{emerald coast shootout} with 9 other photographers

{kick it} back to the first shoot

I found some older photos of entwined's very first shoot in Birmingham, AL. It was definitely a fun experience, playing with light, composition, and finding the best way to display the adornments. These aren't on Facebook or anywhere else for that matter because we were trying it out. Enjoy!

The Sound of Kaidence

Doing the custom pieces for Jenny at Whimsy Photography made me think that it was possible to make even crazier pieces for babies. Meet Kaidence. She's pretty sweet.

new spring headbands

I've been working on a couple of new spring pieces. Seeing all of these weddings going on with my friends have inspired me to work on a couple of bridal adornments. Can't wait to show them off! Here's a sneak peak of what's to come...

Pretty productive weekend :)

What are your plans now that it's gorgeous out?

{tutorial} Trendy Fabric Memo Board

Spent last weekend doing creative projects to cope with my new long commute. My department moved locations but now I at least have an entire office to myself versus my little cube. Well, with such a big office, that means there's a lot of wall space. And what else could be better than hitting 3 birds with one stone? Creative control, functional piece, and aesthetically pleasing.

{ingredients}

- old large picture frame

- acrylic paint & brushes (or spray paint)

- sturdy cotton fabric

- Elmer's school glue

- corrugated cardboard (2 layers)

{instructions}

{1} Take a large, old frame and paint it the color of your choice. Let it dry while you're working on the memo board part.

{2} If you already have a picture in the frame, cut your corrugated cardboard the same size so that it'll fit in the frame. Best to cut 2 pieces.

{3} Liberally apply glue all over one side of the cardboard pieces. Smooth it out and add the second layer of cardboard.

{4} Have your fabric cut to size as well- leave a little extra(2-30 inches) of fabric around the edges so that it can wrap around the cardboard. Add glue to the 2-layered cardboard- make sure you spread it evenly otherwise the fabric will show dark glue spots.

{5} Attach your new fabric-covered cardboard to the back of your awesome frame.

Voila! Hang it up in your new office like I did :)

Trip to New York 2011

I went to New York with a couple of friends - we stayed at Spanish Harlem, Manhattan. The SpaHa loft was pretty sweet- spacious, very modern, Ikea-esque. Thought I could find some inspiration for my new collection! This was the loft we stayed at below:

After 4 years and 3 trips to NY, we definitely scored some tickets to The Colbert Report our first day here. I got to ask Colbert a question in the studio: "What bears are best?" and it most definitely got awkward because, well, he thinks bears are the son of Satan.

Carnegie Deli - best pastrami EVER

My Metro card for the subway. Mustard is seriously my fave piece so far- I'm glad I took it off the Etsy site. Being at the International Food & Service Tradeshow, Wine Expo, Chinatown, and Harlem was just lovely. I <3 NY for sure.

{apron tutorial} Men's Button Up Shirt turned Vintage-Inspired Apron

I've been wanting to turn this really cute men's shirt into an apron for 2 months and I finally got around to it now that I have a working studio in our new garage. I say it's working because T is working on bits and pieces of the garage every weekend but we can at least use the inside and I can move all of my art stuff over onto the handmade shelves. I think I got work on my mind because each step ends with "it," much like our branding campaign...

{supplies}

- (L) Men's long-sleeved button-up shirt

- (1) thin cloth belt

- thick chenille fabric for pockets

- ingenuity

{1 sketch it}

Start with what design you want to implement. It doesn't have to be perfect, just throw what's on your mind onto paper and let it grow from there. I was thinking old-school aprons, but realized in a stroke of genius that why deviate from the material I was using? Why should I just use the print of the shirt instead of working with what I had? So, the pattern on the sketch is somewhat different because I didn't need to cut the shirt in half, hamburger-style.

{2 compile it}

Collect your materials which isn't much- your shirt, belt, and pocket fabric pieces.

{3 deconstruct it}

Cut the men's shirt from the collar to the armpit so that it makes a halter-styled top. Do it on both sides and save the sleeves for later. Yes, that is a "Build It" tape measure from work.

Now that you have the sleeves, put one aside as you'll only need one. I personally despise sewing parts of a project that make is necessary to put it together because it tends to be so boring. Therefore, I thought the sleeves were perfect for this because the cuff of the sleeve could be the cute addition to the ties of the apron.

