Pushing through...

 

 I've been workin' my butt off. Be back soon after a short break with news about TWO new collections, and my new website! I can't wait to share it with you!

Have a great weekend!

Missy

(sign found at Jimmy Johns)

Sychronicity

Two nights ago I worked a party at The Savoy for their 1 year anniversary. The Savoy is here on C-st. They give dancing lessons and it's also an event center. Super beautiful inside. 

I handed out Big Momma's sandwiches and brownies... yea brownies still warm from the oven. I had the most popular table in the house.

 

(hard to see, but those are nearly empty trays of sandwich quarters)

But then something amazing happened after all the dancing and eating was drawing to a close. Bella Donna (only my favorite local band ever) started playing the song from Triplets of Belleville (only one of my favorite movies ever). It was so much fun!

This is when I experienced synchronicity.

What's that mean? Well it's defined as this:

I found this moment in time to be pretty cool. It was a perfect close to a long day of sewing. It's weird how things happen, you know?

Just thought I'd share. Be on the look out for something magical to happen to you this week!

 Missy

Good Thoughts

This morning Christiano and I decided to grab lunch at Cooks Kettle right across the street from where I live. It's a culinary school for people who have previously been addicts and are clean now but need a place to start, get an education and learn a trade. They have to follow strict rules to be allowed to stay in the program, but the end result is seven certifications that are recognized by the National Restaurant Association Educational Foundation. They serve breakfast and a lunch buffet... anyways this is not a post about the Kettle, although very good. 

While I was waiting to get my food in line I our friend Gill popped up in line too. He sat down to lunch with us and we got to talking religion and life in general. Gill always says something that keeps me thinking hours later, but today he said something that really struck me. He said "Really, what it's all about is realizing the moment that you are in right now. The place you are right now in your life and what's around you." And while I've heard and thought about this before, sometimes a reminder is just what I need.  

So as I sat there listening to him talk I noticed the sun outside, the life on C-st driving by. Christiano to my right. A full plate of food in front of me. I had a beautifully colored sundress on and I'm living in good health. I was sitting there with Gill, who I admire, with my homework printed out and sitting on the table, reminding me of the new adventure I'm preparing for. 

Life is so beautiful.

While it is so easy to hold onto the things that are wrong in this world and people who have done me wrong, I have to be thankful for all that is right. And, I have to be thankful for the people who remind me of the that. 

So whether you feel like responding to this post in the comment box or not, I hope that reading this helps you to take a look at the life you live and see the good surrounding you. I hope you see the good inside of you.  

I am 22 years old, I just graduated from college and I'm on a mission to see what the other side of the world looks like. I have a loving family, friends and boyfriend. I laugh everyday and I have more than I need. I see beautiful things everyday and I feel connected to the Earth around me.

 Words do not give enough credit to how thankful I am to be right where I am, right now.

Love the everyday,

Missy

A Good Cry

When's the last time you had a good ol', decent cry?

I've taken quite an interest in photography recently and, well, I'm about to show you some pictures I just felt like taking tonight. I've always loved looking at sad people in pictures for some reason. I hurt for these people without an ounce of knowledge about them or why they're crying. Now I'm not asking you to feel anything for me, this is not like that. I really took them for myself.. can't tell you why. It just happened and I thought I'd share.

Mom and dad if by chance you fall on this one day in your confusing adventures of the world wide web, I'm just fine. I'm doing just fine, promise. 

Sometimes, I think a cry is necessary in a cleansing sense. AND not because you're sad, or you've had a trying day. Just happens sometimes. No? Never to you? Maybe I'm experiencing a sadness I'm not aware of. 

Call me crazy. 

These are real tears. I was able to tap into these emotions I haven't felt for a long time, and I believe in a healthy way. I'm past the experiences I went through and I'm better off, but that doesn't mean I can't remember them. I imagined the camera as the eyes of my experiences. I thought about it, and I want to keep the origins of these feelings from you, to allow you to walk through these photographs and see in them what you will, the same way I do when I place myself in a sad photograph. 

So I ask you again...when's the last time you had A Good Cry? 

On a lighter note...

I'm so excited because I think I might have found my last piece of the puzzle... my last model! *fingers crossed and shaking rapidly! 

Now back to the regular broadcast.

Ripping pages... and getting organized!

Organization

=

the ability to change everything 

So, one of my favorite things to do is go through my magazines and rip pages. I used to have a real problem with this because I had this feeling of, “I just don’t want to split this issue up, I just don’t want to split this spread up.” It’s like being a vintage store owner and acquiring a three piece suit with a magical cape and a matching hat. You just don’t want to sell them separately and split them up. (what’s that about anyways?)

But then I realized, if I don’t tear these pages out, they’re going to sit on the book shelf and rarely be opened. They’re not going to live the life that they were intended to, and that’s to inspire you and give you beautiful visuals and, well, be looked at.

(One of my favorite rips... it resides in the front cover of my binder. I just love this woman's spirit)

So, then I have no problem ripping. I rip away, you know?

I start flipping, I find the ones that I want, I find the ones that make me stop. Even if you think you might not use it at that time, rip. Also, you might not realize you’re finding inspiration in it, so, you have to be conscious of your reaction, because if it makes you stop and just look and stare, you should just rip it.

