pinning for raw color...

pinterest is a dangerous black hole for inspiration cataloguing. i find it to be one of the biggest blessings for keeping track of sources, but man it sucks me in! i recently discovered raw color and am absolutely smitten with their exploration of color. their homemade paint chips could be super cute for place card/escort cards. or a handmade solution for gift tags! i think it could be a fun way of making paint chips to send to your bridesmaids to let them know your color palette(if you are kind enough to let them choose their own dress).

holiday scribbles...

i have been following the scribbler's blog for some time now. her illustrations melt my heart and are of a similar style of one of my favorite fashion professor's, neil gilks. i love her messy, slapdash style. she just posted some holiday illustrations and i instantly had to share. dolling up as a fancy christmas tree is my default holiday dresscode this season ;)

egon schiele...

whenever i stumble across egon schiele's drawings and paintings, my curious right hand begins to twitch. it's true, the older i get the less i make time to draw. which is a bad habit i need to break. now that i have a drivers license, i am going to drive myself to the high museum more. everyone needs a little inspiration every now and again. schiele's agitated line quality and slapdash use of color is flawless. i think i hear my sketchbook calling me...

what you see is what you get...

well, thank y'all for sending me emails and photos to practice from!!! every email and comment has made me do a little happy dance every time i open my inbox/blog! i wanted to include some more images of "my style". loosey goosey and silly.

my pictures are real, ummm, interpretive? wriggly? imaginative? awkward? sloppy? some have even said, "my kid could paint that" kind of art. i've heard a lot worse. art school helps you develop a thick skin-phew.

just a warning so when you open your envelope, you are not surprised that it isn't a technical replica, central park portrait-artist style. this is how i do. oh and i discovered wearing white-ish shoes while playing with chalk and paint is like a beautiful disaster. i think i will start wearing white shoes everytime i sit down to draw.

thank y'all for helping me out with my figure studies! this is so helpful and i promise i will have everyone's in the mail by the first of april (at the latest). if you haven't sent me your address or have forgotten to attach a photo, make sure you do so, 'cause i want to make sure your drawing has a home to go to! and for everyone from my highschool who sent me an email, that made me tug on my husband's shirt with excitement. go cats. okey dokey, off to drink loads of coffee, listen to old african-american gospel music, and draw your pretty faces!

like riding a bike...

oh pen and pencil, how i have missed and neglected you! i am taking a fashion illustration class with the mind-boggling-ly talented neil gilks. it is too much fun! he plays ridiculously good music while we drink beer and slap paint on cheap newsprint. half-hearted, playful insults are hurled across the room in his thick, charming british accent. he is both cheeky and naughty and i love him so. every line he draws tells a story. with one stroke on the page he has all the girls swooning over their easels. for realz.

tonight a few of us drew a half-naked, zeffirelli-esque man wearing a red loincloth in the dark basement of a restaurant. sheets of newsprint flying, smudged sharpies, thick slabs of oil crayon, and powdery, crumbly chalk. various partygoers stopping to ask why we were there, drawing in the middle of the club floor. it felt both awkward and thrilling. which is kind of what drawing feels like in general to me. i don't typically erase once i've committed a line to paper. if it is awful or horrible, which it generally is, i try and make a joke of it.

it feels real good to draw. and it feels real good to be in a class with neil. he taught for a hot minute at savannah college of art and design. i've been a fan of his since 2007. so all you new yorkers who like to draw, i highly recommend taking a class with him. but i warn you, his classes are extremely addictive... be prepared to fall in love and never look back. for this interested, inquire within...

****p.s my husband had an idea. he suggested i ask you lovely ladies(and boys, if you're there) in blogland to email me a photo of yourself in a cute outfit and i can draw you a picture of yourself and mail it to you. it would be excellent practice for me, and then you could get a present in the mail! and who doesn't like receiving treats in the mail? if this sounds like something you would like, leave a comment/ email me at ginnybranch(at)gmail(dot)com.

tied up with string...

since embroidering my wedding quilt, i have been re-discovering my hefty stock of embroidery floss. oodles. also, since i am a crazy saver, i realized i have an abundance of random loose threads and bits. i was this close to tossing them, since they weren't really long enough to do much with... but then i thought of something.

maybe i could make my own baker's twine! i don't have any, and i remembered a super easy technique we learned in a fibers class at SCAD.

mmm yummy valentine's colors.

1. take two pieces of embroidery floss( about 3 feet or longer) and tie two knots, one at each end.

2. tie one end to a doorknob, or a table leg, or anything secure.

3. twist the two strands together and watch the candy cane swirl appear.

4. i twist mine extra tight, so that the twine starts to curl up on itself. i find once i untie the final piece that some of the tension unwinds. if the strand has extra twist, it will settle once untied.

5. once you've untied your baker's twine, wrap around a piece of cardboard or an old bobbin- et voila!

