If you know me, you know I love Disney(land, preferably) and I love all things retro. So it wouldn't be a stretch to assume that I love the Enchanted Tiki Room. I know, it's so cheesy, you better bring the Ritz crackers but I just can't help myself! When I was a kid, my grandparents would take me, my Aunt Judy and my cousin Ang to a little place in Florida called Tiki Gardens. While the grandparents got all sorts of happy on Mai Tais, we explored the faux Hawaiian terrain, squawked at the parrots and picked out oysters to have pried open for pearls. I have such happy memories of that time and such a love for that sort of kitschiness, that it inspired me to create a wee corner of my crafting room into an Enchanted Tiki Room.
True Confession #147: I often buy things at the thrift store because I find them interesting/inspiring/neato-mosquito but don't have a clue what I'll end up doing with them. Case in point, those faux bamboo frames. I think I've been hoarding them for at least four years just waiting for the perfect project. And I'm so glad I did. They inspired this Tiki-Tastic corner!
My other inspiration came in the form of a trip for toilet paper to Target. You know the story, walk into Target for t.p., walk out with $146.76 worth of stuff that you JUST HAD TO HAVE. That's exactly what happened when I spotted these fun round frames at Target. Did you know they now have a "craft" isle? Y'all. I am in SO.MUCH.TROUBLE. After flipping through my Tiki Pop book for inspo, I threw back a glass of my version of Mai Tai (red wine, anyone?) and started blocking in this painting. Man. How I've missed painting.
After a couple of nightly painting sessions, Blue Bernice was starting to take shape. I have currently been inspired by Vladimir Tretchikoff which is why Bernice is that lovely shade of blue. If you follow me here, you've seen the nightly progress.
True Confession #148: I did struggle with painting that cleavage. Mostly because I don't have one and I was all, "what is that SUPPOSED to look like?!" In other news, I love painting, have I mentioned that? I'm just using craft store grade acrylic here. In college, I got my degree in oil painting and I love to slap that paint on. I don't have the patience for the dry time or tolerance for the smell of oils but cranking out these acrylic paintings sure does scratch that itch.
Once Bernice was complete, I moved on to a shameless copy of the Disney image of the Enchanted Tiki Room.
Just a wee process photo. I start with a super quick sketch and then a blocking in of the colors. I always limit my color palette because I LOVE ALL THE COLORS and therefore want to use ALL THE COLORS. So limiting that temptation is for the best.
I sit entirely too close to my paintings which means they get all sorts of crazy up close.
I tried not to get carried away with detail knowing that I would be viewing these from a distance that was not six inches.
Since those two previous paintings took quite a bit of time, I was determined to bust out the two tiki paintings. I pulled together a few of my favorite colors and did some dry brushing in the background.
Once dry, I lightly sketched out my tiki head and then just set about painting with not too much of a plan in mind.
Most tiki masks found online were pretty scary looking. I wanted mine to be of the friendly variety, so I painted them kind of silly/happy. I just imagined them being at Disney...and came up with these cheesy faces.
Originally, I was going to hang them square but when the moms came to visit this weekend (we had a double dose visit of my mom and Mitch's mom), my mom suggested hanging the squares like a diamond. I really liked that idea. It added a bit more fun and funk to the arrangement.
This guy was painted in the same way: dry brush, one color tiki mask painting.
Currently, these bad boys of tiki town, hang in my craft room, right above my favorite vintage chest of craft supplies. For more of a tour of my crafting space, check here and here. Until next time, kids!
Buncha balloons at California Adventure, Disneyland.
Hey, kids! Ready for an obnoxious amount of vacation photos from our lil trip to Los Angeles? I can tell you are by that glazed-over, thinking-about-what's-for-dinner and did-I-unplug-my-flatiron? look in your eye. Well, buckle up and get yerself ready for a plethora of pictures!
