DIY

There's not much for me to do during the days. I work at night, so all that's left is to sleep and clean. The former I most definitely do, and the latter I most definitely avoid. So, I DIY instead :] I surf the net for a good part of some days, go on my favorite online shops (we all know Modcloth is a good few hours for me) and look through fashion blogs to see what's up in the world of wear. And then I get to work.
Here's what I've come up with:
This baby is made out of one of my older brother's old tee shirts. I found the tutorial on the site Dollar Store Crafts

You can double it up too for a different look

And then ideas of what else to do with the shirt soon followed.
Which meant new headbands!!!! I cut up a bunch of these guys from the sleeve

And then I sewed an old scrunchy to one of them

I also cut out more strips and made a braided headband that I saw at H&M last week, it was about $3 there, but free for me!

I also started making Shrinky Dinks!!
This one I made when I went over to my friend's, Amber, house. She started me on Shrinky Dinks

Then I got home and pulled out all of my sheets of the stuff and got to work!


This one is inspired by the most adorable pair of glasses known to man, and where can you buy them? Modcloth of course!

Then I took an entire sheet of SD and tried to make a life size pair, they're almost there, just need to be a bit bigger, but good enough for me!

Here's the link of you can actually afford these lovelies

And then I got to making earrings! I had the holes that I had cut out of the life-size glasses, so I turned them into these

I also discovered something cool. Since the Shrinky Dinks become sort of 3D when they shrink, so you can draw on the front and the back. So I drew the cage on the front, and the bird on the back. The bird actually looks like it's in the cage!
I also got some free guitar picks when I bought my new Ukulele, Ulysses. I don't use picks when I play, so instant earrings!

I'm thinking of adding peacock feathers to them as well, to add a bit of flair
And with the new Harry Potter movie that came out yesterday, I couldn't keep doing all this DIY without adding some of my favorite boy wizard to the mix!

I came up with a Luna Lovegood cork necklace. The cork is from a bottle of Trader Joe's olive oil. I used up the last bit and snatched the cork before it could be recycled.
Then whilst taking all these photos today, I did a little hunt around my extremely messy room for things to create into brilliant fashion pieces, and I found this old net piece I think is the last bit of my mum's old wedding veil. She gave it to me to play with, and little me cut it all up and turned it into little craft projects. I'm sure she knew that would happen though.
I made this literally 5 minutes ago

Good thing is, all I did was tie it around my head, so I can just as easily undo it and make it into something else!

The best gift I received from growing up in a not-so-wealthy artist family was creativity, and the ability to turn anything I find into a new play thing or a new fashion statement.

Until later!
-Brenna

A Thought On Picnics

While checking the usual sites I came across a post about picnics, and had pictures of ones that the blogger wished they could go to. They all seemed nice, there were the usual types, with kabobs and grilled chicken with potato salad. There were fancy french style picnics with bread, cheese, fruit, and of course wine.
But one caught my attention. A breakfast picnic. I've never been on a breakfast picnic before. How lovely would it be to have your coffee, some eggs, fresh berries, and hot morning bun out in a lovely grassy area, with flowers and such.

Maybe that's what also fuels my love for English gardens. They seem like beautiful places to have tea, or even a breakfast picnic.

If I ever live in a place with an english garden I will surely have my morning meal among the flowers and fresh dewy air.

Dialectology

-is the scientific study of linguistic dialect, a sub-field of sociolinguistics. It studies variations in language based primarily on geographic distribution and their associated features.

I've always loved accents. And I like to believe that I have a knack for them. I get ridiculed enough for slipping into one depending on what I've been watching (mostly Doctor Who). My mom says that I just speak with British intonations, so I sound like a Brit without actually speaking in the accent.
At one point I wanted to look into talking classes from an accent coach so that I could learn a Scottish accent. The one that I can't seem to be able to master (and the one my dad can do with such success that he even fools a few Brits). So I looked into accents coaches. I never thought that I would want to be one.
But that seems to be the only job I can think that I would want to have after professionally studying the field of dialects. I see it like this:

I want to be involved in some form of art for my career. If I choose to follow the path of Dialectology, then I can become a brilliant accent coach, and work with actors. That allows me to still be involved in the arts, and then I can have a flexible work life, because I'll be working based on appointments. It may even be a way for me to travel, depending on how good I am and if some film needs a coach on location.
My one draw back is that I'm not sure if I would be accepted in the UK or Europe as someone to teach say, an Irishman a Cockney accent. It seems like they would want to go to a born Brit, someone who was raised with the accent, and didn't just learn it like they have to.
But then again, if it is what I'm supposed to do, then I guess it will be something I would excel at, so it wouldn't matter that I'm just some girl from southern Cali, born and raised with a Standard American accent.

I'm going to try to schedule a meeting with an academic adviser when I go back to school, and see what my options are, and see if this is something I want to pursue. I may have to end up doing a double minor in Sociology, or Linguistics. It's that or do dialects on the side as a hobby and continue in art and get my masters.

This is the point in my life when if there is something I may want to turn into a career, then I have to go after it. It's the time in my life to explore options and study in different fields.
I need to pray about it, and see if this is what God has in store for me.
It may be how I meet my good-looking English husband ;)

Oiche Mhaith ("Good Night"- I'm starting off my new hobby with reading up on dialects and learning Irish Gaelic)
- Brenna