*i've had a hard time making especially long twine. i can only make a strand suitable for tying on tags or small parcels or treats.

i also googled some alternative methods, and other gals who have made their own. try here and here, for some more inspiration!

scrap happy...

today i am grateful for...

a lil' cut n' paste. i've been intermittently working on our wedding scrapbook, as well as our "life in new york" scrapbook.

not gonna lie, i was given a swift kick in the pants after i unearthed this puppy at the chelsea antique's garage flea market. i can't decide whether or not to dissect it (since it is already falling apart) or preserve it. thoughts?

mine is barely holding together. i had some scrap seam binding, so it is bundled together, for now.

bits and pieces of our first month together in new york.

polaroids of my wedding dress. and a dress chelsea made for me to wear to a marc jacobs holiday party.

this is a random page from when i worked at marc jacobs.

this is a glimpse into my works-in-progress. pretty basic fare, i have yet to break out the rubber stamps and glitter powders. just kidding...maybe...

mad dash...

grief. anyone else guilty of biting off more than they can chew?

hi, that's me. in a nutshell. always thinking i can squeeze more time into a day. just finished some holiday headpieces and am off to boerum hill for a quick shopping trip. wish me luck while i try and finish all of my last minute to-dos to-day. eeps. and away i go!

***REVISION I TOTALLY DID NOT GO TO BOERUM HILL*** and i think the world didn't explode. phew.

one week away

my holiday craft nights are coming to a close. my apartment is littered with scraps of paper, holly, pine needles, popcorn and glitter. my hands are also kinda mad at me. my fingers have hot glue embedded in the cuticles. and tiny pinpricks dotted all over the fingertips. thankfully my bootleg, make-shift christmas cards are in the mail, en route to the people ed and i love. i've ticked off my present list for my family members. my belly is full of chocolate chip cookies and cheap-o champagne.

however, tomorrow is going to be the best day of them all. i am gonna get all gussied up and go on a date with ed, to see the nutcracker! and afterwards, we're gonna kick off the evening with miss haylie bird, miss savannah, and mr. blake's holiday party. woo hoo!

and on saturday ed's gonna take me to dyker heights to see the christmas lights... provided the biting cold air doesn't shy us away.

glitter garland

today i am grateful for...

decorating our fat, lopsided christmas tree while my husband listened to georgia high school football. my day consisted of stringing bowl after bowl of popcorn onto dental floss. and lots of hot chocolate and homemade s'mores, toasted over the stove. and my sweet chelsea cook came over and crafted with me. and she fixed our silly, blinky christmas tree light malfunction. what a perfectly lovely day with folks that i adore.

deck the halls...

today i am grateful for...

building a deliciously slow start to holiday decorations. today i am trimming the mantle in our bedroom. and drinking cider with cinnamon sticks. and listening to andy williams christmas carols and the vince guaraldi trio.

i have a very slapdash decorating style. i don't labor over the details. just gather bits and bobs, and add a healthy measure of glitter. glitter hides a multitude of sins, in my humble opinion.

our wreath smattered with wood buttons and a variety of shiny charms. and a red, spun cotton birdie.

i'm a sucker for ornaments that look like giant wilma flintstone pearls.

my new favorite holiday find was a set of paltz houses. i would happily display a whole little village of these bitty cardboard houses.

this spun cotton santa tickles me.

our stockings are hung by the chimney with care.

i'm excited to start new holiday traditions with my husband. many craft nights and bake-offs are about to ensue. i hope y'all are feelin' festive and partaking in some holiday cheer... and most importantly, what are your traditions that you celebrate during this time of year?

t.g.i.f...

today i am grateful for...

pretending i'm in school again. like homework with no deadlines. i miss my texile rendering class, embellished surfaces class, and my fashion illustration classes. an awful lot. tonight i've been painting on vintage feedsacks and wrapping old buttons in yarn. and making doily stencils. all while listening to my brother-in-law play in his high school football game on the radio. while my husband reads and drinks beer. and i drink red wine. t.g.i.f.

hello dollies...

today i am grateful for...

1. enjoying a hot bath with epsom salts. september is a busy fashion month...lots of hustlin' in high heels for eight + hours a day.

2. persuading my husband to give me a (much needed) foot massage. he is too good to me.

3. watching the new mad men episode on our very large, extra fancy flat screen television... a big thank you to ed's grandfather, pop.

4. celebrating my sweet haylie bird's birthday. i caught the tail end of her party in the park, just as the rain came to shoo everyone away.

5. eating haylie's gluten-free chocolate birthday cake for breakfast. it was baked with love by the adorable abby dear and effervescent emily cox.

6. the wedding dress chelsea cook is working on... it is so beautiful it hurts to look at. i want to kidnap it. or dressnap it.

7. helpful advice from mollie little, from one illustrator to another. and she has a line of letterpressed goodies coming soon!

8. working on new projects that keep my hands busy again. see below...

p.s i hate that the scanner reads some images as blurry. it really sticks in my craw.

dear sarah sophie flicker, you are my muse. love, ginny branch stelling.

here is the only kind of sewing i fancy. hand sewing that requires no real skill.

i'm trying my hand at making necklaces again. i love me some flair.

have you ever read jacques magazine? it gives french playboy a run for their money. and our dear friend, the coquettish savannah wyatt is the fashion editor.

tomorrow i am going to tame my unruly eyebrows and hopefully change out my sorry, wilting flowers for some fresh buds. i need a proper day off soon...