Blurring Your Photos

A lot of people ask me how I edit my photos to blur the background out, well I finally wrote a blog to explain how to use it.

 

- First step: open the Tadaa app. The logo is a white letter 'T' in a green box

- The app will open with a camera screen so just click the box down the bottom right hand corner that will take you to your gallery

- Choose the photo you wish to edit

- On the bottom editing tools list, scroll across and choose 'Blur'

 

- Then the first thing I do is select 'ALL' (on the left of the top boxed options) so the blur goes all over my picture. I also scroll over the blur bar so it goes to 100% and 2 more bars down I scroll the highlights option back to 0%. So now your whole pic is blurred.

- To select the part of the picture you want unblurred (in this case the coffee cup and hand) you need to click the 'Create Mask' button at the top of the screen.

 

- Then cover the whole area of the object you want unblurred so it is green. Stroke over the outside edges of your pic (bit by bit at a time) and it will shape it automatically (but sometimes not accurately) if the 'edges' button is highlighted. If you unhighlight the 'edges' button then you can manually cover the edges which can be easier if you zoom in

- Once you are happy you can click on the tick in the top right corner...  and tadaa!

 

- You should be all done! Just click the box with the arrow in it (in the top right hand corner) to save your new photo!

 

MFWPlus 2016 - Runway One

 

 

The first runway started off with a bang with some very sexy ensembles by State Of Liberty. Think corsets, harnesses and knee hi's teamed with loose flowing sheer fabrics and lace.

Such gorgeous lingerie! The kind you would want to [once upon a time only] wear for your wedding night!

My fave was definitely the all red one found red Here that is pictured below. I'm such a sucker for red but it also looked awesome on the gorgeous skin tone of Margie. 

 

 
Photos from Curves In A Cardigans Instagram 

 

Second up was new kid to the block, Voluptua. Designed by fashion student, Leah Streader (pictured below with Jenny Amosa), these outfits had a darker gothic vibe to them with a blue and purple feather pattern appearing repeatedly which connected together the pieces of the collection.

 

 
Above photos from MFWPlus Instagram and Facebook page

 

Courtney Zoh is a brand that does turbans, scarves and head pieces.

Now I'm not sure if it was the music, the jewellery or the turbans that gave this brand a bit of an India feel; either way all I know is I am in absolute love with pinky purple kimono jacket displayed on their last model! One of my fave pieces and definitely from what I've seen a lot of people are also loving it! Im pretty sure it's now named "that" jacket! These women looked gorgeous and made me feel like I wanted to wear a headpiece more often. So much inspiration!

 

 

Nyata means "real" in Indonesia, where these garments are ethically made, and is the brand made by gorgeous Geelong woman Amber.

This collection contains cute black and white geometric patterns and floral two pieces with Nyatas signature sequin stripes. My fave though is definitely the red Indah design worn by Amber at the launch party with its black sequin edging and hi-lo design

 
 
photo from MFWPlus Facebook page

 

The evening was capped off by the larger, more well known brand Estelle, which is sold via Myer department stores. 

Estelle showed a variety of styles and designs including a cute butterfly pattern and a fabulous paisley dress. Personally I could see myself rocking the sheer black and white hi-lo top modelled by hottie Danielle.

  
Pics from the Estelle Clothing blog

It was a great start to the runways with the crowd left wanting more... Which was definitely to be delivered over the next three runways to come!

Runway Two to Four still to come!

See all the photos taken by MFWPlus official photographer Jessie Obialor at MFWPlus' Facebook page

Melbourne Fashion Week Plus - MFWPlus 2016

I am currently on a train on my way to Melbourne for an epic week of Plus Size Adventures and fun! 

March, last year, there was the Plus Size event Curvy Couture Roadshow (CCR) I attended (see here) however this event (which is unrelated to CCR) has many more events and designers and promises to be much bigger and better! I'm also hoping it will become a yearly event, fingers crossed!

MFWPlus 2016 has been organised by Jessica West, Karyn Cloonan, Caitlin Byrne and Elyse Lithgow; 4 amazing women with a diverse range of backgrounds and history in fashion and design.

MFWPlus is about a lot of different things but (in my mind) it's about all about body positivity and acceptance, cultural diversity in plus size fashion and increasing the awareness of and accessibility to great fashion options for plus size women. 

This event consist of a couple of Panel talks, one about Feminism, Fashion and Fat Bodies and the other about the Plus size fashion industry. On top of this, there is not one but FOUR fashion runways! 

Runway One

 

Runway Two

 

Runway Three

 

Runway Four

 

With all the amazing women that will be attending and all the positive attitude towards plus size fashion, I don't know how this could not be amazing! I know I can't wait! Don't worry you will definitely be hearing about it from me! 

Rule Breakers Club

Something I really love to join in on (particularly on Instagram) is a good photo-a-day challenge. If you don't know what that is well basically it is a challenge where you are given a theme or topic per a particular time frame whether that be every day for a week or every week for year (such as I've previously done with NZ Style Curvettes and Aussie Curves.

You then have to take a picture of you and the theme or topic and post it online. 

I have just finished a plus size fashion photo-a-day challenge called Rule Breakers Club run by Jo from the blog iCurvy and it was great fun. We had 7 themes, one for each day of the week thatwould basically require us to break some stupid fashion rule made by society regarding what clothes a plus size woman should or shouldn't wear. 

The themes were Stripes, Fluff & Fuzz, Leggings as Pants, Bright Colours, Graphic Tees, Sequins & Sparkles and todays theme, the last one was Leopard Print.

