WIN AND ARTFUL MUSICIAN NY PRINT!

For all you rockin' ladies - and lads out there! We have a give away coming up!
(And here's some music for you wile you read on...)

So, The Artful Musician NY on etsy specializes in polaroid transfers of vintage music equipment. The prints are gallery quality; archival grave printed on 100% post consumer recycled heavy weight paper, signed and stamped. Now you can get  25% off a purchase with the code FREELANCE!

...and also,  not one but two of you will have the chance to win a 11x14 archival print of your choice!
You  can browse the prints in the etsy store HERE.

To enter, leave me a comment on this post below. As always, the winner will be drawn randomly so leave me only one comment please, and make sure you will be available to me trough that comment! However, if you blog/post/tweet and link to the giveaway you can leave me another comment telling me you've done so, you know, the usual.

The giveaway is open until next Tuesday; March 6, and the winner will be announced on March 7!

For news about prints and such, find The Artful Musician NY on twitter @ArtfulNY.

AT HOME : CORNERS, SURFACES

I am constantly dreaming of being able to start the renovation at the house in the countryside. There is a lot (as in A LOT) to be done. But there are also lots of details and surfaces with an old nice patina that I intend to keep as it is.

I have developed a thing for tiled horizontal surfaces; window sills, tables, shelves! This is in the bathroom but I want lots of tiles on surfaces in the kitchen too.

Bedroom corner. The lamp is new, from  ikea (you know how hard it is to find a basic classic lamp like that around here?), chair old and the silk kimono form Indiska.

TIME FOR SOME SOFT SUNDAY MUSIC

DR.SKETCHY'S WENT ARTY

I used to go and draw to all Dr.Sketchy events - you know, the so called "anti art school", drawing evenings usually with creative settings and in one way or another cabaret inspired models. Plus red wine and good music -  but during the past two years I have let my pencils rest. Haven't had the time really. In fact, Sketchy's in Helsinki was on hiatus for some time due to a lack of time from the organizers too, as it was run by the same team behind Helsinki Burlesque.

Last year however my fellow Itty-Bitty Tinker Bell and former Bitty Jackie O'Lantern took over as hostesses and organizers of the Helsinki events!

I missed out on the first evenings but modeled for the last one a couple of weeks ago. It was a very visual evening so I though I'd share some photos.

The theme was simply "art" and we posed as the primary colours. I'm so blue!

Art. Plus cabaret.

Arty girls; Fiona (wearing a self-made hat, of course) and Sktechy's  DJ Lola M.

Leila Halkeama, The Grand Artist-charcter talking about arty stuff for the crowd.

Posing.

And here on paper (drawing by Janne Korsumäki).

Equals orange.


This makes purple.

Drawing.

Posing with results.

All photos by Tuomas Lairila, you can view the album here.

More info about Dr.Sktechy's in Finland can be found HERE, for those interested and up for it.

DRESSES

I feel there's been quite a lot posting about clothes here lately.
Maybe because I feel I haven't lately done much more than get dressed and go to work. Obviously, that's what most people do; get dressed and go to work, at least the getting dressed part. Don't know too many who'd leave home naked. Of course that' not what I was at; but the thing is there has been an awful lot of work lately, and also; dressing has become a subject of it's own due to my changing body. However, the work I was referring to here motsly is the one that also includes undressing, as well as meters of pearl strings and fully grown men in rabbit suits. In other words, burlesque. There was a lot of work involved regarding the just gone by burlesque festival, and also a lot of dressing up!

Apart from my stage costume I also made myself some dresses:

This pile of fabric turned into - oh wait, wrong focus -

...so, a new try: this here,

first turned into this,

(...I really thank myself I got me that mannequin!...)

that became this!
Jessica Rabbit goes preggers. Or something like that.

And this one here

turned into...

...this!
(The headpiece by Tiisin' Design is part of our routine's costume.)

I made them both adjustable or big enough to fit me a month from now still when I'll be going to Milan (yes, to perform still; one of my very last shows before taking a break).

(One another note related to dressing I can say that tucking your hair into a wig for the whole weekend is so comfy - you're done in seconds and no risk the weather outside will ruin your curls. Ah!)

