Vintage for cheap!

I really adore vintage clothing, don't you? I've been seriously obsessed with the hippie culture since I was 13, but I adore Victorian art and fashion, and recently I've become fond of the pinup look....so needless to say, I've had all sorts of weird fashion phases because of this. 

My biggest struggle has been in loving clothing from the 80s. It's very hit or miss. I feel like you can either end up looking like an awesome dark fairy rock goddess, or some weird tinfoil robot from the future.  Both are good in their own respects, I suppose, but I've found it hard to find many 80s pieces that are really me.

I recently found an amazing blouse on a trip to Savers that blew me away, though! Since the tag has long since been cut out, I can only guess it's from the 80s or early 90s, due to the shoulder pads and sequins. What do you all think? 80s or 90s?

I never ever thought I'd say this, but I'm really starting to dig shoulder pads. They're sorta fierce, yanno?

 This blouse makes me feel like a fattie version of Florence Welch and Stevie Nicks with a little dash of mermaid thrown in for good measure. And this is a-okay with me.

Here's a closeup of the beautiful detailing on the shoulders.Click to see it larger!

 I never leave home without my trusty banjo necklace. Oddly, I think it works pretty well with the outfit...!

I got this blouse for 7 bucks. There's something you should know about me as a thrifter: I am incredibly cheap. So spending 7 dollars on one blouse was actually quite an investment. I know, I know, you're probably thinking, oh but it's worth it because it's vintage! And yes, I'll agree with you...but considering I bought the dress in these photos for one dollar at a warehouse sale, you can see why I'm reluctant to shell out big bucks for anything. Not to mention I'm an artist, and you know how historically and consistently broke we are. :)

I understand why vintage clothing would be more expensive than modern clothing. The craftsmanship is usually way better, it's unique, and just plain awesome. But for me, if I can walk into Goodwill and buy a vintage dress for 5 bucks, there's no way in hell I'm gonna go into some trendy little New York City vintage clothing shop and pay $60 for the same dress just because it's got a little hand-written hang tag that says vintage 1970s. In my opinion, that's silly. At the end of the day, used clothing is used clothing, and I'm not paying out the nose for it. 

What about you dolls? What's your price cap for vintage clothing?

What do 6th graders think of The Tiny Hobo?

Today, I'm going to answer a question that you would never ever have thought to ask. But that's okay, because I wouldn't have thought of it either, nor would I have known how to answer it.

But now I do!

And now, since you're all wondering....

What do 6th graders think of The Tiny Hobo?

My roommate, who is currently student teaching at a middle school here in Asheville, decided to find out. For one of her school exercises, she showed her students a piece of my art, and asked them to describe what they saw, heard, felt, etc. Naturally, I was thrilled to find out she was going to use one of my pieces, because really, who doesn't love a good ego stroking every once in a while?!

She decided to show them one of my more colorful pieces, "Still Bending Towards the Light". I thought it was a very good choice, since it's pretty sensory.

And let me tell you, the little whippersnappers came up with some fantastic answers. After reading through about 40 different responses and subsequently laughing my arse off, I decided to share some of the best ones with you. Keep in mind that these classes are "inclusive", meaning there are children of all different learning abilities in one class. It made for a wonderful array of different answers!

First I'm going to show you the most thoughtful one I read. This little girl must have a beautiful heart! 

(CLICK THE IMAGES TO SEE THEM LARGER!)

But that's where the sentimentality ends. So hold this dear to your heart; from here on out...it's going to get pretty bizarre. 

 Apparently, this kid tasted Elmo fur, among other things.I think we've got a future art critic over here. Flantabulas!

At least this guy didn't smell Elmo fur:

He's a man after my own heart; I smell french fries all of the time. And when I don't, I imagine I'm smelling them.Because french fries ROCK, okay?!

Looking at my drawing made this girl feel hard while touching mean flowers that were burning....um...okay. At least she threw in a compliment. Thanks, kid!

