Guest Post | Mermaid Dress DIY from Kate

I asked Kate Gabrielle from Scathingly Brilliant, one of my absolute favorite bloggers, if she could do a DIY post whilst I'm busy moving - and this is what she came up with!

For my DIY post, I was inspired by Kailey's love of mermaids! I decided to create something that mimicked the pretty scaled pattern on a mermaid's fins, and came up with this easy peasy stamped dress project!

You'll need: a white cotton dress (or shirt, or skirt), two bottles of fabric paint (your main color and white), a wooden block (I stole one from my little brother's old block set), scissors, a compass, a piece of craft foam, a paintbrush and some free time.

1. With the compass, draw a half-circle onto your foam. You want it to be about the same width as the wooden block.

2. Using the half-circle as your guide, sketch in the rest of your scallop with pencil, and then cut it out.

3. Glue the piece of foam to the wooden block, making sure that the ends of the scallop are even with the top. (It's okay if the bottom of the scallop doesn't quite reach the bottom of the block :)

4. Make sure you have cardboard or something under your dress so the paint won't seep through to the back side! Then put a thin layer of fabric paint on your stamp using a paintbrush.

5. Starting at the top of the dress, stamp your first scallop. Then repeat the pattern underneath, with the next two scallops meeting in the middle of the one above.

6. For each new row, mix a little bit of white fabric paint with your other color to achieve the gradient look. This was an important part of my project because I knew that I didn't want to stamp the skirt (the gathering at the waist would have just been way too tricky to maneuver!) so I wanted it to fade to white before it hit the skirt.

7. Let your dress dry for a few hours (I let mine dry for 24 hours before I wore it, although it felt dry much sooner) and voila! You now have a brand new dress that would make any mermaid proud! :)

            You can find Kate Gabrielle sharing her love
            of pastels, cats, hayley mills, and DIY
            projects at Scathingly Brilliant, and don't
            forget to check out her etsy shop!
            Thank you again Kate ♡!

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Favorite Films: Disney's Cinderella (1950)

Concept artist Mary Blair and the whole Disney crew really outdid themselves with the animation for Cinderella, my personal favorite Disney film - the color scheme of soft blues and pinks paired with the detailed, beautifully rendered settings is a dreamland. The characters, from Cinderella herself to the mice and birds, are just the icing on the cake. To me, Cinderella is art in motion.

I've always thought the movie version of Cinderella was much more pretty than the generic stock images of Cinderella that populates the prepackaged pink toy aisles!

This Prince Charming has some sass~

♥, Kailey

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Hi!atus

Hello! And goodbye :( Unfortunately the time has rolled around where I need to dedicate my time 100% to packing and cleaning (it's been a very long road, getting ready to move to a new state)!

HOWEVER, I have some blog posts queued for here and on my tumblr - and you can always reach me on twitter or by email. So hopefully you won't miss me too~ much ^.~

Hugs and kisses!

Kailey

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I'm Still a Mermaid~

Hello hello! As you can see, I decided to make the top of my mermaid dress into a shirt, because I wanted more possibilities! Lately, all I have really been up to is packing whilst listening to The Human League. I keep getting distracted rediscovering some of my favorite things (stickers, books, etc) when I am *supposed* to be packing them and have started spamming my instagram with pictures!

SHIRT: D.I.Y. SKIRT: Goodwill BELT: Goodwill TIGHTS: Forever 21 SHOES: Years ago at Kohl's

What is on your to-do list for this summer? I have been compiling a list of what I want to accomplish and I'm getting very excited~ Even though it was disgustingly hot out today I had fun rollar-skating around the neighborhood!

♥,
Kailey

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Behind the Zine: Get Animated

Re-imagining cartoon characters was one of my first ideas for Pistachio, and it definitely ended up being one of my favorite parts of the zine! I wanted to share some of the pictures I didn't include in the zine and explain a little bit on how I achieved these looks!

KIMBER FROM JEM

I wore the Jem pin Marlena made for me, made my eyebrows blue using eyeshadow, and tackled the unique eye make-up for Jem's little sister, Kimber.

HELLO KITTY

Since my freshly dyed, uber bright pink hair would clash with her color scheme, I wore a short black wig. I made the bow myself using Marlena's bow tutorial, and painted on whiskers and a button nose to emulate Hello Kitty!

JUDY JETSON

If you have ever wondered what it looks like when I smile with my teeth (I strongly dislike my smile so that's why it's so absent from this blog! >.>)~~~ I didn't use this picture because of how messy the ponytail looks and my handmade-out-of-felt collar's clasp broke and I didn't notice at the time! For the hair I used an old wire hanger and manipulated it until I got the right shape, and the bow is also one I handmade for the occasion. I went through a drive-thru like this and got quite a stare from the cashier!

To view the finished project, check out page 12 of Pistachio!
♥,
Kailey

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Snail Mail

Getting a package in the mail is one of my favorite things - especially when it's one from my penpal Marlena! Inside the colorful envelope was her fully illustrated coloring page tribute to Meadham Kirchhoff - Pastel Puke, which is quickly becoming one of my favorite possessions and just further proves that Marlena's skill transcends many different art mediums *_*

As if that wasn't enough, she also included a Barbie valentine circa the late 80s, two handmade pins (one of Siouxise Sioux GUH), stickers, AND Mary Quant socks - I WAS ON CLOUD 9 FOR THE REST OF THE DAY I CAN ASSURE YOU THAT ♡♡♡♡

Just today I also received ELLE Collections' S/S 2012 issue after a couple of months waiting for it to arrive! The colors and overall layout of this magazine is just absolutely beautiful. My favorite part? Definitely the collage that included a clipping of Prince from Purple Rain - SWOON. Did you get anything interesting in the mail today? ^^ ♥,
Kailey

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