Rated G for Graphic . . .

 Yellow Flower Power Necklace

Blouse: Decree, JCPenney

Tank: Mossimo, Target

Skirt: Boscov's

Shoes: Journeys

Bag: Marshalls

Sunglasses: Cloud Nine, Ocean City 

 I Heart Strawberry Ice Cream Necklace

Blouse: So, Kohl's

Skirt: H&M

Shoes: Worthington, JCPenney

Bag: Nine West, ROSS Dress for Less

Bag charm: Walmart

Belt: Wet Seal

Sunglasses: JCPenney

 Heart of Stars Necklace

Blouse: Merona, Target

Cardigan: So, Kohl's

Skirt: Boscov's

Shoes: Betseyville, Macy's

Bag: Princess Vera, Kohl's

Belt: Marshalls

Sunglasses: JCPenney

 Color Cluster Necklace

Blouse: Candie's, Kohl's

Skirt: Marshalls

Shoes: Qupid, Alloy

Bag: Candie's, Kohl's

Belt: Apt. 9, Kohl's
Sunglasses: Mudd, Kohl's

 Red Flower Power Necklace

Tank: Worthington, JCPenney

Cardigan: Gifted

Skirt: H&M

Shoes: Journeys

Bag: Apt. 9, Kohl's

Belt: Apt. 9, Kohl's

Sunglasses: JCPenney

 Antique Affection Necklace

Tee: Merona, Target

Skirt: Kohl's

Shoes: Ami Clubwear

Bag: Xhilaration, Target

Belt: Izod, Marshalls

Sunglasses: Relic, Kohl's

Quixotic Exotic Necklace

Top: Decree, JCPenney

Skirt: Marshalls

Shoes: Worthington, JCPenney

Bag: Nine West, ROSS Dress for Less

Bag charm: Walmart

Scarf: Mossimo, Target

Sunglasses: JCPenney

. . . is not something the Motion Picture Association usually says about animated features.  But I can't think of a more appropriate descriptor for this week's cartoonish, candy-bright (making good on last week's promise to deliver a dessert buffet), color-blocked clothes.  They're just the right backdrop for the real stars-slash-souffles (might as well mix my metaphors along with my separates), which are, of course, the accessories.

This time around I went on an upcycling adventure (far more fun and dare I say safer than the kind involving a bicycle).  I took nine beloved but boring store-bought pendants and gave them a makeover!  I keep a whole box full of sad old jewelry for just such a purpose.  It's pretty Murky Dismal, just like Rainbow Brite's nemesis.  But it's also the source of much inspiration.  Crafting is, after all, little more than a cobbling together of disparate elements to create a cohesive (if kooky) whole.  I suspect I say this sort of thing a lot, but that's okay because it bears repeating.  Also, "cobbling" sounds a lot like cobbler, which is one of the homiest and most satisfying -- albeit not the most glamorous -- offerings of the buffet table crowd.  Anyway, a little glue and a lot of beads transformed these otherwise ordinary pieces into statements (even if it's unclear, as of yet, what they're saying.)  

I have to admit that it's a little strange seeing all these necklaces I wore long before I started crafting, all tarted up and out on the Interwebs.  It made me think of this article I read in the February Marie Claire about Sofia Boutella, an up-and-comer in the currently playing (and far from G-rated) Kingsmen: The Secret Service.  Being in the @Play column, it was all about her passion for -- what else? -- jewelry making.  "The repetition gets you into a trance," she explained, adding, "It's therapeutic."  Having whiled away more than a few weekends with a full On Demand queue and a fresh bag of beads, I knew just what she meant.  When friends urged Boutella to sell her work, she demurred on the grounds that it was just for her and her family and far too personal to put on the market.  "I'm not making a business out of this.  It's very sentimental," she said.  Although I run an Etsy shop, this too rang true with me.  Any time you create something, you include a little piece of yourself.  And when what you create is something to wear?  A piece of you is out there for everyone to see.  Or, in this case, purchase.

Kind of creepy when put that way, huh?

Still, I've always been of the mind that I make my stuff for me.  And part of that (not to get all hippy dippy) journey is putting it out there.  If someone else likes it, then that's just a bonus.  A tasty, last-piece-of-key-lime-pie-on-the-buffet-table bonus, but a bonus nonetheless.