What was in fashion in 1986

Today's drawing is the first of a series I want to create illustrating fashion over the years. I would love it if someone would get me such a present: a T-shirt, a tote bag or a huggable pillow showing what was in style the year I was born. What do you think?

Let's start with 1986. I looked up the historical events, but they were mostly scary so we won't go there (terrible things happen anyway, so let's focus on the positive, like fashion for instance).

 

The ladies wore anything with huge shoulder pads (yes, even T-shirts), chunky jewelry, ribbons and big headbands. Tight belts would highlight the waist and purses would match the shoes (preferably flat ones). Leather jackets over corset dresses, knee length trousers, men shirts and hats rocked all in pastels, color block, as well coordinating black and white.

Singles we still love, like Europe's The final countdown, Berlin's Take my breath away, Chris's Lady in Red and Madonna's Papa don't preach, were number ones all across the world.

And to add magic to it, my awesome friend Denisa was born that year. Put your hands up for 1986!

Custom penguin T-shirt

Our friend Andrada wrote that she received the package, so now we can unveil the surprise T-shirt (she also said her day would be awesome just because they arrived in the morning, hehe).

For this last tee, she asked me to create something inspired from her site. Well, its previous name was the queasy penguin and that's even related to how we met, she wanted a penguin tote bag. The penguin is back and this time got straight to her head, often playing tricks + allowing her to be a kid.

Have a full wonderful week, kittns + penguins!

It's the final countdown ta na na na

It's raining and I think autumn is finally here, or could be even winter as it will constantly rain for the next three months + even the temperature won't go below 10 degrees.

My baby is kicking and rolling and dancing and hiccuping and it feels like ages since I first felt the butterfly wing sensations in my belly. He's got a strong will that makes me think my body is not mine anymore or it's just to rent.

I won't lie and say it's all peaches. I feel very heavy and slow lately, especially when I do things that used to take minutes and now take hours. The fact that you can't tie your own shoe laces can be frustrating, too. Watching helplessly how your body changes, having mood swings, feeling like you don't have a clue about anything anymore... Uhm, have I mentioned the back pains? :-)

But the good part, oh the good part is that it's all amazing beyond words. You don't have to trust me, just try it!

There is just one week left. Regarding the previous post we wrote about time... It's really hard not to run to the future. From worries of missing stuff like chairs or carpets at home, or that we might need an extra blanket or basket or... whatever, to imagining the first moments with the baby it feels like the biggest adventure so far, honestly.

Thanks to ceiling cat for my friends that are helping + caring + positive! My admiration and love go to all women who travel this road of motherhood, of course beginning with my mom + my dear friends who have babies.

Also, to the wonderful women who make it home safely carrying babies and groceries, to moms who don't have the luxury of a washing machine or another item we might be taking for granted, to working moms, single moms and student moms, thank you for keeping on loving your children and yourselves.

3, 2, 1...

Once upon a friend

Her name is Andrada, she's recently (happily) married and I kind of played their matchmaker two years ago.



She is also very creative and fun to be with as every time we met I got that feeling of making myself comfortable in my seat anticipating the lovely stories. She is the person to always surprise you with something even if just an insight. Have I also said she's very resourceful?
I can see myself in her a lot, although I haven't showed my feelings until now.

We chat sometimes, but even if our encounters are rather rare I'm sure she knows I appreciate her a lot.

I was inspired to create her own character in a kittnish style and tired to reveal wit, innocence, curiosity, humanity, understanding. Oh, and her amazing eyes!

Then, kittns helped sew + paint the T-shirts according to her requests. The last one is a surprise (like always I don't know if the package arrived yet, so I'll post the photo later on).

We thank you from our hearts for wearing our stuff, Andrada!

Handcrafted ballet tote

Rosário and I met at the handmade fair 2 weeks ago in Lisbon. She had a special order for kittns: a tote bag for her 6 year old daughter.

The best part is it wouldn't be just another cute tote bag, but the little princess will carry... her ballet outfit in it! I did nine years of dancing myself so I got thrilled creating it (gosh, I'm so happy as if the tutu inside were mine :-)

Her favorite colors are yellow + turquoise so I tried to use the last one as much as I could, even on the inside. The bag is entirely handmade, starting from sketch scratch.

I hope she will have tons of fun dancing and the bag will make a lovely memory to hold after years...

Hope you enjoy it too!

Illustrating women's fashion

... but it all went confusing after the year 2000 and I couldn't choose one representative style.

Any suggestions?

Help, my sewing machine is gone

Hello beautiful people.

As you've been waiting for the goodies I promised and they didn't show up, I owe you an explanation + apology.

The thing is kittns haven't been able to finish their latest work (yes, blame it on them) because the sewing machine they were working on... disappeared. Long story short, we were using the machine the landlady lent us until one day last week when we entered our room and it was gone. I will refrain from &*%#@%&$ making comments for now, but I'm really sorry for this awful event that delayed the work.

Kittns and I are currently saving money to buy a sweet darling of our own soon, which no one will take away anymore. Just so you know when you are ordering t-shirts or other goodies, almost everything goes to the sewing machine fund.