Hubs and I had a nice routine on this trip to LA: a little bit of vintage shopping, day hiking and evenings at Disneyland. Having done this trip before, we are pros at navigating that infamous LA traffic (avoid the 5, always!), hitting the best vintage shops and doin' Disney right. I thought I'd share a bit of that with you in this here post. Along with endless photos, of course. Enjoy and I'll chat with you soon!
Taking selfies while waiting for the fireworks. The fireworks in Disneyland were completely different than those at Disney World, Orlando. At Disneyland, they've created a tribute to the history of the park and the rides featured there. My favorite firework set was that of the Haunted Mansion, complete with audio from the ride. The best viewing spot is most definitely on Main Street. And, for your viewing pleasure...
Mad T Party. So not too long ago, California Adventure was kinda like the forgettable kid sister to Disneyland (with the exception of Tower of Terror, of course). However, within the last year, it's become a packed-out mega park. They've added Cars Land which is this awesome tribute to the Disney/Pixar movie Cars. But our new fave addition is the Mad T Party. Tweedle Deeand Tweedle Dumb, as seen in the matching striped shirts in the above photo, are the opening act that lead people under the neon arches to the Mad T Party show.
Hatter and Alice. Okay, we so totally loved this show. So much so that we made a point to go to just about every one of their sets. The shows began at the top of every hour beginning at 7pm and ran for about 25 minutes.
The Mad Hatter. Is totally awesome. Did you see that belt made out of spools of thread? AND the glitterly tea kettle buckle? Yeah, I'll be totally copying that, thank you very much.
The Band. Is amazing. Seriously. I believe hubs snapped this photo when they were playing Guns and Roses' Welcome to the Jungle. And if you know me even a little, you know I've got a big ole unfortunate soft spot for some G'n'R. Don't hate. Appreciate.
Go Ask Alice. When she's ten feet tall. Or wearin' lace up stockings, a corset and harlequin shoes. I want this outfit. And that voice. Each night the band played, they might have had a different set of band members. Having gotten attached to the band from the first night, this threw me a bit but after one song, I was all about Band B.
Chino Hills State Park. Because we've got this terribly tasty habit of eating the waffle sandwiches at Bruxie everyday, we decided to take in a hike along the foothills of the Santa Ana Mountains. And while I loved the landscape, one thing that really threw me was how stinkin' polite all of our fellow walkers, runners, bikers and horseback riders were. I do believe each one spoke to us with an "enjoy your day!" "beautiful walk, isn't it?" "hello, how are you?!" I loved that.
Jurassic Park Plants. Seriously, this thing was a monster.
Leapin' Lizards. And this bold guy thought he was a monster.
Elvis! We didn't spend all of our time at California Adventure. We did hit Disneyland and took in the bands that they host in Tomorrowland Terrace. This Elvis cover band was pretty stinkin' awesome. So much so that they even had a following of blue haired ladies (complete with TCB shirts!) and a large group of swing dancers dressed in their finest vintage garb. My favorite dance couple was this woman who looked to be in her seventies dancing with her fella. They out be-bopped 'em all!
Vintage Shopping. This image is pulled from Gala Darling. Go to her blog and check out her top three vintage shops in LA. The one on her list that I've visited is called Playclothes in Burbank and it's featured in the photo above. I chatted pretty extensively on my favorite vintage shops in Burbank here. However, my secret to scoring vintage for cheap in LA? Hitting the resale shops of Buffalo Exchange. Granted, you have to do a bit of digging because the majority of their clothing is current. However, when you find that 1950's novelty print sundress in mint condition for $9, it's just pure joy.
Malibu Creek State Park. Hubs discovered this amazing park and it's now one of our faves. If you are in the area, you have to go. The views were absolutely stunning. And don't worry, I quickly ditched my lil look for my sneakers and jeans.
MASH Set. One of the coolest things about this park, aside from the amazing views, is that it's the set for the 1970s show MASH.They still have parts from the set out which was really fun to explore.
The cast on set.
And what it looks like now.
One Last Look. Before leaving the park, that is. Out of our hikes, Malibu Creek State Park was our favorite. It's definitely one we'll be returning to.
