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Satin & Sand

~ Reflections on Beauty

Satin & Sand

Category Archives: Design

Act of Creation…

23 Wednesday Feb 2011

Posted by Satin & Sand in Art, Design, Fashion, Photography, Reflections

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Art, beautiful, Beauty, Design, Dress form, Fashion, Photography, postaweek2011, Sewing pattern, Zac Posen

© Joan Currie

I design thinking about the kind of woman that I would be: intelligent, powerful, and eccentric. – Zac Posen

There is nothing like an old fashioned dress form to help create an innovative fashion design.

My first overly-ambitious sewing project was a gown for my grade twelve prom. I chose a sky blue velvet fabric and a Butterick pattern with an Empire waist. Since the fabric was so delicate, I decided to sew the full-length back zipper in by hand. I was terribly pleased with my creation and imagined all the lovely gowns that I would make in the future.

My date, stunningly handsome in his tuxedo, liked the dress so much, he insisted that we stop at his house to take some photographs before the event. Unfortunately, when I extended my hand to greet his parents, the zipper ripped out from the back seam and his mother and I spent a good part of the evening trying to sew it back into place. My humiliation was so great that I have no memory of the prom itself.

Ten Beautiful Things I Use Every Day…

20 Sunday Feb 2011

Posted by Satin & Sand in Design, Fashion, Photography, Reflections, Writing

≈ 4 Comments

Tags

beautiful, Beauty, BMW, Canon PowerShot, Coach, KitchenAid mixer, Lauren DiMarco, Lululemon, Photography, postaweek2011, Swatch, Swiss Army knife

© Studio La Donna

Form and function should be one, joined in a spiritual union.
Frank Lloyd Wright

In addition to my umbrella (it is raining heavily today), below is a list of my favorite things:

1.   iPhone (a friendship that has turned to love)
2.   Eiderdown comforter (800 fill count)
3.   Chronicle Books Journal by Julia Rothman
4.   2001 BMW X5 (nothing beats driving it on mountain roads)
5.   Swiss Army knife (Boy Scout Explorer model)
6.   Coach black high heel shoes
7.   Elna sewing machine (I have replaced the motor twice and will not part with it)
8.   Vintage Beaver Canoe sweatshirt (very cozy)
9.   KitchenAid countertop commercial mixer
10. Lululemon yoga pants (very slimming)

Model – Lauren DiMarco

Train Yard…

06 Sunday Feb 2011

Posted by Satin & Sand in Design, Photography, Reflections, Travel

≈ 1 Comment

Tags

beautiful, Big Trees & Pacific, Caboose, Locomotive, Memoir, Photography, postaweek2011, Reflections, Train, Train Yard

© Joan Currie

No man can be ideally successful until he has found his place. Like a locomotive he is strong on the track, but weak anywhere else. – Orison Swett Mardone

I love to travel by train! My favorite train ride was during the summer after grade ten when I traveled with my best girlfriend from Calgary to Vancouver through the Canadian Rockies. We both fell hopelessly in love with a handsome university student who boarded the train in Revelstoke and spent more time looking at him than the glorious scenery all around us.

© Joan Currie

© Joan Currie

© Joan Currie

The Month of Love…

01 Tuesday Feb 2011

Posted by Satin & Sand in Design, Fashion, Photography, Reflections

≈ 2 Comments

Tags

beautiful, Beauty, February, Love, Photography, postaweek2011, romance, Romantic, Valentine's Day

© Lauren DiMarco Photography by Slavic

When you smiled you had my undivided attention. When you laughed you had my urge to laugh with you. When you cried you had my urge to hold you. When you said you loved me, you had my heart forever. Anonymous

February is my favorite month! I am an incurable romantic and although my expectations for Valentine’s Day have never been fulfilled, I still hold onto my fantasy that one day they will!

Models – Lauren DiMarco & Oleg Galagan

Tiny Teardrop…

30 Sunday Jan 2011

Posted by Satin & Sand in Design, Photography, Reflections

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Airstream Bambi Travel trailer, beautiful, Capitola, Design, Photography, postaweek2011, surfboard, Teardrop camper, Teardrop trailer, Vintage

© Joan Currie - Teardrop

A typical teardrop is 4′ wide, 4′ high, and 8′-10′ long. Some are as big as 6-1/2′ wide, 5′ high, and nearly 12′ long. – www.teardrops.net

This Teardrop trailer spotted in Capitola, complete with surfboards, is reminiscent of my favorite Airstream Bambi Travel trailers. This trailer sleeps two and the hatch in the rear can be used for storage or an eating area.

Berkeley…

28 Friday Jan 2011

Posted by Satin & Sand in Art, Design, Photography, Reflections

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beautiful, Beauty, coffee shop, Design, London Plane tree, Photography, Pollarded trees, postaweek2011, Pruning, reverse image, Sproul Plaza, UC Berkeley

© Joan Currie

I captured this reflected photograph sitting outside a coffee shop at the University of California at Berkeley campus today.

© Joan Currie

The pollarded London Plane trees at Sproul Plaza fascinated me. Here is a reverse image detail of one of the trees.

