How to Pack For the Weekend (in a small bag)

All fashionable girls know the challenge of packing for the weekend. You pack your bag and everyone asks you why your bag is so big/heavy/whatever. Upon going to university i have become a master of this. I remember in highschool my aunt invited me to Montreal in her small convertible with two other people, and i was not a master packer at this point. it was a disaster.

The Most Important Tip for Space Saving
-Make sure you wear all of your very bulky things while you travel. This is especially important in the winter. Wear the bulky coat, scarves and boots. You can take them off while you're sitting in whatever mode of transportation you are using, but this saves a ton of space.

-Do you really need to bring your own shampoo and conditioner? will your be staying with family or friends or at a hotel? if you're staying with family and friends that cuts the amount of toiletries you will need (which tend to explode anyway). Nix the body wash, toothpaste, and shampoo and conditioner (if you're hair won't freak out). I'd stick with your skin care products, most people's skin reacts badly to different people's products.

-One mistake i used to make was to take all of my makeup. In reality, in day to day life i use a fraction of this makeup. One huge problem i had was i had to take several pallets with me for my three or four eye shadow colours i liked. I found a custom palette by anabelle (i know, drug store version... i am a student) but i know mac also has them, and you can combine the colours you use most often into one little palette. In reality, take what you use, and leave all the other stuff home. If you don't normally use your acid green loose eyeshadow, what are the chances you will on the weekend?

My Weekend Makeup Products

-Don't bring a hair straightener and a curling iron if its possible. Take one of the two if you need to, and see if someone else will bring the other and you can share. Almost everywhere has a hairdryer.

Toiletries review: leave anything home you can. These take a ton of room, and tend to explode. The things that you don't want to forget under any circumstances are: Deodorant, toothbrush, face products, mascara, foundation (if you use it). These are the things that aren't really shareable. Don't forget sunscreen if you're going to be in the sun, even if you think you won't need it.

To pack you need to make an awesome mini capsule wardrobe. Take really versatile things. I'll give you an example one, for a spring/summer/fall trip. winter your going to need to take a ton more. Pack an outfit a day, plus an extra.

-One pair of dark wash jeans (do not exceed the one pair of jeans rule. Remember, its only a weekend)
-enough underwear/socks/etc for every day
-T Shirt
-Cardigan/sweater (make sure this is basic and will look okay with the shirts and dresses you take)
-pajamas
-Dress(es)... dresses are the easiest. they are a whole outfit all in one.
-One dressier shirt or dress (in case you end up going somewhere nice to eat. Omit this if you are going to the cottage for a weekend on the beach)
-Shirts. The general rule is that the number of shirts and dresses you bring should be around the amount of days you'll be there. Three days, five shirts and dresses (combined). If your exceeding by three or more, cut down. You won't wear all of these things unless you have a very busy weekend with lots of wardrobe changes planned.

Avoid shirts that need something over or under them to look great to cut down on space.


Manolo Blahnik says if you have great shoes, you only need to pack two black dresses and fill the case with shoes. Remember that. Bring basic things and take three or four pairs of fantastic shoes if you're worried about not taking a vast expanse of clothing. if you pack a great dresses that can be dressed up or down, you can wear it on the beach with sandles, and then throw on some great heels and go out for the night.


This is a great example of a dress to dress up or down

wear it with these fantastic flat sandals for daytime fun or beach
But if you threw these shoes on, you'd be ready for a night out. 


Ladies (and gentleman) THIS is how to pack a suitcase. This man is packing for a month. Use his techniques and you too can pull off this incredible feat (although you'll take more shoes). The hint for packing shoes: put things inside of them.





What do you guys want to see?

I know this blog is mostly my school work but i have three months of freedom upon me, what do you guys like looking at?

do you like the more "how to" articles like my article on how to dye with pomegranite, my more fashion related articles that have nothing to do with anything i've made like my capsule wardrobe, or my big projects from school (i won't have any of those for a while.... sorry). Is there anything you'd like to see? inspiration pages? outfits? things I've cooked? i am open to suggestions!

here is a stupid picture to make this blog look less empty!