Fold the sleeve so that the open end of the cuff is facing you. Press down and make sure it's even on both sides. Cut it straight down the middle so that it separates into two pieces. You'll want the ties to be about 2" wide. Trim any excess fabric off and sew along the tie inside out without closing up the end. Pull the tie out again so that the fabric is no longer inside-out and sew up the edges. You'll get two ties like the picture shown below.

{4 sew it}

Once you're done with the sleeves, fold over about 1/4" of the main fabric and sew from the collar to what was the armpit to secure it.

You are now halfway done! Check out your new halter-styled apron. But we're not done yet. All we'll need to add are the straps, pockets, and belt.

{5 pocket it}

So you shouldn't really pocket things, but if you were, this pocket would be appropriate. But I'm not entirely sure how you'd pocket a pocket that hasn't been sewn yet... Which leads me to the next step. Create your pocket. The pocket in my sketch is different than the one shown below. I chose a more organic and leaf-like shape because the print on the apron comprises of flowers and leaves, therefore a round pocket would be too blocky for such a unique print. To make a symmetrical leaf, I folded the fabric square in half diagonally and made my cuts. Make sure, if you're using this pocket for function, that you leave enough room for your hands to fit.

Cut the belt to fit along the top and pin it. Fold in the ends so that no threads show. Sew the trim onto the pocket, repeat with the other one, and put aside.

{6 pin it}

Place the pockets where you'd like them to lay. Also place where you'd like the belt to be as well. Pin the apron straps to the side of the apron. They can meet at the ends of the belt for visual consistency's sake.

Pin them all down!

{7 sew it}

Sew the straps and the pockets onto the apron. Do the same as well for the belt.

{8 try it}

Try it on as you sew to make sure placement is where you'd like it. I think this beast is DONE!

{9 tie it}

Tie your apron with the straps you made from the sleeves!

{10 work it}

Per Missy Elliot's request, you better work it. If you have any questions about this tutorial, feel free to email me at entwinedhair@gmail.com.

Peace,

Crystal

{black vine by entwined hair } for boudoir continued...

Turns out, the colors match perfectly! Red on top of a hint of black, solid black, solid red, fair skin, dark eyes, and red lips. I want to post a swatch up here now. These are just a few more red pics....

{black vine} for babies

{black vine} for boidoir

{model} heidi jo

{photography} alley kat photography

{make up} makeup by shelby

{mini hat} by entwined hair

Yes, my hair pretties' first boudoir shoot by Alley Kat Photography. How old are they, you ask. Well, barely a year old and they're already doing such grown-up shoots! Even I haven't done one yet. *sigh* Heidi Jo has been in contact with me since I started sewing adornments but this is the first time they're being seen in such a sexy way.

I've been following Alley's work since I've worked with Jenni and Kimber from the last shoot. I thought it was awesome to have such a bold and feminine point of view depicted in her photographs. She specializes in boudoir and pin up shoots. I didn't even think my stuff could be portrayed in such a setting primarily because I've only displayed them in conjunction with nature but she made it work. Nice.

Last night I went to Art Party VIII which was pretty awesome. I got to wear my Betsey Johnson dress that I got on my honeymoon, grey tights, white ankle boots, heavy pearls, and my white mini hat with feathers. Mai wore a peacock headband I made that match her purple ensemble perfectly. We were glittered out. I thought I looked a little crazy/quirky in my outfit for public, which it was, but then we stepped into AP8 and I wasn't crazy enough. Where was my body paint, cigars, and fairy wings? I mean dang!! I'll post pics of our outfits later :D

Dance, dance

When I got my full time gig as a graphic artist(which also meant writing articles, redesigning newsletters, logos, interior design, marketing guru, etc. etc.), I was determined to be the best at what I did working long hours, networking, and basically going hard core. At the end of the day, though, my brain would fry and I would be exhausted. Welcome to the working world, I know :D

My whole body yearned to do something physically tangible instead of working on the computer all day. I wanted to paint(still do), create my hair pieces, play with puppies, etc. At one point I couldn't bring myself to do any of the above, turning down orders and such so I recently started taking Ballet again and I love it. I have such a free, organic spirit that I needed to channel it into something very elegant and controlled. With ballet you can do that! Anyway, I'm at peace that it's ok to stay at home sometimes. I'm in the middle of a forest with lots and lots of inspiration to draw from.

Hello, squirrel neighbor. Is my music disturbing your friends? Alright, I'll turn it down.

Anyway, just a hint at what to come, I'm trying my hand at head pieces for young-ins and high-fashioned boudoir. Pretty neat, eh?