Flowers, Two is a collection of four poems & 30 photographs of nature & flowers, taken at Mercer Botanic Gardens in Humble, Texas.
PUBLICATION DATE: November 28, 2018
PAPERBACK: 37 Pages
GENRE: Photography, Poetry
SERIES: Flowers (Zines)
My camera lens fogged up one evening when I went to take a photograph of wild mushrooms that sprouted up in my yard. When I saw how the photo came out, I started taking pictures that night of a variety of things, just to see how they looked with a fogged lens. After the lens adjusted to the outdoor temperature, I breathed on it to keep it foggy & kept taking photographs. I was enthusiastically running back inside over the span of half an hour or so to gather more props, to do more experiments in how things looked in the fog. The fogginess made everything look fantastic & otherworldly & surreal & aesthetically marvelous.
The results of my photograph experiments are all contained in this book. There are four poems interspersed among the photos. The photos follow a progressive from the warm lightness of the beginning of sunset to the cool blue darkness of early twilight. The photos have not been altered in any way. How they came out is how they were taken.
The magic you see is real.
Publication Date // October 30, 2017
Paperback 63 Pages
Genre // Zines, Photography
Poetry
Special Effects Nuclear Red Ombre & Debut of Rainbow Eyebrows!
red ombre hair / blue & teal rainbow eyebrows / blue & gray striped shirt customized by me by adding the gray flower I crocheted & embellished with beads
A few weeks ago, I decided I wanted to lighten the ends of my hair so I could dye them a bright color. I watched a YouTube video where someone used a blonde Garnier hair dye to lighten their dark brown hair. I decided to try Nutrisse Nourishing Color Crème in 93 Light Golden Blonde, & as I’d had good luck with the high-lift red I used last summer for my red & brown ombre, so I assumed this one would work just as great. Unfortunately, my hair is quite impervious to coloring, & the dye had little effect. Luckily though, it added a few lighter brown highlights, as well as damaging my hair a little bit more to allow the hair dye to soak in more.
Originally, I was going to do a rose gold ombre, but as my hair didn’t get light enough for that, I decided to go for my Nuclear Red Special Effects hair dye. The Special Effects dye definitely works better on my hair than Manic Panic, although it didn’t show up very well with my natural hair color. I love Special Effects, btw. I put the Special Effects dye in my hair, & let it sit under a shower cap for 30+ minutes. When I rinsed it out, I was pleasantly surprised by the bright color! It was just what I had hoped for with the Nuclear Red. The dye faded out over a little more than a week, & now is a subtle red color, which is also pretty. Soon, I hope to go to the salon & get the ends of my hair bleached for real, so that I can dye it whatever color I want.
Also, my sister taught me how to do rainbow eyebrows, because I’d seen plenty of photos online of them, & my sister has done them quite a few times on herself. Thanks to my e.l.f angled brush & some bright-coloured shadows, I soon achieved a teal & purple ombre effect, which I was happy with. I definitely want to try more things with the rainbow eyebrow trend, because it’s one more way to look cool + colorful.
Blue Bow & Stripes
Red and blue striped blouse from Bon Worth / cherry earrings / diamond earrings / blue hair bow headband
A cool picture I took with the sky as my background. The sky ended up looking cool & washed-out, which goes along well with the slightly-wistful expression on my face. I matched the colors of this blouse with my red earrings & blue headband.
Gold & Winged Liner
gold short-sleeved blouse from my grandmother / winged eyeliner over gold glitter eyeshadow / sparkle “celebration” earrings. worn during winter/spring.
I had been wanting to create an outfit with this awesome glitter blouse for a long time, but the last time I’d tried it on, a few years ago, & the fabric was very scratchy. Thankfully, I discovered camisoles, & wearing one under this blouse made it comfortable to wear. I decided to pair it with the Elizabeth Taylor elegance of winged liner, & one of my favorite pairs of sparkly earrings, which I have just dubbed my “celebration” earrings. For added measure, I added gold facial glitter to my eyelids, because if you’re going to wear a sparkle outfit, you might as well go all out.
