The Pineneedle Collective

Monday 15 April 2013

Guest Post: Cat Eye Glasses (buyin' & stylin')

Hi, I’m Amy!

I’m a personal life and style blogger by pure hobby (find me at A. Loo's Closet). I dress with a retro/vintage vibe, blog photos of my daily outfits, and write about random happenings in my life. I’ve been married for 5 years to my husband, Josh, and together, we have two darling, little girls, Emeline (3 years) and Odette (18 months).

Psst. See that skirt I’m wearing? I made it using one of Annika’s DIY tutorials. Can I get a what-what?

A few days ago, Annika and I were chatting via email about what I could write about for her lovely, little blog, and she mentioned my collection of eyeglasses and sunglasses. She said -- and I quote -- “your glasses collection is so enviable!” So, per dear Annika’s enthusiasm towards my glasses, let’s talk about glasses!

Here are a few shots of my current collection:

I’ll admit it. I’m a fraud when it comes to eyeglasses. I’m a girl who’s blessed with good vision, and while I’m not complaining about that in the least, I do have a ridiculous soft spot for a great pair of retro eyeglasses. So, I purchase plastic, clear-lensed pairs from eBay in order to achieve my vintage, smarty-pants look. Anyone else sound like me? For those of you who do, know that you can achieve the look! And very inexpensively, too! We’re talking under $10.00 including shipping, folks. Win-win.

eBay is my go-to for sunglasses and fake eyeglasses. As a mom to two little girly-girls, I just can’t afford a super-expensive pair of glasses. I don’t want to. One: because we’ve got important family stuff to provide with that kind of money; and two: my girls like to try on my glasses from time to time, and though they do have little hands, they can be unintentionally destructive, and I’d have a stroke if they accidentally broke a pair of glasses I’d paid a pretty penny for. On eBay, I get a quality product for a small price, and if my glasses accidentally get broken or lost or stepped on, I don’t risk brain damage. Personally, I’ve had excellent service from ebay sellers monovoltz, deadstocksunglasses and ejey.

Okay, now that you’ve seen my collection, you want to see my wishlist, right? Of course, you do! Pictured below are a few pairs that are on my wishlist. I so plan on owning these babies soon.

One - Two - Three - Four - Five

Gorgeous, aren’t they? If any of y’all are looking for a great pair of fake eyeglasses or sunglasses, browse around on eBay! I guarantee you’ll find something you’ll like!

A huge thanks to Annika for allowing me a small piece of her beautiful blog. She was one of the very first style bloggers I connected with when I started out a few months ago, and she remains one of my very favorites. Good luck with your move, dear Annika!

Sunday 14 April 2013

Guest Post: DIY Map Backpack

Hi there! I’m Lauren, a South African university student and crafter from over at LDP. I am currently studying English and Journalism, though I spend much of my spare time making just about anything and everything that takes my fancy. While Annika packs her things, I’ll be showing you how to DIY your own map backpack!

I’m currently in my first year of university, and I’ve just started my second term for the year. I spent my first term lugging around my books in a shoulder bag that was uncomfortable and inappropriate for holding so many books – in fact, towards the end of the term, it was even beginning to break! Because of this, I was almost forced into buying a proper backpack in which to carry around my books. But rather than running the risk of having the same bag as someone else, or, on the other end of the spectrum, having a decidedly bland backpack for the rest of the year, I thought (as usual) – why not just DIY my own?

I picked up a fairly plain beige backpack rather cheaply at a market, and decided that I’d convey my perpetual wanderlust by decorating it with an old-fashioned map!

You will need:
• A backpack
• Leather or faux leather
• Mod Podge
• A printer and paper

What to do:
1. Make sure that your bag has a flat area on which to place your map. I had to remove a bunch of plastic buckles and straps from mine to achieve this, so don’t let that put you off!

2. Cut out the size and shape of the area on which you want your map from the leather or faux leather (mine was in two sections, so I had two pieces of faux leather, which I painted with a base paint of acrylic paint first, though this isn’t completely necessary).

3. Print out your map image. (I just did this on normal printer paper at the print shop down the road!)

4. Mod-Podge your map onto the leather or faux leather, ensuring that it is completely stuck down and secured.

5. Cover the map in another layer of Mod-Podge and wait for it to dry completely.

6. Sew the leather or faux leather onto the backpack, covering the appropriate section.

I hope you enjoyed this DIY, and I’d love to see photos of any attempts to make your own!

