CANDY STRIPE SAILORETTE

Sailor Tie Top - Tara Starlet (I love love love), Culottes - old H&M,
Lace kneesocks - Norlyn, Shoes - Fabbri

My dear friend K just turned 28 and held a tea party today with lots and lots of cakes, macaroons and mini cupcakes. All home made, all delicious.

K loves pink and candy so I gave her a gift with pink and candy on my mind. And I dressed up thinking pink and candy. And 1930's, sailors and sailorettes.

ANSWERS vol.1

I don't like to read long texts on a screen. I kind of of think that applies to everyone else (even though I know that it really doesn't) so I mostly try to keep my writings short. In order to avoid too much scrolling I'll answer the questions received so far now alrady.

Here's some Soft Sunday music to go along with the reading (or scrolling in case you don't give a F):




-I have always wondered what it is you really work with?
I work as a freelancing graphic designer, I do random commissions, but I also frequently work with a textile and apparel company together with my friend K. We do product planning, sketches and package design. I also work in the harbor as a cargo supervisor; we load and unload ships and I see that everything goes as planned. It's kind of blue collar.

Have you lived in Budapest? What did you do there.
-I studied graphic design in BP in 2003 at MIE; Magyar Iparmûvészeti Egyetem, which I believe is nowadays called MOME. My mentor told me "Budapest has a great nightlife, so don't take too many courses". I took his advide.

Any photoshop secrets or other editing tips and tricks you'd like to share ;)?
-Remember to save versions in between! And well, play around with adjustement layers etc. You learn a lot by doing and trying. And google up and read threads and forums.

How do you take such gorgeous pictures?!
-Heh, by taking many. Out of ten there should be one usable :)

Do you use hair extensions or is it ur real hair?
-Nips, it's all my own!

What's my favourite
Food: I like a lot, but tapas and meze dishes with good wine always works for me! And sushi.
Band : I used to say Interpol but nowadays I've distanced from it. I like rautalanka (and surf) the most, so bands that play that well! Most people find it rather geeky :D
Book : perhaps Orwell's 1984
Movie : Depends, it used to be A Clockwork Orange.
I don't really have a "number one" of anything, I like so many different things in different ways.

Do you work out?
-Too little these days - I used to work out six times a week at the gym, with yoga and savate (you get a little manic by doin it too often so that's not good either). Nowadays I go swimming about once a week and then try to squeeze in some hot yoga once or twice a month... I'm trying to make time for savate again, but haven't done it even once this year.

What languages do you speak?

-Swedish (mother toungue), Finnish, English, French, German. Some elementary Hungarian that I keep on forgetting more and more about. Since I speak Swedish I can get by on Norwegian and Dansih, it kind of comes as a bonus. I'd like to say Estonian too but I'm so bad at it I'm not sure it counts.

What do you usually eat during the day?

-Sandwiches

What is your favourite bar&club in Helsinki?

-For easy dining and wine Bar No9, otherwise perhaps Bar Loose. Right now all places seem a but dull. Autumn depression perhaps.

Are you one a diet or think what you are eating?
-
I eat whatever I want but in general rather healthy. I always have to have some uncooked vegetables with every meal. It feels great not to avoid anything anylonger, I don't care about carbs or calories.

Are you vegetarian?

-Yes, I've been quite a strict one but I have fish and eggs nowadays.

When did you became so stylish, have you always dressed that way? (oh thanks :)
-I've had different styles, some more some less stylish I guess but I've always paid attention to both details and the whole.

What kind of style you had when you were a teenager?
-
Black black black and slightly bohemian, after which I became something of an arty psychedelic hippie girl.

Height & weight?

-165 cm, I don't weight myself that often but something around 63 kilos I think.

How did you get the idea to start performing burlesque / How did you get involved in Burlesque performance?
-I've always loved the look of burlesque but it wasn't until I saw it live for the first time a couple of years ago (and Paula who was there with me told me "you have such a burlesque body!") I started thinking "I could do this!". Friends and friends of friends were also interested and we put together our group. Burlesque is new in Finland and the scene small, so it was easy to join in, we were definitaly in the right place at the right time!

What educations do you have?

-I'm a Bachelor of Arts, my major was graphic design. I studied painting before that for a year.

Do you have a boyfriend?
-Yes.