(this photo does not belong to me. sorry to whoever's photo this is, i had it saved on my computer somewhere)


Summer Capsule Wardrobe

Summer Capsule Wardrobe



Summer Capsule Wardrobe by trina_craig featuring a dot dress



I recently went on my blog's stats, and found out that my most viewed entry ever was my capsule wardrobe. I thought i would do my summer capsule. I don't find summer particularly easy to dress for. The rest of the season i can get away with layering things to make it look like i can dress myself reasonably well, and that isn't really an option with the summer... unless you want to bake to death! Also, as a more rounded body shape, the heat makes it hard to find options that look good for my body type without being overheated all summer.

click here to go to my original capsule wardrobe post.

Katrina's Summer Capsule Wardrobe
-Dresses are the best summer clothing! you can throw one on and some shoes and go to town! the two i have are my two favorite shapes of dresses for summer for my body type: the shirt dress and the shirred dress. i am fairly petite so the fitted part of shirred dresses hits at my waist.


-Tank Tops and T Shirts again.... i am hard on my t shirts and tank tops so i generally stick to pretty basic and neutral ones (navy, grey, white, black) that are easily replaced and buy more brightly coloured bottoms (such as skirts and shorts)


-Shorts. If you had talked to me a year ago i would have said shorts are evil, but last summer i found a pair that was mid length and made of cotton (dress pants material, not denim) and bought four different colours. 


-In Skirts i tend to stick to brighter coloured a-line skirts that hit the knee and go to my waist, and tuck one of my tank tops or t shirts into them... i know, fairly unoriginal


-I have a jacket i wear a lot in the summer, and this blazer vaguely resembles it. It is grey and has a great tie at the waist as well as buttons and three quarter length sleeves. It's fantastic for summer nights.


-Summer shoes are difficult for me, since i have bad knees i have to wear specific shoes, which sucks. Flip flops are out, but i can get away with Birkenstocks, and peep toe flats.


-Bags are great in the summer, i don't have to lug around backpacks all the time, so i can use some little cross body bags and clutches. I have a cross body bag that looks very similar to the one above, but considerably more beat up!


-Floppy hats are great to keep the sun away


-Bathing suits are frustrating. I don't own a bathing suit like this one, but this is what i want for one. 


-Accessories are more important in the summer because i can't rely on layers like i do during the year. I break out my big fun pendant collection. 


-a big slouchy bag is a fun alternative to the backpacks i drag around all year. i can throw my little purse inside if need be, along with a book and some sunscreen. 

Silk, Silk, Silk, Silk!

So, when I dyed the purple cotton for one of my wearable art show dresses seen here when i was finished,  I threw two meters of silk crepe I had kicking around my apartment into the dye bath. I think it's two meters... anyway, I forgot it there for a while *cough, three days...cough* and it turned a really lovely colour, and I have been trying to think of what i should make with it.

I have dyed lots of real silk in samples, but I have never really owned anything made of actual silk (with the exception of this awesome yellow vintage mini dress I have that has real silk organza on the shoulders and hem). What should I make out of this lovely fabric? Its not the super shiny silk. It has a barely noticeable orange peel texture to it. It is also obscenely wrinkly, which always happens when i hand dye things.... i'll get the wrinkles out, I promise.


This is the silk. I was too lazy to find my camera and load the pictures, so I used my webcam (I know, I know). But when I put it up to my webcam it kept trying to autocorrect the colour and made it look really really blue. but when I was in it, it was a lot closer to the real colour... which is still less blue than this. BUT WHATEVER, this is the wonderful silk. AND ME! There is nothing better than being wrapped up in silk (except for maybe alpaca, that stuff is wonderful!)

These are my relatively new glasses my momma got me for my birthday a month and a half ago. Since i am halfway to legally blind without, I get new frames every three or four years, but the store had a sale so i got these for a pretty discounted price. SWEET! For any of you who don't actually know me, i'm sorry if you had me imagined all different.

