Fashion: Simple + Versatile

Back-to-school often means shopping for new clothes. I've been collecting over the summer at thrift shops and yard sales but like these simple, handmade pieces - all found on Etsy - also. Simple and versatile is key for me. Any of these would easily mix into my wardrobe now and for years to come.

Click images for more info and to shop.

Eco-Friendly Design

All items featured in this post were found here.

Neat Things: Capes

I've always liked capes. I own one but haven't worn it in years. Recently, I found a fantastic soft gray cape--with a built in scarf!--for my vintage shop on Etsy, and will be listing it as soon as I complete a photo shoot. In the meantime, here is a selection I found inspiring--some vintage, a few handmade, all from Etsy...click the photos for more info and to shop!

Have a wearing-a-cape-happy-kind of weekend!

Neat Things: Skirts

l 2 r, t 2 b: silk melange skirt - j.jill $20, jersey floral skirt - white house-black market $50, floral print wrap skirt - j.jill $20, mushroom soft pleat skirt - j.jill $20, vintage lime & blue stripe skirt - black swan $20, silk georgette posies skirt - chicos $99

Etsy: Cowgirls

Click this photo grid for a much larger view (it's so worth it!)

l 2 r, t 2 b:

ranch exit fine art photo - lauri, annie oakley collage pillow - lipstick ranch, vintage leather cowgirl bag - surrender dorothy, smokey distressed leather belt - moxie and oliver, golden fine art photo - art in mind, vintage navy cowgirl boots - vintage booty, cowboy on fence wall decal - freckled hound, vintage tooled leather mexico wallet - small earth vintage, cowgirl fine art photo - mary palmer photography, annie oakley denim jacket - lipstick ranch, sassy cowgirl collage - big girl art, vintage denim cowgirl hat - moxie thrift

All items displayed in this post are from the shops of Etsy--yeah, that handmade site we all know and love. Some art handmade, some are vintage, all are terrific, western and fabulous!

tina's whimsy revisited

I have always been an artist. Before I fell in love with photography, I tried a bit of many mediums. Drawing, watercolor, rubber stamp art, decoupage, assemblage, jewelry design, and my eventual favorite, collage.


t 2 b:
Dream a Little Dream, 2.5" x 3.5" - ACEO Collage, Open Edition
Love Many Things, 4" x 10" - Original Collage on Canvas Board

Techniques of collage, were first used at the time of the invention of paper in China around 200 BC. The use of collage, however, remained very limited until the 10th century in Japan, when calligraphers began to apply glued paper, using texts on surfaces, when writing their poems.



t 2 b:
The Wild Joys of Living, 8" x 10" - Original Collage on Canvas Board
Inspire, 2.5" x 3.5" - ACEO Collage, Open Edition

The technique of collage appeared in medieval Europe during the 13th century. Gold leaf panels started to be applied in Gothic cathedrals around the 15th and 16th centuries. Gemstones and other precious metals were applied to religious images, icons, and also, to coats of arms.


t 2 b:
Retro Green Girl - 11 x 14 collage on canvas board
Life Requires Beauty - 2.5 x 3.5 ACEO Collage, Open Edition

In the 19th century, collage methods also were used among hobbyists for memorabilia (i.e. applied to photo albums) and books (i.e. Hans Christian Andersen, Carl Spitzweg).

The term collage derives from the French "coller" meaning "glue". This term was coined by both Georges Braque and Pablo Picasso in the beginning of the 20th century when collage became a distinctive part of modern art.[1]



t 2 b:
Ladies Bingo Night - 4 x 5 collage on canvas board
We Can Claim Ruffles all for Ourselves, 10" x 10" - Original Collage on canvas

I used to offer my collage work in an Etsy shop, known as tina's whimsy. I sold a handful of my items in the two years that the shop was alive online but then I discovered I was spending far more time trying to sell and less and less on the process of creation. And so I stopped altogether--the selling and the creating.

The pieces displayed in this post are a handful of my collage works from 2004-2007. I plan to begin some new work in 2009, and would love your comments on these. Let me know if you'd like to see more and I will include them in a future post...thanks!


[1] Wikipedia 2008.

collages displayed are all copyright tina's whimsy 2004-2007.