TODAY'S OUTFIT, SORT OF: OR - BELLY IN THE EVENING SUN

This is what I wore today.
Which is also the same that I happened to wear three weeks ago.

Only difference is, apart from the +25 degrees C more in the picture, the evening sunshine and the lack of about a meter of soggy snow, the fact that today I also wore this with leggings, knee high socks, my winterboots instead of peeptopes, a black cardigan. And the whole jacket-beret-scarf and mittens shabadabg. Same same but different.

And also, my bumb is three weeks bigger now, which actually mens pretty much bigger.

Ta-ta!

FOUR THINGS RIGHT NOW: ONE KIND OF SUNDAY

 There's been a blizzard out there all day long, had to be outside for a while and I am sure as hell not going back out again until spring. Unless I have to. Which, I'm afraid, is rather likely...

The Helsinki Burlesque Festival is over, phew and whoah at the same time. And it has left me with quite a mess at home to clean up...

But that is for later. Instead I've been enjoying mud cake and peppermint tea. While reading about Tinker Bell and myself in today's paper.

Otherwise I have just been hanging out in my regular Sunday make up...


OK yea yeah not really; I had a photo shoot.
A rather amazing shoot actually, which you will see all of as soon as I get the pictures! Too bad I didn't snap any behind-the-scenes photo, the setting was beautiful... But you would know that already would you internet-nerd yourself and virtually hang out with me on Facebook.

THE BARBIE DOLL

I think of this make up as the early 60's barbie doll make up. With a hell-lot of glitter added. My mother has a couple of Barbies left from around '62 with thick eyeliner (I thought they looked evil) and bright turquoise eyeshadow. The eyeshadow is only on the actual eye lid. Eddi thinks this make up is "umm, pretty strong".

Well. To make it actually strong and more Barbie double the thickness of the eyeliner and paint the eyeshadow above the lid, but still keeping the same shape, like making your lid bigger. And add some liner under the eye too.

My eyeshadow and lipstick is from Limecrime (Troubadour and Centrifuchsia) and the glitter is gel plus polyglitter from Grimas, in case you were wondering. What else? A good foundation (and a good camera lense). The eyelashes are not mine own but false ones. Thick, doll like and cat shaped ones, that are longer in the outer corners will work best. I suggest putting the eyeshadow on with a wet brush for a precise line, if the formula is such that it will work wet. And start off with a primer. Also, paint the eyeliner once before adding the glitter, otherwise it will be hard to get it straigt. You need to fill in  a bit with the liner after applying the glitter again. And the whole shabadang works well without the glitter too and just plain blue of course.

Perhaps something for tonight, if you're heading over to the first night of the Helsinki Burlesque Festival?

AND OH; NOT TO FORGET: ♥

Can't go without the annual Valentine's heart-themed picture now can we?
Hope you've all had -or, for  you further west; still are having - a nice day!

THE DOLL

I FINALLY got myself a fitting doll. It will make life a lot easier. In certain aspects.

However, I had to modify it a bit for now :)
(OK, that was just for a quick thing, it will have to be done a little bit better for proper sewing...)

If you wonder what it is I am making up there, check it out next Saturday at the fifth annual Helsinki Burlesque Festival! And come on time, we're opening the whole shabadang! (Not sure weather there are tickets left though...)

BELLY IN THE SUN GOES SIXTIES

Back to the sun and more or those leggings-outfits!

The blouse is vintage, from Q's daydream.

A WHILE AGO AT JUKKA MALE MUSEUM...

The primary colours in action!