What's yout name?
-Ulrika

I would love to know the story behind your "förlåt mig" tattoo
-I took it after my previous relationship, when we broke off our engagement. It's says forgive me for his sake as well as my own.

Do you promise to answer me if I send you an email and ask about where to go and what to see in Helsinki if I ever end up there?
-Yes. But it might take some time before I answer it and you can remind me if it takes too long :)

How do you manage such a hectic lifestyle with freelancing, sewing, your job at the harbor, and burlesque and still manage to -look absolutely fabulous? (thanks again:)
Basically I never have any free time. Even if I take days off there is always something I should be working with... The good thing with my harbor job, and one of the main reasons why I'm still there, is that I have every third week free but still get paid for the whole month and have full vacations! That helps and also makes it pretty hard to quit.

Have you ever seen the comic Fritzi Ritz?
-
No, but now I have :D

Any tips on how to get the lipstick stay on your lips and how to avoid chapping at the same time?
-Hmm, I have sensitive skin and my lips get dry or irritated from time to time. I wear a fat cream from the pharmacy (like Bepanthen) during the night and put chapstick (like the blistex tube that doesn't really "stay on" the lips but) on in good time before the lipstick. Sometimes I just paint my lips with liner and put vaseline on for a more "lipstick look". (you need to bite it off a bit and add some more colour afterwards for an even result.) Have you tried changing to a more moisturizing lipstick? The Gosh soft n' Shine lipbalm has so much colour that it works more as a lipstick but is still pretty moist.

A.J.'s Floral Ink

I ran into A.J. earlier this month, walking aling Seventh Avenue near 34th Street.

She has seven tattoos, and shared this lovely black and gray floral piece on her upper right arm:

She had been debating on whether to add color or not, but is pretty happy with the way this tattoo looks.

This tattoo was created by Junior at Adrenaline Rush Tattoo in Newark, New Jersey.

Thanks to A.J. for sharing this lovely tattoo with us here on Tattoosday!

Oscar's Quartet of Tattoos

Born in Costa Rica, a one-time resident of Canada, and now a denizen of the Bronx, Oscar has traveled all over the world.

He expressed his passion for mountain biking to me as we talked in the Amtrak section of Penn Station.

This made sense to me as I had noticed his bike-themed tattoo on his left calf:


The wheel is specific to a mountain bike he owns, and it is connected around the back of his leg by a bicycle chain:


The detail is quite good, almost three-dimensional, and the tribal flourishes up and down the leg add volume to the piece.

This was his first tattoo, inked on his birthday, after many years of thinking about tattoos. He waited until he was ready, so that he could get something with deep meaning for him.

Since then, he has added three other tattoos, all created by Richard at Jent's Tattooing in Yonkers.

He graciously shared those as well. First is a tribal raven:


Oscar spoke of the raven's relationship with God. In the folklore, Raven helps the gods to raise the moon and the stars. He also is known as the prankster, who is always trying to catch the Sun.

In addition, there is a tattoo of Shiva, who Oscar acknowledges as a deity who "destroys ignorance and builds knowledge":


Finally, Oscar wears a Third Eye on his right bicep, which carries its traditional meaning:


Many thanks to Oscar for sharing his amazing tattoos with us here on Tattoosday!

QUESTIONS & ANSWERS

I'm not really an arrogant A hole. But I am rather unorganized. And very busy.
I tend to forget to answer questions I get in my comments. Sometimes it can take me a long time to answer blog related mails written to me too.

So I thought I'd do this thing were you can ask me anything and I will answer almost everything!

This is my sneaky-suspicious look when I say, ok, go ahead and ask then.

I'll answer a couple of questions/requests I remember now straight away
1. Make up
I get lots of questions about makeup. But the thing is, I will never do a makeup tutorial - there are tons of youtube tutorials out there that go for the same look and they're all pretty much similar to each other. I do the same make up almost every day, just make it heavier and add some glitter for shows. And in the end you still have to see what suits your own face the best.

But I will do a post about makeup; which products I use and some tricks I rely on, that I promise!

