Hello Chanel, La Deuxième Partie

It always happens. I start working on a project and I've settled on the way the finished product is going to look (and how to get there) and then BAM. A brand new idea creeps into my head and I have to stop and reassess the whole thing. Thankfully, this typically works out in my favor.

This is exactly what has happened with my lego purse project. As you may recall from my first post about the purse, I settled on a design and just had the final phase of spray painting and gluing left to complete.

But I started thinking about it again. And questioning it: Are people going to think it's a lego purse? Is it lego-y enough? What if I made the entire purse out of legos? Is the first design a statement enough? Friday night I set about designing a second purse. I'm still fully committed to completing the first one (it's way more simple than I thought). Now I have options.

Here is the initial design for purse two:

The rectangles make up the front and back of the purse. They'll be connected by a small box of legos that forms the space for my stuff. This design is actually smaller on the inside but I think it will pack much more of a wow when I actually use it. As I was putting the initial pieces together (and by together I mean just held together temporarily so I could move them around), I decided I'd need a hinge of some form to connect the boxes together and allow me to easily open the purse. I also figured I could use legos as a clasp - one side would be the flat piece and the other would be a connector piece of some form.

A more important realization came with the second design: I needed more legos. A second trip to the Lego Store in Potomac Mills was on the horizon and this time I took my brother with me. Legos are a joint toy for my brother and I. We both enjoyed playing with legos as children and have continued that into adulthood (clearly). Scott and I discussed the second purse and my ideas at lunch. He seemed convinced that a lego hinge (the kind you might use on doors in a house) would work for the hinge part. He even sketched out a rough design and shopping list for us. Lego design is a very real thing in my family. My dad even chimed in a few times with supportive comments and a tip or two.

The Lego Store didn't have any hinges but I remembered that I had some in my bag of legos at home so I ended up just getting two more containers of parts (with a discount because I'm part of the Lego Club now - don't be jealous) and a large building plate. I told the cashier what I was making and she thought it sounded cool.

The only thing left to do while at my parents' house was to spray paint the pencil box for purse one and the building plate for purse two (it only came in gray and blue). I don't think I've spray painted anything since high school theatre work days. I now understand the allure of spray painting. It's fun and easy and gives you a sense of control (if could also be the fumes). My dad even has a designated space in the backyard where one can spray paint if needed. It's like a little altar to spray paint. I used Krylon Fusion which is a spray paint for plastic. I opted for a satin finish (mostly because that's what they had). It wasn't particularly windy which was a good thing. Tip: don't spray paint on a windy day.

When I got home, I started gluing the pieces of purse one together and assembling purse two. Purse one is definitely the one to go with if I want to be able to carry more than my phone and ID. The pencil box is roomier. I still have to sew and attach the lining for the inside of the box; I think I might create a little interior pocket on the upper portion of the box for my ID.

Onto purse two. A lego building plate is surprisingly easy to cut with an X-ACTO knife (and of course, I have one at home). If you cut into the plastic and then bend it, the piece will snap off easily. I still have to go back and touch up the edges with paint but I figured I'd save that until the end. I glued two pieces together so I could create the design on the front panels and the interior box on the other side. Lego hinges are not meant to be used in this capacity. I had a few different types in my big ol'bag of legos and none of them worked to hinge the two pieces together. I think I need to buy a regular metal hinge which means I will probably need to drill into the plastic to attach the piece. I'm going to have to borrow power tools from my dad if I have to drill into the legos. I'm hoping that when I find the hinge I can attach it in some other way and a drill will be unnecessary.

I'm pleased with both designs. Both are approximately the same size as a regular clutch purse so neither feel cumbersome to carry. Purse one is lighter given that it has the smaller amount of legos in the design. Purse two is more of the fashion statement. If I can get the hinging to work it would be a very cool accessory to have. Granted I won't be able to carry much but what does one really need at work prom?

I have lots left to do in order to complete both of them but I think it's doable. Now you know what I'll be doing next weekend.

Hello Chanel, La Première Partie

This is the latest Chanel logo clutch. Isn't it pretty? It's also an item that's price is listed as "by request only." I'm guessing this means it costs more than I make in a year.

So what's a girl to do especially one who is trying to up the fashion ante this year? Well, thanks to the wonderful blogger, Studs and Buttons, I can make my own version out of a pencil box and legos. You read that right - a pencil box and legos.

