a beloved queen

Today is a sad day for fashion with the news of Alexander McQueens death.  He was a true inspiration and one of the few designers left that continued to shake up the industry by creating wearable art, not just fashion.  We will truly miss this royals daring designs and one of a kind style!

SALE...SALE...SALE...SALE...SALE

As fall weather starts to set in, there nothing is more exciting then shopping the sales rack for new pieces.  So we just posted a bunch of new sale pieces on our etsy store for your shopping pleasure!!

just listed...

we love corduroy in fall...

check out some of our new temporary tattoo multi packs after the jump!

just listed...

new goodies for you to shop...

fashion feud

We recently found out about this sweet event called fashion feud and we are loving the concept!  At the event, two designers face off with a bag of unknown fabric, their sewing machines and a model.  Each designer has one hour to come up with and create an awesome new style!  Think project runway compressed into one hour.  And for the added entertainment  of the crowd there will be a bunch of vendors (us included!) selling their amazing goods.  Come experience this creative battle for yourself, tomorrow night at Mighty in the city!



When:  september 29th 7pm - 10pm (duel starts at 8pm)
Where:  Mighty 119 utah st, san francisco

Dueling Artists:  Alexandria Von Bromseen & Ashton Miyako
Vendors: daisy vintage, J. Prince Dash, Judy Indy, Kate Moore, Kue King, Laura Ellington, Project Transaction, Rigged Outfit

ants reinvade!

We are super excited to announce that we are bringing back our "picnic" design of little ants EVERYWHERE!  But this time we are making it a stencil and thus available in even more colors and the ability to go on more surfaces/fabrics.  You are going to be wearing a lot of little friends come fall, as we work on new styles for the girls and boys!!

Don't forget to check us out sunday aug 23rd from 12pm - 5pm at Urban Stitch!

friday! friday! friday!

We cant wait to see all your awesome smiling faces friday night at the Oakland Museum to celebrate the best of the east bay!!  Calling fellow science nerds...come train to be an astronaut with us at Chabot Space Center's party area!



new styles available friday...

cowl neck tanks!

the perfect transition piece for summer to fall...

Only 3 left to gather up those swappables..

we just hit up goodwill yesterday to pick up some extra goodies for the clothing swap!  we can't wait to swap and stencil with you all!

If you love the 70s...

For those in the Los Angeles area....do you love 70s vintage fashion?  Do you like supporting a good cause?  Then check out this 70's inspired vintage fashion show going down tonight!   The show is being put on by Feed A Model, with 100% of raffle proceeds going to Operation Smile.

So bring your support for healthy smiles and your appreciation for vintage, you are in for a night of fantastic fun.  Who knows maybe you will win some new vintage!!

The gals over a Feed A Model are asking those that want to come to RSVp, via email ( rsvp@feedamodel.com ) or via going.com

When: Today!! doors open at 9:30pm (fashion show at 10:30pm)

Where:  ECCO lounge  1640 cahuenga, Los Angeles

show & tell: WhatTheCraft

WhatTheCraft.com is the ultimate resource guide for the DIY fashion obsessed!  Started in 2005 by an aspiring fashion designer named Alexis, this site is a forum for fashion tutorials, resources and promotion!  One of the reasons we love WhatTheCraft is their great selection of sewing and craft tutorials, useful for the beginner to the advanced.  You can also find guides to learn what is needed to find success in selling your designs.  The site even has a sewing machine troubleshooting guide and reviews of select sewing machines/accessories!!  What crafter would not find that useful?

Stop on by the site...share a tutorial, learn a new pleating technique, or show off  your own creations in one of WhatTheCraft's frequent contests!  You might even get the itch to bookmark this one.  We did!!

Mission Indie Mart this Sunday!!

Don't forget the awesome craftaganza that is Mission Indie Mart is this SUnday!!  This will also be the first time that our favorite store Pretty Penny will have a booth of all the best vintage styles for Spring.  They usually has an unbeatable selection of sunglasses and shoes!  We hope to run into you there!

We need your support...Vote for bennykelly!!

We have entered one of our wearable art designs into the Spring competition held by US Trendy.  But we need your help, as we just cannot win without the support of all our fans.  The piece we entered is our "Right Behind You" wrap dress.  The dress is completely handmade with a life size stencil of Kelly on the back, giving the feeling that she can look at you even when her backs turned!!

If you like what you see please go to US Trendy and VOTE FOR US! The deadline to vote is March 16th only days away!!  (Disclaimer:  the link above is to the page, #35, we were last on...this may change as more entries are made.  We apologize as you may have to search the adjacent pages for our dress!)

more pictures after jump...

Fashion Week-End Swap

New York's Swap Team is celebrating the end of fashion week in the style they know best, swapmeet style. The Swap Team is a group we admire for their promotion of sustainable living, by gathering large groups of people together in a random space to trade clothing they are tied of.  The concept is simple but oh so fantastic in that you can get a whole new wardrobe, while getting rid of your old styles, not spend a dime, and meet some sweet new people.

To make the experience just that much, better The Swap Team will also be entertaining all with music and refreshments.  As they always say, one person's trash is another's treasures!  So if your in the New York area, get ready to revamp your wardrobe for Spring on the cheap!

Time/Location/How The Swap Team says this whole thing works after the jump...

back to work...custom color shoes!

We are finally back from our very extended holiday break and glad of it!!  The parties are over and our 9-5's have finally slowed enough to let us breath, so we bring you some home craftin'.

Custom Color Shoes!

We always have the hardest time finding a sweet pair of plain tennis shoes in that exact shade desired. The problem is we absolutely  hate being limited to black, white or brown shoes and are limited in the funds to buy all the amazing shoes we see.  So we came up with a simple solution that involves some cheap shoes and dye and tada...custom color shoes!

Reusable garment stencils!

So the freezer paper has been fun and all, but what happens when you don't want to re-cut your stencil every few sprays/iron on appliqués?  Or what happens when you want to use a previously cut stencil?  Well we came across this amazingly helpful hint for sticking your stencil to your fabric while trying to figure out a way to silkscreen a huge stencil without a big enough screen frame.  The best part is how easiest it is!

So there is not really a process to this just a few things to gather--acetate paper/mylar (or really any type of thin flexible fabric/plastic whatever your comfortable cutting into), a blank garment, spray paint and the secret ingredient, quilt basting spray!!  Quilt basting spray can be found at any fabric store and is relatively inexpensive.  There is no name brand to look for.  I usually just go for the cheapest in the store.  The spray is temporary, either washing away in water or, as the bottles says, "the adhesive properties will diminish or be completely removed after several weeks".

[caption id="" align="alignleft" width="160" caption="the spray we currently use..."][/caption]

Just use the mylar to create the stencil, adhere  and let the paint spray!!

Helpful hints: First and foremost a little bit goes a long way with this stuff.  If you use too much and you don't wash it off the fabric before putting it through a sewing machine it might muck up the needle.  Finally, if you let the stencil sit for a moment to let the adhesive get tacky it will stick all the better.
Enjoy!
here is the life size stencil that inspired this trick...