Ruby M. Smith

My dear, sweet, Great Grandma Ruby died this weekend. She was 96 years old. And although it is not coming as a shock it is nonetheless always hard to deal with the passing of a loved one. I got a lot of my craftiness from her and she is the 'Ruby' for which 'RubyMarilyn' was named. I hope she is at peace.

What's in an outfit? Derby edition.

Sorry about the film-nerd rant the other day. Today I am going to re-focus on ROLLER DERBY! Surprise, surprise. Our team is fairly far off from our first bout as of yet but we are having a HUGE fundraiser in February and we need outfits! Our team colors are red, white, and black and by the time of the fundraiser we will have our temporary t-shirt jersey's with our names on them. So between now and then I need to come up with a sweet style and diy the crap out of an outfit that will work for non-skating events but also on the track.

If you have seen 'Whip It'  you may have some idea of what a derby girl 'should look like'. Short skirts and fishnets are not unheard of. Outfits need to be functional but also fun! My derby name is Patience Zero and I need a persona to go with it.

Here are a few polyvore sets I came up with to help myself out.

Derby Outfit- Pretty in Pink by rubymarilyn featuring a thigh high hosiery

First up pretty in pink- for as rough and tumble as the sport is going the opposite direction and being super girly is an option I find appealing. Bloomers, pink glitter, and floral prints will be my calling card.

Or...

Derby Outfit- Pretty in punk by rubymarilyn featuring over knee socks

...I could go pretty in punk. Use the bold graphic red, black, and white, mix with plenty of sequins, and generally rock it out. This may be the easiest 'look' to achieve since it will involve basic colors and nothing really too 'out of the box'. Will have to invest in sweet thigh highs.

or...

Derby Outfit- Circus by rubymarilyn featuring printed pants

... I can go for something more 'themed'. I do love a good themed outfit. Or costume. I LOVE COSTUMES. Sorry. But yes, this circus themed outfit could be a fun way to incorporate my love of vintage circus, bows, and once again GLITTER. Glitter is going to be involved any direction I go : )

Once I pick a theme I can start making stuff for my outfit and can start modifying my helmet and such to be super awesome. Practice tonight! Let's hope the bruises from the last practice are healed up enough to get me through.  

And the nominees are...

The Oscar nominations went up today and frankly I am underwhelmed. I have not seen a single film nominated for best picture. I actually haven't seen hardly any of the nominated films. Honestly? The only film nominated for Best Picture that I even sort of want to see is 'The Artist'.

Being a film major/buff/nerd lends itself to some stereotypes. In my head I should have already seen all of these nominated films because I am a 'film person'. I have always loved the Academy Awards and have watched them since I was little. I love the glitz and the glam and the long acceptance speeches and all of it. I was at one point convinced that some day I would be up there giving my own drawn-out acceptance speech. But in recent years the Oscars have seemed more like a chore than a joy. Either the nominated films do not come to my city (which is so ridiculous) or I am simply not interested in seeing them. In no way shape or form was I interested in seeing 'The Social Network' so I didn't. Here is the problem, as soon as you assert yourself to not spending money to go watch a movie you are not excited about you loose your 'film person privileges'. This includes but is not limited to voting on the Oscars. You know that thing that people do either in the office, or school, or as we do at our Oscar Party. As soon as you 'miss' one movie, by choice or otherwise, you can't say with any authority that you know what you are talking about. "Well you didn't even see them all, did you?" That will be the response of any other film person. And it is frustrating. I love movies. Always have always will. Someday I might actually get my act together and work in the business but for now I am content being a film lover. There was a time in college when I was trying to impress all these people (read: Boys) and I would ONLY watch 'films' not 'movies'. I was the obnoxious girl who went to the foreign films every week, who refused to watch 'lowly comedies', and generally was a pain in the ass. I have since gotten over that and now enjoy a much larger range of movies.

My favorite films/movies/flicks of 2011? (In no particular order)

-Scream 4
-X-Men: First Class
-Captain America
-Drive
-Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2
-Jane Eyre


I really wanted to see 'Shame' and 'A Dangerous Method' (Fassbender) but neither of them came to my town. I was hoping that maybe Mr. Fassbender would be nominated for 'Shame' 1. so I could see him on the red carpet and 2. so there was maybe a snow ball's chance in hell it would come to my town.

