Bedazzlers Need Not Apply

(via The Glamourai -- I love the distressed/destroyed look of this jacket.)

Denim jackets will never go out of style. Whether yours is cropped or regular, bleached or dark wash, there are countless outfits you can throw a jean jacket over to complete a look. They're also endlessly personalize-able. I just made that word up -- feel free to use it in your everyday vocabulary. 

To be clear: when I say "personalize," that doesn't mean I condone bedazzling, cutesy embroidery, or puff paint. Jackets, or ANYTHING for that matter, decorated with these travesties should be left in the 80's and in midwestern Goodwill stores where they belong. Below, however, are some fun ideas that are worth a try...

Use pins to add a little personality: Search your mom or grandmother's jewelry box, grab vintage ones from Goodwill, or buy a big flower pin from Forever 21 for a buck. Also, putting a pop of fun fabric under the collar is a great idea... it would take a little sewing know-how, but would be a really cool addition to a jacket.

(Pamela Love for J.Crew)

Decorating the entire back panel of your jacket: You could probably use a sharpie, paint, or your favorite art medium to create your own design, kind of like the jacket below from Forever 21. On Anthropologie's site, I saw these jackets where the panel was replaced with a painting -- an extreme version, but maybe worth considering and emulating in a slightly less dramatic way.

                   (via Forever 21)                                                (via Swarm for Anthropologie)

Classic studs: You can buy studs at any craft store (or even online). Choose a section or two on your jacket (the shoulders or back top panel are good ideas, but consider the collar, down the sleeves, around the bottom, pocket flaps...) and go to town. This is bedazzling done right.

(via The Feather Junkie)

(via ShopFashionStylist on Etsy)

Cool, huh? Now I just need to figure out what exactly I want to do to my jacket. I'm thinking distressed, and maybe a few studs...

Birthday Cards, pt. 2

My grandmother, aka my biggest fan aside from David, asked me to make her a stash of cards that she could use for family birthdays. I was happy to oblige, even though I have like 9 siblings, 15 cousins, 2 nieces, and a partridge in a pear tree. I made nine to start, but these six were the ones I liked best...

For Andrew

A sort of get well card for my brother - he had surgery a few days ago. He's one of the bravest guys I know, so... Spiderman kind of fit the bill. I wanted to channel a little San Francisco, a little superhero, and a general sense of "I know you'll kick that surgery in its hindquarters."

Birthday Cards

Big cards, little cards, cards that climb on rocks...

I've been feeling inspired recently, so I've been making cards for family members as their special days pop up on the calendar.

Here are a few. Excuse the photography... I must ask you to always excuse the photography. That's just one of the many artistic bones I am missing in my body.

"Sparkler" - For Erin: Her birthday is in early July, so her collage is a proper mixture of patriotic bday enthusiasm and a dash of citron, one of her current favorite colors to wear.

"Dear" - For Laura: The girl loves horses, so this was an easy one. The texture of the polka dots mirrors the fuzziness of the horse, the strawberry (look familiar?) and the unicorn keep it from being too serious (she's 14 for crying out loud). Laura has a sweet spirit, so I wanted to capture a little of that in her collage as well.

"The Best" - For my mom: Simple, pretty things with a beachy feel - a lot of what my mom loves. "The Best" is an inside joke, and also true.

Bleach It. Bleach It Real Good.

Art project idea: load a washing machine with bright clothes, rolled and rubber-banded like a tie-dye shirt, pour in a cup of bleach, see what happens. Present.

Navajo blankets

Father's Day

A quick post for today. Here's the card I made for my dad this year.

I went with blue and tweed - what's more fatherly than that? Besides Mr. Fantastic from the Fantastic Four, of course. An odd reference, I know, but it reminded me of my dad since he gave some of his old Fantastic Four ViewMaster reels to my brother and I when we were little. The stars (an old event wristband) work with the superhero theme.