With that being said, you might rip a lot of things. And how do you remember what you liked about that? How do you keep it in a place so when you do need inspiration for a project you are able to find it? It can easily become unorganized and next thing you know, you have all these random pages and that’s not going to do you any good.

So, I’m going to share with you a few things over the past few years I have come up with and perfected in my own little way to be very organized in this activity.

I first started out with these little embroidery storage rings. 

They’re amazing and I know they’re used for other things, but they embroidery ones are especially fabulous because they’re huge. Not saying that you need to hang all your magazine clippings on them because after you have so many and you flip through so many times the hole punch will rip, so you’ll also need hole reinforcers, but you probably won’t run out of room anytime soon.

Strive for zero miscellaneous categories

 Even if it's something that’s weird, like you find a spatula you really adore, and you might be thinking, “I don’t really like spatulas that much, but this one’s awesome,” just label it spatulas because you never know, you might find another spatula you like and then it might turn into you’re the latest and greatest in spatula designer… I mean you never know. Just label em. So you can have anything, it doesn’t have to be the regular categories, (skirts, pants, jackets) I have lingerie, hair, make up, shoes, color (probably one of my favorite categories).

This is not just for fashion designers, this is for anyone who creates anything that ever needs inspiration, because it's hard to just turn it on and off. You see so many great inspiring things in your day, your week, your month, your year, and you can't remember them all, I mean I can’t, maybe you can, but you don't have to … and that’s what great about getting organized.

If, for instance, you are at Barnes and Nobel looking through a magazine and you find something you want but you cant because the magazine costs 20.00, Well be resourceful and copy down the publication, year and title (of spread, items etc) find it later and print. Which brings me to my next idea.

If you don’t want to print because printing is expensive, it wastes paper or maybe you just don’t have access to print whatever you want, save it.

Save it to a USB.

I cannot tell you how many folders I have of things I have found online. Don't let your inspiration folder be a dumping ground. Make an inspiration folder and then make specific folders inside of it.

Since you don't have a hard copy, you might even make an album and set it as your screen saver.. woo hoo now we're really getting wild. 

Just two beautiful images for you to look at, thats all.

Next keep it in a binder. Usually what I’ll do if it’s and inspiration I don’t necessarily know what I’ll use it for, but I do like it and it does strike me as beautiful or interesting, I’ll keep those in a binder in some plastics sleeves. I love plastic sleeves, they go a long way. And you don’t even have to spend a lot of money, buy cheap sleeves and then make your own dividers with post-its. 

I love them also because they’re literally like a layer in Photoshop, you can write all of them with a marker and then erase it without damaging the image below it.

The ring I keep for my most current projects, because I can hang it right in my workspace I can see it, its easily accessible. 

The binder, I do keep close by, and every once in a while I’ll go through and look at things and if you don’t like em anymore, take em out. You can put those in a “old news” folder if you don’t want to throw them away, but its completely normal for your taste to change. That really great blown out gingham check bag you once drooled over may seem quite hideous now, that’s ok.

If you really just have a problem ripping out pages I completely understand, but let it be known, once you do start ripping pages, you wont be able to stop.

but you can just dog tag everything!

Downside: You can't categorize.

And these things just seem very basic, and I might be wasting your time, but this is just what I do and I find it really important to track your inspiration, to keep it organized and keep it easily accessible because when it does come time to create something, it’s a shame if you don’t have things right there so easy for you to see.

 It only increases speed in getting things done, increases the quality of your work, it suddenly becomes easier, and better productivity is better creations, better designs, better art, better things to look at, and that is really what this is about. To make this world a more beautiful place and you know, it starts with us.

I just have this overwhelming feeling recently, getting ready to graduate, with my high school graduating class getting ready to go out into the work force, I want to help us, because we are about to be in a place to change everything. And I see that I have good habits, and bad, of course, but if we all just help each other and we share each other’s good habits and strengths, we can be better. Being organized does not come naturally to everybody and things like grammar don’t come naturally to me (if you haven’t noticed). Someone will tell me something that might be the simplest thing of his or her day and it’s the most profound thought of mine.

Like I said, this might be a waste of your time, but I feel like I could be helping you and that’s all I want to do. Creative people have creative ideas and these probably aren’t that creative, but they help, they work and if you have any other ideas because I know there’s 50,000 other ways to organize creative inspiration please do, share.

Happy ripping,

M.

To be FREE

FREE to me:


Is running outside my door when it's pouring, gushing rain out, opening my wingspan, pressing my heart to the sky and feeling the cold, dropping rain fall on me.


Free to me:


Is being able to find balance in day to day life. Finding happiness in everything I do. Finding peace through stressful situations and being Free to Live.


FREE to me:


Is not about a price tag, but more about a mentality.  The fact that we are driving our own lives and that we are Free, bound by nothing other than ourselves, to do whatever we want in and with our lives. Free to be on our own and Free to be strong.


To my friends and who find it hard to be Free, who feel tied down, who feel strained by the weight of school, sig other, work, or family... my only wish for you is that one day you will be...


Your Doll,
Missy