Well I had a ball and it was made alot more fun and visually exciting with Jos awesome gold themed graphics! 

So here's a bit of a visual show of this weeks challenge!

And just like iCurvy's graphic to follow says why don't you go be your own brand of badass and break some fashion rules!

 

My Story: Narcolepsy

Ok my story of Narcolepsy.
Im not sure where to start so i'll start from the beginning.

From the first day I started high school I came home exhausted everyday. My tiredness was extreme all throughout my teen years and I had been tested for all the most common deficiencies and causes. We just put it down to puberty and growing. 

* Photo of me asleep after school the year I started highshool

 
Years down the track when I was doing my VCE, my last years of high school, I was sleeping through classes and during recess and lunch. I knew deep down there was something wrong with me but I just sounded like a hypochondriac.

Dreams were always very real to me and often I would confuse them and reality but it wasnt until I was in my senior years at school (around the age of 16/17) that I started to hallucinate, however I wasn't aware I was hallucinating, I thought it was real.

Some of [what I think were] my first hallucinations are still some of the most vivid in my mind still to this day.
My bedroom was a in a studio separate from the house. I could see the shadow of the clothesline through my window and I was sure one night I had seen the shadow of a tall alien like figure walk past, I was terrified however I couldn't move anything except my eyes and I couldn't speak so I forced myself back to sleep and put it down to being a bad dream. 
Not very long after this I awoke lying in bed, again unable to speak or move anything but my eyes, which is what I now know to be sleep paralysis that would always accompany my hallucinations. There was an alien sitting beside me on the bed who seemed to be giving orders somehow and another crouched over my chest who had a foul temper. Although I couldn't move I somehow seemed to bite it and it snarled at me and I saw sharp razor like teeth even though I recall it having little if no mouth at all. The next day I'd asked my parents if they'd heard anything that night knowing my Dad was a light sleeper and would've heard anything and they hadn't so I just started to think I was going a bit crazy but mostly put it down to another dream.

Not long before I turned 18 I noticed that when my friends would make me laugh my neck would go limp and my head would just hang there. I could still talk but couldn't use the muscles in my neck until I'd fully stopped laughing. It was hard to believe unless you saw it and it had to be a proper laughing, hysterical and it wasn't until the night of my 18th birthday dinner celebrations that my Mum saw this for herself.
Soon after this I was with a friend getting videos and she was being funny and I had real trouble standing when I laughed. My knees would wobble and go weak and I'd stumble into stands of videos trying not to knock them over. As we left the store and crossed the road to her car she made a joke and I fell to the ground like a ragdoll in the middle of the carpark. Luckily it was late and there were no cars around. My mind was completely conscious. I could hear everything around me but couldn't move as I was still laughing inside my head. It wasnt until I forced myself to stop laughing that I could stand again. This is what I now know as Cataplexy. A loss of voluntary muscle use with extreme emotions; for me, laughter.

My Mum and I made a trip to my GP and he basically said it sounds like a nuerological issue (I was surprised he even believed me!) and referred us to a Nuerologist. Once the appointment finally came I explained my Cataplexy experiences and he just nodded amd asked me about whether I'd had any hallucinations or seen anything abnormal to which I replied to him about 'that time with the aliens'.
He straight away answered "You have a textbook case of Narcolepsy". I just bawled my eyes out as he described the disorder; cried with relief that I wasn't crazy, that my fatigue I'd struggled with for years wasn't just me being lazy.

 
12 years down down the track and I'm medicated and living almost like a normal person. 

I often take naps during the day or if I'm working I know when I start to get tired I need to change things up to stimulate my mind or else I go into a trance like state where my body is trying to shut down and go to sleep but my mind is fighting it trying to stay awake.

As a measure against cataplexy attacks I noticed I distance myself from situations that might involve me laughing hysterically or I just completely tune out. I still have Cataplexy during family dinners, its almost guaranteed as my siblings know my sense of humour and know how to make me laugh.

I struggle alot from depression too which is another part of Narcolepsy. Just imagine knowing you are literally going to sleep away more than half of your life! It's especially hard at the moment as I am looking for work. I need to go into retail as I love fashion which makes it stimulates my mind better helping me stay awake. However there seems to be a small ratio of retail work available compared to people looking for work. 

My dreams are always vivid and I can often confuse them with reality. My hallucinations are now minimal thank God to the medication but I do still have them occasionally where I usually find someone has to snap me out of it. 

I guess in some ways I am lucky that I have all the symptoms of Narcolepsy; the fatigue, the cataplexy, the hallucinations and the sleep paralysis. Not all people who have Narcolepsy have all the symptoms which would make it so much harder to diagnose. And apparently [in America] 1 in every 2000 people have Narcolepsy, alot go undiagnosed.
 

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Spin the Pin - March 2016

Jo from iCurvy revealed the March Spin the Pin late February (pictured above and here) and I knew straight away what top I wanted to wear for it. 

I usually know straight away whether I'll struggle to be inspired or not. I did not struggle at all this month; next month could be a challenge for me though!

Outfit Details:

• Black top with white stripes || By I-N-C International Concepts || Opshopped within a $10 bag of clothing

• Denim jeans cutoff to make shorts || Autograph || Opshopped as jeans for $5

• Wedges || I Love Billy || Opshopped for $4

• Sunnies || El Cheapos from Thailand || Gifted

Check out the other entries at the Link Party