A dance floor tiger lady pumpin everything she has

This weekend I was schooled. Turns out that from the east to the west - the girls in the middle really do rock the best. Okay, I don't want to say that your weekend plans were lame, but I'm willing to bet my entire wardrobe that I had a more entertaining weekend than you. The city of Austin was blessed with a visit from the worlds greatest Cewebrity - The Midwest Diva herself - Miss Leslie Hall & her incredible Ly's! I was there front & center! Nani Nani Boo Boo! The show was packed & the crowd really brought the bling! A sea of gem sweaters shining brighter than all the stars in the nights sky my friends. No, I don't have any photos. All the pictures I took didn't really turn out or do the event any justice.. but hey, I never claimed to be a photographer! So - I drew this for you instead:
I first came across Leslie Hall a few years back while poking around on the internet looking at billions of beautiful bedazzled garments & accessories. Then *Shazaam* I found www.gemsweater.com & my life was changed forever by a chubby girl wearing gold spandex. My heart began to melt when I laid eyes on her larger than life hair do (remember kids I'm from Dallas, where there's only one rule with hair, the bigger the better) & by the time she started rapping I became completely infatuated with her & her talented back up singers The Ly's. I've laughed til I cried while she raps about the movie Willow. Leslie's Zombie Killer 7" is one of the dearest discs in my collection. Her smash hit Craft Talk plays on repeat in my mind while I'm stocking up at Hobby Lobby... And when the Ly's became flesh & blood Tiger Ladies I went from razzled & dazzled to head over heels faster than you can say Gold Pants! On that note kittens lets all gather around the youtube so Leslie's gemz & jamz can glimmer in our eyes as they well up with tears of joy caused by her seriously hilarious genius.



Aaahhh... That really hit the spot! Am I right ladies? Kitties? She's just the greatest. Also in running for the greatest is Christopher The Conquered who is out on tour w/ Leslie right now! No, there are no tiger ladies in his band, but there is a really awesome horn section & Christopher himself (Crush Alert) will win you over & have you dancing before he's even 3 songs deep into his set.

It was a great night filled with dancing, drinks, ski ball, gemz, jamz, gifting (I dropped off one of my pink Hell Yes brooches at the merch booth for Leslie), best fwends AND I finally got to shake hands with the lovely & talented Rachel Hobson of Average Jane Crafter & Craftzine fame. See - all the cool cats came out to this show! Which means you MUST go! The tour is headed West next - so all my readers in big CA - mark your calendars, don thine gems & let it all hang out! Visit www.leslieandthelys.com for tour dates <3 onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3158/3007166100_2edd47b406.jpg">

Anyhow - If Leslie isn't coming to your town anytime soon you can pick up her records or a pair of spandex pants at the Hefty Hideaway .

So? What do ya think? How did my weekend stack up to yours?

xo!
Bonnie Rue

Praying for Plaid? Hungry for Houndstooth?

Or maybe just anxious for argyle? Me too!
Tis the season for these preppy/punky patterns - and don't worry because Model Citizen's got your back.

This fall I'm offering a small run of limited edition jewelry featuring more plaid, argyle and houndstooth than you can handle! Why - because I'm crazy obsessed with all three. Seriously - cray cray!


I sat down the other day while I had a cold and designed my own argyle (see with the unicorns!!) and then I could not stop myself. And there is more to come! You know this! Two words for you Cupcake Argyle. Oh yeah - that's in the works! Do not fret my lovely readers, I'll keep you posted.

If you see something you like, but maybe you prefer a different tartan or color scheme please feel free to message me on etsy or email me @ bonnie@modelcitizenclothing.com and I can make you a custom piece. Why? Because I want you to be happy ;)

So tell me, which is your favorite? Houndstooth, Argyle or Plaid? Which do you wear the most of? I think I probably wear plaid the most. Austin recently bought me a plaid dress - check it out!

xo!
Bonnie Rue

p.s. My $12 T-shirt sale is still in full effect... but how long will it last?

Where in the world?

Two weeks since my last blog post? Wow.
I've been a bad blogger. Seriously.
I have a good excuse though! I got the illness!
Some of my SXSW guests left me with something close to the flu. Fever, aches & pains left me doing lots of sleeping & asking for my mommy.
I'm better now. I'm gonna make it!
Since the healing began though I have been digging myself out from under a pile of work. Hence the not blogging. Also if you were one of the many people who ordered something while I was confined to my bed - I want to apologize for the delay in shipping. All items have made their way into the postal system & are on their way to you now!

While I slept off my sickness the world came into bloom! Spring has sprung! If I hadn't been taken out of commission I would be blogging about all the new designs that are available for spring... but that will happen later this week. New dresses, scorts, t's, & I am reprinting the yoga pants! If you've been wanting to purchase a pair but I didn't have your size you can go ahead & order them now! That's right SM-XL in the shop & soon on your doorstep!

Model Citizen Tote bags are also back in the shop. I did a limited run so get it while you can! Cupcakes & Tigers for EVEREYONE!


Speaking of tigers & cupcakes... I have an exciting collaboration to tell you about!
Natalie Slater of Bake & Destroy in Chicago has teamed up with me to bring you my two favorite things - fashion & food!
That's right, Natalie is my next Tiger Lady du jour!
By the weeks end I'll have T's in the shop featuring tattooed Natalie & her stellar cupcakes, but wait! When you purchase the shirt you get a never before released Bake & Destroy cupcake recipe that is to DIE for! Seriously.
Want a little preview? You got it!
I am very excited about this collaboration! I love Natalie's blog. She's so funny & talented & one of the coolest mama's ever! When the shirts are done I will post more pictures & give you a little insight on the super secret recipe she sent me!!

