It's Beginning to Look A Lot Like Christmas

... ok, not really. It's like 80 degrees outside. But why not start shopping for Christmas!! Check it out! Email me to place an order TODAY! Click here to see all my items for sale

Headshots - Sarah Synder

My old roommate from Biola told me she wanted to go into the modeling/acting scene recently and she wanted to start a portfolio of headshots and whatnot. I was so thrilled because Sarah is truly one of those beautiful people inside and out. She is so down to earth, and lets just face it - she has the cutest nose ever! I first met Sarah my junior year of college when we got roomed together after my old roommate left for the year to do work in Honduras. I had no idea what to expect with my "new transfer" and I could not have been more blessed by Sarah's presence. We had an amazing year with amazing neighbors, Aimee & Lindye whom I also love and adore - check out their blogs!

Here are a few shots from our shoot!

Let Your Voice Be Heard! Leave a Comment!

I must apologize... this whole time my settings were set up on my blog to only allow "blogger" users to be able to comment on my blog. I received an email from a reader today saying how she was bummed she wasn't able to comment and I had no idea it was set up like that! I'm sorry! But have no fear, I have cleared it up and now everyone and anyone can comment - woohoo! I also love to comment back so keep check back to see if I've responded to your comment. Alright, let the games begine, let your voice be heard and comment the heck out of my blog, it needs some love afterall =)

Coming Soon to Tasteful Tatters

Thank you all for checking out my etsy store - I appreciate all the orders and kind words! You guys are awesome! Just wanted to give you a heads up, or rather sneak peak on what is going to be showing up on the store later this week. This way, you can get your order in now and get FREE SHIPPING! WooHoo! In case you haven't seen my store, check it out! All of my pieces are accessory pieces made from vintage t-shirts, buttons, pearls, random fabric scraps I found at thrift stores. And all the pieces are named after some of my favorite fiction literature characters, just a random fact haha. So if you see something you like email me your order and address at emilee.sutherland@gmail.com to get your free shipping. If you know someone who might like what you see please forward them a link to my shop TastefulTatters so they can make their orders. Thank you again for all your support!

Check out the new pieces!

And for Baby!!

Fashion, Contests, and Kate Voegel

Ok, so I am making a confession: I heart One Tree Hill. Yes, I admit it. Phew! Now, that that is off my chest I have to let you all know about an awesome contest coming up that has to do with one of the coolest websites everrr. It is called Polyvore and it allows you to make those cool outfit spotlights you see in fashion magazines. It is so easy and fun, I ended up spending hours playing around on it haha. Anyways, the contest is, you make a fashion set for Kate Voegele and if you win you get free tickets to a show. Today is the LAST day to sign up so hurry! Go HERE to enter and read more

If you're not looking to win tickets you just want to make cool fashion sets, check out the site it is so much fun!

New York Series Part 2

About a week ago I posted a "sneak peak" sample of a piece I'm working on that is part of a series. So now, this is the part 2! Very exciting; I know. These photos were all taken last fall all around New York City when I went on a whim with some friends in search of some crisp fall air haha. So here is part 2 - it is comprised of 3 different images, 2 are actual photos, and there is some paint in there as well =) Tell me what you think!

Relevant Or Not

This morning I stumbled across an article from Relevant Magazine, one of my absolute favorite by the way. They wrote on the founder of Post Secret - another one of my favs. I just loved the article and I thought maybe you would too!

The man behind the phenomenon exposes something deeper about us.

It began as a nice idea for a creative and emotional outlet. But PostSecret has now become a cultural phenomenon, including a booming website, a book series and speaking engagements at colleges and museums. Frank Warren is the man behind PostSecret— which, simply put, is a community art project where people mail their deepest secrets and intimate confessions to Warren. The website has generated over a quarter billion hits and won five Bloggie awards, while the books have sold over one million copies. The latest collection of postcards, Confessions on Life, Death and God, hit bookshelves on October 6 [browse the book here].

Before becoming the king of the blogosphere, Warren owned a small business for 20 years, a job he describes as “dull and monotonous.” Yet, it was this time that motivated him to find more creative and meaningful work. “Never underestimate the value of a boring job,” Warren jokes, speaking with the same concise intentionality of the postcards he now makes a living from.

So what inspired him to start this snail-mail art experiment? “I’ve always felt like I’ve had this rich interior life that I didn’t always get a chance to share with the real world. I just thought that other people might have funny little jokes they tell themselves, or experiences, feelings, fears, poignant fears, that other people could relate to. I thought if I could create a safe non-judgmental place where they could share these hidden parts of themselves, it could be very special.”