BELLY IN THE SUN vol.2

I was actually lying, or, not being totally straight when I said I would not succumb to leggings and tunics. Those fugly tunics they have at the 'mama' departements yes, but leggings I have in fact been having great plans for long before my belly started growing. (I had to get myself my first pair of mama leggings and tights before the bump started pouting as all my other leg wear were digging and pressing right in my tummy and it felt unbearable but anyway;) I've been waiting (or, waiting and waiting, sort of at least) for a more pregnant belly and warmer weather to be able to an outfit like this:

The thing with leggings are that I would never wear them under normal conditions. Like this; in this way. In winter I often have leggings with knee highs instead of stockings under skirts when it's too cold for anything else and I have them at work all the time under my work wear. But I wouldn't go out in them alone, med rumpan bar so to say (although my hot baby blue sausage pants are pretty close...). Maybe, if they came in a material thick enough and I would able to pull such off comfortably - you see; my legs are not what they used to be like back in the savate days, they have developed some strange (yeah, "strange", haha)  squish around themselves and my bootah has oddly, hmmm,  descended some centimeters during the past two years.  Age does not come alone as it is said in Finnish. Although this nothing a little, just a little less chocolate and a little more work out wouldn't fix, really. (Don't get me wrong; a milkshake a day is still alright would I have the time to go to the gym a little more often than twice a month you see. And I eat healthy but quite a lot and combine it with chocolate. Mmmm...)

Well now some of you will all tell me not to say like this or that but mind you, I do pose in the most favorable angles for photos and I justs could work out a bit more nowadays, it is true. It is about the way you feel about yourself more than you look. And it has bothered me the past years that I have not had the the chance to work out properly.

But anyway none of that matters here as the point of this post actually being the following:  now that I'm pregnant it feels totally alright to go out in however tight Peggy Bundy leggings I may find! Extra fluff or extra kilos elsewhere than on a growing belly do not feel the same when the bumb is around. Quite liberating.

The leggings are H&M Mama, shortened into capri lengts, wedges H&M and blouse American Apparel in case you were wondering.

PRIMARY COLORS

Before I take you (those of you who are up here) away from the cold and back to the sun I'll stick in a little hint about what to do this Friday if you're in the mood for going all artsy: Dr.Sketchy's anti art school goes ART! The bump & I will me modelling with some fellow bitties, check the flyer for info.
Facebook event here,
see you there,
perhaps.

(see, going all arty and poetic already, hah!)

PS. you can check out the 5 years of Burlesque in Helsinki photo exhibition at the same time

BELLY IN THE SUN vol.1

Low fair airlines may (except for the fact that they actually are  low fair and you save a great deal) suck, as it seems the first thing they cut back on are smiles and politeness from the crew, but -  they do have WiFi so I am not going to complain; it is not every day that one gets to blog from a height of 10,000 meters with a red sunset behind and the continent beneath. Not that it really is that much of an experience or big deal now what you think about it, I'm almost getting nauseous and I'd rather be blogging from, well, I don't know - at home (or work in between ships as that means my pay would be running at the same time, hah!... I doubt my bosses read this...) but anyway, there I got to say it: I'm blogging from the sky.

Well, the sun has set and I'm on my way back to the cold, but I got to spend a week in it; the sunshine, which was rather nice.  Very nice actually. Dressing up is a whole not nicer when you can do it in just one or two layers, not twenty. I took a bunch of outfit photos to be blogged about but as I was without the internet for a whole week (!!! Well, once I did drag my computer along and got myself an ice cream at a wifi café´ just to get online and I did read my emails rough my phone every now and then even though the roaming costs almost will end me up with a phone bill much as new low fair airplane ticket I guess, pathetic) I wasn't able to post any. But here you go from now on instead, me & my little belly in the sun, the first version:

The dress is just from a tourist stand, I liked the fabric and as the dress is pretty roomy so it will fit me all they way trough the months to come I think. (OR should we say the later months, it's not like you'll be seeing me like this anytime soon again;  it's mega winter going on at my flight's destination.)  I have plans to alter the dress a bit and add capped sleeves to it and a lot more blah blah as the model is pretty useless elsewhere than on the beach even in warmer weather... well, we'll see, the pile of clohtes to be mended or altered is not a tiny one...

FOUR THINGS RIGHT NOW: IN THE SUN

(While interior magazines pile up at home I tend to avoid fashion magazines as they seem to awaken some deep sense of irritation in me. However,  here I actually bought myself one of those because I liked the cover.

Haha, I run a "fashion" labelled blog and just excused myself for reading Vogue? )

Also, I managed to find wifi here, and, ti's Friday, which means the Black Wardrobe's Ginger pinup and cat giveaway is over! And the lucky winner was Monica!