2. Photos
"I'm always curious about whether you take all your own photos and how you always manage to get the lighting so spot on? "
Well, first of all I have a pretty good camera. Not a great one, but an OK that can take great pics if you do it right. If there's not time nor good light for getting it right, I fix the photos in Photoshop afterwards, Levels, Curves etc. Basically there's nothing I can't do in Photoshop, although I prefer to get away as easily as possible. (Well as you can see the photo above has some more playing around than just levels and curves - sometimes that's real fun too - especially if you should be working with something different than making yourself look all 1939 for example :) I indulge quite a lot what I like to call "forced photography" -heheh- as I have my sister or a friend take some pics for my blog ("You have to take some pictures for my blog now!"), but I do take many of them on my own too.

That's it. If you post a question here during the weekend and perhaps the beginning of next week too I promise I'll answer them all by next weekend in a post!

Oh, and if you come here a lot and react a lot and I have forgotten to link you let me know!

Gregory's Defenders of the Faith Tattoo

Gregory walked by me on Seventh Avenue in front of Madison Square Garden and I saw a familiar icon from my youth:


As a huge fan of Judas Priest in the 1980's, I recognized the basis for this tattoo immediately: the cover art for the 1984 album Defenders of the Faith.


Gregory has four tattoos and is a fan of Japanese-style art. This album and its predecessor, Screaming for Vengeance, boasted cover art that had a distinct Japanese influence.

He worked with the artist, C-Jay at Rising Dragon in Manhattan, to modify the design slightly, removing the tank treads and other militaristic elements from the original design.


Thanks to Gregory for sharing his amazing tattoo with us here on Tattoosday!

RESULTS OF HAVING THE FLU pt.1

I've been ill the whole week and have spent my time here at home reading, drinking lots of tea and (yes! yes! finally!) organizing my desk and drawers ...and also, doing lots of online shopping. That's why I will never have space in my wardrobe - as son as I sell something away new items come in. Oh, materialism, oh vanity! (And that's why I'll never be rich either. But at least I'll die well dressed.)

A pair of boots I ordered late on wednesday night arrived today already, brought straight home to my door! What more can a little piggie-flu girl ask for?

So, here we go with a familiar pattern:

(the cat will, of course, be in the box the same second I take the shoes out of it...)

Oh yeah.


Oh yeah! The Melissa Ashanti flocked boot. Water resistant. Me likes.

Yeees. Rainy days, here we come!

The fact that I now own a pair of water resistant shoes for autumn make me very very happy. It's like I never really believed I could actually have a pair of pretty shoes that can master the nasty weathers to come. Plus that they're vegan too. I ordered mine from Luis Via Roma, and the FedEx home delivery was included in the price! (Well, with the range -and price- of the other items in their store, I'm not surprised.. :)

Both cats are in the box now.

Kaka Real Madrid Football Picture

Kaka Real Madrid Best Football Player

Kaka & Cristiano Ronaldo on Real Madrid Team

Kaka Real Madrid

Kaka Real Madrid Football Wallpaper

Kaka Real Madrid Football Picture

Cristiano Ronaldo Poster New

Cristiano Ronaldo Best Football Player

Cristiano Ronaldo Poster

Cristiano Ronaldo Picture

Hot Soccer Girls

Sexy Soccer Girl Poster

Sexy Italian Soccer Girls

Sexy Soccer Girl Picture

Hot Soccer Girl Wallpaper

Sexy Korean Soccer Girl

Hot Soccer Girls

Sexy Japanese Soccer Girl

Cristiano Ronaldo Real Madrid Poster

Cristiano Ronaldo Real Madrid Best Action

Cristiano Ronaldo Real Madrid Football Wallpaper

Cristiano Ronaldo Real Madrid Picture

Cristiano Ronaldo Real Madrid Wallpaper

Cristiano Ronaldo on Real Madrid Team

Cristiano Ronaldo Come to Real Madrid Wallpaper

Cristiano Ronaldo Real Madrid Poster

Owen Manchester United Football Wallpaper

Owen Manchester United Poster

Owen & Wayne Rooney Manchester United Team

Owen Manchester United Football Wallpaper

Owen with Manchester United Players

Amauri Carvalho from Brazil

Amauri Carvalho from Brazil

Amauri Carvalho for Juventus

Amauri Carvalho football player

Merci Celebrates Female Empowerment with a Classic Image

I spotted Merci in Penn Station with this familiar icon on her calf:


The tattoo is based on this famous poster from World War II:


This image is identified with the character of Rosie the Riveter, and was introduced by Westinghouse to rally the home fires in support of the troops abroad. The image has transformed, through time, to take on a greater meaning, that of female empowerment.

