The year we won the costume contest...

So, Mark and I have never dressed up for Halloween. Like, ever. (Well, maybe I did as a child, but not Mark) Even before we met each other. He always thought it was silly and I secretly thought it looked fun. 

I mean, I loved to play dress up as a child...so why not as an adult. 

We were invited to our sister-in-laws family costume party 2 years ago. We were told that we absolutely HAD to dress up and if we didn't we wouldn't be allowed inside. So, this is what I came up with....

I'm constantly being told I look like Winnona Ryder...so, I thought I'd play into that role...And so we have Beetlejuice and Lydia. 

I purchased the suit Mark is wearing at a thrift store for 5 bucks! 5 bucks! Get this, it's tailor made and doesn't even have tags! And the guy who owned it before him...Well, his name was Mark too! 

Believe it or not, that is white duct tape creating the stripes!! I was able to have the suit dry cleaned afterward and it is now as good as new! 

I also got my outfit from the thrift store and then I made the simple birdcage veil by dying some leftover Russian Netting from our wedding and fastening it to some bobby pins!

Needless to say...we won the contest that year....

We did dress up last year...but, it wasn't as eventful. We had already moved to Texas and our neighbors had a block party..But, as it turns out...we were the only adults who dressed up...Oops. 

I was a pop art comic book character....Mark was a baseball player (lame) and my doggie was a skeleton...

Happy Halloween! 

Senior Collection; 2011

During my senior year of college, I was required to take Senior Thesis I & II. The class was kind of like the culmination of our time spent in Art School. Today, I wanted to share with you some of my Senior Collection with you....Oh, and BTW you can see me wearing those jeans here and here!

Inspiration: The 18th Century man

 

The two lovely models, who were so kind to help me out, are Elizabeth James and Marcy Zamzow.

And Mister Robert Barnes took some great photographs for the project.

Robert Barnes Photography

It was quite the experience, because at the end of the second semester, we had to present our collection to real industry buyers! We were paired with a merchandising major and were required to develop an entire buyers kit; complete with a take aways, press release, line sheets, business cards, look book, etc. It was a really amazing opportunity and when it was all said and done I was offered, by a local boutique owner, to have my trench produced and sold in his store! 

I used My Publisher to have the look books made and Staples Copy and Print center to have the take home books and brochures made and I created the folders and business cards myself...

Robert Barnes Photography

Robert Barnes Photography

All model photographs by Robert Barnes Photography

Why I love Adboe products

Hey, it's no secret. I love Adobe products. I work primarily with Adobe Photoshop and Illustrator at work and at home. I dabble a bit with In Design too, but only for things like brochures, interactive PDFs, and catalogs (which I'm not doing on a daily basis.) The majority of my day job work is done using Adobe Illustrator. I just adore this program!

Not only do I use these programs at work, I use them for all the photography and graphics here on the blog! First, I edit my photos, things like adding filters and changing exposure, in Photoshop. Then, I import them into Illustrator to embellish. I personally do not like adding texts, graphics, or frames to my photos using Photoshop. I find it hard, ya' know.

Illustrator is so much more user friendly for that type of thing. One reason why I like to use Illustrator for embellishing my photography is because I do not have to use layers! I also really like how Illustrator is a geometry calculator. I can align, re-size, reflect, and add text with much more ease using the vector based program. Oh, and I am also obsessed with clipping masks! Not to mention grouping, expanding text into an object, "make with" warp/mesh, live trace, blending options, transform, ART BOARDS, and not to mention the new pattern repeat function in CS6.

Here are some examples of an image that I first altered using Photoshop:

Before:

After:

Then embellished with Illustrator:

Before:

After:

After embellishing with Illustrator: 

Thanks for being so awesome Adobe!

Ruth

DIY Favorite Tank

1. Find a tank you love.  Fold at center front. Do the same with fabric.

2. Trace around front and back of tank

Make sure to leave enough space for seam allowance.

Don't forget to make sure to keep the center front/back square w/ the fold for at least 1/2"

Sew side and shoulder seams.

I prefer to use my over lock machine

Turn under neckline, armholes, and hemline. (if you are using jersey, this is optional) I used a fancy stitch that kinda looks like a blanket stitch. 

 You can see me wearing the top here.

ruth

Thirties...

 

 Top (handmade) Belt/Earrings (Sam Moon) Cardigan (Target)Denim and Boots (Nine West) 

Bracelet (Denver Market-Gift) Necklace (New Zealand Green Stone-Gift)

Well, it's official. I am 30 years old, and have been for almost 2 weeks now! :)  This past weekend Mark and I went for a nice hike (I'll share photos soon), went out for a good burger, shopped, talked, and made a nice meal.
Happy Monday everyone!
ruth

Lately...

Moonshine, legal??//Corn Whiskey//Goyza//Second round of Fall roses//

Birthday Appetizers//Crab Rolls//80's in October, What!?!//Tom Kha

Sloppy Joe's

Sloppy Joe's are simply a classic. Homemade Sloppy Joe's are even better! Manwich is not allowed in my house (my husbands rule)! However, I've grown to  love making my own sauce because I can control how spicy it is, how much tomato, onion, garlic, etc is in my sauce. This is one of my all time favorite (and nostalgic) meals. It's quick, it's easy, it's cheap, and it's tasty.

Homemade Sloppy Joe's || 20 minutes

1 lb. Ground Beef (Turkey,Chicken)

Sesame seed Bun's

Salt 

-2 tbsp. Olive Oil

1 cup chopped onion

1/2 cup red pepper

1 clove garlic

1/2 can stewed tomatoes

2 tbsp. ketchup

1 can tomato sauce/paste

1 tbsp red wine viegar

1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce

1-2 tbsp brown sugar

pinch of cayenne + red pepper flakes

First, brown ground meat in a salted pan. While meat browns, chop your veggies. Once meat is finished, remove and set aside. Coat skillet with olive oil and saute veggies, adding garlic last. Combine meat and veggies and mix well. Add red wine vinegar, Worcestershire, ketchup, and brown sugar combining well. Finally, add the tomato sauce and stewed tomatoes and mix thoroughly. Lastly, season with cayenne and red pepper flakes to taste! Pile high on sesame bun and serve! 

Comfy Style

 

Earrings (Sam Moon) Socks (Marshalls)

Dress (Tape Measure Clothing) Cardi (Express) 

Leggins (Old Navy) Boots (Steve Madden)

Don't you just feel the need to be like SUPER comfortable on rainy days. Mark and I 

were about to run some errands and pick up groceries, but, I am never oppose to feeling like I'm wearing pajamas. Leggings have actually become a staple in my wardrobe simply for the comfort factor. It's like being able to wear my pajama pants out in public without looking like a total slob.... SCORE! Reminds me of my outfit I wore on my trip to Chicago back in July, only now tailored for the Fall! Which, in case you haven't noticed, it is actually still quite warm here in North Texas.

DIY Bokeh

 

I adore the art of Bokeh. This weekend, I decided to try my hand at making my own Bokeh lens filter. I had a few old lens filters that I don't use lying around...and they only fit on my circa 1980's 50 mm lens that happens to belong to my circa 1980's 35mm Pentax camera. Well, with a little research, I was able to make that vintage lens compatible with my current DSLR. YAY! These were the results of my first try! With a little bit of practice, I can see this technique being a lot of fun, especially at Christmas time!

Ruth

The big 3-0

Today is the big day...I have officially lived 30 years....

As I embark on this fourth decade of my life, I will be making big plans for the future. 

My future self, my relationships, my career, my craft, and everything in between. 

So grateful for this life I have been given. 

ruth