Here are the doodles I’ve been most proud of:

Today’s theme is “Elbow Grease” – go get a bit of scrap paper and have a doodle! You can see everyone’s drawings on the lunchdoodle tumblr too.

⇒ There is nothing better than mango. NOTHING! I make the most delicious mango smoothies in the mornings out of some chopped up mango, ice, milk, Jalna yoghurt and honey. Nom!!

⇒ I would like to demonstrate the beauty and the curse of tumblr with this photo – billions of gorgeous photos like this are posted to tumblr and many of them are uncredited. This means I can’t track down the original creator in order to stalk them, and more importantly, credit them. If you use tumblr, or any other image collecting site, CREDIT YOUR FANCE.

⇒ I adore fringed lamps like this one from Elodie’s tiny parisian apartment (featured on decor8). My Nana used to have a lot of furnishings with fringes and tassels, I remember brushing my fingers past them softly and wishing I could drape myself with them.

⇒ Lobster and Swan has the most lovely photographs, and she sells a bunch of wonderful handmade stuff, including these garlands, on etsy.

I love playing with how I look, by and large I’m pretty fortunate to live in a country where I am free to do just so. I may get odd looks, people whispering behind their hands and others who simply express their delight/ confusion to my face; as an introvert it’s not really my favourite part about being “wacky”, but I guess it’s par for the course. We have been trained all our lives to tuck ourselves in, to blend in with everyone else and to avoid marginalising ourselves (if you’re privileged you’re fortunate enough to get to choose this!) and those who do not are accused of crying for attention. It’s really not as simple as that.

As a fat person I have been instructed by society through implicit and explicit signals that I should not be visible. Obviously, if you know anything about me, you’d know I think that’s a load of rubbish. As a woman, I have been instructed in other ways to be ever polite, kind, beautiful and ladylike. I also think this is rubbish. We are taught to keep our knees toghether, but why? To hide our bodies (our genitals, mostly) from the view of people (who in all likelihood have genitals also); to maintain a feminine mystique; to reinforce this systematic conditioning that sets us up as enemies with our bodies? Why are bodies supposed to be such secret hidden things? And sidenote: what is so offensive about people wearing tights as pants? I really don’t understand the outrage!

I look how I look because I very consciously question societal gender and body conditioning. I know it challenges a lot of people, my parents especially, but I just couldn’t be me if I did everything everyone wanted me to. My self esteem directly benefits from this, because I’m not as concerned with hiding bits of myself as other people are (even though I still battle this!)

So I have crazy hair styles, wear the outfits I wanna and let my laughter ring like a bell (reportedly a very LOUD bell.) If people take issue, it’s not my issue! I do not dress for other people. I may dress to an occasion but I am VERY adamant about not seeking the approval of other people when I style myself. I feel that it plays a huge part in compromising your confidence and esteem. I put make up on, tease my hair, and put together outfits as a way of expressing how I’m feeling; or if I’m feeling glum, to express how I want to feel.

I find identity and styling fascinating, and would love to know: am I alone on this? Do you think about how you style your body, or is it just about putting on clothes every day?

The other day when I was getting ready to go out I thought I’d record my ritual. This is my “bare minimum” face for being presentable outside my house and I’ve done it since I was in my teens. I have acne that is impervious to over the counter treatments (believe me, I’ve wasted so much money!) so make up has always been my mask. I feel very self conscious if I am without foundation and in a way, it is quite limiting having this anxiety about showing my real face. I guess this video is about unveiling my mask and my ritual, more than anything.

The song “Marie-Claire” is by Elfes, and the lyrics are in French but when I passed them through Google Translate (I hope that link works!) they spoke about body image anxiety – so I thought it was rather appropriate!

If you love month long projects and vintage dresses, you should check out Amanda’s Vintage November project. The first two days are adorable so far, I envisage some serious frothing at the mouth in the weeks to come!

I’m very inspired to search a little harder to find more vintage dresses. I love wearing them but plus size vintage is scant!

Today I went to the Brisbane Finders Keepers markets on a whim, despite being apprehensive about being amongst such talent and gorgeous knick knackery. I got this vintage dress in the mail last week, so I decided to seize the day (and the overcast weather) and wear it out before it gets really really hot. “Nana chic” really appeals to me so I am very glad to have another dress that I can wear with my pewter patent “Nana shoes” (even though they give me blisters!) I’m squinting in the photo because I thought my sunglasses completely wrong for the outfit, thus you get this furrowed brow!

Dress – beesipea on etsy
Shoes – Roberto Figini
Belt – Yours Clothing
Bag – Satchi

You might notice I look slightly shorn on one side… After agonising over this hairstyle for a month or so I decided to go ahead with it. Most of my friends know I care approximately naught for what other people think about what I do with my body and I’m pretty sure it’s a hairstyle that divides opinion, but I’m really enjoying it so far!

