My New Blog!

Howdy everyone,

I’m over in London now getting a Masters and becoming a smart kid, which is why you never see me on here anymore. So if you want to partly read about what I’m up to, hop on over to my new blog that details the internship module I’m on. I promise there will be at least a few good photocollages for you to look at too incase you don’t feel up to reading:

See Betsy Blog

Ta ta for now!

Thumb from my USA nails.

As promised, I did Independence Day nails with my homegirl. Granted I didn’t see anyone else’s Lee Press-Ons, I’m sure we had the bangin’est nails to celebrate America and watch the fireworks.

This week, while watching the Bachelorette travel Taiwan and boohoo about her inability to choose a husband on TV, a friend and I tried marbling anew with increasingly excellent results. Here are a few more tips I’ve discovered that may help in avoiding frustrations when you attempt on your own:

• Like with screen printing, using a color with a white base seems to dry faster than others. If you want to use them, work fast, or save for the inner layers of your marbling.
• To get a nice blob of polish to drop onto the surface of the water, tip the bottle at a 45° angle and scoop. The polish will pool further towards the top and be easier for the brush to catch.
• Nicer quality polishes tended to work better for me a la OPI and Essie, especially if they were newer and not old and busted. I bought a blue Sephora mini polish for America nails and it dried especially fast.
• Make sure to tap all the water off of your nail after you marble, otherwise it can bubble if the water sits too long.

Check out the photos below for the all the results from the Fourth o’ Julio and Bachelorette Viewing.

Nail Marbling American Style. Photo: Wanderlosting

Nail Marbling Attempt 3. Photo: Wanderlosting

Nail Marbling Attempt 4. Photo: Cell phone camera

Hey, Nice Nails! is a tumblr of two sisters who just plain love doing their nails in different and fun ways. It took me back to the time when my sis and I had an entire caboodle full of nail polishes and repainted our digits at least twice a week. We had paint-n-peel, Street Wear, everything under the sun. Not to mention a kind that smelled like fruit, or rather a hint of fruit beneath the stank of mind-melting chemicals. The fact that I don’t have brain damage – that I know of – from huffing scented nail polish is a miracle of science.

The final results of my first nail marbling attempt. Photo: Wanderlosting

Recently HNN! reposted a step-by-step of nail marbling that I read at work and immediately set to recreate upon arriving home. For a first try, the results were not too shabby. Wanting to do a lil’ something tropical to match my toes, but muted for work, I went for a few pink variations, a hint of orange and a dash of sparkle. I had trouble with my polish drying too fast and pulling together when I started pattern making with a toothpick, so I reduced the number of drops of paint used per nail. Second attempt will be this weekend in Florida with some Fourth o’ July colors and newer polish, which may help with the paint drying too quickly. Will update with the results!

Polishes used listed at left. Photo: Wanderlosting

Polish used on first attempt:

• Neutral Base – Sally Hansen Diamond Strength Radiant Rose
• Light Pink – OPI Mod About You
• Saturated Pink – Essie Guilty Pleasures
• Orange – Essie Lifesaver
• Silver Sparkle – OPI of which the label has somehow fallen off the bottom

For more on nail marbling, hit up the YouTube or Google, there are tons of tutorial videos out there that are sure to get you inspired to take on nail art.

This semester I wanted to make larger prints from handmade films instead of images pilfered from the internet. I’m not discounting copied films, but there was an extra level of satisfaction I got from making everything myself – save the paper to print on – by hand and being totally responsible for the final result.

The final project - a screen print of Memphis' Down Home Ice Works. Print: Wanderlosting

Following my Liberty London facade endeavor,  I picked up five quality Canson printing sheets. The Liberty building was fun, but 12 print runs of eight films and one me ate up a lot of class and open studio time. Inspired by the neon lights of Memphis’ Beale Street on a stop during a trip to Shiloh, Tennessee, this time I focus on perfecting each layer ahead of time and end up with a smaller run of prints with ninja execution. Down Home Ice Works made for the perfect combination of color and texture with room for interpretation so I could add a few of my own bits and pieces.

The lovely Sam was our hostest with the mostest who not only indulged the tourist in me with a trip down Lombard Street and a hike through the hood to Alamo Square, but loves two of my favorite pastimes: eating and shopping. Of special note was Monday afternoon when, with the expert help of her sister Caitie, we scoured the vintage shops of the Mission after an indulgent filling up at the Tartine Bakery where I just about died and went to heaven. During our outing I scored a bomb necklace from Minxy Boutique, a newer shop in the district with some incredible finds and a snoozing doggie in the corner. Dogs always = bonus points. For more on vintage, and other great finds in San Fran from a local, check out Caitie’s website Lady a la Mode.

Tuesday morning I had a bit of time to myself and bused all the way across town to the Legion of Honor museum for “Pulp Fashion: The art of Isabelle de Borchgrave.” An incredible exhibit by the artist and costumier, Borchgrave took inspiration from iconic portraiture to create tromp l’oeil paper and paint replicas period fashion. The website for the exhibit (linked above) has a wealth of information about the artist and her work, so if you’re in San Fran before June 5th I highly recommend hopping on the 38L and seeing it. A $5 special exhibition fee gets you in to the exhibit, which includes general admission to the rest of the museum (free to the public) and can be used at the de Young museum a few bus stops and a quick walk away in Golden Gate Park. This is a great way to spend a whole morning or afternoon, and with all the pennies you save you can buy more souvenirs.

