Getting Jacked for Halloween

Halloween is my favorite holiday handsdown. I get as happy as a little girl when I see people decorating for it.
Its the only time of the year that the strange, mad, and eccentric are celebrated for the sheer FUN of it (THAT and the free candy helps too). Halloween was my All-American holiday where I felt truly comfortable going all out for.
Yep, I love how it's totally fine to install fake tombstones in your front yard, sew up ghosts to your house, and massacre pumpkins for artistic skullduggery. Let's say I was an enthusiastic participant growing up, my mom was just the obliging spectactor.

So back to Halloween DIY decor--specifically jack-o-lanterns.
You can't celebrate without one and I've been trolling the web for some ideas to start.
Here at dearly devoted, I'm showing off some of the sweet pumpkins I've seen online to date.



Cylon Jack-O-Lantern
I am a huge Battlestar Galactica fan and this fufills that fangirl thrill and my geek quotient. Looks like a trip to Radioshack and the pumpkin patch for this one. Nerd skills required. Find out how to make this by the folks at Make blog


Flickr stream: Pumpkins and Jackolanterns


Cute and morbid I can't resist that deadly combo.


Ode to the 80s Gotta love John Cusack in Say Anything. Something a lil' different from a pumpkin expression.


Gross out humor

Feeling in the mood for graffiti art

Just spreading some major art love for 2 graffiti artists I've been following lately: Fafi and Banksy.



From her agency bio: Fafi, a strong presence in the graffiti and fine art scenes, who is known for her images of sexy and liberated girls. On walls or in paintings and drawings, her girls can be funny, sexy, or aggressive openly confronting and suggestive to the viewer. By exploring femininity through stereotypes, and using it to her advantage, Fafi creates girls who are both powerful and active.



From wikipedia: Banksy is a well-known yet pseudo-anonymous English graffiti artist. His artworks are often satirical pieces of art which encompass topics from politics, culture, and ethics. His street art, which combines graffiti with a distinctive stencilling technique, has appeared in London and in cities around the world.

Note: How can you not look at that piece of art and not crack a smile? Talk about giving an elegant makeover to hideous doodles and elevating it to something hilariously absurd?

Back from Seattle

Spent a long weekend in Seattle and was so exhausted from my mini-vacay that it took me a good week to recover from it (What's up with needing a vacay from a vacay?). Snapped lotsa photos, saw the interesting sights...I can say that Seattle is a verrrry clean city with interesting design. Came back with some goodies to dole out for coworkers and a lil' nifty souvenier for myself.



Meet Wee Ninja.
I found him at the Seattle Art Museum's gift shop and with my lil' fetish for ninjas I couldn't help but snatch him up--I couldn't tear myself away--it got to the point where my BF bought it for me but I think he's secretly taken by the ninja's huggability himself.
See more of him at Shawnimals
And to further snowball this plush toy tangent into another, I present you my fav Youtube clip: "Ask a Ninja"

Pretty in (Knitted) Punk

Interesting read from the LA Times, excerpt below:
Rocker chic goes warm and fuzzy

Pretty in Punk: 25 Punk, Rock and Goth Knitting Projects' offers rocker style with all the expertise of Grandma.
By Amy Scattergood, Los Angeles Times Staff Writer
September 23, 2007

THE next time you're in search of a knitting project, ask not what Grandma would have done, but what Sid would have knit. Sid Vicious, that is. "Pretty in Punk: 25 Punk, Rock and Goth Knitting Projects" is the first book from Alyce Benevides and Jaqueline Milles, New York designers and founders of Knit-Head, a "punk rock knitwear company."
Inspired by their love of '80s music, especially British Invasion punk and new wave, Benevides and Milles found success after they presented their signature knitted Mohawk hat to Depeche Mode singer Martin Gore, who wore it throughout the band's 2006 tour -- and doesn't seem to have taken it off since.

And if yarn Mohawks aren't your thing, the book features two dozen other inventive patterns with inspiration drawn from designers such as Vivienne Westwood and John Galliano and styles including Goth, Japanese "Lolita," and even some fetching retro preppy looks. Throw some military chic and S&M fetishism and you have a knitting book even Courtney Love could embrace.

But "Pretty in Punk" isn't just about style: It's a book with substance too. Clearly written, and filled with concise instructions, a good glossary and handy references, the book blends knowledge of fashion trends with old-school knitting know-how. The photography may be arty and the style allusions avant-garde, but the mechanics are as sturdy as any Elvis Presley-era knitting manual.



Personally, I think the arm warmers are excellent, Marc Jacobs features his own on his website.

******
The LA Times continues to give excellent west-coast fashion coverage with the DIY scenesters.
Last week, they interviewed the designers behind Mike & Chris, who I mentioned about previously and even posted a link on how to make a DIY hoodie jacket.

Here's a link where they show you how to knit your own arm warmers here and if you're even more wickedly ambitious, a knitted corset here. The designers behind the book have their own website, Knit-Head.

Also, check out the LA Times coverage of stylish indie girls on the scene here

Design meets Casual

Thanks to Closet Therapy, I was introduced to Mike & Chris, a clothing label dedicated to "chic and street, resulting in a line that is both laid back yet put together." The designers scored a major hit with their structured hoodie jackets and have since branched into men and women's lines for 2007. What caught my eye was their Bailey hoodie(seen above). I love how they've cut and tailored the slummy hoodie jacket and turned it into something neat, crisp, and femme. I could wear this work and I am definitely planning to wear this to Seattle when I visit this fall. I'll look just as put-together getting into the plane as I will when I get off.
I refuse to wear a track/velour sweat suit at any point (hint, hint Britney Spears). The fact that its comfortable just makes my heart even more fonder. It retails for $308.




But the tale doesn't end here. Old Navy released their own take on Mike & Chris's hoodie jackets and for $28, I nabbed my own in black, the one shown below is on Old Navy's site. I'm digging the faster turnaround seen in major retailers ~ at this price, I won't feel so bad if something happens to my purchase. Win win for all of us.

Gifts for kids

As a design-conscious auntie, I knew I couldn't get any ol' kid toy for my soon-to-be three yr.old niece.
Fischerschool toys are so-so but I hate that limited pre-school color palette. Hello Kitty was fine but I wanted something a lil' different and quirky--you know, something that fits Auntie's style ^_^.
Since I'm a ferocious reader, I wanted to give the gifts of books to my smartie-pants niece, something different from the pile of kiddie DVDs she's gonna get from my mom. Lo and behold, I found Bossy Bear at my local Borders. It's illustrated and written by the co-creator of Ugly Dolls, David Horvath, and Bossy Bear is quite kawaii. I love his lil' red cape and crown. "Mine!" I chortled as I grabbed it off the shelf. I really almost want this book for myself.

Here's a lil plot snippet from Amazon: "Clearly a self-appointed king of any domain, this blue tyrant wearing a golden crown and a red cape has a to-do list that includes, "Do what I want. Take me where I want to go. HURRY UP!" Unsurprisingly, Bossy Bear's ways leave him all alone. An encounter with someone new—a patient, toothy turtle—leads to Bossy Bear's enlightenment."

If you visit Bossy Bear's site, you can download desktop wallpapers of him.

Champagne Tastes on a Beer Budget

Simplistic, elegant, and whimsical.
You know how you see some products that incite your inner child to scream, "Gimme, gimme, gimmee!" Well the Dior Oui ring does just that for me. I usually hate "word" designed products (hello, tacky word shirts) but for some reason, this French item is just the opposite, its quite chic. Made of white gold,the ring costs a pretty penny at $675 at Eluxury.