I stumbled upon Studs and Buttons through a Buzzfeed post (I know, I know) about making accessories out of legos. I love legos. Legos were something that my brother and I (and our dad) enjoyed when we were kids. We could actually play together when legos were involved. Even as adults we still give each other lego presents sometimes and we made our dad a tank a few years ago as a Christmas present (I think it was Christmas). Anyway, legos are so much fun so when I saw that Buzzfeed post my mind went into overdrive and I decided I would make the purse.

In November, I will be attending my company's annual company meeting/awards show/adult prom. We call it the H'Oscars and this year we have a black and white theme. I have a pretty basic black cocktail dress that I plan to wear and figured that I'd use this opportunity to consider the role of accessories in my fashion life. I don't typically wear a lot of jewelry so I've decided to focus on the shoes and a purse. Nothing screams semi-formal event more than a black and white lego purse.

Phase One: Supply Gathering and Design

Here's the supply list:

• Assorted legos
• A plastic pencil box (I opted for a standard size but am planning to do one that's smaller in the future)
• Sand paper (to smooth out the edges of the pencil box)
• Spray paint (I'm using a paint/primer combo in shiny black)
• Glue (I'm using a spray glue and a permabond glue similar to super glue - I don't want those legos to break off)
• Fabric to line the box - Studs and Buttons made an excellent point about noise in a plastic box. He used felt; I'm using a more luxe fabric and creating an interior pocket - go sewing skills!

I stopped by the Lego Store at Potomac Mills mall last weekend and bought some black and white legos to get started. I also found my childhood stash of legos while at my parents' house. I have a ridiculous amount of black and white legos and thanks to my hoarding, I have some pretty fun shapes and interesting pieces that I think will help make my design pop. Studs and Buttons's design is much more like the Chanel bag; I want to play with dimension and shape so mine will be more 3D. That's the point of legos right? Pumpkin "helped" me complete step one: sorting my legos. I organized them size and type (hello OCD). I have easy access to all of my pieces as I design.

Friday, I started to focus on the actual design. I don't draw (my skills are horrifyingly bad). I attempted a design drawing when I was waiting for my training group to arrive. Here is the mildly embarrassing result:

My original thought was to use some of the odd shaped pieces like archways to build a more 3D design than what Studs and Buttons did for his version. I like the idea of dimension and since this is supposed to be the accessory for my outfit, it should be big and bold. What my terrible drawing is supposed to show is borders of thinner legos leading to the four archways that would have a propeller with flowers attached. So it's 3D and it moves.

I tried to execute the design I drew last night. It didn't quite work the way I envisioned it in my head (or in my poorly drawn design). The archways don't meet up in a way that would make it easy to attach the propeller and I was thinking that even with glue it might not stay together so well. I haven't totally given up on this design idea I just have to play with it more. The best way to design anything with legos is to just build it. I think that was the point of legos (at least it was when I was a child). You don't have to follow the instructions if you don't want to. Then I attempted to make a flower but I'm finding that flowers and the pieces I have aren't 100% compatible. Scale wise, that flower is way too big for the purse. Smaller versions look weird and the more 3D flower designs I found online won't work on a purse.
 
After my failed attempt at making the archways happen, I found some other interesting shaped pieces and came up with a flatter design but it still has some pop. Here's the third design of the night:

It's interesting and looks vaguely like something Chanel might add to a plastic purse that costs more than I make in a year (allegedly). I need to spray paint the box to get the full effect of the design but I like this concept. I think it will pop. I could also incorporate a few additional touches in white along the sides. Or leave it the way it is. I have to walk away from it for a few days, let the design sink in before I start the next phase: paint and construction. I can always pull out the legos and try again if it doesn't end up working for me. That's the beauty of legos - you can always take it apart and start over again.

Tune in later this month for Hello Chanel, La Deuxième Partie - the finished product.

Chanel purse photo 

Lazy Weekend Movie Marathon

Labor Day - a day to celebration the contributions of the workers of America. Let's celebrate by taking the day off, buying a car, some furniture, and a new refrigerator. That's the only way to celebrate the American worker. And by the way, it's also the official end of summer. No more summer parties, pools close, and no more summer movie releases.