Now I'm off to continue playing catch up!

xo!

Lions & Tigers make for a messy household

My household/life is taken over with the two mightiest members of the jungle kingdom.
Model Citizen's designs are heavily dominated with Tigers & Tigresses then there's my manfriends band, LIONS. The evidence is everywhere. Stacks of posters, albums, T's, random promo materials, jewelry, etc. Everywhere you look there is a fierce cat staring you in the face. It's empowering but all these things are making a mess at the house these days. I'm in the middle of holiday season & LIONS are re-releasing their second album No Generation and gearing up for some dates with Local H & The Toadies.
I did manage to clean up a bit the other day and take some photos @ the house with my dear and talented friend Knoxy. I normally don't shoot in the house, but she convinced me that we should use my funky interior as the back drop for these new designs. I'm pretty pleased with how the pics turned out. Once all the craziness of this season is over & order returns to our lives I plan on shooting the house to show off our little corner of the world. I mean, why not? It's my favorite place on earth. We've lived in this house for almost 5 years now and it says a lot about who we are.... but like I said right now it just says that we are messy. It's impossible to do it all, i.e. be organized, work a plethora of odd jobs, follow your dreams, do yoga, eat well, relax, create, party, shower, show up on time, grow up, keep the kid inside alive, pay bills (once again, on time), keep the car clean, ship out orders, read books, etc... So, for now I guess I can just be okay with total lack of organization. Either that or I'll have to be put in the looney bin. Padded walls are cool right? I mean even Jane Lane was jealous of Daria's padded room. Speaking of Daria, why oh why have they not released the entire series to the public yet? You can purchase the Beavis & Butthead collectors edition or even complete seasons of The Hills (um, yuck) so why won't MTV give the people (ME) what they want? Which is Daria! I've become re-obsessed since Halloween if you can't tell. Anyway, I digress. I'll be posting more new items soon as I am about to undergo another jewelry making extravaganza!
In other news you can now find Model Citizen goods at BookPeople (the largest independent bookstore in the country), East End Craft Gallery, & Hovercraft on Congress (same owners as Creatures Boutique) . All of these stores are located in Austin, TX. If you know of a store in your home town that you think would like to carry Model Citizen please pass along the info. If it turns out that they carry the line I will send you a "Thank You!" surprise in the mail.
Okay - I'm going to put the coffee down, stop rambling and start marking things off my to do list....

All items pictured here can be found online @ www.modelcitizenclothing.com
I'm offering Free shipping in the US for the holy days!

Everyone Loves Gossip

Im am ultimately flattered to say that I was interviewed by Jennifer Perkins for CraftGossip!

So, please check it out while I continue to *blush* my brains out...

Goodbye July

What a month! July never felt like it would end! Now August is upon us and the heat won't let us forget that summer is so serious. But 100+ degrees or not, it's Saturday! It took you so long to get here! This heat does not help the days go by...
But night swimming sure does. A big plus to this is NO sunburns! Don't hav a pool? Do what I do! Hit up the nearest apartment complex & hop a fence with a Lonestar in hand at least twice a week. Friends make the experience better, but floating alone isn't bad either.

Wednesday Austin, Rissa, & myself went down to the Mohawk to see Chris Flemmons from The Baptist Generals play. He came down from Denton after having day surgery that morning. He's tough. We swayed in the dark on the verge of tears through his whole set. The words "rhythm guitar" have never been used so fittingly. He plays his thrift store classical guitar like a drum. The songs themselves are dark and wholy satisfying. Like licking a wound.
Stories of drinking, retreating, hearts breaking... All of which go well with a glass of whiskey in hand. Rissa and I made a sleep over date for when their new record comes out. We are going to lay on the floor, listen to it over and over again, & drink till sleep over comes us. We aren't sad sacks, it's just sounds like the thing to do. I look forward to it. The new record is said to be done in a few weeks, so maybe it will be released by the beginning of next year. * fingers crossed *


On a more cheerful note... you all know that I have a thing for white tigers, well on thursday I read that a litter tiger cups were abandoned by their mother and then adopted by a golden retriever named Isabella. She has taken to cleaning and feeding then as if they were her own. Sigh and coo! How sweet! Apparently tigers and puppies develop at the same rate and require the same amount of care. *Makes me seriously wonder if I am ready to take on a puppy at this point*


I made this "Because I <3 Tigers" necklace to mark the occasion of Isabella and her new family

I'm going to sign off now and read for a bit before the Lions show tonight.
More on that tomorrow.

Tigers Really Are Terrific...

or should I say BADASSICAL?

Maybe it's obvious, maybe not, but - I Love Tigers! White tigers especially - which are also known as Bengal tigers or Panthera Tigris (if you want to get technical). So yeah - they are fabulous and I am not alone in loving them... Recently Jennifer Perkins of Naughty Secretary Club fame commissioned me to draw up some tigers for the logo of BADASSICAL, a blog she started with Karly Hand (the beauty & brains behind Design Crisis). I am pleased to announce that BADASSICAL is up and running!


Okay! Go, read, be inspired!