Derby Gear Bag

I was so excited to make myself a bag that I rushed it a bit. Has that ever happened in your crafting? I get that itch and I just go to town. I had some upholstery fabric on hand that I liked so I decided to make a bag out of that. I ended up just making a HUGE tote bag with tons of pockets on the inside and out. I like it but I would like something with some more structure.

 This is what my floor looked like the other day. I just started cutting and sewing.

 Finished bag! I still need to add a button or something to the front pocket so it just doesn't flop open.

 Plus side: It is big enough for ALL of my gear and extra workout clothes, etc.

 Can't really see but lots of big pockets on the inside for pads, mouth guard, socks. I think in the future I will make a new bag and hopefully it will be out of something more canvas like so I has some more structure to it. But for now I love having just one bag of stuff to lug around and not 2 or 3 like I did before. And since I already had the fabric I am calling this 'free' which is nice.

We also got a present at practice last night! Bracelets! Skate Fast + Med City Mafia + Hit Hard. We will be selling them at our upcoming fundraiser. Practice last night was brutal. I have some good bruises to prove it.

Weekend wrap up and Derby Gear Bag Wishlist

Derby Gear Bag Wishlist by rubymarilyn featuring a wheeled travel luggage


What a sweet weekend. Friday I got to see 'The Lion King' on stage. Saturday I saw 'Haywire' (Fassbender!) and I got to hang out with my ladies. I made a yummy pear crostini. There was a bit of a snafu with the dogs eating an entire package of hamburger buns....but I am finally over that. Today my sister and I hit the stores. I mostly got things I needed like toliet paper and batteries but I did splurge on clothes on sale. I bought a button up shirt, sleep pants, sweater, and large scarf for less than $20! Win! 

I really wanted to hit the fabric store but we got there and they were closing. They were also bitches about it. So now I have to find a new fabric store....hmmm. I wanted fabric for a new derby gear bag. My polyvore set above was sort a wish list/ inspiration set. I might just suck it up and use some fabric that I already have. I should be de-stashing not buying more fabric. I have a gym bag but it is not big enough to fit all my gear. Tonight I am going to continue doing some sketches and I might make an interim bag. The one I have in my head is going to be epic and will need a lot more time to complete. 

I hope everyone had a good weekend and if you are in MN be careful on the roads! Pure ice tonight. Not fun.  

The Lion King

I had not been to the theater in quite a long time but last night that pattern was broken with a trip to the Twin Cities to see 'The Lion King'. I was excited about this trip for awhile but I think I forgot how amazing it was supposed to be because when the circle of life started up and those AMAZING costumed/puppeted animals came out on stage I started to tear up. Yep. I cried at the costume design. It was just so perfect. Plus that is totally my kind of theater, spectacle. I like a big show.

 

This is just an example of the costumes. My favorites were the giraffes. 

Since I can't help myself I had to dress with a bit of theme. 

I kept it fairly simple with these earrings. Aren't they darling? They remind me of vintage animal jewelry. I snagged them for $3 about a month ago and waited to debut them until last night. My friends were mostly lucky that I decided not to wear my full length faux-leopard coat.   : )

Better late than never...

Yay late Christmas presents getting done...finally! Here is my second t-shirt quilt. I was really working hard to get it done for Christmas but then I bought the wrong size backing material and I just froze. I even went and bought some new fabric before the new year but then the project just sat staring at me. Taunting me. But finally I put it together. I wasn't sure when I was going to see my friend to give it to her so through the power of facebook I sent her a picture. She saw the top when it was put together already but it does feel good to have it done.

I liked this quilt a lot because it is made up of both her and her husband's quilt. I think that is a cute way to meld the collections together and a super practical one if either party doesn't have enough old t shirts on their own! (Are there people like that? I am already saving up for my second quilt!)

 Used a red flannel sheet for the backing. Pretty cozy, and it looks like we are going to need it because our unseasonably warm winter is about to come to a screeching halt. Being from MN we like to be sort of hard core about the temperature but this year we have not had a chance to become acclimated to it yet so we are pretty much going to be a state full of whiny cold people for a few weeks before we toughen up for another season.

