DONE with DOWN!

i read, somewhere in blogland, about a tradition of writing down memories/things that happened in the past year---stuff that you're ready to be done with---and then, SETTING THEM ON FIRE. burn 'em up baby!!! at some point during the day, that is SO happening at the balloona household. to be followed by a happy shouting about everything we are enormously lucky to have in our lives.

probably while drinking some alky-hol.

don't forget, clock is ticking on my little giveaway! and oh, your advice on my white elephant is AWESOME! so far i think a mix of dye job/jumpsuit is the frontrunner. thank you so very much, lovely peeps, for coming by and sharing your thoughts with me. the happiest of new beginnings, everyone!

like white on rice

 

i wore this dress two christmases ago during the peak of my, ahem, monthly strife. no, let's call a spade a spade. it was an all out NUCLEAR WAR in my uterus.

ballsy, no?

although said strife is now a happy little walk through the park, this baby has stayed in the closet since then. you really can't go galavanting around in a floor length white dress more than once. 

it's made from this great vintage pattern i swapped with the ever rocking emilykate. loooove this pattern and will use it for the summer soon! i seriously made this in one night. i got home from work to find a gene kelly marathon on.  ruggy was sound asleep in another time zone, and i was going stag to my office christmas party the next day. i had a very sad black sweater dress to wear. gene told me it simply wouldn't do. (he said it with a gentle smile though, he's so caring, that man.) so, downstairs landlord and his rule of no noise after 8pm be damned, i whipped out the vintage jackhammer sewing machine and worked in a happy musical frenzy till 3 am. 

but... what the hell do i do with this white elephant now?! dye it? keep it for my possible future twin daughters to fight over (not preggers, mom and dad.)? it's made of this great textured jersey knit, and it's actually kind of heavy. i was nice and toasty that night. i even tied it up into a high knot when the evening carried me & my coworkers to a salsa club. 

advice, anyone?

maybe it's much too early in the game-- now closed; winner announced later today!

or too late in the season for giveaways. tell me true, is it a bad idea to host a blog giveaway at the end of december? and is it maybe an even WORSE idea to give already holi-dazed peeps a mere three days to enter... one of those days being christmas eve?!

i may have gotten a bit over excited. 

okay. i call a do-over. because i CAN. so, if you would still like this tiny capelet, here's how to enter!

1. comment on this post telling me what you'll do with it. extra points for making me laugh.

2. follow me for another chance to win.

3. link to my giveaway on your blog for a third chance to win.

4. enter by january tenth

5. and YES, although i'm picking out of a hat, if you make me laugh you may get a prize anyway!

now, i am quite aware that the lack of entries may be due to the fact, that umm, no one likes this wee capelet. i mean, modcloth didn't like it either. no matter! i do believe it's darling and meant to grace someone's neck. so if one peep enters, then my peep, it shall be yours! if no peep enters, well then i'll cry. 

no seriously i will.

see more detailed pics at the original post here.

ps: to the lovely ladies who did comment originally.... um, did you mean to enter? i couldn't tell!!! hosting a blog giveaway is HARD!!! i need coffee and croissants. luckily i have some. 'kthnxloveyoumeanitbye!

courtesy of my secret santa

merry merry!

ps: i think i'm totally confused by my giveaway. i think you might be too. extended contest and better explanation coming soon. 

i'll have a purple christmas

do you play sercet santa? i do. ferociously, and with much yelling and stomping of feet. 

i head up the secret santa at work, and this was our last one--we all say goodbye to each other come january 9. rather than curl up and hoard our collective pennies, this was the brightest holiday ever.

peeps hid flowers. wrote poems. left gifts hiding everywhere. every 5 minutes, screams of thanks could be heard echoing up and down the stairwells from happy recipients.

and i had the BEST SECRET SANTA IN THE WORLD. i am serious. this is the one, the ONE person you want to get that you're sure you will never be lucky enough to get. my head about popped off when my santa revealed herself. i am a brat at christmas, it can't be helped, and boy did she have me pegged. i had something beautiful to open every day (one gift being a bag full of goodies from MJ trimmings, thankyouverymuch). i was just floored. shouted about it every night after work to ruggy. i think he may have lost some hearing over it.

