Marilyn Monroe Christmas Ornament

 

 

I know Christmas was last month but during the first couple of weeks in January, you can get really good deals on discounted Christmas decorations. Plus it's Marilyn Monroe! LOL!

 

On a beach trip to Myrtle Beach South Carolina, I was browsing the clearance shelf in the Christmas Mouse at Barefoot Landing, and there she was. I was so excited.

 

This is probably the first time I have ever seen a Marilyn ornament like this before. The photo is surrounded by silver  is actually really good clear quality.  It seems to be printed (not glued) onto the center of the ornament.

 

The sides and back of the piece are a very pretty frosted dark pink and red color mixture with two stacked letters" M"in white.  It is topped by a silver shiny mesh bow and string for hanging on the tree.

 

The ornament is a 2012 Official Licensed Product from Museum Masters International. I guess this is not official Estate of Marilyn Monroe merchandise? It was regular priced $11.50 and I got it for $5.00.

 

Christmas in January? I actually enjoy Christmas "stuff"  a lot more when it not the hectic

stressful Christmas season.

 

Here is a link to another Marilyn Monroe post on my blog. Enjoy!

 

Thank you for reading!

 

Thomasina

 

Calendar Haul Part 1 - Marilyn Monroe

I am starting my calendar haul series off with my Marilyn Monroe calendars. Since about 1995 I have been collecting Marilyn calendars.

I usually get a couple of the big calendars and a small one for my home office. My advice about calendar shopping is to shop early when the calendar first come out in the stores or kiosks for the best selection.


In recent years, the selection of Marilyn calendars is not as good. I am very picky about which Marilyn pictures I like and the quality of the pictures in the calendar.

The price range of the calendars is from $16.99 and below. I am lucky I will get more than one of the same calendar for use as prints from framing.

Calendars have always been more about an inexpensive piece of  beautiful and inspiring art for viewing throughout the years than just a tool for showing the day of the week or scheduling tasks.

The next calendar haul will be my desktop calendars from the Dollar Tree.

Thank you for reading my blogpost.

Thomasina

If you have questions or comments, you can also email me at Thomasina8@gmail.com

Marilyn Monroe Portrait Made Completely From Jelly Beans

Being a huge fan of Marilyn Monroe, when I saw this jelly bean portrait of her, I was completely awed and amazed.

I asked the young lady behind the counter details about this cool work of "candy art". She told me is the owners of the store made the art piece and it took two weeks. My most important question was how many jelly beans in the entire portrait but she sadly did not know. 

 

Lots of attention to detail: shadows, lines, and variation of colors.

A close up of the actual jelly beans. Will the jelly beans ever spoil or melt? Did the artists do a sketch or is there an actual picture underneath the jelly beans? I have always been interested in the creative process and techniques of artists.

The front entrance of the candy store located in Crabtree Valley Mall in Raleigh, NC.

I don't even want to think what the world's biggest gummy worm would look like much less want to eat it. LOL!

Another blog post I wrote about Marilyn Monroe is here.

Thanks for reading!

Marilyn Monroe - Life Inspiration

Huge Marilyn poster I got on a beach trip a couple of years ago.

Marilyn is a huge inspiration and influence on my life because she worked so hard for most of her life to make her dreams come true.

 She was determined against all odds to be a successful actress in Hollywood.  To do this she would have to spend countless hours networking with the right people (sadly the wrong ones too).

Makeovers, dieting, exercise routines, plastic surgery, auditions, voice lessons, public appearances and endless photoshoots.  Does anyone even know the exact number of photo sessions Marilyn completed? Hundreds? Marilyn has a huge legacy of thousand of photos that remind us how beautiful, sexy, smart, fun, talented, and vulnerable she could be. I love finding new photos of her.

It is sad that the media has always focused on the sex symbol image of Marilyn or the mystery of her death. Why not write about how much hard work she actually did to become an actress that stood out in Hollywood. The studio system in those days was a factory that constantly churned out starlet after starlet. Marilyn was able to distinguish her enough to capture the attention of the world with her talent not just her beauty.

Do you really want your dreams? Do the work it takes to get there. Marilyn did. She is my cautionary tale of working hard as I can never giving up on my artistic dreams but also to be very careful to maintain my mental and physical health.

I have my precious dreams for a reason. All things are possible if you work hard enough. With all the emotional and health challenges Marilyn faced she was always stayed true to her artistic goals. I am inspired to do the same.

Marilyn jigsaw puzzles I've blogged about here and here.

Thanks for reading!

Marilyn Monroe 550 piece puzzle- Sadly I cannot put it together.

This is a beautiful puzzle that is almost impossble (to me at least) to finish.

 I LOVE this photo of Marilyn. She is wearing a gold lame Travilla gown in this famous photo series. Marilyn wore this gown briefly in the movie Gentlemen Prefer Blondes and later at the Photoplay Awards where she won the Fastest Rising Star of 1952 award. *This info was from the The Marilyn Encyclopedia by Adam Victor.

Over the years, I have tried now and again to put this gorgeous Marilyn puzzle together. And sadly gave up each time.

It's not just the huge fact that this puzzle has 550 pieces that is intimidating enough but the confusing numerous black background pieces has been the main reason I cannot do this puzzle. The puzzle pieces are also very small. I don't want to give up but it is very annoying to have this puzzle (in it's many pieces) spread out on a table for weeks screaming at me "Finish Me!".

It think I will research online some tips on how to put together a jigsaw puzzle. I had done this in the past and there actually is a logical method of matching shapes to fit together.

We shall see. I will keep you up dated on my progress.

Marilyn Monroe Puzzle by Golden 5291
550 pieces
15 1/2 x 18" inches

Here is a link to the other Marilyn puzzle I wrote about on my blog previously that I WAS actually able to put together. 

Do you have any tips on how to put together this puzzle?

Thanks for reading!

Marilyn Monroe Puzzle and Chanel No 5

Photo by Sam Shaw

These are pictures of my Marilyn  Monroe Gift box puzzle. It has 100 pieces and the photo by Sam Shaw is one of my most favorite pictures of her. I have been a fan of Marilyn for most of my life. Her inspiring yet tragic life is a cautionary tale to me to work hard for my dreams but always take care of my mind, body and spirit. I don't think Marilyn is ever given enough credit for overcoming many obstacles to becoming a successful actress who eventually became an icon.

I LOVE Marilyn's fashion style. The sheath dresses that closely fitted the body not ever revealing too much but just enough to be sexy are a huge source of fashion inspiration to me. My goal is to incorporate this timeless silhouette into my own dress designs.

Marilyn also introduced me to Chanel No 5. One of my most loved Marilyn posters is the famous picture of her getting ready at her dressing table and applying this fragrance.Also I don't think there are too many perfumes that can top the timeless classic design of the packaging. 

Coming soon: My Marilyn Monroe calender, book, poster and picture collections.

Another Marilyn Post I wrote is here.

 Thanks for reading!

Marilyn Monroe 100 piece puzzle    Mirror, Mirror

Fully interlocking Jigsaw puzzle Size 8 x 10 inches

Fink company

Photography by Sam Shaw