Other highlights include, but are not limited to:

• The Japanese Tea Garden in Golden Gate Park – The cherry blossoms were in full bloom and surrounded by immaculately pruned trees and pathways. A little oasis within a bustling park.
• The Ferry Building Farmers Market – Fresh fruit and food stalls. Easy way to spend your morning and sample some local treats.
• The sea lions at Pier 39 – Smelly, but adorably captivating.
• The Painted Ladies of Alamo Square – Some guy told us none of these were where the Full House family ”lived” (actually 1709 Broderick St.). Like most of San Francisco, they’re beautiful and interesting with or without the lore.
• In n Out Burger – Salivating just thinking about it.

Close-up of the weathervane and chimney additions. Print: Wanderlosta

Click image to zoom.

From the suggestion of the Twitter team at Liberty (and my mother who has a tea towel of the building) I’ve added the much needed and iconic ship weathervane. I must have been so excited to finish up the timber prints that I thought “Good GOD, it’s perfect already.”

Now, along with a few chimney additions, I can say that it’s at least perfectly finished.

Kitchen table lighting probably isn't ideal for 2D art. Design: Wanderlosting

The inklings for the idea behind this design started a while back, probably around the year marking my last trip to London. I start getting antsy and have insatiable cravings for Jammy Dodgers, which I’m sure are horrible, but when you can’t get any they taste like heaven. Anglophilia aside, now that I had a firm grip on the screen printing techniques I would need for a this kind of print – double exposure, seven films and a lot of patience – I set to work using photographs and a straight piece of cardboard for a g.h.e.t.t.o ruler.

I wanted to do something different with my work this year. Last semester I took quite a few images from the web and photocopied to make films, but nothing gave me the satisfaction of a wholly handmade design. Inspired by buildings of architectural interest, particularly those I love to look back at photos of, The Liberty of London store front seemed like the perfect starting point. Inside and out, Liberty is a wonderland of Tudor revival, and what could be better suited to make a gorgeous print than bold black and white beaming. I wanted to play around with textures a bit as well, so I used a lace vest of my great-grandmothers to take the place of stone and timber.

I loved doing this so much that I plan to continue handcrafting buildingscapes of my favorite sites, with Hampton Court Palace next on the roster. Comment below for suggestions of buildings you’d like to see!

DJ-remixer RCF3's debut album "Taught To Stammer" peaked at #2 on Billboards dance chart, topped only by Calvin Harris. Design: Nick Welles

This isn’t terribly new, and most everyone who is connected to social media has made one, but my debut album cover has been sitting on my desktop collecting dust and the folks at my label have asked that I share it. And by “my label” I mean I wish I were really a techno DJ supermixer droppin’ beats under the name RCF3. Not to mention I’m so proud not to have end up with an incredibly emo-looking design. Here are the non-fail steps I followed to market my music:

1. Discovering your band name: On Wikipedia, you’ll want to click the fifth link on the left that says “Random article.” The first article that comes up is your band name.
2. Discovering your album title: Visit The Quotations Page and click the “Random Quotes” link (eighth on the left). The last few words of the last quote on the page is your album name.
3. Bring your hit LP together with some art: On Flickr’s “Last 7 Days Interesting” page, download the third photo. This is your album’s backdrop.
4. Get your graphic designer boyfriend to make your album look crunk. I was too busy having a dance party to my own jams to do it myself.

One particular piece I sold, I wish I could have snagged were there enough room in my apartment. A vintage desk and dresser set from the 1960s, the four matching pieces were built to last. Though the decades put a patina of scratches and stains on the white finish, a few hours, a sander, and a fresh coat of paint would make this furniture gorgeous shabby chic or clean, new and modern. Not to mention you could furnish a room with the whole she-bang for $40, plus a little extra for some fixer-upping.

If you can imagine a color, there's a glass drawer knob that matches somewhere on the internet.

A few years ago I refinished my own bureau from my tween days. Admittedly, I did not buy it from Craigslist, although I’m not entirely sure Craigslist even existed back then. Previously, and hideously, it was a PVC white with brass knocker handles. After painting a turquoise base, a decidedly non-plastic white for a topcoat, and adding some matching glass knobs I had a dresser that finally fit my tastes. The real freedom of buying inexpensive, but solid, furniture is the ability to transform it into the furniture you really want without the guilt of a price tag that says it’s perfect the way it is.

Before: Retro, and not in a good way. After: Shabby chic and just my style. Remodel and photos: Wanderlosting

A Hawaiian Green Sea Turtle comes up for a bit of air. Photo: Wanderlosting

After returning from Hawaii’s Big Island, I have enough PPMos to last all of 2011. We saw some amazing sights, including an intense flare up of the Halemaumau volcano crater (for which the camera decided to not work) and a dozen sea turtles snacking on algae on the rocks of Punalu’u beach. The Hawaiian Green Sea Turtle is a threatened species, so it is advised to stay 10 feet away, which was a little tricky with the tide pushing them towards me with each wave. The water was a teeny bit chilly and we didn’t bring gear, but for semi-experienced snorkelers, an afternoon at Punalu’u would be perfection.

Spending most of their lives submerged, the sea turtles pop up for air for a few seconds every 5 or so minutes while feeding. I watched and waited with my eye to the lens, and got a few moments of pause between the turtles chowing down.