Saturday 13 April 2013

Undercover Superhero & The Science of Spiderman

Well hello there! I'm back from my moving adventures (somewhat, although I will still be a little bit absent for the next few days as I finish moving everything and settle in). I just wanted to say a massive thank you to my guest posters, for helping me out while I was going to be away from here for a while. There are still 2 more fabulous guest posts to come, one on making your own map-print bag and another on buying and styling cat-eye glasses! I have already found a new spot to take photos at my new place though, and I managed thus far not to break my camera or tripod in the move, so expect some more outfit posts from me sometime next week :)

Anyhoo, this particular outfit is a super-hero inspired number, matching my DIY shirt (from the other day) with this amazingly cool new skirt courtesy of Koogal. (p.s., Koogal are also having a $250 giftcard giveaway, which you can enter here.)

shirt - DIY

skirt - c/o Koogal

socks - c/o Sock Dreams

shoes - Chicory

I felt like this video was very apt for today's post: The 'science' of spiderman (and other superheroes). Enjoy!

Friday 12 April 2013

Guest Post: Smarts and stereotypes need not kill your style

Hey guys, how's it going? My name is Style Killer - I'm a girl from Canada and recent graduate with a Bsc in Psychology (aka neuropsychology nerd- I love the human brain and what it's capable of) who is hopefully going back to do her Master's in the fall...oh yeah, I'm also a fashion blogger.

There are two things that always surprises people when they meet me. They are, that for someone who loves fashion and beauty (and all that fun girly stuff) as much as I do: 1) when it comes down to it, I'm really just one of the guys (I can crack crass, inappropriate jokes, watch football and drink beer with the best of 'em); and 2) that I work in a non-creative, fairly conservative and intellectual environment. Because of this, I am no stranger to being asked why I am as interested in (read: obsessed with) fashion, as I am. I'm actually surprised that I get asked this so frequently because really, I don't see why loving to play dress-up and having fun with my appearance has to put me into a category or associate me with certain other types of things/people...I guess maybe I'm just surprised that no matter how progressive society is, people still tend to think in terms of stereotypes, when it comes to certain things.

I am all for going against the grain and allowing yourself to define who you are and who you want to be, instead of letting stereotype and societal norm dictate. It's frustrating the looks and raised eyebrows I get from people in my professional/academic world when I say that I have a fashion blog...they're actually the same looks I get from people in my fashion world when I start describing a shirt pattern as resembling sulci & gyri. People who are so wrapped up in their one world and who let that world define them sometimes can't see that it's ok, and perhaps even commonplace to let different worlds collide and thrive either separately or together. There doesn't need to be a reason why scientists can't be fashion bloggers, the same way that an elite athlete could be really into cake decorating- it does not have to be a church and state issue!

Keeping this in mind, imagine my amusement when I came across an article on scientificamerica.com that talked about online traffic trends, the relationships between different topics...and made specific mention that physics and fashion were correlated! Don't get me wrong, I love science (hell, I took it in university because I love it so much), but even I was a little shocked at the idea that the same people who were searching the internet for physics papers were the same people reading fashion blogs. Even more so (both shocked and amused) when I found Annika's blog and how she fuses both science and fashion together- something I could totally relate to and get excited about. That just goes to show you though, anyone can be interested in anything, no matter their job, gender, race, religion, sexual orientation, socioeconomic status, or other interests. I love that both fashion and science are entities that unite people of all different backgrounds and can be used as a tool to break down all those other barriers that exist.

That being said, what does a neuropsych nerd/fashionista who works in a non-creative, fairly conservative office look like?
This.

xoxo SK

Thursday 11 April 2013

Guest Post: DIY Top

Hello everyone, my name is Courtney! I am very excited to be guest blogging today here! I am a So Cal teen who aspires to be a fashion stylist/costume designer. I blog over at A Style Blog of Some Sort. There you will find OOTD’s, trend reports & occasional DIY’s! Please check me out if you get a chance :)

Today I'll show you how to sew a simple top from knit fabric. Please refer to each diagram below for detail.

You will need: 1-2 yards of knit (stretchy) fabric & matching thread, a sewing machine, pins, scissors, a marker, and a top that you can use to trace as a pattern, also made of stretchy fabric.

1. Lay your fabric flat on your surface. Lay the shirt on top of it.

2. Trace around your top with a 1 inch / 3 cm seam allowance and cut along the line. My top has attached arms so it is composed of just 2 pieces: the front & back.

3. Lay both pieces on your surface and adjust the neckline to the desired depth & shape if necessary.

4. Make sure the top is inside out! Hem the neckline on each piece separately by rolling and folding in the fabric. Pin & sew.

5. Now line up both pieces right sides together (inside out.) Pin & sew both shoulder seams. You can use a straight or zig-zag stitch.