Leopard Print & Dress Shirt
unbuttoned white dress shirt / gray & black sleeveless leopard-print shirt / round neon pink earrings / white plastic giraffe earrings / ponytail
I felt like wearing my leopard-print sleeveless shirt, because #funkypatterns, but my arms were cold so I decided to put my favorite white dress shirt over it. To add to the ensemble, as well as tie in with the color of the dress shirt & continue the safari theme, I added white giraffe earrings. For a small splash of color, I wore my favorite neon pink earrings in my second ear piercings.
multi-cabana stripe dress shirt by Devon & Jones / black ballet flats / black capri tights
I went through a big fashion phase last year where I pretty much just wore dress shirts, even when I wasn’t at work. I don’t wear them as often now, mostly because there are other things I like better (& are probably a little more comfortable). Dress shirts provide a clean, classy look, & they can be made more casual by both rolling up the sleeves, & by pairing them with less formal accessories, like the capri tights. 
With glitter & happiness,
Ashlee
A zine featuring 24 photographs of flowers & three poems.
Publish Date // February 14, 2016
Paperback 32 Pages
Genre // Zines
Disclosure: This post may contain affiliate links to products that I recommend. When you click on an affiliate link to a product on an external website, I will receive compensation if you buy something. Thank you for your support.
Dress from Amazon.com // owl socks from Amazon.com
(from A Thousand Cranes, Volume 7)
walking tall with my
shoulders back & my chin lifted
no, no more do I cower hiding behind false bricks & pretending that I am not there
no more do I hide inside myself too afraid to speak at all
no more do I complacently go along with what I am told & never question it
no more do I take the words of others as gospel
or think that just because someone thinks I should do something, that I should
or that I have to go along with it
& never belong to anyone but me
no more am I am afraid to speak up for myself
–
don’t let them push you around
two people told me this in the same week
& I took it to heart that time when I finally said no
& learned to take my life back
from the hands of others to whom they thought it had been given
don’t let them push you around
stand up for yourself
stand up for yourself
stand up to all those who try to repress you
or keep you where you don’t want to be
or make you uncomfortable
or bring you down in any way
or make you feel like you’re not worth it
–
no more shall I avert my eyes & look down
as if I am hiding
no more shall I hunch my shoulders
as if I am invisible
no more shall I let others push me around
as if I am not worthy of respect
I am a different person now
& no one pushes me around
no one tells me what I should be
no one brings me down
no one makes me afraid
no one makes me feel invisible
no one stops me
Disclosure: This post may contain affiliate links to products that I recommend. When you click on an affiliate link to a product on an external website, I will receive compensation if you buy something. Thank you for your support.
Devon & Jones Women’s Savile Patterned Dress Shirt in Multi Cabana Stripe
you stood with your back to the wind & the rain
& lied to the clouds about where you thought you belonged
in a cage, you said
but I knew you were wrong
& that your only true home could be the wind & the sky & the wild nature outside the door
that no cage could ever contain you
Yellow sleeveless shirt by Just Be… // skirt brand unknown // tights by No Boundaries // combat boots by Faded Glory // gel nail polish by L. A. Colors in Rockin’ It // sparkly hair bow from a dollar store // t-rex earrings from eBay // gold facial glitter on cheeks by Wet ‘N Wild // yellow eye shadow by Modeso
& the sky is still waiting to hear the sound
of the bird who is finally learning to fly
Pineapple shirt by No Boundaries // shorts by Gap // Op high top shoes // pink bow on shirt from Claire’s // pineapple earrings from Claire’s // bracelet from Wal-Mart // L. A. Colors eye shadow // lipstick L. A. Colors in Coral Sheen // glitter lip gloss by L. A. Colors in Fuschia // Claire’s pink eyeliner brushed onto ends of lashes // brows colored with e.l.f. cosmetics coffee eyeliner pencil
forgotten / I saw you standing off to the side
trying to pretend that you couldn’t see the sun / flowers
along the side of the trail, you walked so far ahead of me
I had to squint into the sun to see you / it was how you wanted it
to be; running away, like you always did / you stopped
& bent down to look at the flowers
I approached you slowly / a shadow from the trees above us
reflected down onto you, all I saw was your fragile & shatterable self
confidence was hanging by a thread & I felt a greater sense of pity
& a greater sense of nurturing towards you than I previously knew
then fear made sense to me / you were afraid of losing me to the wind & the storms
& yet I was afraid of losing you to the night & the words
of everyone who tried to bring you down
you sat there still & silent / looking towards the flowers
but not at them / “I’m sorry.” I told you
the breeze blew & the flowers trembled, then the breeze came to a close
& the sunlight fell still & rested upon the petals
“it’s all going to be okay.” I said gently to you “everything is going to be fine.”
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