Golden Globes 2012

The Globes never quite live up to my standards of awesome as far as awards season goes but I watch it nonetheless and it is always a fun time. All you need to do is gather any friends that have the evening free, add some take out food and mix! Even people who don't know anything about the nominees will have something fun to say about dress choices.

As far as fashion goes this year was pretty good. I love the bold shapes and colors that people were rocking and  besides a few near misses I liked the glam looks.

Favorite of the night was actually Kelly Osbourne! She was commentating for E! on the red carpet but her dress was sublime. The color and structure really worked for her and I love love LOVE her granny gray hair thing she has going on. I am such a little old lady at heart.

My other favorite of the night was Evan Rachel Wood. Her dress was the perfect amount of 'wow' without being over the top. The classy silhouette and dark color made her sparkly, scaly, feathery dress perfection.

As far s the show goes it was a bit ho hum. Ricky Gervais played the same act he did last year but this year it just did not work. Where as last year he seemed a little renegade and dangerous this year he felt completely contrived. Over it.

The worst part about the show? NOT ENOUGH MICHAEL FASSBENDER! He had a huge year with Jane Eyre, X Men: First Class, A Dangerous Method, and Shame (for which he was nominated!) Do people really not get how amazing he is? Do they not understand what a huge star he is about to become? Sure I would love to keep him to myself but for people in the know he is already the bees knees and I would appreciate a little more screen time.

Apparently he WAS on the red carpet. Damn you E!. We had to watch every damn kid from Glee strut their stuff but you couldn't afford any screen time with Michael? Grrrrr.

Next up for awards season is the Academy Awards on Feb. 26th. Get ready for party time! We are returning to our old theme of dressing up as your favorite movie character from 2012. It does not have to be from a nominated film, just something from 2012 you liked. Last time we did this I went as James Franco from 'Pineapple Express'. Good times.

Fail.

Hmm. It looks like I only made it eight days in before things started to fall apart. Story of my life. I seriously considered catching up today but then I realized I was already stressed about a bunch of other stuff I need to do today. So without further ado I am bowing out. Didn't last long did I? With the week I have had I was simply over it.

But I do have a lot of other projects in my head for this year. And yes a lot of them are going to be necklaces because I started an idea sheet and some of them I want to try out. Other upcoming projects including an Oscars series (as soon as nominations come out!) and a rather heavy focus on my new love of roller derby.

Cheers. And good luck with whatever projects you have in the works!

8/365 Bow-nanza

Day 8. I have seen super cute versions of this all over the internet. I figured it would be easy enough to try on my own. I like the results but I think it might be too chunky. Never thought I would say that.

Spending the rest of my time trying to think of a Derby names. Seriously. All day long. Gotta pick by the team meeting tomorrow. I can't do clever under pressure.

7/365

Day 7


A little more romantic.

Crochet, chain, and a bobble from an old necklace.

*Fun fact. The internet at my new place is set for a parental control time-lock. This explains why all of a sudden at night my internet will not work. Hence another semi-late post. Now that I know what the problem is though I can fix it!

6/365

Day 6. Fringe benefits.

Once again made out of t-shirt scraps.

Roller Derby

It has finally happened! My city is starting its own Roller Derby team! YAHOOOOOOO!!!!!! There was a bout this fall where different MN teams came to town and it sparked a lot of interest. So much so that a lady put an ad out on Craigslist to see if anyone else was interested in starting a team. A few people answered the call, got some gear together and started skating. Now it is an official team with practices, and sponsors, and events planned! My sister and I joined and tonight we had our first 'wheels on the ground' practice. It is a whole different ball game getting back into skating. I don't think I have been on anything skate like for years and years. My legs burn but it is going to be so much fun. As long as I don't break anything I will be happy.

I still need to come up with a super sweet and unique name (harder than you would think) and gain some major skating skills but I am already loving my new derby family! : )

My first pair of skates!!! They are for sure a 'starter set' but I hope they will serve me well in the learning process.

