The Pineneedle Collective

Wednesday, 22 October 2014

Fighting Evil By Moonlight & Organic Molecules in Space

Annika - shirt is thrifted, skirt c/o Faith & Lola, shoes c/o Chicwish (old), tights from Japan, earrings are handmade.

Katie - dress is thrifted, shoes are mine (thrifted), socks from Clear It and brooch is vintage.

I'm glad I'm friends with someone who also gets the urge to go out on a freezing night, dressed up like a nightmarish barbie doll and take photos next to dumpsters. These photos were taken way-back-when in June, but I thought they would be a good set to pull out of the vault just in time for Halloween (I tell myself every year that I'm not going to jump on that bandwagon, but it inevitably happens).

Anyway, these shots did end up being fairly appropriate for a Halloween-themed shoot - mainly because of these shots I got of Katie looking throughly possessed (which I turned into an even creepier gif):

What... even. The funny thing is that we weren't even attempting any kind of demon-possession shots; Katie just happened to be jumping around, trying to stay warm, while I was trying to focus my camera on her. So we were SUPER freaked when we were later reviewing the photos and these shots popped up, because we couldn't even remember taking them!

I also want to bring attention to how cool this vintage (and Sailor Moon-esque) brooch of Katie's is:

You may also notice that I have a brand new blog banner! It's by the incredible Em Somerville whose art I have loved FOREVER. I'm so beyond pleased with it. While I loved my old header, this one is a much more accurate representation of what this blog is about - vintage-inspired fashion with a side of sewing and science. If you haven't checked out Em Somerville's artwork before, this is her website, and she also posts some pretty fantastic stuff on her instagram account.

Today I will leave you all with an awesome bit of science: A complex carbon-based molecule was found floating around in space, 27,000 light years away from Earth. I'm so blown away by the fact that astronomers are able to detect such a tiny thing (a molecule! You can't even see those with a light-microscope, let alone the naked eye) from such a long distance. But the researchers are pretty confident that it's out there. Furthermore, it's an organic molecule - which lends support to the theory that life-forming molecules may come from outer-space rather than being created on planets. Read more here, it's amazing.

I hope that you're all having a lovely day,

Monday, 13 October 2014

Triple Pineapple

Shirt is thrifted | earrings c/o I Love Crafty | pinafore c/o Sheinside (old) | shoes from Naot | brooch is handmade

I have named this post triple pineapple because I am wearing:

Pineapples on my ears
Pineapples all over my shirt
Pineapple-printed underwear. Okay, so you can't see these (I didn't feel comfortable flashing the entire internet), but they totally make a difference & contribute to the pineapple-y-ness of the outfit! Does anyone else ever go out wearing cute undies, knowing that no one is going to see them but feeling like they've helped contribute to your outfit regardless, just because you know they are there?

I wanted to give off some tropical, summery vibes with this outfit, so I added an ice-cream brooch, pastel lipstick and this pinafore. The pinafore has for some reason always reminded me of the uniform of somebody who sells ice cream. Is anyone else getting that vibe, or is it just me?

I also need to give a shout out to I Love Crafty, who is the creator of these incredible pineapple earrings! I've been waiting literally all winter for the weather to warm up so that I could wear them. They're got the perfect amount of cute & novelty in my opinion - and I'm pretty sure they're going to be on high rotation on my earlobes this summer.

That's all from me today, I hope you're having a good one,

Saturday, 11 October 2014

Brighton Beach | Why is your brain inside your head?

Here's some photos from the vault! These shots were taken back when I visited Melbourne in July, while me & my mum were being touristy-tourists at the Brighton Beach bathing boxes.

It was a typically-overcast, freezing Melbourne winters day, and I think that the amount of clashing patterns that I ended up wearing was more out of necessity (I didn't bring enough un-patterned clothes with me), than me making a fashion statement! Regardless of this, I'm always going to love wearing a ridiculous amount of clashing-patterns, so I didn't mind this forced fashion statement at all.

My mum decided that she wanted to get in on taking outfit photos too, so I present to you all: my mum's very first outfit post!

Can you see where I get my love of pattern-mixing from??

My mum would definitely have to be one of the biggest style influences in my life. She's never been afraid to rock up to work or any event wearing cute mary-janes, a gorgeous thrifted dress and the craziest/coolest patterned tights she can find! (p.s. you should all leave some super nice comments about how stylin' my mum is; she is my blog's number one fan and you will make her day, I guarantee you!)

So: embedded below is my favourite science video of the week!

Some things are just so ingrained that you don't even think about questioning them. Have you ever thought about why your brain is inside your head before?

No? Me either.

But the more you do think about it, the stranger it seems. Why isn't your brain tucked away inside your torso with your other vital organs like your stomach, heart and liver? What's it doing all the way up there, wobbling around on your neck, so far away from all the organs it has to communicate with?

Let this video blow your brain!

I hope that you've all had a great week,

Sunday, 5 October 2014

DIY Fuzzy Blue Shorts | Make Thrift Buy #4

I have a piece of glitter in my right eye for the entire video. Just go with it.

Hope you all had a great weekend!

Friday, 3 October 2014

DIY Jewellery: Watermelon Brooch

Hello! I have a new DIY tutorial for you guys. I'm going to teach you how to make your own jewellery - starting with this watermelon brooch!

If you have a go at this, please share a photo with me by using #diyannika and uploading it to instagram. I'd love to see your takes on it. Good luck!

Tuesday, 30 September 2014

DIY Tartan Heart Pinafore & An Announcement

You see this pinafore that I'm wearing? Well... it might just be a prototype for something I might be selling in the future. Maybe. (You heard it here first.) Now that I have a proper dress-making mannequin, industrial-sized bolts of fabric and am confident enough with my sewing skills that I've started making pieces for other people, I am seriously considering taking the next logical step and creating a little line of clothing. (^_^;)

This idea is all very much still in the baby-stages of planning, but I'd like to know what you all think! I've been working on a number of designs over the past couple of months, and, well, I am awful at keeping secrets. I have been bursting to let you guys know. So, this is a little hint of what will (hopefully!) be a thing in the not-too-distant future!

Blouse - Vintage | Skirt - made by me | blazer - thrifted | hair clip - c/o Sarsparilly | shoes - Naot

But I also wanted to reach out and get your opinions before blindly embarking on something like this. Please give me your honest opinions about this particular piece - what do you like, what don't you like, what could be done better? (This is just the prototype, and obviously I will be doing things like the hemming a little bit more neatly!)

All the love in the world,