and continuing my lucky streak, i chose someone who specifically requested a handmade gift for christmas! i mean, COME ON!!! i rushed out and spent my limit on goodies to shower her with all week long, then went to searching my stash for the perfect purple fabric (lucky me again, her favorite color). 

then the dreaded sewing stall hit. i had nada. robe? maxi dress? lounge pants? FEH. enter burdastyle & modcloth's handmade contest (seriously, i'm a groupie), and bang! inspiration struck! 

modcloth's ever awesome dresses got my brain churning: time for scrunch and who wants to be a frillionaire. i wanted to play up the texture of these dresses with an equally frilly accessory. one can never have too many frills.

she opened it yesterday at our holiday potluck and loved it.  and i will never forget the joyous cacophony that erupted as everyone tore into their prizes together, hugging and laughing and yelling and full of amazing home cooked pernil and banana pudding and most of all, love.

one of my best friends is getting this lavender one on christmas day. and don't forget, you can win your own lacey oonaballoona accessory here!

a lacey holiday prize for you.....

oona: hey ruggy! whaddaya think?

ruggy: it's very black...

... and sort of... puritanical...

 

... and not at all really the kind of thing you wear...

oona:  I  KNOW!!!

okay peeps, this one's for you! for my second ever blog giveaway, i'd like to present one fabulous gal or guy with this teeny black puritanical cape. it's made of rows and rows of soft ruffled and pleated lace, completed with a vintage jewelry closure. it's one of my modcloth handmade contest entries (once again i have burdastyle to thank for kicking my ass into sewing gear, all hail burdastyle, et spiritus santi), and it was inspired by this dress. it fits, oh say, up to a 14" neck (my neck is 12"). EDIT: i will happily size this up or down for the winner. else, what kind of santa would i be?

while i stay away from black like the plague, i gather it's an oft rocked color choice of many. i think it would look awesome with the inspiration dress, natch, but how about with jeans, tank top and blazer for a laid back new years?

to win, just leave a comment on this post and tell me what you'll do with your teeny cape. will you rock it with a ballgown? give it to your best friend? use it as a fancy collar for a four legged friend? for an extra chance to win, follow my blog, the gadgetmajig is over on the sidebar... peeps who already follow are thanked, hugged, and get their extra entry.

you can enter anytime between now and midnight christmas eve. the winner will be picked christmas morning, saturday december 25. and wherever you are in the world, it doesn't matter. YAY! i hope you like it enough to enter!


EDIT: giveaway extended, see the new rules & comment to enter at this post by january tenth! 

i just need a little trim.

erm... what did you think i meant?

the shirt that was a skirt that didn't compete

long ago and far away, i had aspirations to enter the burdastyle/project runway remake challenge. i grabbed my old beloved anthropologie silk skirt, which had been sitting in my closet for years, unworn but loved. it had grown too tight.

(everyone knows clothing grows, not your body).

i wouldn't have touched it if not for the contest. however, quite stupidly, i forgot to take the "before" shot of the skirt.


        






      
                   DUH.

so, now i have a new shirt. cody seems to like it, and it gets a LOT more wear than the skirt did. the entries for this contest were fabulous-- some of my faves were in the winners' circle, and although i don't think i would've gotten very far it would have been nice to, you know, say i'm gonna do something and see it through.

←but i did see this one through... and i made it to the top 50! YAHOO!!! it's stiff competition, but i'm pretty thrilled to be in the finalists.

okay, screw that, yes it's an honor, but REALLY what i want is that bernina. oh, computamarized machine of my dreams, please come and sit on my desk.  i mean, if i won money, that would be awesome, but i would keep it in a drawer and obsess over which bernina to put it towards.

go check out the top 50... and maybe throw a vote my way if you likey :). i'm number 32!

which is roughly the size of my waist after my skirt went on its shrinking binge.

(edit: you can vote for as many peeps as you like.)

a kalkatroonaan christmas tree

wanna make your own? click here and i'll show you how.