However, not everyone was a fan of my art. And I'm okay with that. It's cool. Whatever, it's just some stinkin' 6th graders. No really, I'm fine. Seriously. Shut up, I said I'm fine.

By viewing my art, this kid apparently had a prophetic vision of the end times. At least he gets to touch the planets and smell every exotic scent ever smelled and more before he dies. Sounds like a fair trade off.

This next one blows my mind.

Make up your mind, kid: first you say it's "amazing because it's colorful", then you go on to say "If I was in there I'd kill myself", followed by some illegible junk ("for be drawled", maybe?? What??), "Taste horrible" and "Feel upset"?! Jeez, everyone's a critic! I have to say, I nearly laughed until I cried when I read this one.

But now for the winning entry, the best of the best... the piece de resitance, if you will.

"I would see quad-droople!rain-bows! I would also see a Teddy Bear eating chocolate, screaming cuz teh intense taste!

I would also see Nightcrawler teleporting like CRAZY!

And I would smell the brimstone coming from him!

Also I would hear Hulk scream in anger while I'm eating a bowl of Reese's Puffs!"

And that, my dear readers, is what 6th graders think of The Tiny Hobo. I will leave you with these sentiments. Chew on them for a while. 

Makes you think, doesn't it?

 Until next time ♥

Fall's a comin'!

Autumn is coming, you all! Oh, I can feel it already. I'm so excited to be living in The Blue Ridge Mountains this year; it's bound to be an Autumn like no other! ♥

Today was a rainy grey kind of day with a bit of chill in the air. At the first sign of any weather change, I get so enthralled that I can pull out my heavier clothing, thus I overdress, and end up suffering in my own sweat by the end of the day (um..ew!). But this outfit actually worked quite well for today! 

 I'm so excited to finally own a pair of colored tights. I'm very picky about tights; usually they never fit right or they're way too bright for my tastes. But these were the right size and the right color! A perfectly plum color for fall. I got them at Cato for 6 bucks. Not too bad for plus size tights!

And here's another little peak of my apartment. My roommate and I are finally getting the living room to look cute! The couch was donated to us, but I think it's darling. It suits my needs just fine! 

And the boots...oh, the boots.

 I have a shoe addiction. There. I said it. That's half the battle. The other half of the battle, I don't feel like dealing with because I love shoes too damn much. 

I had to justify buying these somehow, so I used the excuse that my favorite pair of shoes is literally falling apart. Which isn't a lie. I think I'll do a blog post memorial service for them sometime soon... as soon as I'm done accepting the fact that they're becoming unwearable.

I got these not-so-authentic cowboy boots from KMart (lol). The brand is Dream Out Loud by Selena Gomez (lol). Last weekend I went to Tennessee and saw some incredibly gorgeous cowboy boots with embroidered flowers all over them, but they were $500. So I think paying $35 was justified, even if they are from KMart and not some cool cowboy store in Tennessee. Don't judge me. They're adorable though, right?!

And to finish the look, I wore my banjo necklace. This is my favorite necklace of all time, and it's really dear to me because my banjo teacher gave it to me before I left Connecticut. Whenever I miss home, I wear it and remember why I'm here and all of the people who love me back where I came from. ♥

That's it for now, dears! Follow me on Facebook and we can chat all the time! ♥

The Tiny Hobo + Custom Plus!

Today I want to write about a company that I love and have been lucky enough to work alongside: Custom Plus! If you don't know already, Custom Plus is an incredible clothing company run by the fabulous plus models Griselangel Paula and Shannon Hiett, and I illustrate tshirt designs for them! Custom Plus is wonderful because they offer tshirts in women's sizes small-4Xlarge--in styles that fit women's bodies! Finally, a tshirt company run by women that understands women's bodies! 

And, here's a custom drawing I did for them. Shannon and Grisel are so fab! 