This tattoo, one of three that Merci has, was created by Chris Dilworth at Tough Luck Tattoo in Lewes, Delaware.

Thanks to Merci for sharing her amazing tattoo with us here on Tattoosday!

Tattoos I Know: Avital's Ink

It seems odd and yet is not beyond comprehension that, at the last two bat mitzvahs I have attended, I came home with tattoo pictures.

The first time (documented here) was a pleasant surprise. On Saturday, August 8, however, I had no expectations, as it was my daughter's bat mitzvah.

However, much to my amazement, I noticed that one of my sister's closest friends, Avital, has two small tattoos. I was more surprised, considering that Avital is a cantor, and that whereas tattooed Jews are not as rare as they used to be, an inked cantor is still an unusual sight.

Granted, her two tattoos don't jump out at you. The om on her right ankle:


and the slender "b+" on her right wrist


are discreet enough to be overlooked by a discriminating eye, and yet these two small tattoos are large with meaning.

Avital gave me a synopsis the day I took the photos, summing up that the "b+" was a personal message to herself to always "be positive," and that it is her blood type, but she has since offered up a lengthier, more thorough explanation, which I'll share here:

" [The b+], though it is very small (1/2") represents many important parts of my life: past, present and future. When my college friend, Erica died in December from Leukemia, I was devastated. Throughout her illness, she managed to have good spirits and enjoy time with her friends and family. Her battle against cancer put life in perspective for me. I have struggled with depression most of my adult life, and when she died, I made the conscious decision to turn my life around, completely. The morning after her death, my father was diagnosed with Glioblastoma, an aggressive brain cancer. Double whammy. My sister and I had both been contemplating a tattoo for several years, but Jewish guilt always managed to turn me away. After several hours in the ER with our father, we ventured down to Kingdom [Tattoos] and got our matching b+ tattoos. It's incredible how much strength I find from this little symbol on my wrist.

And Avital added:

"And the B in the b+ tattoo is a flat. in music. since I'm a musician. I can't believe I forgot that part! flats are most commonly associated with minor, "sad" keys. so, there is a bit of sadness in the tattoo. too."

As for the om, she elaborates:

"One of the major changes I made in my life after E died was a regular Yoga practice. An unfortunate encounter with a sharp blade left a 1" scar on my inner right ankle. After about 3 months of drawing an OM over the scar with a sharpie (so tedious!) I decided to make it permanent. The OM, like my b+, centers me, calms me, and reminds me of the simpler, more important things in life."

Much thanks to Avital for sharing her tattoos and the powerful stories behind them here with us on Tattoosday.

Fiorentina Vs Sporting Live Streaming

Vs
Watch champions league qualifier, second leg match, Fiorentina Vs Sporting Highlights here.
First Leg Score: Sporting 2-2 Fiorentina

Watch Fiorentina Vs Sporting Live Streaming HERE!

Fiorentina Vs Sporting Highlights will be posted after the game finished!

Fiorentina host Portuguese side Sporting Lisbon at Artemio Franchi in the second leg Champions League play-off on Wednesday night. The first leg ended in an exciting 2-2 draw and that result now leaves this tie wide open. Both teams have a good chance of progressing in to the group stages of the Champions League.

The first leg of this tie was a great match for the neutral as the two teams looked to win the game. Fiorentina took an early lead through Juan Vargas. Sporting equalised early in the second half through Simon Vukcevic, before the Montenegrin was controversially dismissed. The ten men of Sporting then took the lead through midfielder Miguel Veloso. Fiorentina hit back with an equaliser through striker Alberto Gilardino with ten minutes remaining.

The Italian side will be slight favourites in this tie, with the advantage of two away goals. However Sporting have the ability and the resilience to secure a victory away in Italy. Sporting pose a real attacking threat and won’t come and just sit back as they have to win this game to progress in to the group stages of the Champions League.

Fiorentina’s strength also lies in the attacking half of the field. The three players to watch out for in this clash are midfield playmaker Riccardo Montolivo, who provides the creative spark and talented striker Alberto Gilardino, the scorer of one of the goals in the first leg. Then there is the controversial former Chelsea star Adrian Mutu. The Romanian striker is capable of producing great pieces of skill.

