A Dancing Lesson

I am wild about this song and video by Janelle Monae "Tightrope." I dont know if i am more excited about the dancing, hair, shoes + suits, or the darn catchy song itself!

JPG Magazine Feature

I was so delighted to find out tonight that my photograph "Escape Attempt No. 5" will be featured in the upcoming issue of JPG Magazine (issue no.21) under the topic of Fairy tales.
http://www.jpgmag.com/
This was a magazine that I remember always being around the photo area at school in undergrad and I would flip through for inspiration...I am so pleased to be a part of it!
This image seems to be the real crowd pleaser of all my work and has gotten in the most shows and even sold in several of them. I guess I should just go with it!

A Joanie Inspired Guest Entry

This Joanie Inspired Entry comes to us from my best friend who is now afar in West Hollywood, Kristin Peach Hooker. Hopefully you will see more of her soon!

As a fan of Christina Hendrick's Miss Holloway of Mad Men, I was particularly interested in finding her cute necklace, although I had no idea her necklace is actually a pen! There were some expensive versions of the gold pen necklace, but I settled on a $20 version from 1928 - a brand of vintage inspired jewelry.
http://www.1928.com/1960s-vintage-inspired-gold-tone-pen-necklace.html

During my search for the jewelry, I also came upon some super sweet vintage hair-do tutorials from a woman named Super Kawaii Mama! Here is her Mad Men hair tutorial:



Very fun! I watched a few of her hair tutorials and then fooled around in front of the mirror with a couple hundred bobby pins and a tube of liquid eyeliner.

Now, take a tip from Maria Bamford:
"Sometimes I still get a little homesick. And that's when I like to put on my Led Zeppelin CD, plug in my curling iron and just get full-on, balls-to-the-wall pretty."

ps: If you were Miss Holloway, you'd be learning your flirting skills from the 1962 book Sex and the Single Girl by Helen Gurley Brown.

Americana Shop Update

some new nautical/americana picks from the shop!

getting back to it

I am trying really hard to get back to making my photo work! one on-going project that i have been doing for years now is documenting my friends and loved ones in their homes to tell stories, build characters, and look at transition times where people are doing something for the first time (relationships, pets, babies, even just decorating and making a home for yourself in general) These are two images that i shot long ago and finally developed and scanned the film from! (lindsey and brant in the lower have an 8 month old baby girl!) Working my way out of this slump i hope.

my new girl

I let out squeals of delight yesterday when the UPS truck stopped at my house to deliver my perfect new dress form!! I had cheaped out on the previous dress form that I bought...not only was it oddly shaped, but it fell over often which lead to it quickly developing a crack in the base and constant leaning. ughhh....lesson learned i suppose. quality over $$ Embarassingly, as soon as I got the new form together, I tried about 20 different dresses on it and even clapped my hands a few times! (I am glad nobody was around to see such a display of affection)


In other news, I had previously avoided white clothing for the shop at all costs because I have always used a white background, making the clothing near invisible and endlessly frustrating. With Spring here and Summer on its way, I could no longer fight it. I painted a wall grey and have started a new white collection. Here are a few gems!

An Experiment

my friend and I picked violets today and decided to try to make violet infused vodka. this is a test. i am not really a vodka drinker, but it looks so darn pretty. we will sample it in approx. 3 days. i hope my landlord doesn't mow down the rest of the purple beauties any time soon.

a bit of whimsy please

credits:

The Fish Child no. 2 Finger Puppet - sweetbestiary

Daring Young Girl on the Flying Trapeze - marysgranddaughter

Gaspar - doubleparlour

A Bird Flew Over Print - treasurefrey

one more easter post

Maggie and I dressed in our Spring/Sunday best for an Easter service followed by brunch a restaurant that I would consider our local equivalent of a bourgeois Cracker Barrel. Indiana is delightful!
Maggie is wearing a very pretty blue tiered feather cap from the shop, and my dress is soon to be listed as well (I will pry my hands off of it soon).

happy easter!

Baby Sheep (Lamb) No. 1, by SharonMontrose

a thing

It seems that i have developed a thing for these 50's navy jackets and cover ups...they are piling up in the shop!

Mega Babe

I have finally started watching mad men in the past month or so. I love none more than "Joanie," Christina Hendricks' character. The styling on the show is, of course, amazing and inspiring (I credit it highly with vintage being extra popular lately), but finally there is someone who actually has a body and curves and is made out to be a total sexy lady on tv. Love it!

BeckyDrolen Vintage 1 Year Anniversary Sale

Tomorrow, APRIL 2nd, marks my first year of selling on Etsy!
I am so thankful for what a good experience it has been thus far with the loveliest of customers and doing something for a living that is exciting and different all the time. Not to mention some of the beautiful pieces I have had come my way and gotten to pass along to you! I am lucky indeed!

To say a big THANK YOU, I will be having a special store sale for tomorrow, April 2nd only.

Take 10% off when you buy 1 item
Take 15% off when you buy 2 items
Take 20% off when you buy 3 or more items.

Discount will be given after purchase as a Paypal refund.

Typestick -- letterpress printed thank you card - Green Chair Press