A while ago, I had really wanted to get into tshirt designing. I looked at a couple of different outlets, including Cafe Press and Society6, but they just felt too cold and corporate--and they only offer women's sizes up to XL or XXL. This was really frustrating to me, especially considering both of the sites offered extended men's sizes. What about the ladies?! I'm lucky if I can squeeze into an XL, but I'm usually a 2X....so printing my art on shirts I couldn't fit into seemed sad and kind of hypocritical. Plus, I know how badly it sucks to see an awesome tshirt and curse silently to yourself at the lack of plus sizes. So I knew those sites weren't an option!

And then I remembered Custom Plus! Duh--I had already liked them on Facebook and loved all of their tees, so I contacted Grisel, and the rest is history! 

One of the many things I love about Custom Plus is their variety of sizes. I honestly don't know of another tshirt company that offers "standard" sizes, as well as such an impressive array of plus sizes. Nobody should feel excluded because of their body, and I'd love for anybody of any size to wear a tshirt that I designed, so it just makes me so incredibly happy.

And, here's my Custom Plus shirt, printed with my design "Tea is Love"!

 I LOVE this shirt because not only is it super duper comfortable, it fits me perfectly (I'm wearing an XXL, by the way)! I positively adore the scoop neck, too--it's great for showcasing necklaces! Not only do they offer scoop necks, you can get any tee in a v-neck, crew cut, or even a tank top! The possibilites are endless. ♥

The versatility of this tshirt inspires lots of outfits, but this is my go-to look when I want to look freakin' fabulous without taking too much effort to do so. Hahaha~

I usually like to dress up tshirts with skinny jeans...today I'm wearing my absolute favorite pair, and the brand is Kiss Therapy. Never heard of them before, but I do love these jeans! And to finish the ensemble, I paired it with my favorite boots in the world (it's a day of faves, I guess!). I got them from Rainbow 2 years ago, and I've been smitten ever since. They're perfect. I got them for a steal, too--they were only 15 bucks!

And no outfit is complete without jewelry. See? The scoop neck really does look great with a statement necklace! ♥

The nail polish is "I Need a Refresh-Mint" by Wet n' Wild. I absolutely love this color, and it wears superbly. I can usually go a week with no chips, which is really good for me. It was really cheap, too--I got it at WalGreens on sale for 2 bucks. I'd highly suggest it! 

See all of the magic you can create with one lovely, well-fitted tshirt? And the fabulous thing is that you can get one of your very own!

Check out The Tiny Hobo Tee Shop, powered by Custom Plus!

and....

Check out all of Custom Plus's other lovely tees!

Tiny Hobo Fashion!

Yes, I'm an artist and illustrator by nature....but sometimes I get this delusion that I'm a fashion blogger.

And to all of you fashion bloggers out there: I raise my glass to you. This is a LOT of work and now I remember why I don't really take pictures of my outfits all that often. Of course, fate would have it that I usually take photos when nobody's around to help me, so the self timer on my camera is my friend. And those of you who are familiar with self timers will know how frustrating getting a half way decent shot can be.

But this dress was just too incredible not to share with you all!

I finally own something with a peplum! Oh, I feel so fashionable. 

I scored this dress at Goodwill for $3.75. I couldn't believe it. The brand, which I've never head of, is Grand Avenue. The fabric and the overall style leads me to believe that it's probably from the 80's or early 90's, although I can't be too sure!

 Look at the fabric! Little black bows printed on light pink?! Darling. ♥

The mustache necklace came from Spencer's Gifts in the mall...boy do I hate that store--hell, I just hate the mall in general--but I do love this necklace.

Another one of my favorite vintage finds is my leopard heels! I can only assume that these are from the 80's as well....guess I'm just an 80's girl, huh? I love how they look with my tattoo (my beautiful twin sister has a matching one, because we're besties like that!), they just make me feel super classy. 

 They've obviously seen better days, but they're still adorable and pretty comfy, too! This is about as high as I'll go with my heels, though. 

Now, if you know me, you'll know that I'm of the belief that any day is a good day to dress up. Waking up in the morning is reason enough to celebrate, and stepping out of the house is always a reason to dress to the nines. So for me, this is an every day outfit. When people sarcastically ask me, "why are you dressed up like that?" I simply reply, "Because it makes me happy!"

