Blog Giveaway!!

Ever since this post, I've been obsessed with Clark shoes. I discovered this journal a few months back and I was more than just a little skeptical. I was under the impression that with arthritis and a broken tail bone, I'd never be able to wear heels or stylish shoes of any kind. Specially made converse shoes were as stylish as I would get. I was convinced that you don't really suffer from arthritis if you can wear any heels at all. And to answer someone's previous question, yes, even kitten heels kill my feet!

BUT...



After buying these shoes, I'm in love! And I admit, a little bit obsessed. I'm obsessed with seeing how many options are out there for me. With that said...



I discovered these shoes and I NEED them.



I am so in love with this look by Rhiannon and here is my opportunity to emulate her style and to wear high heels again.

I'll never be able to wear shoes like these Jeffrey Campbell heels Rhiannon is wearing...



But I think these Clark's sandals are very similar, right? ALL of the reviews were wonderful. Everyone said they worked well for a wide foot and even a woman with bone spurs in her foot said they were comfortable.

Depending on the website they are anywhere from $43 to $90!! I'm a 6.5 Wide and that size is hard to find in this style. But it's out there with the price tag of $90. My mom told me when I bought my last heels that I would need to start saving up for good quality shoes from here on out. Before I got arthritis I used to frequent Payless and the clearance racks at DSW. I was the shoe queen with lots of pointy toes and no insoles. Heels were never a problem for me. I was never awkward on them, they were comfortable. But now, each pair of shoes is going to require careful deliberation and saving up $100.

BUT I need these NOW!!

So I've decided to do 2 things. All button ring or barrette sales are officially going towards my shoe fund. You should definitely buy one or two to help me buy my new shoes!! Click on the picture below to get to my shop!



AND I've decided to have a blog giveaway. I can't decide whether I should get the black leather or the black patent leather. Leave me a comment with your vote and on Wednesday, I'll do a drawing to see who wins!

And the winner gets these barrettes.



Please only participate if you are in the U.S. or Canada. Well, you can participate if you live elsewhere, I just can't enter you into the drawing because I can't afford to ship to you :(

So help me decide:

Leather:



or...

Patent Leather:



Leave me in a comment and I'll enter you in the drawing :) Also, buy a ring or barrette to donate to my beautiful beautiful shoe purchase!

OR! If there are any independently wealthy oil tycoons out there that would like to donate to my "needing these shoes really bad" cause can drop a few dollars in my paypal using the "donate" button below :) Kidding, but seriously, I need these shoes so you should do it anyway!

Feel like a girl again.

I bought myself a new pair of heels today!!

Probably none of you know that for the last two and a half years I have suffered from rheumatoid arthritis in both my hands and feet and lately in my ankles and knees and wrists. It came on suddenly, uninvited and it never left. I had to sell all my heels and cute shoes because walking was so horrifying to me and I became the tennis shoe queen. Or actually I wore the same pair every day because it is very hard for a person with wide feet and no arch to find a good pair of tennis shoes these days when the soles of your feet feel like they are comprised of shards of glass :(

About six months ago, I decided enough was enough. I was tired of being sloppy and tomboyish. I am a really girly girl. I love dresses and bows and pretty things. I love skirts and tights and heels. I know my ex got tired of seeing me in the same old outfit. I gained a ton of weight because I instantly stopped being active and I could no longer fit into pretty clothes or feel confident in my new fatter body. Also comfortable shoes are usually ugly, frumpy and look terrible with a skirt.

Today I was out to lunch with my mom and we passed by a Clark's shoe store. I asked her if she would go in with me, just to see and I tried on every heel in that store. They are SO comfortable! They have sturdy heels that do not bore holes into your heel. They have beautiful insoles that feel like heaven. And they have this retro feel to them. AND THEY WERE ON SALE!

I know they are just shoes, but I cannot explain my happiness. I feel pretty. I feel girly. I feel like I will get noticed and compliments. I can wear party clothes again. I can go out on New Years dressed appropriately. I can have church shoes and date shoes. And they look like the perfect mix between those booties I cannot wear and those high heeled oxfords I cannot wear.

My hands and feet hurt so much on a daily basis but I've learned to push through it by wearing sensible shoes and not pushing myself too hard. I'm tired of people thinking I'm sloppy and not girly and that I am boring and tire easily. It's totally corny but these shoes give me hope. That I can have fun, be stylish, wear the clothes I sell in my shop, and be lovely and feminine. It's corny, but I'm extremely happy :)

Behold. My newest obsession! Clark's Wimberley Pump!!!





Please don't tell me to clean my mirror. I am at my mom's house and it is my teenage brother's mirror. It doesn't even look dirty until the flash hits it.

And here is what I wore to go shopping today. The entire outfit is thrifted except for the cardigan which is forever 21. Imagine how much cuter the outfit would look with these reddish brown heels!

my make shift light box

I've been doing a ton of research to figure out how I can better my shop/pictures/prices/and promotions. I keep coming across people talking about how you need to have better pictures and I realize that mine are not the best. The truth is that I don't have money for a better camera. It's not really much of a camera. I paid $20 for it years ago and it eats batteries within sixty photos taken. Today I ran across someone's make shift light box and it gave me the idea to make one like this one.