My favourite stalls from the Finders Keepers Brisbane markets included:

• Kim Wallace of Udessi – lovely ceramics pressed with doilies and pieces of lace.
• Cherrymorris – an accessory label featuring these fantastic cast pewter pieces.
• Miss Amy Lane – very whimsical millinery that I was completely drooling over. Had I the money, I would commission a top hat for my husband because it would look so awesome on him!
• Lola & Bailey – jewellery designers who have created pieces I have lusted after for years! I actually bought a Dial D necklace today, and I’m already planning outfits around it!

My new Lola & Bailey necklace! ♥

I also went past the Leeloo stall but I was too shy to go up and say hello. I’m such a fool! I could have let Angela know that my Once Upon piece might be a day late, as I posted it on Friday. Nick thinks I’m totally silly for not introducing myself!

I’m glad I went to the markets, but I do feel like I ought to be stepping my game up a bit – to use an oft abused phrase! I have so many ideas but I just don’t know how to even begin to start manufacturing things… so I end up making a huge amount of prototypes and then store them away somewhere, or give them away to my loved ones. I keep thinking “if only I had enough money to do x” or “if I had enough capital I could set up a store” and I always trip myself up over details and get so overwhelmed that I keep my plans on a shelf. Next year I am going to start creating as much as possible, and putting those things up for sale straight away without worrying about creating a whole stable of products first. The most important thing is to at least start selling things in order to build up a bunch of money I can do even more fabulous things with. It’s exciting and scary, and I’ll probably need your moral support!

Tonight The Science of Sleep was showing on SBS and I decided to watch it despite being super exhausted from being out on a boat all day (which was awesome!) I was so utterly enthralled throughout the movie and was reminded again that Michel Gondry has quite a touching and fearlessly inventive way of illustrating stories through moving pictures. Upon finishing the film I raced to YouTube and was reminded of all the video clips he’s directed that I’ve loved but completely forgotten about, so I wanted to share a few with you.

I have to include this Radiohead video even though it’s hosted by myspace… When I first saw this video I was obsessed with watching it closely just to see all the detail in it.

There are a heap of other clips that have had embedding disabled on YouTube, like Everlong by the Foo Fighters and Around The World by Daft Punk. Here’s a list of the videos Michel Gondry’s directed, go and seek them all out!

I like going to bed tired but filled with inspiration, thank you Monsieur Gondry.

⇒ I have always loved these collars! Love Maegan has put up a tutorial on how to create this ruffly collar, which can be wrapped and pinned different ways. If I can find any lightweight cotton fabrics I’m totally making this for summer.

⇒ Henrik Simonsen’s Midnight Garden is so gorgeous. It reminds me of a cyanotype, or sunprint. I’ve been googling them madly for the last week… I desperately want to buy a bunch of the special paper and have a sunprint party in a park with my friends.

⇒ The First Man of Fance, Matt Preston, has such a way with words! *swoon*

⇒ I am so in love with this tattoo! How could I not be?

⇒ When I am rich and fancier I’m going to have a chandelier, a painted fresco (one? why not 10?!) and moulded ceilings. Go check out the photos from the Chateau de Versailles on NOTCOT… dreamy!

⇒ Laurie Lipton’s pencil pieces are bad ass fance.

The jacaranda trees are blooming here and they always remind me of being in primary school. We used to collect the least squished flowers from the ground, thread them on twigs and present purple wands to our teachers and mothers. I remember all my exercise books so fondly, and how I’d doodle in them all through high school and university (even now!) November’s desktop is just a little indulgence in childhood, really… and a reminder that everyone should doodle!

1920×1200

1680×1050

1600×1200

320×480

240×320

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 Unported License.
You may not upload this desktop to other websites, nor may you use it for any other purpose than to wallpaper your desktop. This also means it’s uncool to alter it and reupload it somewhere as your own work. Soz

If you read this blog you are familiar with “the fance” and going OTT with pride and dedication, which is why I am sure you will love the creations of Sunshine Coast cobblers, Pendragon Shoes. Recently used in an editorial shoot by Steven Meisel for Vogue Italia, the Pendragon star is rising with amazing fancy people like Helena Bonham Carter counting themselves as fans!

KiLN are exhibiting Pendragon’s new collection, To Have and To Hold, in November. Go and check them out (and if you’ve got someone who loves you very much, they might buy you some lovely shoes!) If you’re not able to get to KiLN for the show, you can browse the Pendragon website and facebook page longingly.

Making shoes would be such an amazing job! I wonder if they need a model *cough* intern…?