Lisbon’s top striker for the past few seasons has been the prolific Brazilian Liedson, whose a big danger in front of goal. In midfield Sporting possess talented young playmaker Joao Moutinho and Chilean maestro Matias Fernandez signed from Villarreal during the summer.

You can watch Fiorentina v Sporting live here with us at oleolefootball by registering and becoming an exclusive member of the best site for live online Champions League streaming. Fiorentina and Sporting go face to face at the Artemio Franchi in the second leg Champions League play-off.

EXPOSURE

Sometimes I may wear something which makes me feel real preppy and active and almost makes it easier running here and there and everywhere to take care of tasks and errands one has around town. For me it may be voluminous skirts that go puff-puff when I walk and shirts in fresh colours that does the trick one day (but perhaps something totally different the next). This time it was exactly that, and I got tons of things and jobs done.

The photo is a bit over exposed and you can watch an even more overexposed video of our most girlie burlesque number here. Me on the other hand have been exposed to some germs or cold, I have the flu and will be spending most of my time in bed this week doing nothing. Atchoo.

(The skirt is Miss60, the bag vintage and the rest plain ol' H&M)

AN END FOR ONE MAY BE A BEGINNING FOR ANOTHER

You know how the story goes. You meet. It's either love at first sight, or then an interest slowly developing into something more. But either way, if everything goes well you get one another one fine day. You go on adventures together, as well as go through everyday life.

But, at some point you notice that things are not like before. You don't see each other that much anymore. You don't long for each other like you used to. You may have grown apart (literally). You realize you never go out together. You find new points of interest. You might even find it hard to believe you actually spent so much time together back in the days. You may seem so different from each other now. And even if feelings might still be warm, there just comes a point where you, even if it may hurt, have to take the guts to take action and say it out loud: I just don't see a future for us anymore.

I have done it.
In other words, I'm selling some more things away in my other blog!

My saffron colored skirt that should rather belong on a parade girl spinning a stick along with red jackets, white boots, trumpets and elephants (or on you :) than just hanging in my closet. My most wonderful bowed dress and my sandals that say True love!
I will go through some more breakups during the weeks to come so stay tuned.

Ben Commemorates the Cat and the Tree

Ben recalls wandering off one day when he was four years old. He was up in Wells, Maine with his family and no one knew where he'd gone.

Fortunately for Ben, someone did know: the family cat. A la Lassie, the feline led his parents straight to Ben, who was sitting under a tree, munching on blueberries.

To this day, Ben regards this as a crucial moment in his life when he was saved by the cat.

He collaborated with Brendan Rowe at Pins and Needles Tattoo in Portland, Maine to come up with a commemorative tattoo to honor this animal:


Brendan is now working out of Unbreakable Tattoo is Studio City, California.

The tree nearby on his left forearm, was inked, in part, to complement the cat:


It is, however, also a nod to Gustav Klimt's "Tree of Life".
Not an imitation, but a variation.

Thanks to Ben for sharing these tattoos with us here on Tattoosday!

The Radar- Latest Obsessions

I am off on the train to Bristol tomorrow specially to see the new Banksy exhibition at Bristol City Museam and Art Gallery!
So excited! I am just there for 3 days though so will reply to your lovely comments when I get back.
For now though here is a list of my current obsessions:

1. Christopher Kane for Topshop.

Christopher Kane + Topshop= A match made in style heaven.

His last collection designed specially for Topshop sold out and this one is even better with a whopping 39 pieces including bags and shoes!
The only problem is that even though this special Topshop collection is a fraction of the price of the real thing it is still pretty expensive (or too much for me anyway!) with the price range being from £40 to £160.
Photos were leaked on the internet but then taken off from the Topshop crew before I could save them and add them onto here... So I can confirm there will be a crocodile t-shirt dress similar to his awesome primate inspired ones in his S/S 09 collection but unfortunately I can't get ahold of the photos.
Cannot wait till I can get myself down to Topshop though so I can try something on by my favourite ever designer!

2. Arctic Monkeys new song "Crying Lightning."

3. Paper chain style necklaces a la Louis Vuitton.

4. Whip It Trailer:

5. The Perm.

See ya when I get back...
Beth xx

PRINT OF THE DAY

Peacocks by Klaus Haapaniemi.