5/365 Poker Face

Day 5. Still in odds and ends mode.

Silver chain and poker chips. Once again extra long but I looped it. I am just really into the idea of really flexible pieces.

4/365 A Necklace a Day....late edition.

Day 4...a bit late. I will not feel bad about this though because this was completely technical difficulties territory. The necklace was made and photographed but I could not get on the internet last night. So here is day four with day five arriving this afternoon.

A bit of free form crochet in a white and sparkly yarn. I am also using this project to work on some of my yarn stash as well. I think any crafter around will agree with me that it is always a problem : )

Bit hard to see some of the chunky details in the pics but it was  a fun one to make. 

Shout out to my mom who bought me a little baby space-heater the other day. I am a basement dweller now and I guess I complained one to many times about being cold. But good lord does this little heater feel good on me right now!!!

3/365 A Necklace a Day

Day 3.

 Can you tell I am into long necklaces right now? Ha. I just love the idea of long 'cozy' necklaces. This one is also made from tshirt scraps from a recent t-shirt quilt. I really believe in creating as little waste as possible when I craft. This is the perfect project to use up some of those mountains of fabric scraps that I 'had' to keep.

Double it up for a shorter look. This reminds me a bit of Lisbeth Salander from 'Girl with the Dragon Tattoo'. I just recently saw the American film (I also have seen the original film but have not read the books) so it must be in my head a bit right now.

2/365 A Necklace a Day

Day 2! Is it worrisome that this post is happening at almost 11pm on day 2? Perhaps but I had the design in my head and I knew I wasn't getting home until later so I am completely ok with it.

Here it is! Completely inspired by Game of Thrones the TV show that I am currently obsessed with. They wear so much gorgeous fur in the show for about a week after I finished the first season I wandered around telling everyone how much I wanted a fur cape. Originally I was thinking of a fur/crochet hybrid scarf but I decided to scale it down to fit the necklace theme.

-Faux fur
-braided recycled tshirt scraps
-silver chain

See all that cozy fur goodness? Winter may be coming but they are going to look good doing it. P.S. I have a thing for Sean Bean as well. Love him.

Happy New Year! + the start of A Necklace a Day

Happy New Year! 2011 is finally over and we have a brand new year to start off with a bang. I don't know about you but 2011 was not my favorite year. I had some really good times but it did not have the zing that say 2010 or 2008 did. I think I am an every other year kind of girl.

I spent New Years Eve in the chillest way possible. Sitting on my couch watching movies with a good friend. Pink champagne was still involved but I did not break out a sparkly dress this year. But it was really good- just what I needed. Best quotes of the night included, "The movie is called Warrior not pussy" and "Drinking champagne out of mason jars? It is like we are having a Harlan County New Years!"

I am trying to be optimistic about 2012. So far I have no huge plans in the works besides my friend's wedding in September (I have to go order my dress! Annndddd I might be making them wedding pie...more to come). I am just hoping to go with the flow and figure some stuff out. Other than the wedding I hope to go to some good concerts and get into some new activities. Roller Derby here I come!

To give myself some sort of direction this year (and a challenge) I am starting a 365 project. Inspired by many others doing similar projects I thought I would try my hand at it. If you are interested in hearing about what other people are doing/have done I highly recommend this blog. I have decided to make a necklace a day for a year. Starting now. Rules will be fairly simple. Post a handmade necklace everyday on the blog. I wanted something that would be crafty but also focused and doable. I believe that necklaces will be a narrow enough requirement to keep some of my 'crazy' out of the equation but will be perfect time-wise, space-wise, and money-wise. There is still a ton of room for creativity including themes, techniques, materials, etc. If I know I have trips or events I will make the necklaces ahead of time and just try to keep on schedule. I have a feeling things are going to get pretty random...I already have some ideas for some large fun STATEMENT necklaces that will hopefully be fairly epic.

I will still continue to post any other fun crafts or baking adventures that come my way but I have a feeling that this project will be the most prevalent part of the blog this year.

Here is number 1:

 A little bit of granny, a little bit of punk this necklace is a combination of a chunky vintage chain and some hand crochet work.

See you tomorrow!


Cheers.