101 Ways to Add More Beauty to Your Life – Part 3…

23 Sunday Jan 2011

Posted by Satin & Sand in Art, Design, Food, Photography, Reflections, Writing

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Tags

101 List, beautiful, Beauty, Photography, postaweek2011, Self-help, Stanford University, Word list, Words

© Joan Currie - Stanford University

Continued…

68. Take a class at an art, architecture, or design school.
69. Skip a stone.
70. Sing a camp fire song.
71. Send good wishes to someone in ill health.
72. Take a self-portrait.
73. Hug your loved ones.
74. Sing in the car.
75. Watch a fountain.
76. Look up the origin of words.
77. Greet passersby with a hello and a smile.
78. Post children’s art in your home – you may even rediscover your own schoolwork.
79. Reconnect with a former classmate.
80. Attend birthday parties.
81. Learn how to snowshoe.
82. Fly high in a hot air balloon, glider, or small plane.
83. Teach a child how to bake a cake.
84. Give a massage.
85. Have a picnic.
86. Watch all Academy Award Best Picture nominees for the current year.
87. Indulge in a bubble bath.
88. Sleep under an eiderdown.
89. Use fabric napkins.
90. Attend book readings at your local bookstore or library.
91. Host a family celebration.
92. Become a possibilities thinker.
93. Watch a moonrise or eclipse.
94. Assist someone who is disabled.
95. Grow a vegetable or herb from seed.
96. Watch Cirque du Soleil.
97. Try yoga.
98. Perform an act of courage.
99.  Roast marshmallows over an open fire.
100. Become the person you always wanted to be.
101. Wish upon a star!

I would love to know what you would add to this list!

101 Ways to Add More Beauty to Your Life – Part 2…

23 Sunday Jan 2011

Posted by Satin & Sand in Art, Design, Fashion, Photography, Reflections, Travel, Writing

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Tags

Add beauty to your life, beautiful, Beauty, Greece, Photography, postaweek2011, Santorini, To do list, Word list, Words

© Lydia Hudgens

Continued...

34. Travel to a foreign land.
35. Buy flowers from a farmers market.
36. Stargaze.
37. Create a family tree.
38. Taste exotic fruit.
39. Buy a painting from an art school.
40. Make a cat purr.
41. Learn a few phrases in a foreign language.
42. Visit a cathedral with stained glass windows.
43. Watch a sunrise.
44. Read to a child.
45. Learn to play a musical instrument.
46. Ride a horse.
47. Laugh out loud.
48. Snuggle.
49. Wear your best watch or jewelry.
50. Cry at movies.
51. Display your treasures and collections.
52. Listen to Puccini, Tchaikovsky, or Chopin.
53. Wear cowboy boots.
54. Ride in a fast boat.
55. Watch Masterpiece Theater.
56. Notice your city or town’s architecture.
57. Say “Yes” more often.
58. Listen to a new music genre.
59. Learn a limerick.
60. Buy fine cotton or silk sheets.
61. Write with a different color ink.
62. Visit a National Forest.
63. Buy or make new sofa cushions.
64. Learn to skin and/or scuba dive.
65. Greet your baristas by name.
66. Buy balloons.
67. Believe in miracles.

To be continued…

103 Ways to Add More Beauty to Your Life…

22 Saturday Jan 2011

Posted by Satin & Sand in Art, Dance, Design, Fashion, Food, Photography, Reflections, Travel, Writing

≈ 3 Comments

Tags

Beach, beautiful, Beauty, Capitola State Beach, Photography, postaweek2011, Self-help, Sunset, Top 103 list, Word list, Words

© Joan Currie - Capitola State Beach

Part 1.

1.  Watch a sunset – see the green flash.
2.  Admire rainbows, jet streams, and beautiful cloud formations.
3.  Look through a kaleidoscope.
4.  Use your “good” china and silverware.
5.  Take a road trip.
6.  Decorate a birthday cake.
7.  Blow bubbles in the sunlight.
8.  Examine a postage stamp, dollar bill, or coin through a magnifying glass.
9.  Buy a bird feeder or bird bath.
10. Walk in the woods.
11. Drive in a convertible with the top down.
12. Visit a planetarium, aquarium. or zoo.
13. Learn calligraphy.
14. Hold a baby.
15. Place photos of you and your loved ones at your happiest around your home.
16. Go to the ballet, opera, or theatre.
17. Create a secret garden.
18. Learn to dance the cha cha, tango, samba, waltz, or swing.
19. Read poetry.
20. Spend time with an octogenarian, nonagenarian, or centenarian.
21. Wear something red.
22. Light candles.
23. Ride a zip line, climb a wall, or jump on a trampoline.
24. Make a snow angel.
25. Visit an art museum or gallery.
26. Play catch with a dog.
27. Doodle.
28. Watch fireworks.
29. Paint one wall in your home your favorite color.
30. Volunteer.
31. Buy a couple of goldfish.
32. Forgive past wrongs.
33. Say “I love you!” more often.

To be continued…

Creative pursuits…

19 Wednesday Jan 2011

Posted by Satin & Sand in Art, Crafts, Design, Photography

≈ 2 Comments

Tags

beautiful, Beauty, Craft project, Crafts, Knitted throw, Knitting, Photography, postaweek2011

© Joan Currie

Knitting mends the soul.

I could not resist making a throw from this beautifully dyed, thick-and-thin yarn! Draping it over a hanger, I was able to capture the soft neon-like color palette in the late afternoon sunlight.

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