Until then please accept Sewing is my art free card, an original drawing pencil on paper + red thread handmade stitch.

Kisses and many thanks for your understanding.

Bluebird

Hello cats.

I wanted to write yesterday as it was Monday, but I got interrupted by an electricity breakdown that lasted more than 24 hrs, from 11 a.m. until today. Well, here at kittn we start the week on Wednesday with a free card you can use, words of wisdom and bluebirds + rainbows like the song.

This week we will learn more about those things we have, but we cannot lose like kindness, tenderness, generosity, empathy, humanity.

We'll also see that some things we think we own are not exactly ours to have, but to share.

Like love.

Brand new day, free card

You know by now to save the card, then send it or collect it.

Start your week with crazy courageous optimism!

Free bunnies card

Hi. Let's start this week by saying something sweet to someone we love. But wait, it should be so supercalifragilistic sweet that you would nearly be afraid to declare it...

See you soon, ...honeys.

One more free card

Right click. Save. Send (to the cutie you like). Start a conversation. The end. The beginning!

What if I fail?

He was fired by editors because, "he lacked imagination and had no good ideas". After that, he started a number of businesses that didn't last too long and ended with bankruptcy. However, Walt Disney didn't give up...



Failure, we all know how it feels like, we all tasted it - be it of smaller or bigger proportions and implications. It could have been an attempt to mold clay earrings that looked like saved from a fire in the end. It could have been that exam that you studied hard and you didn't pass by a nose, or that special night you prepared for your date that never answered your calls again. Even if we get fired or divorced, it's in our nature to mistake or to be wrong, and believe it or not without errors and fails there wouldn't be any evolution or progress.
It's normal to feel bad when you lose or fail. Don't talk yourself out of it, you would be lying. Cry if you need to, but don't let it go on for long, you have to move on to the next step on the path called the rest of your life.
Most people know her as one of the most iconic faces on TV as well as one of the richest and most successful women in the world. She faced a hard road to get to that position, enduring an abusive childhood as well as numerous career setbacks including being fired from her job as a television reporter because Oprah Winfrey "was unfit for TV."



The right way to be wrong (no pun intended) is to first recognize it. You'd better assume your error (it's hard to, I know, but it's much better than living in denial and subsequently in guilt), analyze and learn from it. Change what needs to be changed and then try another time.
As life is not an algorithm (darn!), trial and error is the only other option, but it is just like searching for the solution through a labyrinth: you might not find it at your first move.
All I'm saying is look at things in a different way. Change your perspective on these matters and you will discover not only it will be easier to get by, but to achieve great things in the end:

• failure and success are just concepts and conventions, in reality there is only life experience;
• there are no standards for success as there's not a rank for failure;
• share your experience;
  
• there is no "shame";
• let go of fear!

He didn't speak until he was four and didn't read until he was seven, causing his teachers and parents to think "he was slow and anti-social". He was expelled from school and was refused admittance to Polytechnic School. It might have taken him a bit longer, but most people would agree that Albert Einstein caught on pretty well in the end, winning the Nobel Prize and changing the face of modern physics.

Freebies!

In this post I am glad to present you some e-cards that I've been drawing... not only they are very cute but they're absolutely free!
You can safely save them in your computer (good old fashioned right click, save image as) and send them to your loved ones: so far you have three friendship/love cards and a thank you note, but there will be more to come, I promise.
Meanwhile, you can leave your feedback about the freebies or even if you have ideas of your own that you want to illustrate.
Come on, let's bring a smile to someone today! :-)

Superheroes.

I wanted to take part in a handmade fair here in Cascais and people showed me two women that were chatting by a jewelry stand. They said they are in charge and I should speak with them.
'The bosses' were two old sisters fearful that someone would bring in more competition for their jewelry - so their nice way to connect was 'if you are making jewelry you'd better go away'. When they found out about what I do they 'instructed' me to speak with an overlord a colleague that apparently had the final decision in everything (?!).
I've met with this woman at eight in the morning and after a brief presentation (in which I've been told business cards are overrated) I began to pull out t-shirts from my backpack watching the reactions on her face.
Have you ever walked into a store or an office and began to ask 'Would you...?' and you were told 'No!' before you finished the sentence? Well, people act a lot like that here where I live. You can confirm if you live or lived here for other than a touristic experience and interacted with locals more than 'Hi, what a nice day, thank you'.
Back to our 'comrade' who was supposed to approve of my creations, she started to ask a long list of conditions to fulfill (more like Hercules's labors) in order to be able to take part in the fair. At one time I thought 'hey, this fair is owned by mobsters' and I left with a bitter taste of positions in opposition, abject attitudes and negative energy overall.
I felt down in the last days and I didn't even know why. Last night I finished the project I told you I was working on, I showed it to Marco and he was very impressed. He asked me when do we go to the fair and I answered that I didn't want to be a part of the 'comrades' community. He hugged me and said that flowers bloom wherever we go and we shine even under five layers of clothing. He even lent me his magic bracelet so I wouldn't be afraid anymore.



So I fell asleep and I dreamed that I was a superhero going to do the trick to a powerful monster that was terrorizing the city. It would appear at a fancy cocktail party so I went there. I was dressed in my stay-at-home-leggings, a t-shirt and sneakers and I was a bit afraid from time to time: I was saying to myself gosh I'm small, but then I remembered the strength of my kicks and punches would smash the monster into the nearest wall (I forgot to mention that in my dream Marco was a superhero too and we made a team, but he had something else to do so I was facing the villain by myself).
I got to the party and I asked a woman about the possible ways to the roof of the building. She looked upon me with scorn, but I was smiling knowing 'hey, if it wasn't for me you would be monster's supper tonight'. I went on to the roof constantly visualizing the might of my actions.
The dream ended here, but even without the actual fight I felt great when I woke up.
You know that confidence feeling that makes your heart burst with enthusiasm? The bad news is that we sometimes lose it cause of one monster or the other, the best news is that it's always there with us, we can use it to overcome any problem we might have and go forward with our heads up.

Purrfect.

I don't have a perfect life, oh, I am far far from that.
I weigh six kilos over the point where my figure would be curvy, I live with my in-laws (insert holding breath here) and I feel vaguely detached from my own self most of the time.
I'm thirty years old and I haven't had a sense of direction in life ten years ago, nor do I have now (actually, I think of myself as being two times fifteen, it's more fun).
I started a handmade business almost four years ago and financially I am at the same level. I seem to cut my shoulder-length hair short all the time just to convince myself that I was on the right track growing it in the first place.
My workplace and room always look way past fashionably distressed (I particularly have a special relationship with socks that appear everywhere at most unexpected times).
And there would be a few more discontents I live with daily (or traits that one doesn't brag about so much) but you know what, f... orget that, I am happy to show you a few images from the project I am working on and I hope will be out in one week.

What would YOU change about your life?

One million giraffes.

I've stumbled upon this unique idea recently: two friends made a bet, one said that the other one couldn't collect one million giraffes. Well he actually did it, 440 days later with the help of hundreds of people that sent their artwork worldwide.
I couldn't browse the whole collection, but what I saw was really inspiring: pencil drawings, paintings, collages, giraffes made from beans, of stick tape on a keyboard, the Beatles as giraffes, hands painted as giraffes, sketches with stories, exhibitions.
People of all ages, education and location contributed, making each piece special and the entire collection an amazing proof that we can create great things, even from scrap, just by positively working together.
I wish you have an uplifted new week, feeling limitless creative.
One million giraffes.

Boo!

Yesterday, while chatting with my dear sister Alice we realized we don't celebrate too many holidays, better said, the holidays listed in the calendar are not enough. So... we decided to invent our own holidays.

We didn't have to think much, the idea for a first holiday just came all of a sudden: October 27 will be Creeps Day for us. We probably felt instinctively that we need to loosen up a bit on the sweet behavior, so we made a plan that tomorrow we'll follow in the footsteps of some kind of a Wednesday Addams, telling people exactly what's on our minds without any gallantry. Seriously, straight face, no kidding. Our bits of talking to people will be spontaneous; right now I don't know what we'll say but here's an example of how our interactions at work could be:

I don't hug.
(colleague) Oh, you're just shy.
Nope, I'm contagious.

or

(colleague) How do I look?
Disturbing.

Well, I'm expecting loads of grins laughter, wish me luck anyways! :-)
What's your idea of a fun day?

The trees-of-don't-worry-about-a-thing...

... should grow in our gardens or in front of our buildings, on everyone's street.
We should take care of these trees, watering them with a bit of easiness and laughter, feeding their soil with unity.
We should be able to pick their fruits anytime we need them cause they should be at hand, so close that we could take a bite every time we're hungry for hope or thirsty for trust.
The trees-of-don't-worry-about-a-thing should always arise in front of our eyes. Even through the thickest fog.

Walking on sunshine, woooah

Since three days are not actually enough to visit every touristic sight of a glamorous city as Barcelona, I woke up today, drank my coffee on the terrace and decided to go walking wherever the road leads.
It rained yesterday and it was pretty cold, the forecast provided bad weather until next Monday but guess what, the heavy clouds sneaked out by noon today and the sun showed up revealing a velvety blue sky!
Ina, her cool roommates and their good vibe (plus lasagna and cream strawberries) made me feel very welcome here
(they are rainbows, too).
I am just feeling my heart with each step, walking its rhythm.

Other times.

Sometimes I know men by their walk.
Emphatic walk, dangled walk, tip toe walk. Fast walk, invisible walk. Avoidant walk.
Other times, I don't take enough time to see it.
Sometimes I know men by their voices.
Low voices, unsteady voices. Lost voices, voices that linger. Present voices, guilty voices. Voices that tell, voices that are silent.
Other times, I only hear what I want to.
Sometimes I know men by their hands.
Idle hands, sleek hands, trembling cold hands. Stern hands, watery hands. Vivid hands, hands that hold secrets.
Other times, I am too close to notice.