They tend to be much more clean and organized. Sometimes the ones in the less upscale areas have more vintage items so don't write them off either. But deff. visit those earlier in the day and with a buddy (for safety reasons). Which leads me to number two...
2. Try to go as early as possible. It is much quieter and there has been less picked over than if you arrive late in the day. This is especially important on half off days, it is a zoo in there by 11:00, beat the rush!
3. Wear comfortable clothes! This is a long sometimes dirty process. You don't want to have a dust explosion on your favorite top.
4. Have a system, Thrift stores are usually large and very overwhelming. If you love dresses (like I do) Start at one end of the dress aisel and whip through them. I usually shuffle through them really quickly until something cute catches my eye.
5. Be able to see the bigger picture. That old, grey, grandpa sweater might look ridiculous to you at first glance. But, with a tight tunic, pair of skinny jeans, and some riding boots it might look pretty fabulous. Everything looks pretty grim inside the thrift store, but once you think of how it would look outside with a different outfit, or good washing your options completely open up.
6. Do not go grab happy. You are going to be very tempted to buy everything you see even if it isn't superrrr cute because of the price. If you are never going to wear that shirt, it doesn't matter that is was only $3 you are still wasting your money.
7. Check back often. They are constantly restocking at thrift stores. I always go back and check the dresses one more time before I leave. I once found an ADORABLE off the shoulder prairie dress because I went back and checked one last time on my way out, boy was I happy I checked!
8. Invest in a box of Mr. Clean Magic Erasers. Trust me. A lot of the thrift stores mark their household items with some kind of grease marker/crayon thing which is sooo annoying and hard to get off! But the magic eraser works like well... magic!
9. Make sure all electronics work! If you are not planning on using your item just for decoration, plug it in. There are usually little stations that have plugs so you can make sure your stuff works. If your lamp doesn't light up the first time try swapping out the light bulb from another lamp. I can't tell you how many times it was just a dead light bulb.
10. Enjoy yourself! Thrift stores are very hit or miss. Some days I come out with an entire cart of loot and other days I wind up with nothing. Don't get discouraged it's all part of the fun!

Finally, Here is it is Gabby and I's Thrifting Adventure....



















Here are some of the goodies up close...

Floral Robe $3.50

Yellow/Golden Shrug $2.50

Floral Skirt $3.50

Orange Candle Stick Holders $1.20 for the pair

Composer Busts $ .80 each

Model Ship $3.13

Fringe Lampshade $2.12
Lamp Base $3.00

Hope you enjoyed that and are inspired to go see what you can find at your local Thrift store!!!

Friday Finds

Ok, so I have decided that each Friday I am going to feature 10 things that I have found throughout my week that I find fun and interesting. They will be called Friday Finds. I read a ton of blogs and love to look up clothing, design, and photo related things that hopefully you will love to learn about too...

1. Head Wraps

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Sometimes my hair is not bouncing and behaving properly and I just need to get it up and out of my face. So why not add a really colorful scarf or bandanna to make it look just a little bit cuter.

2. Heart Shaped Sunglasses

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I love these things! I think they are adorable and can be worn with tons of outfits. You could totally be wearing a uptight navy blazer and BAM! some red heart shaped sunglasses make you so cute and approachable.

3. Cute Cupcakes

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I literally stood in Barnes and Noble and looked at every single cupcake in this book. I drove my sister nuts going, "OMG look at this one!! Ahhhh this is sooo cute!" I loveee making my friends and fam cute birthday cakes (and cupcakes) and I have deff. been inspired after looking through this book.

4. Neon Graveyard

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How awesome is this?!?! Las Vegas is famous for all of it's shiny neon signs, but sadly not every sign shines forever. The Neon Graveyard (or Boneyard) is where all of these fabulous signs go to die. But don't worry you can still go see these beautiful signs at a sight downtown. It is one of my goals to do a photo shoot there!!

5. The IT Crowd

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I am sorry but I hate The Office. Admit it you don't know why your laughing, you are just laughing because you think you are supposed to. The IT Crowd deff. kicks The Office's butt! This British comedy is hilarioussss.

