Weddings, hair, stuff and things

My friend and old roomie is getting married this month and she's commissioned a fascinator. Up until a few days ago I had no idea that's what they were called. At this point, though, I relate the root word "fascinate" to the adult toy store Fascinations and it kinda skeeves me out. And maybe makes me a little curious. I dunno.

And if that isn't the perfect lead-in to pictures, I don't know what is...









These aren't necessarily for her (she'll be the first one to see that) but I'm trying to experiment with more ice and gaudy baubles than I normally gravitate towards.

Hair stuffs

Whilst my geriatric machine was on the fritz these last few months, I had to occupy myself with pieces that did not require sewing. I don't wear a lot of hair accessories myself but the seriously talented denizens of etsy inspired some incredible ideas in my brain and they were the perfect project.





Small yellow rosettes



Tuxedo bows



Houndstooth bows





Singed floral headband



Teal singed floral clip



Teeny-tiny turquoise bows


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As usual, check out the etsy store to purchase!

Busy holiday

This semester kept me busy but after acing the shit outta my finals, I found some time (despite my waning sewing machine's best attempts at thwarting me) to finally start and finish some pieces...



Navy drop-shoulder tunic
Formerly a mens XL sweater, this is sweater is soooo comfortable and looks great with jeans.


Candy-apple Wide-V blouse
Formerly a mens XXL long-sleeve tee, it's got a wide v-neck collar that sits far on the shoulders.


Lime drop-shoulder sweater
Drop-shoulders have become one of my favorite things to make. They're perfect for AZ winters. Formerly a mens small A&F.



Coffee cascade sweater
The first thing I've done entirely from scratch. I bought some ridiculously soft material from SAS for scarves and wound up making this instead.



Indigo button cardi
I saw a girl wearing something like this in the library and decided to make one myself. Formerly a mens large.


Cream cowl
Next to drop-shoulders, cowl neck shirts are my favorite. Though it was second hand, the original shirt had the tags attached and the sticker on the front that said "XXL". Again, this thing is stupid soft.



Platinum cowl
Did I mention I like cowls?

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PEE ESS: My mother is incredibly supportive of my becoming more domestic and so I got a beautiful, expensive new sewing machine for Christmas. Expect great things in the future...

Kitten Paws photoshoot!

I'm horrible for not posting this before now but better late than never, I suppose!

One of the best things about getting involved in the art community is getting to meet and support some incredibly talented people. What's more exciting? Collaborating with them.

We were recently given the opportunity to do a photoshoot with Tiffany Egbert of Kitten Paws Vintage to model some of their new merch.

I'm 28 years old and technically an adult but there's still nothing I'd rather spend an afternoon playing dress-up in vintage badassery.

Here's just a taste of what came of it...











































































































Kitten Paws Vintage offers incredibly beautiful pieces from the 1950's to 1980's at prices that won't make you clutch your pearls. Do yourself a solid and go browse the merch at the KP Etsy store, the KP blog or become a fan of KP on Facebook.

Bag lady

I adore Goodwill. In ways that make mothers clutch their breast. And it's only a matter of time before the rest of the world recognizes our commitment and we're allowed to celebrate our love openly to be embraced by all. Until then, we'll make due with the occasional conjugal visit every few weeks.

A few weeks ago I struck gold. And I mean that literally.


Hideously awesome? Awesomely hideous?

Vintage, mustard-yellow tapestry curtains lined with a material that reminds me of the plastic sheets used by chronic bedwetters. I think my heart skipped a beat; it was lust at first sight.

Drapery is generally softer than most home decor weight fabric and can be two or three times as sturdy, so I've been experimenting with reconning curtains into bags. I like my bags like I like my men: loud, colorful and able to take a beating. I started by making a ridiculously over-sized tote for school:



Which I lined with a deconned floral skirt:



It's held its own against my constant abuse and since I had more than enough left-over fabric, I decided to take it step further and make a smaller version which I then ruffled the hell out of:



I had a bedding set that I never used so I cut up one of the pillowcases to line the inside:



The ginormous bead is from a necklace I snagged from Target on clearance that I never wore because it made me look like Wilma Flintstone.

Now that I know what works and what doesn't, these will be recreated in the next week or so along with a few other designs. If you're interested in purchasing, drop us a line at refurbandesigns at gmail dot com and keep an eye on the online store.

How we work & some pictures

We've been asked how exactly we plan on selling the pieces we create so I figure now is a good time to inform all how you can go about owning a little bit of Maria andor Michelle for yourself.

Our online store will house all of our smaller, shippable items. Frames, clothing, knick-knacks, etc. will be done via the marvelous interwebs so we can avoid interacting directly with the common folk. (Please note that, at this moment, the store is not up and will remain that way until we get some better pictures taken of the merchandise. In the meantime, if you see anything that you like and don't want to wait, email us at refurbandesigns@gmail.com.)

For the time being all of the larger pieces will only be posted to twitter, facebook and this blog. These will be sold locally and will be made available for pick-up if/when they're purchased.
(We will consider US/intl shipping on a case-by-case basis if that becomes an issue. All large pieces will be posted during their make-over process; if you have questions or an interest in a particular piece we're working on, do not hesitate to contact us over the phone or via email to inquire about purchasing.)

My camera is from 2001 and approximately the size of a brick, so for now we're making due until some kind soul takes pity on our pathetic attempt at photography:

Hand-painted frames:




The Virgin Queen: