Happy Birthday Goose!!!

Goose is FOUR!!!

*source WeHeartIt*

I love you, 

my very BEST girl!!!

I can't wait for tomorrow (errrr... today?)

You, Daddy and I are going to see Alice in Wonderland.

And we will watch you open presents.

And probably go to the park, since its going to be nice. 

Whatever you want to do, Loverly!

It's YOUR day!!!

I love you SO so so SO so MUCH!!!

Style Muse - Gil Elvgren

As you all know,

I love anything vintage.

Marilyn Monroe, classic curves, old school pin-up models...

And no one did it better than Gil Elvgren.

He got his start in the 1930's and quickly became one of the most widely recognizable and revolutionary artists of his time.  His unique technique of photographing his models and then hand illustrating his pin-ups created remarkable, one of a kind collectables, sought after to this day.

Though he was most famously known for his pin-ups, he also did quite a bit of commercial work for companies like Coca-Cola and by the 1950's he was being published in mainstream publications like Cosmopolitan, McCall's and Good Housekeeping.

While many have tried to duplicate his artwork, no one was able to depict women with such beauty and grace.  And what some find as objectifying, I see it for the art it truely is and as a celebration of feminity for ages to come.

For more information on Gil Elvgren, visit his website!

Image Source

Google Images

Frame Makeover!

No before pictures.

Why?

Because... I forgot. 

Meh...

Anyway, it was overcast but not raining today, so in an effort to get us some "fresh" air, I decided to spray paint some frames that have been waiting for a makeover.  Nothing like the smell of deadly chemicals in the spring air. Ahhhh ::sarcasm::

One was just a generic frame that I got in the family Christmas gift exchange. It was brown, all my frames were black.  And another frame, holding my prized possession, that I've just never been inspired enough to to anything with.

Hubs bought me a 1955 Marilyn Monroe nude calendar for my 18th birthday.  I am a HUGE Marilyn fan...  For years it just sat in the package in was given to me in, unframed but still loved. Years later, Hubs got it framed for me but it didn't really "go" and he figured I would probably craft it up anyway.  So it sat, for several more years, plain, in the frame, waiting. 

Until today.

My prized Marilyn got a makeover!! 

  

Apparently burlap is all the rage in crafting right now (see UCreate and Tatertots & Jello), so the other day at Fun Junk when I saw some vintage potato sacks for cheap, I snatched up a few. Not with anything in mind, just something new to try out and play with.

So... anyway, I was painting my frames and I remembered my burlap...

And then, I remembered this photo of Marilyn...

and the famous quote that she would look beautiful "even in a potato sack."

So, snip snip snip, I cut my burlap to size, trying to keep as much of the print showing as I could.

So those die-hard Marilyn fans would "get it."

Unfortunately, as I was carrying the frame outside, I broke it on the door frame.

I glued it back together, but there was still a small sliver of wood missing.

So........

When all else fails,

COVER IT!

A pretty flower will always do the trick!

Isn't she pretty now?

Can't wait to put her up in the bedroom. 

Don't worry, this isn't displayed in the house for all the world to see!

I may not be the most modest... but at least I try to keep up appearances. 

HA!

PRETTY Random from the Internetz

Oh So Pretty!

Pics from Photobucket, LindsayMarie, Elsie, and Miss James

Friday Favorite

I was busy getting ready for a Hollywood themed online crop this weekend and was looking up some Marilyn pictures and quotes for my profile and thought a few of them are worth sharing!

• I don't know who invented high heels, but all women owe him a lot.
• I have too many fantasies to be a housewife.... I guess I am a fantasy.
• Hollywood is a place where they'll pay you a thousand dollars for a kiss and fifty cents for your soul. I know, because I turned down the first offer often enough and held out for the fifty.
• Looking back, I guess I used to play-act all the time. For one thing, it meant I could live in a more interesting world than the one around me.

And my personal favorite...

• Imperfection is beauty, maddness is genius and it's better to be absolutely rediculous than absolutely boring.

I've always been a huge Marilyn fan. I have all her tapes (VHS, you remember, right? Those bulky black cartridges that contained movies. Ya know, before DVD's were invented? Remember?) Posters, purses, other little collectibles. I've always been intriguged by her wit, guile and vulnerability. She was much smarter than people gave her credit for. Marilyn was so much smarter than the bumbling buxom blonde she played in films. She wanted to be a serious actress, not the dumb blonde, even though she was an incredible comedic talent. Unfortunately, she was unable to out run her demons and committed suside at the young age of 36.

One of her good friends, Shelley Winters, once said of her "If she'd been dumber, she'd have been happier." Marilyn wanted to be so much more than the character that had brought her fame.

And perhaps without dying so young, shrowded in mystery, she never would have become the sex symbol she is today. Although, I hate to call her a sex symbol, since it was the very thing she fought so hard not to become.

Have a fabulous Friday!