I’ve taken to opening both the front and back doors of my vintage studio to let a funnel of cool beach breeze circulate through the space. Outside are big stalks of bamboo and the rustling sound they make is so calming and peaceful and provides a nice background sound to my early morning coffee drinking and journaling ritual.

What has been inspiring you lately?

(all links to the clothing can be found here)

imaginary outfits is a weekly column curated by rodellee. for more imaginary outfits click on over here!

The post Fresh Breeze appeared first on Drifter & the Gypsy.

There are so many things that are so wonderfully right with this photo. Please let me be there now.

photo by margaret durow via design is mine

The post Peaceful appeared first on Drifter & the Gypsy.

Today I’m going to show you how to make a ‘collar’ necklace using oven bake polymer clay. Polymer clay is such a versatile crafting medium, it’s one of my personal favourites. I always have a few packets of clay sitting on my desk for when the crafting mood strikes. It is affordable and easy to use and just perfect for jewellery making! All you need is some oven bake polymer clay, leather cord and some ribbon and you can whip up your own stylish necklace in next to no time!

Here’s what you do:

1. Knead the polymer clay between your hands until soft and pliable.

2. Using a rolling pin, roll out the clay to around a 3mm thickness. To ensure the clay is smooth and doesn’t stick to the rolling pin, roll the clay between two sheets of baking paper (which will also make it easier to transfer to a tray later).

3. Make a template for the collar shape using paper; cut out two half oval shapes with a long straight side and a curved side. The size and shape of your collar all depends on your own taste.

4. Softly press the paper templates onto the clay and smooth down so they stay in place. Using a sharp knife, cut around the templates and clear away any excess clay.

5.  Starting from one end, gently press flat end of a wooden skewer into the clay along the curved edge making a series of circular indentations to give the impression of scalloped edges.

6. Use the pointed end of the skewer to make holes in each point and test that your leather cord with fit through.

7. Smooth away any rough edges and place the clay pieces onto a baking tray and bake in the oven according to the instructions on the packet (generally around 5 minutes) Remove from the oven and allow to cool.

8. Take a piece of leather cord around 10 cm / 4 in long. Tie a ribbon around the center of the cord into a secure bow. Then thread the cord between the two center holes of each clay piece and tie firmly, with the knotted cord at the back and the bow sitting at the front in between the two collar pieces.

9. Take two lengths of leather cord (around 20 cm / 8 in each) and thread the end of each through the opposite ends of each clay piece. Secure by making a large knot in the cord in cord and pulling the open end back.

Tie around your neck and you are ready to go! Try different colours, shapes, patterns or even paint your clay (after baking) for your own truly unique collar necklace. Starting with this basic design, there really are so many possibilities, so get a little creative!

Dani (DIY Craft contributor)

click here for more diy craft!

The post DIY Collar Necklace appeared first on Drifter & the Gypsy.

It’s been a while since I’ve featured other people’s homes on here… too long, in fact. I stumbled upon photographer Jessica Silversaga‘s (side note: how AWESOME of a last name is that??) 1950s 1950s kitchen and absolutely love it in all its retro kitschy glory.

Unfortunately, she’s moving to another apartment, and has to bid this kitchen adieu. I’m sure the next one will be just as charming!

The post Be here now appeared first on Drifter & the Gypsy.

How about you? What is your best outfit on the beach? You prefer bikini or maillot? - Asia (This or That contributor)

this or that is a weekly column brought to you every monday by asia pietrzyk.  to view the archives, click here. and view my response to this question in the comments section of this post!

The post Maillot or bikini? appeared first on Drifter & the Gypsy.

Step Five: Shoot Day!  

This step essentially explains itself. Most of my shoots are all day. My most recent Brigitte Bardot shoot started at 9:00 am for hair and makeup, and ended at 4:00 pm. Sometimes photographers like to break up the shoot into two half-days, but I just like to shoot all day and get it over with in one day. Hair and makeup take about 1 hour each. While hair and makeup is being done, I organize the garments with the wardrobe stylist and decide the order of the outfits. In larger scale shoots, there would have been a fitting done prior to the day of the actual photo shoot so that I wouldn’t have to do the prep work last minute. Wardrobe and hair and makeup changes take about 20 minutes, depending on how intricate the new hair/makeup/wardrobe look is. I like to keep things simple and change up the makeup and hair just a tiny bit; like changing lip color and easy tweaks like that.