Since I have Monday off and I have a cold, I figured I would spend my 3 day weekend on my couch watching movies. I love movies. I love going to the movies, watching movies at home, talking about movies, quoting movies, reading movie gossip. Occasionally I think that I should have gone into the movie business but then I realize that this is a crazy, crazy idea. I would hate movies if I worked in the movies.

One of my favorite things to do is create my own movie marathons. I could spend the time watching made for TV movies or reruns of America's Next Top Model but that seems like a waste of valuable viewing time. Making up my own movie marathons is a great way to combine my love of movies, themes, and my love of lists. So let's talk about some ways to make your own movie marathon:

• Focus on an actor, actress, writer, or director. This makes it easier to pick movies AND you can play one of my favorite games "Spot the Stock Actors." This is really easy to do with John Hughes's and Savage Steve Holland's movies. The brother-in-law in Sixteen Candles is the janitor in The Breakfast Club. (I got a million of these.)
• Focus on a genre. Say you like zombie movies (which I do), you can create a balanced marathon of classics, modern interpretations, and unexpected gems. This works with most genres and sub-genres.
• Pick a theme - road trip movies, camp movies, movies where everyone dies, movies made before the star was famous (this is a super fun theme), movies featuring 80s teen idols that probably shouldn't have been made. The list goes on.
• Don't select a theme or genre if you don't like that particular type of movie. If you don't like horror movies, don't plan a marathon of horror movies. You will spend the day hiding behind a pillow being scared. Marathons are not the time to experiment with movies you don't normally watch.
• Once you've picked your theme, you should also pick themed snacks and drinks. If you're going to watch James Bond movies the clear option is martinis (shaken, not stirred) and fancy h'orderves. Camp movies? S'mores, hotdogs, and Dr. Pepper. 
• If you're having people over for this marathon, you can also extend your theme to dress/costumes. I really want to throw the John Hughes marathon listed below as a costume party - dress as your favorite John Hughes character. I call Allison from The Breakfast Club.
• Create a drinking game around your movie marathon. This is more fun if you're having friends over to watch with you but I won't judge if you want to do this and you're watching movies by yourself. If I wasn't on cold medicine already I'd probably center my drinking game on how many times Molly Ringwald says something isn't fair or rolls her eyes. If we were playing a Rhinestone drinking game, we'd have to take a shot every time Dolly Parton said something sassy (which is always). 

Here are some of my favorite marathons:

John Hughes Taught Me Everything I Needed to Know About High School (and Possibly Love)

• Sixteen Candles
• Weird Science
• Pretty in Pink
• The Breakfast Club
• Some Kind of Wonderful 
• Ferris Bueller's Day Off

Girls Who Rock

• Satisfaction
• Mystic Pizza
• Desperately Seeking Susan
• Girls Just Want to Have Fun
• Heathers
• Modern Girls
• Night of the Comet
• Just One of the Guys

Feeling Presidential? (Get in the mood for the election without having to watch the news)

• Frost/Nixon
• Dave
• Primary Colors
• The American President
• Dick
• All The President's Men
• JFK
• Game Change (If you don't have HBO, find a friend who does. This was a really good movie and Julianne Moore was amazing as Sarah Palin.)

Random Things That Make No Sense When You Think About Them but Perfect Sense After Viewing

• Rhinestone (Fun fact: The DVD of this movie costs $98 on Amazon. I want a copy badly but not $98 badly.)
• Xanadu
• UHF
• The Neverending Story
• Cat People
• Red Dawn
• Howard the Duck
• Killer Klowns from Outer Space
• Labyrinth
• Breakin' and Breakin' 2 Electric Boogaloo

This is just a starting point. I haven't even started on 80s horror movies (the Sleepaway Camp series, Prom Night-amazing), John Candy movies, musicals, movies featuring the Coreys, zombie movies, action movies for people who don't like action movies, and movies that I probably never should have watched as a child. 

Now if you don't own all or any of the movies on your list remember that you can usually find a handful of them on VH1, Oxygen, Comedy Central, and ABC Family on the weekends. Check on the free movies on demand through your cable provider (if only Comcast would have Rhinestone, Night of the Comet, and the Breakin' movies available this weekend). I'm fairly certain you can watch most of them online too or through Netflix. Basically there's no excuse not to watch movies and spend an entire weekend sitting on your couch. 

I haven't decided on my weekend movie marathon yet. Any suggestions?