I didn't want my stuff to look like they are floating like most professional light boxes make your pictures look. I wanted my items to be better lit and to appear to be in an environment. I also wanted it to look semi-artistic and not just like I took them in a studio. So I grabbed a big box that my mom had sent my birthday packages in and go to work. I cut out the bottom excess flaps and taped the top flaps together so that it was open on only one side. Then I took an exacto knife and cut a large square out of the side. Sort of like a television. I took some tape I had that is supposed to be used for making mattes for paintings and taped all the places where the light showed through. Then I got out some ancient gesso that I've had for years and watered it down and painted the entire interior almost like a white wash. The gesso didn't cover very well, probably due to old age so I then took some white acrylic paint I have and painted over it again. I used one of those sponge brushes. I moved a few months back and still haven't found where I packed all my brushes.

I then grabbed a frame off my 'creepy' wall shown in a previous post and painted that too and then dabbed it with paper towels until it looked "shabby chic". I'm not the biggest fan of "shabby chic" but I do think it looks good in this situation. I used a hair dryer to get it dry because I couldn't wait to use it. And here are the results!!





As you can see, the lighting in my apartment is terrible. I don't get home until after it's dark most days so I never get to use "natural sunlight" plus we live in a really old apartment that doesn't have any overhead lights.

I'm not sure how I'm going to light this thing. I tried using a hanging lamp but it still leaves shadows. I'm going to need those clip type lamps but I'm not sure I can afford them yet. For now, it's obvious that the pictures are far superior to my original pictures so for now it will have to do.

I'm pretty proud of it. tell me what you think :) I've also been experimenting with cropping my photos into exact squares. Apparently it helps your photos look like what you want them to look like once etsy crops them. It works like fifty percent of the time I've noticed. eh.

Some before and afters :)


more pictures/for sale here


more pictures/for sale here


more pictures/for sale here


more pictures/for sale here


more pictures/for sale here

my new favorite pair of shoes!!

The very first thing I ever look for when I go thrifting is shoes. I've always been this way. One of my first words was shoes. For my first birthday my mother gave me a cabbage patch doll and the first thing I said when I saw her was "shoes".

My whole life I've collected shoes and when I started selling my awesome finds online I realized that the things I am the most passionate about is shoes. Obviously I obsess over all types of vintage things but if we're completely honest, I'd just as soon have a store where I sell nothing but vintage shoes. I love selling on etsy because it gives me that excuse to run and grab something amazing when I see it. I don't even need to try it on anymore. I know I want it. I know I NEED it. Let's face it. Selling vintage clothing on etsy is code for "I've allowed myself to use no restraint when I go thrifting."

Granted my heart does always break a little once I get home and I in fact do NOT fit into a particularly amazing pair of shoes. But when someone else buys them, I feel better. MUCH better. Not only do I get to buy groceries and pay my bills but someone out there has fallen in love with the same pair of shoes I fell in love with weeks before and will get way more use out of them than I did with them sitting in a box in my etsy closet.

But today I might have found my favorite shoes yet! No I take that back. Because today was particularly lucky because I found my two favorite shoes yet. But I'm keeping one pair. It's not selfish when you only keep one pair out of the dozen you've thrifted in the last month :)








These are the ones I'm keeping. Amazing. No?



They are a size too big for me but really comfy nonetheless and look really cute with skinny jeans. Perhaps it is just the history nerd in me that thinks I need this pair of shoes that are too big for me. Perhaps I will just list them for one million billion dollars and that way if no one buys them I can keep them and if not, hey, I will have ONE MILLION BILLION DOLLARS!

And I recently cut my hair and took this picture at work to show my mom. Just in case you were wondering, this is what I look like sans victorian ghost make-up ;P



please forgive the camera phone quality.

and as usual, if you're interested in these shoes they are listed in my etsy store!

i've got my love to keep me warm.

I can't really explain why but I've always had a love for sweaters and cardigans. Especially cardigans. Especially especially vintage cardigans. And especially especially especially old lady/grandpa style cardigans.

My roommate teases me because every time I go thrifting I come home with more cardigans. I leave all the tags on them and drool over them for days before deciding to part with them. My coworkers laugh at me because they don't understand why I always buy "old lady clothes" but seriously, old lady cardigans have the best buttons and pockets and patterns while Grandpa cardigans are so warm and cozy and have the best shape.

But lately my vintage clothing obsession has gotten out of hand. I created an excel spreadsheet to list all the things that I need to list in my store rather than horde in my two closets, one armoire, and two big tubs. The list got to 80 items and I became overwhelmed and shut the window. I spend more time organizing and taking pictures of my vintage finds than I do listing and making a profit. I really really love all my vintage clothing. It has become increasingly harder for me to part with things lately. I would wear everything in my shop in a heartbeat, but rent money is also good. I usually go thrifting with the intent to buy things I can resell and by the time I get home I've fallen in love and my roommate is throwing a fit that we can't keep everything.

The amount of vintage shoes we have yet to list is incredible. For now we are learning to part only with things that do not fit us. We will soon venture into the things we love but do not "need".

For now, here are pictures of the latest "loves of my life" that I have listed for resale.

All of these cardigans can be found and purchased at my etsy shop.

check out all the new vintage shoes i have listed at my etsy shop!!
mens and womens...vintage clothing, shoes, accessories, and more!!

for more items and full descriptions check out

www.halfmagic@etsy.com
www.halfmagic@etsy.com
www.halfmagic@etsy.com