6. Vintage Dresses

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I loveee vintage dresses! Whenever I go to the Thrift store that is the first section I head for. This is probably because I am afraid that someone else is going to snatch up the one adorable dress left before I get there. Don't laugh I have caught many a little old lady grabbing the perfect dress right before my eyes (they really do have good taste). Anyway, Bluebird Vintage does all of the work for you, so you don't have to risk the need to take down little old ladies.

7. Where the Wild Things are Party

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How stinkin cute is this party?! I love theme Birthdays, actually I just love Birthdays period. They are my favorite thing in the world!

8. Custom Anne Boleyn Necklace

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I love this necklace!! If you watch Ugly Betty you've seen America Ferrera sporting one these. But the original fashionista that wore this was Anne Boleyn back in the 1500's. I am deff. going to snag one of these sometime soon!

9. Vintage Playing Card Collection

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I love looking at a Collection a Day, and this is one of my favorite collections so far. How cute would these look as decoration framed on the wall?!

10. 4th of July Smoke Bombs

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I have alwayssss wanted to try this. It looks like so much fun and makes for GREAT pictures!! I have no idea how these work or if their even safe to use so be careful if trying this at home...

So there it is, my first Friday Finds Post!!! Now I'm off to go thrifting!

Want It: Vintage Dress

OK Soooo sorry for the lack of posts lately but I have some great things coming up!! I just lost my Photoshop because my hard drive crashed (don't worry Apple Care covered it thank the sweet baby Jesus!!). I am also trying to get my work room up and organized so I can work on some fabulous new things (I got a request for boutonnieres which I am super excited to start on). Once these two things are handled I will be even more excited to work on stuff for the shop! Anyway I thought I would share this dress I want so stinkin bad!! Only problem is I would have to sell an organ if I want to keep up with my budget. OK, maybe that was a little dramatic but you get it, deff. out of my price range...







Check back tomorrow I will be introducing a new type of post I will be doing every Friday. I also have an action packed weekend that will probably involve thrifting and flea markets. So get ready...

My Favorite Kind of Motion is Stop Motion

According to Wikipedia Stop Motion is, "an animation technique to make a physically manipulated object appear to move on its own. The object is moved in small increments between individually photographed frames, creating the illusion of movement when the series of frames is played as a continuous sequence."

A lot of stop motion is used for commercials and sometimes even for movies (think Chicken Run). I personally love the effect and really want to try to do my own stop motion short one of these days. I even have a Fleet Foxes song in mind that I may use for inspiration. Anyways, here are some little shorts that are sure to make you grab your camera and move items in your room at very small increments for many hours (while being a very awesome art form it is also a very painstaking one). Enjoy!!

This Is Where We Live from 4th Estate on Vimeo.

Hoedown from Rodeo from Eleanor Stewart on Vimeo.

Sorry I'm Late from Tomas Mankovsky on Vimeo.

I also LOVE LOVE this Her Morning Elegance video.

Also in love with this Fine Frenzy video.

And of course we all love the Amazon Kindle commercials, but who hasn't seen them already...

Happy Mother's Day

My mom is the greatest person in the world, and I am not just saying that. She has gone through so much and still has managed to be the most giving, intelligent, loving, beautiful person. She loves everyone just as they are, and is always willing to help in whatever way she can. She has the wisest advice and is always there to listen no matter when or where you need her. I honestly from the bottom of my heart don't know what I would do without her. She is always there to support and encourage me with everything I do. Her biggest downfall is not realizing how amazing she is. I constantly tell her she does not give herself enough credit, but I guess that is partially her humility. My Grandma once told me "You are just like your Mother." And I said, "That is the nicest thing you have ever told me." I love her so much and if I do truly turn out to be "just like my mother" it will be my greatest accomplishment.

Sketches

So, my major is Graphic Design and Advertising and drawing is not my strong suite. I work much better on the computer and excel more with the blending of colors end than the technical drawing end. But of course I have to have some basic knowlege of drawing for this field so I had to take a drawing class. Here are some drawings from the sketchbook I had to keep for Drawing 1. I always wonder what people choose to sketch in their sketchbooks so i thought i would share mine, and yes i know i have a long way to go...