A lot of illustrations today tend to have this folky, decoratvie vibe to it. I'd dare to say Klaus was among the first, if not the very first one, to start the trend.

Liza's Inuit Owl

Liza had been researching a design she wanted for her next tattoo and had found the one she wanted.

On Christmas Eve, she walked in to Halo Tattoo in Syracuse, New York and met Chris Chisholm who, as you'd imagine, didn't have a full schedule on December 24, and he inked this wonderful tattoo on her upper right arm:


This is, of course, an owl, whose design origins come from the Inuit culture.

Owls are symbolic as guardians and are therefore highly popular tattoo designs. Owls have appeared previously on Tattoosday here. But if you really like owls, check out our friends over at
http://owltattoos.blogspot.com.

Work from Halo has appeared previously on Tattoosday here.

Thanks to Liza for sharing her amazing owl tattoo with us here on Tattoosday!

Tuck's Bridget

I met Tuck near Borders on Penn Plaza and she talked to me about this unusual tattoo on her right shoulder:


The piece was tattooed by Didi, a Brazilian tattoo artist working out of Angelic Hell Tattoo World in London.

Tuck didn't know the source of the artwork, but did work with the artist to modify the design to fit her body.

The changes were subtle, having the tattooed girl she refers to as Bridget standing, as opposed to crouching. They also altered the movement within the piece.


This is one of five tattoos that Tuck has, not counting additional stars and characters that are also part of her body's canvas.

Thanks to Tuck for sharing "Bridget" with us here on Tattoosday!

Two Feathers, Their Story Still Untold

Several weeks ago, near the corner of 86th Street and 5th Avenue in Bay Ridge, Brooklyn, I passed a couple sitting at a bus stop.

The woman had some words inked on her left arm and, as I paused to consider talking to her, I noticed a colorful tattoo peeking out from under the man's left shirt sleeve.

I told them about Tattoosday and the woman indicated that she had tattoos as well, but she would have to take her clothes off in order for someone to see them. I was intrigued as she implied that she had a relatively large piece that covered a significant part of her body.

However, the man was accommodating and pulled up his sleeve to reveal this bright, colorful tattoo:


And that, my friends, is where this story sadly ends. I had been watching the B63 bus slowly approaching from several blocks away and, no sooner had I snapped the photos, the bus crossed 86th Street and pulled up to the stop.

I handed him a flier and asked him to please e-mail me so I could finish interviewing him. But he never did. Oh well. If only I had been carrying a Metrocard, I could have boarded the B63 with them and talked with them briefly on the bus.

At least we have the photo of the cool tattoo to appreciate and hopefully, some day, our paths will cross again.

The moral of the story: shoot first and ask questions later. Also, always carry a metrocard!

Nick's Rocking Leg Tattoos (Van Halen and Aerosmith)

At the end of July, while searching for Green Day tattoos, I met, perhaps, the ultimate Van Halen fan.

Nick was hanging out at the side of Madison Square Garden, talking with a friend, and I spotted several rock-themed tattoos on his legs.

Nick has seven tattoos and let me photograph three of them. His outer right calf has this Eddie Van Halen piece:


This was done by a visiting artist at one of the Tattoo Lou's locations on Long Island. Work from Tattoo Lou's has appeared on Tattoosday previously here.

The better of the two Van Halen pieces (in my opinion), on his inner right calf, is this one, inked by Thom at Tattoo Frenzy, in Lindenhurst, New York.


The detail on the guitar is incredible:


Nick says, with certainty, that he has seen Van Halen in concert 394 times (as of July 2009).

He also shared this other tattoo, from his left leg:


This piece is based on the cover art from Aerosmith's Just Push Play album:


Thanks to Nick for sharing his rocking tattoos with us here on Tattoosday!

Jordan's Lush Tattoo Takes Him Back in Time

I ran into Jordan at the laundromat and we chatted about his tattoo:


He was living working in Champaign, Illinois and, on his lunch break, wandered into New Life Tattoos.

The shop had flash with the Seven Deadly Sins and Lust was easily changed to his nickname "Lush".

The drawing, he said, "looked like me with a shaved head, screaming".

This piece on his left forearm represents a different time and place from his past.

Thanks to Jordan for sharing his tattoo with us here on Tattoosday!