New Jewelry

Not much to write about this week.  The weather has turned much colder yesterday and today, but it seems that the temps will be heading back up tomorrow and into the weekend.  I spent last weekend working on a set of boxes that I was decorating for my local scrapbook store.  I don't have any photos to put up yet, but I think I can put some up next week.  I did finally get a picture of the rest of the jewelry that I made.

The pendant in the center with the owl on it is a watch!  The front is hinged with a spring hinge (so I can't get it to stay open so I could take a photo).  It's really heavy to wear though so I probably won't wear it often.

I've been trying to get another thrifting day in, but it seems that there's always something else that needs to be done.  Hopefully I'll be able to fit it in on Friday around getting the car seen to.  I need to find some skirts and/or dresses that I can use for layering.  I'd also like a heavy cardigan.  The ones I have are all pretty light.

I bought my first Christmas decorations for this year.  I found a set of the bottle brush style trees in pink with pink and teal ornaments on them.  There were three sizes.  I got the larger one first and then decided that I needed the other two.  So, tonight I went back and got them, too.  I think they're very shabby chic.

They'll go well with all the other shabby chic Christmas stuff that I use.  I was very excited to find them.  I also saw a light teal glitter tree at Target that I may have to go and buy.  I think the color will go well with the rest of the stuff.  I don't want it to be all pink, so I need some accent colors.

I checked a book out of the library called Fa, La, La, La, Felt.  It has several patterns for Christmas ornaments and little decorative items that looked very Mori-style to me.  Little mushroom ornaments and some evergreen trees with woodland animals and some stuffed owls that were really cute.  I'll post some photos of the projects I make when I get them done.

Have a great week!

I am a Mori Girl

I can't believe how long it's been since I updated this!  I really need to do better here.  Maybe if I give myself a concrete goal for posting I could keep up.  Well, this is Tuesday so, how about I update at least once a week on Tuesday.  There, I've put it in writing!  Now I can't back out and I have no excuses for not getting in a regular update.  Perhaps I should put a reminder on my phone, too.  Hmmm...probably not a bad idea since I still have to have an alarm remind me to take my allergy meds.  There!  Now that that's done on to the new blog post!

I have recently been thinking about updating my wardrobe.  It's been basically jeans and t-shirts for several years now and I'm tired of them.  Don't get me wrong I love my jeans and T's it's just that I'm ready to wear something else sometimes.  So, in looking on Pinterest for some ideas I stumbled across the Japanese street fashion movement called Mori kei.

'Mori' means 'forest' in Japanese and that's the feeling that the style tries to evoke, that of someone who lives in a forest-type setting.  Now I'm not sure which forests they're taking their inspiration from, but it certainly isn't the one I live in!  The style consists mainly of loose, flowing layers; soft neutral or pastel colors; and lots of layers.  Floral and fauna images and prints are acceptable and Scandinavian-style patterns are also popular.  The clothes also seem to have more detailing than a lot of other styles that I'm used to.  Pintucks and pleats on blouses, ruffles and lace on skirts, and peter-pan collars all add to the overall look.  However, I would never wear this style out for a ramble in my woods!  All those loose, flowing layers would get hopelessly tangled in the underbrush and briars!

I have a Pin-board of many outfits now for inspiration called 'I'd Wear This'.  I keep adding to it as I find new photos on a daily basis.  I'm trying to incorporate at least a semblance of the style into my everyday wardrobe.  I've found (due to a major closet and dresser drawer clean-out) that I already had several items that were great for the Mori style that I'm going for.  The area thrift stores also yielded a veritable treasure trove of goodies.  The problem I seem to be having is that the weather is not cooperating very well.  We are now into the third week of October (well into the fall season) and the temperatures are still in the 60s.  It's very hard to do much layering in the warmer weather.  Anyway, here is a picture I took of me in my first attempt at wearing a Mori style outfit for work.  (It ended up being way too hot!)

This was also my first time being photo-bombed. :D  I think I did ok for a first attempt.  I'll probably be wearing most all my outfits to work which means skirts are out.  I'll be wearing jeans or kahkis mostly. Shoes are also giving me a hard time.  I have wide feet and a high instep so finding shoes that fit right is becoming more and more of a problem.

Accessorizing my outfits will be a snap, though!  Since I make jewelry I figured I could just make a few things that would work.  Well, I found a line of jewelry components at Hobby Lobby that were perfect for the Mori style, and they were half off!!  WOOT!!  So, I have been crafting jewelry like mad to go with my new look.

Necklaces

Bracelets & Earrings

I've been having too much fun with this style to do much else lately.  I'll try to get some fall photos up soon.