What's In My Pencil Case?

I got this wonderful little post idea from Chloe and Zali!

       I don't have much time for drawing and art in my school life, so I try to incorporate some artsiness into the everyday. I tend to do my homework in colored fineliner with doodles of poppies in the margins. So, I've got lots of nice pens and things to make the school day that much more palatable.

 Plus, I've got this cute little pencil case I got a few years ago at Barnes & Noble and it still works great! It's not quite my style anymore and I'm in the market for a new one, but I do still really like it. 

     mechanical pencils & lead // I almost never use wooden pencils since I need to do so much writing for school. I fully endorse all mechanical pencil use. Most kinds are sufficient, but as a rule of thumb, the less that come in a pack, the better quality they tend to be.

      stabilo colored fineliners // I use these all the time, sometimes for doodles but mostly for schoolwork, since they'll add a little pop to my day. These are really great and pretty cheap for nice pens/markers ($1 USD) and I would recommend getting a handful since they're simply fun to have around!

      saukra pigma micron pens // these are a bit pricier ($2-3 USD) but they're worth it. I have these in three different colors and sizes and they work wonderfully!

      highlighters, ruler, and eraser // It's good to have all these around for any projects or assignments I might need them for. Plus, I love the designs on these highlighters. (I think they're Jonathan Adler. I received them as a gift from my hipster cousin, who got them in Chicago). 

     

      Thank you for reading! What's your favorite thing in your pencil case?

State Fair Photo Diary (Day 1)

      As much as sometimes I wish I could live in Europe (It's so beautiful! And don't get me started on the food...) There is something America sure knows how to do right: State Fairs. 

      If you're not from the United States or you're confused, you probably still get the idea of what it's all about from the pictures. (Except that there are also farm animals, which I didn't care much to hang around, honestly). 

      Basically it's just a bunch of people and fried food and little exhibits and things with a bunch of carnival rides to boot, not to mention Minnesota's fair has a stand with the most delicious chocolate chip cookies around. (really). It comes every year and here it lasts for twelve days. I love this event shamelessly and am releasing all inhibitions about whether I might be deemed a stereotypical American because it is F U N. (albeit expensive, if you want to try lots of food.). 

      I always have a wonderful time and this was the first year that I brought my camera, which made it even better!

// The Ferris Wheel before sunset

\\ Corn Roast- They literally dip the corn in butter.

// Views from the Skyflyer (and that's just a little piece of the fairgrounds. They're much larger). 

\\ Walking & photographing with my friends

// A candid of a stranger

\\ The famous cookie stand

// Late-night snacks

     

      Hopefully I'll be back again before it's over. What's your favorite thing to do at a fair?

Sunny // Cloudy

      I knew an outfit post was long overdue. They tend to be some of the hardest posts for me since the photos are so hard to get right. But I thought maybe I'd throw together one of my go-to nicer outfits and take some photos in it before the summer was over to get back in the swing of it.

       Aren't these shorts the cutest? I got them with an Anthropologie gift card and I couldn't be happier. Plus, I scored the cardigan for just $15 at J. Crew. This might be among my favorite outfits simply because it includes stuff from nice stores.

Wearing:
shirt // Macy's (old)
shorts // Anthropologie
sweater // J. Crew
shoes // DSW

Post-Processing: Intro to RGB Curves

   

      I'm definitely not one of those elitists who believes that photoshop is ruining the true art of photography. The opportunities we have for digital photo manipulation in this day and age are really cool. Enhancing highlights, shadows, and colors using the RGB curves tool is one of my favorite ways to post-process photos, and now I'll show you how to do it too!

Birthday Photo Diary

      Well, aren't I the queen of late-night blogging. I better not continue like this once school starts. 

      After sleeping in late, I figured I'd do something with my sixteenth. I did sit around and did a lot of photo editing, but beforehand, I had a little fun with my mom and my sister.

      // out to lunch with lemon water and a roasted veggie sandwich (the ciabatta bread was to die for!)
      \\ a beautiful foreclosed house I ought to take some pictures near sometime
      // browsing accessories at a local boutique

     I edited all the pictures in this post with a curve preset that I worked on today which will be available for download, along with two others, in the near future!

