N E W B L O G !

Hello faithful Skadettes… you are the originals. Carry that in your heart as you follow me to my new blog…

23skidoocleveland.wordpress.com

Cheers to new adventures!

Goodbye L.A. Hello Cleveland

I spent the last two years in Los Angeles t0 work on my fashion design degree at FIDM. I met my best friends there, went on fun adventures, traveled, learned a lot about God and the Church, strengthened my skills in fashion design, started drinking coffee, took full advantage of the best people-watching locations, met many amazingly talented & motivated artists who inspired my dreams, and… a whole lot more wonderfulness.

I lived directly across the street from two of my besties. If I was curious about their presence in the neighborhood at any given time, I simply looked out my porch window to see if their blinds were open. My other bestie was a business woman by day and a child-at-heart by night to make up for being a business woman by day. She would come over every Friday and we would time travel back to 1996 and explore an eatery somewhere in Hollywood, usually diners. Then she would sleep over and we would do that all over again on Saturday! Another friend I knew last year ended up living with me and my roommate the last month of my stint in North Hollywood. We transitioned from friends to sisters fairly quickly and now I consider her one of my close pals.

I have never experienced friendships so deeply in my entire life; these women are far, far more than just friends. Each of these relationships has been ordained by God; the timing couldn’t have been planned by anyone or anything else other than the Master. I also was blessed to live with my roommate of two years (who I am polar opposite of, but I just love her to death)! We seem to understand each other in the oddest of ways. I was able to room with another girl who I helped give her life over to Christ–an absolutely amazing experience.

My first year of living in L.A. was very hard at times but it turned into something I never would have imagined–so rich. I created friendships that will last a life time and even an eternity. I never thought that I would feel this way about L.A., but whenever I think about that city my heart feels strangely warm.

Two weeks ago I moved back to my life partner, Cleveland OH. It was very difficult to ripp away from the life I created in L.A. I’m the type of person who absolutely hates saying goodbye to people. During the entire last month of living in L.A. I basically pretended I was never going to leave. For some reason I thought that would make everything easier but in the end it turned out to make everything harder. It was a very abrupt ending… I’m so thankful it is easy to stay in contact with people across the country these days. The past two weeks in Cleveland have been… interesting. It is strange shifting from L.A. student to Cleveland entrepreneur in a day’s time. There was no smooth transition on my calendar, so the mental transition has taken a while.

However, this is what you must know: now that I am in the CLE, it is finally time to realize my dreams. Yes, you heard it right, California: I left L.A. for Cleveland to accomplish my dreams. I am currently working two jobs while all the rest of my time is spent throwing myself into 23 Skidoo. A lot is going down. It’s gettin’ real and it’s about time. 23 Skidoo has been my grandest earthly passion for a while now. All I can leave you with is… it’s official, y’all. GET READY, CLEVELAND!!!

“23 Skidoo Hollywood Blvd Fashion Show” Pictures

In case you missed what this is about…click HERE to check out the video and post. These are some shots we got throughout the day when we filmed the “Hollywood Blvd Fashion Show”. Yes, I wore a sailor hat. Why not?

23 Skidoo Hollywood Blvd Fashion Show

Well, well, well… It has been QUITE a year.

A couple of weeks ago my friends and I filmed this little lookbook. My sister-in-law’s brother (Rob) and his girlfriend (Michelle) told me last summer that I need to have a fashion show on Hollywood Blvd before I graduate from FIDM and leave L.A. When they said this I was all like, “How am I supposed to do that??” and they were like, “I don’t know, just do it”…So, I did.

Two weeks ago I had some gal-pals come over and I dressed them in some of the designs I made this past year (most were school projects and one was actually something I made in high school). We walked from my apartment down to the metro station and took the train to Hollywood Blvd. This was so much fun for me! The whole idea of this day I had in my head was for it to simply be fun, almost like a fashion prank, but still present my designs in a respectful manner.

As soon as we got on the train my models and I stayed on one end of the car, looking fashionable. Once the train started moving I presented myself to the passengers as though everyone on the train had knowingly arrived for my runway show. Then my models walked down their cat walk (the isle of the train) and I thanked everyone for their support and for coming out to see 23 Skidoo. I got to hand out a lot of business cards and some people followed up and contacted me, which was awesome! The best part of the show was seeing people’s reactions. Some passengers were super confused, some were entertained; a bunch of grown black men were very eager to receive a business card (which made me wonder what they thought is on my blog), and some people really loved my designs!

It took three stops on the train to get to Hollywood Blvd, so at each stop we switched train cars and did the show again! Finally we arrived at our destination and cat-walked everywhere! Every time we crossed a street I looked at all the cars stopped in front of us and welcomed them to the fashion show.