Step Six: Editing and Post-Processing  

A lot of people mistakenly use the terms editing and post-processing interchangeably, but they actually mean different things. Editing refers to narrowing down to a select few of the strongest shots out of the entire body of photographs taken, whereas post-processing refers to the actual retouching of the photograph (adjusting brightness, contrast, color, retouching skin, blemishes etc.). I can take anywhere from 500-1,000 photographs when working with my digital camera, or 4-6 rolls of film when working with analogue. I generally try to narrow down to my 30 best, retouch those, then narrow it down to 15 from there. In the end, about 6-10 final images get published.

Step Seven: Post your work for the world to see!  

Again, pretty self-explanatory. This is when I post my work on this blog, my online portfolio, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, etc. Anything for self-promotion! Another possible step is submitting to a magazine. I do not always plan on submitting my photo shoots to magazines, although if the images come out good enough, I may pitch my shoot to a few magazines on a whim and see what they say. For larger shoots, like this past shoot I did, it was intended to be a submission to a magazine. In this case, I cannot post the final images until I hear back from the magazine on whether or not my submission made the cut, which is why you’re only seeing the behind the scenes shots right now and not the final product

Annnnd there you have it: a photo shoot, from concept to execution! There are a few small steps I’ve left out (there are many emails, phone calls, and meetings to further discuss the logistics of the shoot), but these steps give a general overview of how my photo shoots usually work. If you have any more specific questions, please feel free to leave a comment below or else drop me a line at hello@drifterandthegypsy.com.

instagram photos by erin of calivintage

The post On organizing photo shoots – Part 2 appeared first on Drifter & the Gypsy.

I am not a TV show watcher by any means, in fact I don’t even have TV (but do have Hulu!), so a few times a week I tune in and watch my favorites sing their pretty songs. I always have such a soft spot for the humble small town guys and gals. Also those that play their own instruments. I so wish I had kept up with my piano playing and had taken up on my mother’s offer of voice lessons when I was 12.… ahh those days long gone. Do you watch The Voice?

(all links to the clothing can be found here)

imaginary outfits is a weekly column curated by rodellee. for more imaginary outfits click on over here!

The post Small Town Song appeared first on Drifter & the Gypsy.

My latest project for SCAD was a paint swatch sculpture. Using easily accessible/recyclable items (and the A+B+C modular design scheme), we had to design a sculpture for our hypothetical client’s (the owner of a small chain of organic food stores) waiting area of his/her home office. The A+B+C modular design scheme is basically when you take one item, (which equals unit A), then repeat unit A in some pattern to make unit B, and then repeat unit B in some pattern to make unit C (a good example of modular design would be bricks).

This project reaaaally made my mind work and all week I was racking my brain trying to come up with a good material to use for my sculpture. One day, I took a browse through the hardware store for inspiration and bam! passed by a wall full of paint swatches. Needless to say, I got my idea:)

At first, I wanted this design to be a lantern and have it hang, but the paper ended up being too thick and opaque so no light could shine through. Sad face:( It ended up being a sitting sculpture instead. I’m still pleased with it though!

Materials:

Scissors, white thread & needle, drafting tape (to temporarily hold the swatches in place), and-of course-paint swatches.

I began by folding each 3×5” paint swatch sample in some sort of random triangular origami form I came up with by playing around with the paint swatches while watching TV one night. This created my A unit.

Then, I hand sewed (tedious!) two paint swatches of the same color together to create a diamond form, which was my B unit. After my B units were completed, I hand sewed the outer four edges of each B unit (more tedious stuff!). After the B units were sewn together, they formed a spherical form.

…And then a paint swatch sculpture was born!

I was so pleased with the result, I took my sculpture down to Pottery Barn for some sneaky pictures in one of their staged furniture displays:

The post Paint swatch sculpture appeared first on Drifter & the Gypsy.

video by ben barrett-forrest, found via frankie mag newsletter

The post A cool video to watch appeared first on Drifter & the Gypsy.

This is what I wore to the Dear Creatures sample sale at Asmbly Hall in SF this past weekend. Usually sample sales are kinda meh in my opinion. Everything still ends up being overpriced and picked over, but this one was actually really great (nothing over $50!). I came home with a pair of high-waisted shorts and a skirt (both of which will probably be making appearances on the blog soon). It was also a good day because I walked by Crossroads on Fillmore Street and saw my picture hanging in their window.

Laughing and looking super Asian:

Also, the pops made an appearance on my blog! I love it when he’s game to take pictures with me. He dresses quite dapper sometimes:)

too much fun in grapefruit dress c/o modcloth, sweater: bcbg, shoes: urban outfitters, necklace: tiffany & co, sunglasses: ray ban

The post Polka dots and creatures appeared first on Drifter & the Gypsy.