And you know, that's a damn good enough reason to do anything. And don't let anyone tell you differently.

I absolutely love vintage clothing and accessories--but I especially love vintage dresses. They fit me so incredibly well, like they were made for just me. In my personal experience, I've found that contemporary dresses for plus size ladies don't seem to hug and embrace my body the same way vintage ones do. I'm tired of hiding my body, so it's really refreshing to wear clothing that celebrates my curves. What do you all think? What's your favorite type of dress?

I'm hoping to share some more outfits with you all in the future...but I'm not makin' any promises! Haha! ♥

My home in the mountains

Whenever I doubt myself, I just think of this incredible place in which I live and love. And everything just seems okay. North Carolina, my home in the mountains.

The past couple of month seem like a dream. I still feel as though I'm living in a dream. It's just a dreamy place, and I'm a dreamy person, doing dreamy things, I guess! 

I'd love to take you all on a bit of a virtual tour of my humble apartment which I share with one of my best friends whom I've known since grade school. It's a work in progress, and really, I think it always will be. I definitely inherited the 'incessant decorating gene' from my mom. ♥ I'm always rearranging and finding new ways to beautify my space!

I have a porch, which is really nice, especially at night when the crickets are chirping. As you can see I went a little bit insane with the fabric and colors. Thin, wispy fabric is the best because it gets caught in the breeze and changes the color of the sunlight coming through the windows. It's magical! I think that's the theme of my room, if I had to chose one.

 

 My desk! Definitely a work in progress. I'm pretty proud because I installed those shelves all by myself with some shelf brackets and some random scrap wood I found in the storage area. They're not crooked, I swear, it's my photography. Haha!

 Jewelry! Easy access, baby!

 Ridiculous amounts of kitsch. I scored that shelf for $3.50 at Goodwill and spiced it up a little. I love it! I'm really happy with the yellow walls, too. They were yellow when I got here, so I didn't even have to paint! I know a lot of people dislike yellow, but it's so happy and sunny. 

 Things to keep me inspired ♥

I'm really excited to be living in Asheville; even in the short time I've been here there've been so many awesome opportunities for me as an artist. I'm really hopeful about what the future holds, and you can be sure that I'll keep you updated on everything that this crazy place throws at me!

And, you can always find me on Facebook for more up to date info. I love my Facebook friends! 

Until next time, dolls.

lucky

Fortune cookies. You kind of only eat them because they're there. They're not entirely too flavorful, and frankly, and lieu of the delicious Chinese food you probably just ate....well, it's kind of anti-climatic. That is, until you get to the fortune. Reading your little fortune makes it all worth it, whether it's ridiculously relevant, poorly worded, or just plain hilarious...you know you're gonna eat at least half of that dry little cookie to get to the center. Unless you're a wasteful person and you just throw the cookie out. But hey, I'm not gonna judge you. Ahem.

As a young woman who brazenly and fearlessly loves Chinese food, I'm no stranger to fortune cookies. And you know, I've just realized that not only are they a fixture on my dinner table.....but to an extent they're a fixture in my art career, as illustrated by my most recent commissioned piece. 

It's quite mysterious, really. Jon (the commissioner) told me to draw a fortune cookie, and to have fun with it. That's it, nothing else. I'm super appreciative for such a random, funky commission, and I'm going to assume Jon loves Chinese food. What else could one assume? Is he a fortune cookie collector? An Asian culture buff? A nice guy who likes cookies of all kinds? I guess I should have asked him!

But no, the fortune cookies don't end there. They've crept their way into my photography....

And the inside of my drawing journal....

And, even on the pages of my drawing journal! Damn, that's a lot of cookies.

Is it a conspiracy? Is it a sign? Do I need to keep eating Chinese food to uncover the mysteries of The Universe? Yeah, I'll go with that for now. It seems like a good enough reason for me to keep feasting on crab rangoons and General Tso's chicken.

Listen to your fortunes, you guys! Sometimes they say some wise, wise, things. ♥