 I would have one of those blogs where I show you what I wear, but as a student who was raised by people who wear whatever happens to be around them, my wardrobe is fine, but definetly not fashion blog worthy and could use an update.. all clothes have paint or dye or pigment on them. I literally just folded my tshirts and every single one had a spot of something on it. Its also dwindling since I keep sending things to salvation army for a) the discount card to buy more clothes, and b) I have a really small apartment and share a closet with boyfriend. 

I have finally found myself a job for anyone in blog land who was concerned about it, (I know, you were all terribly concerned) as a banquet server for the summer. My three weeks of unemployment have led me to two and a half sketchbooks of doodles. I'll show you some webcam pictures of those too. They are definetly quantity over quality, which shows in that two and a half sketchbooks I have less than a dozen drawings i'll put up on here. (holy crap ,webcam pictures upload fast! i usually use 10 megapixel images in case my computer crashes then they are all backed up on this blog). 











i like the last one, but its a bit rough. The paper on that book is see through so you can see some stuff showing through. 

what should I do with the purple silk? 


BLAH

I'm sorry i've had such a boring blog blog lately. Since it is summer vacation, i have been baking instead of sewing! haha. i need a bit of a textiles break.

I discovered Joy The Baker recently, and if you are a foodie, I definetly recommend everything on her site! so far I have made Cinnamon Sugar Pull Apart BreadOrange and Dark Chocolate SconesSoft Pretzels, aaaand S'Mores Brownies. THEY WERE ALL INCREDIBLE AND DELICIOUS! nomnomnomnom. She has some gluton free options as well, made using coconut flour I believe for all you flour free kids.

 I have also been sketching an obscene amount but none of it is good enough to bother showing you.

OH! I know, i'll show you a painting i am doing for my mom.

This is what i am painting off of, its a pretty damaged photo of my mom and three of her siblings. She wanted it done for my grandmother for Christmas, and since i am so busy during the year from University i am doing it now! (my mom is the far right). 

This is what i have so far. putting it up on the internet is making me see how much work it needs! 

I'm sorry for my recent dull posts. I promise i will post something exciting soon, once i get my butt in gear! 

Summer Essentials

For anyone out there who is unfortunate enough to sunburn severely, Sunscreen is definitely on your summer essentials list. On mine i have Coppertone Mousse (SPF 60), Olay sensitive skin moisturizer (SPF 15, i wear this all winter), and L'Oreal Mineral Foundation (SPF 19). Even if you're NOT a sun burner, SUNSCREEN IS VERY IMPORTANT AND SUNBURNS LEAD TO SKIN CANCER, WRINKLES AND UNSIGHTLY FRECKLING IN THE FUTURE, just to name a few. 


signs a mole may be cancerous: ABC 
Asymmetric
Bigger than the eraser at the end of a pencil
Changes in colour or shape 





When looking for Sunscreen and Moisturizer, make sure it says either "non-comedogenic" or "won't clog pores".... so it won't clog your pores. I find mousse consistency of sunscreen looks better in higher SPFs and you can put makeup over it easily. Mineral foundation is usually SPF something, works well with sunscreen and looks light for summer. You should be using a shot glass of sunscreen on your whole body, and reapplying after an hour and a half of sun exposure (which is when the aerosol sunscreens are convenient) but really, putting it on in the first place will do more than you think.

As for summer clothes, i am a big floral fan. It makes me feel so festive and summery. i have those birkenstocks (so comfortable) and the hand made seriously beat up bag that looks pretty similar to that one. i wear skirts and dresses all summer, they are flattering than shorts on my body type, even though i found a pair of shorts that fit well last summer (and bought four pairs in different colours). 

More Wearable Art Show

Here are some wearable art show shots that have showed up via facebook the last new weeks.In terms of photo credit, the first five are Alex Chisholm, the next four after that are Brent McComb, and the last behind the scenes shot is Michelle Doucette. I'll post the beautiful professional shots that Alex Chisholm took before the show when i get them in my inbox. Oh yeah! the models are Natasha Rider (in the Purple) and Angela Glanzmann (Pink)










All Over Repeat, Screen Printing Final

After about 300 years tracing the repeat to make it line up correctly: i present my all over repeat.
For size reference, the kitchen utensils are approximately life size, if not slightly larger.