Special indeed. Each week, about 1,000 colorful postmarked confessions make their way to Warren’s mailbox. “I had no idea it would resonate with so many millions of other people,” Warren admits. “I think it’s something that we all share but we sometimes forget about in our everyday lives. I feel like when we can be reminded of those connections it can almost be a spiritual experience.”

Spirituality is a common thread throughout the personalized pages of Confessions on Live, Death and God. Warren explains that it still contains the admissions we’ve come to expect: funny, sexual, shocking, heartbreaking. “But more so than the others, it has these rich, soulful secrets about our relationship with a higher power, about our fears and hopes about the after life, the things we can’t really say at church,” Warren adds.

PostSecret fans know that while some cards can contain such sickeningly sweet messages as love professions and pleas for forgiveness, many declarations can be downright brutal, even violent and pornographic in nature. When applied to religion, this attitude could make readings, well, a bit uncomfortable, and perhaps less than orthodox.

So does Warren see evidence of a negative or hopeful attitude regarding spirituality? “I see both. I feel like this book can be very enlightening about both the selfishness but also the selflessness of our spiritual selves.” Warren says that collecting these secrets has also opened his eyes to the richness of our spiritual interiors. “I just think that we have so many more hopes and fears and thoughts about our spiritual selves that we’re unable to express, and we don’t feel comfortable talking about them. But I think that complexity can be beautiful, even if at times it’s a little self-contradictory.”

What does it say about us—about our communities and churches—if we can’t always open up to another living, breathing person, and yet we can pour our hearts out on 4x6 paper? Herein lies the intrigue of the PostSecret project. As much as we may like to gather around the computer and laugh at some of the Sunday Secrets, satisfying that childish side of us that used to press a curious ear under the door when relatives went in the other room … another part of us recognizes that there is something beautifully, tragically human happening here. Via collective confession, people are expressing their pains and hopes and frustrations in a sort of indirect group therapy, releasing their closeted skeletons to dance, gaining a sense of hope and community, even if in anonymity.

Warren recognizes this human need revealed by PostSecret. “I think there’s an element of voyeurism to it. But I also think there’s something deeper. When you see a secret expressed on a postcard mailed from a stranger who you’ll never meet that perhaps articulates a secret in your own life that you’ve been keeping from yourself- that can almost be a religious experience, when you see that and feel that connection.”

Warren posts secrets of his own in each of his books. This time around, he left two on page 103 of Confessions on Life, Death and God. But don’t get too excited. Warren cleverly places his own confessions in a list of 7 or 8 juicy ones, leaving curious followers to guesswork. And why shouldn’t the man glory in his creation? “I find that process cathartic,” says Warren. “In some ways, maybe that’s one of the reasons I truly started the project, was because I needed to share my own secrets.”

Some have called Warren “the most trusted stranger in America,” and he doesn’t take that title lightly. “I feel very thankful and grateful that so many strangers have trusted me with parts of themselves they’ve never told anyone before. It is a great responsibility, and everyday I try and make decisions that respect that trust and [to] not screw it up because I think it is really precious.” Warren reads and keeps every single postcard, even if not selected for publication. So where do all the secrets go? “That’s my secret,” he laughs. “They’re all in a safe, secure location.”

So how does one ensure that Warren will air their dirty laundry? What makes a good secret? “It’s a sense of authenticity or truth. And it can be a secret that breaks your heart, or makes you laugh, or is erotic, but if it has that element to it that’s just earnest, that’s the most important thing.”

As one would expect, when you encourage the general population to “get something off their chest”, it can get a little heavy. Warren admits that some secrets stick with him longer than others. One such confession, which he included in Confessions on Life, Death and God, was written by a younger person and says, “Sometimes I wonder if God is real, and if he is then why did he let my dad die? And why does he talk to some people but he never talks to me, even when I talk first.” Even now, Warren says that reading it makes him want to cry.

Future plans for PostSecret include more touring, as well as extending the stories behind the postcards into narratives, possibly even for film. For Warren, it’s all about finding more creative ways to allow people to express themselves, and to remind them that they are not alone. “Sometimes art and healing can be the same,” he says.