6. Lay the shirt flat right sides together again. Pin & sew down the arm and side on each side.

7. Lastly, hem the arm holes and the bottom of the shirt. This step is optional because knits don't unravel easily.

And you're done!

I hope this tutorial was easy to understand! I also have a video tutorial on my YouTube if you want to check it out. If you have any questions drop me an e-mail at astyleblogofsomesort@gmail.com Thanks so much Annika for letting me guest post! Bye :D

Wednesday 10 April 2013

Guest Post: Waxing Lyrical (DIYs and Star Trails)

Hi! I am another British schoolgirl - this blog seems to attract us like bees to honey - and I blog about clothes, books and general nerdy things over at Doxographies. (I know, I know, my username is so pretentious.) I like strange music that tends to leave other people confused, reading, winter and cats. I also like DIYs, astronomy and long-exposure photography, which, as luck would have it, are what this post is about.

DIY MOON PHASE T-SHIRT

Stars seem to be everywhere at the moment, with galaxy prints everywhere from t shirts to socks, but the moon has been sadly neglected. With this in mind, and also with an Astronomy exam coming up, I decided to do a little ‘revision’ by making a t shirt with the phases of the moon on it.

On this t shirt, the large central circle is the Earth, with the smaller ones around the edge representing the moon in different phases. In the picture below, sunlight is coming from the right. The blue circles show what each phase looks like to someone standing on Earth. I’ve also labelled each phase so you can impress people by explaining the diagram to them.

The moon has different phases because parts of it are in shadow, while other parts are lit up by the sun. Interestingly, we only ever see one side of the moon because the way it rotates means the same side is always facing Earth. The ‘dark side’ isn’t really dark, though; at new moon it’s completely lit up.

To make this t shirt, you’re going to need some fabric paint in at least two colours and a pattern, drawn out on paper. I made mine from looking at this diagram and traced it out full size with a black sharpie.

Then, position it inside the t shirt and pin it in place. Hopefully you can see the design through the fabric of the shirt. Use the fabric paint to trace over the design and wait for it to dry, then fix the paint by ironing it for a couple of minutes and you’re done!

STAR TRAIL PHOTOGRAPHY

One really cool thing you can do with a DSLR camera is to take star trail photographs. Because the Earth is rotating on its axis, the stars seem to move in circles. If you have a really long exposure time - 15 minutes or more - you can capture this effect as streaks of light. Astronomers can use these photos to test if a site is good for an observatory- if the star trail photo is clear and there isn’t too much ‘skyglow’ (the reddish-orange colour that street lights give the sky) in the background, it’s a good spot. You can also use star trail photos to calculate how long the sidereal day (the length of a day as measured by stars, which in fact is 23.93447 hours long) is. Stars move almost 15° in an hour, so they would take nearly 24 hours to complete a 360° circle. The little bit of time missing is accounted for by the Earth’s movement through space.

You do need a tripod and a fancy camera with a bulb release for this, unfortunately, so if you want to try some light painting, which you can do with pretty much any camera, scroll down.

First, find somewhere dark - preferably a field, with no nearby houses. If you’re in the northern hemisphere, you need to make Polaris (the North Star) the centre of your picture to get nice curved arcs. Contrary to popular belief, it’s not the brightest star in the sky, but you can find it quite easily. Find Ursa Major, the Big Dipper and follow the green line shown in this picture:

Polaris is the first bright star you see when following this line. If you’re good with constellations, it’s also part of the Little Dipper, or Ursa Minor. In the southern hemisphere, it’s a little harder, because there isn’t one star to point your camera at. I’m not entirely sure, because I have never even been to the southern hemisphere, but you should probably find the Southern Cross and make the centre of your picture a bit below that.

Make sure the camera’s in focus, take the ISO down to 100 and set the camera for an exposure above 15 minutes. Then try not to move too much so you don’t shake the camera and don’t turn on a torch! If you do, the photo might get over exposed and end up plain white. It’s probably a good idea to increase the contrast of your photo after you’ve taken it. Unfortunately, this will bring out any red/orange skyglow, but it also makes the stars look better.

If you don’t have a fancy camera, don’t worry! You can still take awesome long exposure photographs; for example, light painting. Wait until it’s dark, fiddle around with your camera until you find the long exposure setting and dance around with lights; torches, fairy lights, anything. I did this monster with a point-and-shoot camera and a bike light in 15 seconds, the longest exposure available.

You can also ‘draw’ over people’s bodies with the light to get a weird sort of glowing effect.

I think that’s probably enough information about moon phases and sidereal days to keep you going for a while, but if you’ve got any questions, feel free to ask me. Have fun, and try not to get pneumonia if you sit out all night taking pictures of the stars.