It was just a good ol’ time. We stopped for some photo shoots, too. It was encouraging and exciting to overhear comments from the crowds. I heard one man say to the girl sitting next to him, “I wish girls dressed like that more often”…Yeah!

From the footage we captured on a phone, John edited it into this fun little lookbook video. Thank you Mallory, Andrea, Anna, Jackie, Lake, and Marissa for helping that day! I am happy to announce that I have had a fashion show on Hollywood Blvd.

New Sketches!

 

Homemade Ginger Lemonade!

That’s what I’m talking about! I made this for a couple of friends a few weeks ago who just had a baby! It is simple to make and DANG is it delicious! Here’s what you need:

2 cups water

2 cups sugar

2 cups freshly squeezed lemon juice (about 16 lemons)

1/4 cup sliced up ginger

In a pot boil the water, sugar, and ginger until sugar is dissolved. Take off stove and add lemon juice. Let it sit for about 15 minutes then strain it into a pitcher discarding the ginger pieces. Place in fridge until it is cold or freezer to make the process faster. Then if you have any lemons left over you can add lemon slices for some pretty visuals.

I didn’t think of this at the time but I just realized another great topping to add to the lemon slices would be pieces of mint. MMM!

Now THIS is something for the month of June!

Pom-Pom Project Restyle

So…it’s June……………………………………

……….

…Anyway, I bought these little white pom poms back in February and FINALLY got to do this project restyle! What was keeping me from doing it was finding the perfect sweater to do it. I know it is summer now, but the weather in L.A. at this time of year is weird because some days it is fo real WAY too hot then other days you can comfortably wear a sweater (they call it the “June Gloom”, I believe). So until I go back to Cleveland, I actually think I will be able to wear this once or twice until the winter time comes!

A thrift store across the street from me is closing so they have been selling 75% off e’erythang! I got this sweater for like 50 cents or something. It had a turtle neck, which my friend calls “a push up bra for a double chin”, and THE biggest shoulder pads I have ever seen! I made one of those executive decisions to cut out the shoulder pads and create a pretty boat neck instead of pushing up my double chin. Then I…

1. Laid the sweater flat on a smooth surface. 2. Stuck pins where I wanted to sew on the pom-poms. 3. Hand sewed on the pom-poms.

Sweaters in June.

It’s The Dress Up Nook!

Well, this is basically what happened: I had a blank wall, black string, and tape. So voila! Also as part of the dress up nook, I am excited for my new hat display! My 2 twin friends (friends who are twins) got me these three adorable little dress hooks for high school graduation and I’ve loved having them in my rooms since moving to L.A.! Although, it wasn’t until recently that I began to display my hat on it… one of my teachers makes and sells quirky hats that most people wouldn’t necessarily call “ready to wear”.  One day we were chatting about finding jewelry or articles of clothing that aren’t necessarily something we might wear but it is just too good and unique to not own. Earlier this year  I was at a sample show and met the maker of this dinosaur hat; it became one of those items I just couldn’t pass up! I talked to my teacher about my love for finding things like that but also how I hate it because I wear it on only rare occasions. He inspired me that those purchases can act art pieces at times; so instead of it hiding in your closet, put it on display in your room! So I did just that.

I’m happy I made my little space into an official “dress up” area.

Colored Lens Filter DIY

I love new photography tricks! I was so happy to find a plastic box that was covering my friend’s left over food because I was able to repurpose it for this project! One of my favorite things about using film is when light leaks in because it creates a red or orange hue over the photos. But if you aren’t using film all the time then you can create that same feel with your digital camera! Take a look at how to do it!…

1. Trace the shape of your lens cap on a scrap piece of paper 2. Add a little extension onto the circular shape (you will use that extension in step 6) 3. Cut out 4. Trace on a clear plastic sheet and cut out 5. Create designs using different colors on each plastic cut out 6. Use a hole punch to punch a hole in the extension you cut out of the plastic 7. Cut a piece of string just long enough to reach from the camera strap to the tip of your lens 8. Tie string from each hole punch to your camera where strap is connected.

I love this DIY! I love it because you can have a few different color options conveniently by your side at all times while talking photos! As I took practice photos I also had the fun discovery of using 2 of the filters at once. Woo hoo for double filters! I can’t wait to take more photos with these fun filters! Check out some of my practice pics below…

I hope you guys have as much fun with this DIY as I’ve had! Have a week full of funzy things!

My Ballet Slippers

…make me feel magical! They allow me to mentally prepare myself for pretty much anything. Don’t know why. I don’t ask questions. I just accept it.