I Heart Mac

I'm sitting at Starbucks sipping my pumpkin spice latte just enjoying fall in all it's wonderfulness, and I thought I would post about this little unknown lovely brought to us by none other than Mac- iphoto to be exact. Did you know you can make a little photo book for about $15?! What a steel! As Christmas is coming faster than we always predict, I thought this would be a great gift idea. Of course, me being the impatient one that I am, I couldn't wait till Christmas to make one but I had to test it out and let you know if it is in fact as cool as it sounds =) All you do is go into your iphoto and down at the bottom in the center click the "book" icon. Here you are taken to hundreds of styles and templates of books where you just drag your photos to; add some text - a few more clicks and in 3-5 business days you have yourself a very professional looking book! Here are a few snapshots from the book I made for Andy - hope you like! Do you have an even cooler book-making-website? Let me know, leave a link comment!

* For PC users, check out Blurb to make equally cool books.

I have the coolest friends

These are the days when I am truly thankful for the amazing people in my life who inspire me daily. I could probably write a post about each and everyone of them for months... but for now, just two in particular =) My friend Britnee who I have worked with, played with, shared a dorm room with (for 1 night!) been stressed with, laughed with... you get it. She is an art major at Biola University and I got the opportunity to brainstorm with her for an upcoming design project she had. She is absolutely genius! Her assignment was to use one of the fruits of the spirit (love, patience, kindness, etc) and depict it in a sculpture. The follow is what she created. The door signifies how God opens and closes many doors in our lives and we must learn to be patient with them. Britnee you are amazing. The photos were taken by another equally creative friend Jesse - check out his Flikr he some amazing stuff!

Do you have awesome friends? I'd love to see the creative things your friends are doing in the comments below!

the finished product!

Sneak Peak! New York Series

This fall weather makes me think of New York and how much I miss it haha...
Check out this mixed media piece I have been working on - more to some soon!

Flower Child

I joke around with people sometimes that I was born in the wrong era. I have always been drawn to specific elements anywhere from the 20's all the way through the 80's. Today I was able to hang out with my long-time friend Shannon and her husband. While we were chatting I flipped on Shannon and my all time favorite movie every - That Thing You Do. We can basically quote every line =) Aaanyways, watching the 60's set film made me fall in love all over again with the clothes of this era. Then, I thought I should just make some! Haha... so maybe in the near future you will be able to see some of my 60's styled creations, but until then, check out these cool images I found. What do you think??

diesel.com

And of course, my 60's-70's fashion muse - Twiggy!

Fashion Friday

Today, I am all about fall fashions. I love them. However, where I currently reside - it is forecasted to be around 91 today. Not so fall if you ask me. So on this beautiful Friday morning, I am boycotting this false fall and I am wearing flannel and boots! (In hopes that that will somehow turn the air chill) I am completely in love with this next photo from The Sartorialist and it makes me want to go to Milan! I wonder if they have real "Falls" there? hmm...


And this next fav of mine was also a recent purchase of mine - these rocking raspberry flats from no where else but the ever-fabulous Target! I saw them and knew I had to have them for fall - they are sooo fun, and surprisingly go with a lot! Check them out. buy them. wear them for fall

It's Here! Tasteful Tatters

I am proud to announce the Grand Opening of my new Etsy shop: TastefulTatters! This has been a long time coming and I am so thankful for all the amazing people in my life who encouraged me to do this, helped me sew late at night, and allowed me to even sew in their home - you know who you are =) I am also thankful for Anthrolopologie for making beautiful necklaces that I cannot afford that initially inspired me haha. My store is basically accessories that are unique to metals and beads. I used fabrics and tshirts that I find in thrift stores along with buttons, pearls, and other randomness that I find from vintage or thirft stores. This has been such a fun experience for me all summer and I also wanted to give you a little more info. All the names of the pieces are named after female characters in some of my favorite novels. Mostly from F.S. Fitzgerald and the 20's. Also, if you order a piece from me, I have a surprise for you when it gets delivered. I have handmade all the packaging the pieces come in and there is a small gift which I am not posting so you can have a little surprise =)

How it started: This summer I moved to a new town and had basically no friends and no job haha. One night I went to The Grove with a bunch of Andy's friends and it was there that I started hanging out with some new girls that are absolutely fabulous. We all went into the Anthropologie while the boys were doing something far more manly =) It was there that I saw the most amazing and unique necklace I had ever seen. It was made out of fabric so I naturally thought, "self: maybe you could affoard this, it's only made from string and fabric." Then I saw that is was $98!! What was I thinking?.... I immediately thought, I could totally do that!

So, I did. Hahaha, I went through a few prototypes of all the items listed in the shop and have a few more designs that will be added in the next week or so. So check it out, add it to your favorites, leave some feedback, pass the link on to a friend, anything will help!

** the address of the store is www.tastefultatters.etsy.com (and you can also click the link above)