Cold Day: 80s Acid-Wash Caro, Cat Pics and Art Update: BOC Coat Revival and Project Pink Shoes

Due to extremely cold temps and sideways snow last night, we awoke to a World of Ice. No Mom-Day Adventure - although Mom and I had a lovely chat this morning - so I spent the day reinvigorating my art urges. I'm also sharing pics of Caro, all styled up in some 80s glam by me! 

Proof of coldness: 

Barely above zero on the deck, with a wind-chill of -10 - zoiks! Even the gargoyle is cold. 

I could see Mt. Finlayson to the north, up-Island, if I zoomed all the way. 

Snowy! 

Caro and I had coordinated for a drop-by visit last night - she's been invited to an 80s party and has downsized her wardrobe with her recent move. "I heard someone's renting a dress!" she said, so expectations were high. 

My closet to the rescue! This big slouchy acid-washed Santana dress is vintage 80s, and is in my regular wardrobe (it's due for a wear by me, in fact). I last wore it here in September 2022 with cowboy accessories. Coincidentally, that's the last time I posted some of my art (foreshadow!). 

I accessorized Caro, including loans of my Bruno Magli vintage 80s purse, a bracelet and my stretchy gold belt. 

I also gave styling advice for bouffing her naturally curly hair up even bigger (I wore this style when I had a perm back in 1986), and I showed her how to do 80s make-up. The shoes were borrowed so that I could take her pic - she'll be wearing gold sandals instead for the party. I know you'll be a hit, honey! Mwah! 

I awoke this morning to freezing cold. Vizzini was maximizing his warmth by sleeping right next to the baseboard heater in our bedroom. 

He usually snoozes one level higher so he can look out the window. 

Hey, bud, good morning. 

He wasn't interested in moving. 

After my call with Mom, I set myself up an art station in the cat play area (what other people call a dining room). It has natural light next to the window.

"Hey, Woman, this is my area!"

Got my electric blanket plugged in, my tea, and my pens. 

I got my "art muscle" warmed up by finishing the top panel of L's jacket.

Art Project: L's Blue Oyster Cult Jacket

This is what it last looked like here in September 2022. It says "Veteran of a Thousand Psychic Wars," a Blue Oyster Cult song.

It needed something on the sides, plus my spacing is off a bit on the right. 

Roses fix everything. 

Including big gaps. The leather jacket is a dark grey-blue colour, and the pens look very different on it after they dry. 

Left rose finished. 

I also outlined "Veterans" in blue for a halo effect. 

And there's the right rose. 

I used grey to add a shadow effect to make the rose pop slightly from the background. 

Art Project: Pink Freedom Fluevogs

Now that I was warmed up, it's time to finally do something about these shoes: The Freedom Suki by John Fluevog, from the early 00s. 

They are a kitten heel, with white lacing around the edges. The clips were added by the previous owner - I've since removed them. 

John's old signature (pre-2006). 

The shoes have scuffs and some of the leather is scraped - they have seen a lot of love. 

They were $9.95 at WIN, purchased here in February 2022

I wore them here in Feb 2022 - they were not that comfortable, and they're a half-size too big on me. I wore them again here in June 2022 (a better outfit). 

I noticed that they were in the John Fluevog bio (which was a gift a few years ago from dear Ally). 

They are unique soles! 

Inspiration as to what to do with them finally struck when L wore this vintage double-knit polyester 70s shirt several weeks ago. 

What a pattern! It's impactful and I can use that as a springboard for a fun look. 

I wanted to preserve the pink of the shoes, not colour over it entirely, so I put the pic in grey-scale to see how it looked. 

I can work with that. 

I started with drawing lines on the shoes of varying widths. I did the lines in a very pale grey marker that isn't permanent, doing one side at a time. Once it looked right, I went over it with a fine permanent black Staedtler marker. 

I did both shoes the same, trying to mirror them. 

I colored in the Fluevog signature to make it stand out. 

So much better! There's one of the leather scrapes. I'll try to cover up all the damage as I go. 

I mapped out where I wanted the circles to be and started freehanding them. 

This will look much sharper and less half-arsed once I start colouring in the shapes I've made. 

I'll be using black and two shades of grey. 

I watched home repair shows on TV in the background and made a pot of chili. 

I'm pretty happy with Stage 1.

And I'm fired up to work on them some more. I easily put about 3 hours in on these (plus 1.5 hours on the coat). 

Exciting! 

I am so glad I got my sh*t together and did this. It's so good for my brain and soothing my general state of anxiety. 

Oh, I guess it's dinner time. 

Right away, milord! 

And how was your day?