How To Get The Perfect Self-Portraits

      They're not vain, they're because nobody wanted to model for you.

     Whether you're into fine-art photography or just need a new picture for an online profile, being able to take your own photos is a useful skill to have, and many people comment on my instagram photos asking for self-portrait tips since they don't know where to start. I decided to compile a list of tips and tricks to help you get the best pictures of yourself for whatever you might need!

Note: I'm no pro and I'm just speaking from my own experience!

Back-To-School Wishlist

DIY Halter Top

     With my sewing machine fixed, I was inspired to try my hand at sewing some clothing. As much as this barely qualifies as a shirt, it's the first garment I've ever sewn that wasn't an utter piece of crap, so I'm pretty proud of it. I don't have a very comprehensive tutorial because it was enough work teaching myself to do this let alone other people, but this awesome youtube video was super helpful to me for getting down the basics. Here goes!

     I modified her design a bit and thickened the back ties in hopes of being able to wear it with a  strapless bra. (I was somewhat successful in that endeavor). These are the patterns I made. (no need for pattern-making paper here- I just used construction paper). I modeled the front off of a fitted t-shirt and cut the fabric on a fold, and did the strap pattern freehand based off of the front piece.  

Cut:

-1 front piece using a t-shirt as a pattern

-2 back strap pieces (make sure to flip over your stencil for the second one if your fabric isn't        reversible!)

-1 1-inch thick neck strap piece of your desired length

     

     Since I don't have a serger and wanted clean edges, I folded the edges over twice before sewing edges. (This is, of course, totally optional, and a huge pain in the ass to pin). 

Sew:

-Hem the bottom

-Sew the edges of the "armholes" (above)

-Sew the edges of the back ties

-1/2-inch wide loop at the top (for neck strap)

-Sew the back ties to the sides of the front/bodice

-Fold the inch-thick strap and sew into a 1/2-inch tube.

Finish Up:
-turn the neck strap inside out (the video is really helpful with this), and sew the edges if you wish.
-Stick the neck strap through the tube at the top of the shirt.
-Put on your shirt and tie the top and back. You've got a halter top!

The One And Lonely

Here's my most recent piece, which is, as you can see, is completely different from any of my prior work. 

It stemmed (no pun intended) from an idea I had when I was trying out poses in the mirror. I initially wanted to have a plain white background, but this was the only light colored bedsheet in my house, so I just went with it, and seeing the flowers on it inspired me to add some more flowers as an overlay. 

And taking the pictures, I used flash. I used flash. I have never used flash before.

But after painting the flowers and putting it all together, I was really happy with the result. 

Chia Seed Pancakes, I Guess

Why do bad things happen to good people?

Because they care more about getting a good picture of their food than it actually tasting good.

Mystic

      For the second half of our road trip, my family traveled to Mystic, Connecticut to be closer to the beach. we didn't really spend much time in town except to go to dinner and to do a little shopping. We also stopped at this little seafood cafe, and of course being a vegetarian I settled for a salad, but the dressing was really good and the sweet potato fries were phenomenal! (and my new iPhone case snuck in there too).

      The first night I also climbed up to the church atop a big hill and did a self-portrait or two there overlooking the street. I'd say it was a nice little place to stay - but not nearly as fun as the beach!

Little Doodle

   

      Since I forgot my camera-to-laptop cord at our last hotel, no new photos till I get home. Which is sort of a bummer, since I spent so much time editing pictures to occupy myself in the car. But with my re-sparked interest in blogging, I decided to channel my blog energy away from photos and towards some new things, inspired by some of my favorite blogs. (A list to come later!)

    Here's another one of my paper-to-digital illustrations, a quick one done with a doodle I did back in the winter, a photo from last week and some virtual paint. Excuse the pixelated-ness, it's fairly zoomed in from the original photo and my camera is not one with a very high megapixel count. But gosh, these are fun. I need to get back into drawing and art and sewing and DIY and all kinds of artsy bloggy things to have fun with.

     xoxo, Zophia

Roadtrip + Gardens