New Things...

Trying new things is always refreshing. Good for the mind, body and soul. I worked with my friend and photographer Aaron Terry for some new pics that show my ability for mainstream modeling. It was a fun shoot to do and I believe the pictures turned out well. I will also be starting at a new school on July 6th. I will begin my journey of earning my cosmetology license from The Reno Academy Paul Mitchell Partner School. I will be going full time and plan on graduating in May or June 2011 - very exciting new things...

Father's Day

Yesterday was Father's Day and I had a great day with my Dad! We spent all day together, driving around town in our '55 Chevy Pickup. As our family adventures go, we had a breakdown at the intersection of Virginia Street & Plumb Lane - Dad was quick to fix the problem and we were off to take him to lunch at Claim Jumper. We also picked up this month's Rebel Rodz. You'll find a pic of my friend and fellow Coffinette, Cherry Bomb on page 7 and I'm on page 66 - you should check it out. Happy Father's Day to my Daddy and to all you Dads out there too!

Graduation & Kissing Booth

This past weekend was CRAZY! As you can see I graduated from Spanish Springs High School...graduation was friday night, June 11th and then our car show started bright and early on June 12th. This first pic is of me and my friend Kathleen, she and I have gone to school together since Kindergarten at Spanish Springs Elementary. We have a lot of history together and I was so stoked to have walked with her during graduation. We were late to the ceremony, so of course we ended up in the third row to the last, but we had so much fun!

I had considered not attending the graduation ceremony, but I am really glad I did. I had a lot of fun and enjoyed being a part of something so ceremonial. I'm very proud to have received my diploma.

 Saturday morning we woke up bright and early to head to Deer Park in Sparks. We hold our annual car show there - Reno Raunch O'Rama. This year we had a kissing booth. My friend Sydnee Lee and I were hosting the booth and above is one of the pumpkins taking advantage of kisses from pretty girls. We had a fantastic car show and I want to thank everyone that attended, sponsored or was a vendor at the show - thanks to them it was a success!

Reno Raunch O'Rama V

As I mentioned before I'll be at Reno Raunch O'Rama V at Deer Park on Saturday, June 12th from 10am - 4pm. My fellow pin up, Sydnee Lee and I will be in the Kissing Booth. Kisses are a $1 and this helps support our annual car show! We are also asking that car & motorcycle registrants and spectators bring canned food items to help benefit the Food Bank of Northern Nevada. You'll also hear our All Acoustic Revue with Little Robby & the Wound Ups and special guest Aaron Acquafondata. All these guys are friends of our and great musicians. I also wanted to thank all of our Vendors & Sponsors for supporting us again this year! I look forward to seeing you, or meeting you for the first time at the car show!

Friends & Fun!!!

Battle Born Showdown Numero Dos was a great time! My Dad and I hosted the 2nd Annual Ms. Battle Born Pin Up Contest. We had 15 contestants, Elesha won Ms. Battle Born 2010, Cherry Bomb (a fellow Coffinette) won 2nd place and Reagan Riot won 3rd place! We enjoyed live music, great vendors and there were a lot of cars to look at. My Mom, Dad, Uncle, Aunt and Nephew brought their '67 Aristocrat trailers and camped, apparently it was chilly Friday night, but they had a lot of fun in spite of the cold weather. This weekend (June 12th) I'll be in the Kissing Booth with fellow pin up Sydnee Lee at Reno Raunch O'Rama V. This is our annual car show that is hosted by my family's car club, Flying Coffins & Coffinettes of Reno, Nev. CC. It's at Deer Park in Sparks from 10am - 4pm. There will be cars, motorcycles, vendors, raffle prizes, trophies, food, kissing booth, all acoustic revue and lots of fun to be had hanging out with family and friends. I'd love to see you there!

Battle Born Showdown Numero Dos

I'll be attending the Battle Born Showdown Numero Dos this Memorial Weekend in Virginia City, NV! This event is  hosted by the Mugrosos and Dead End Cruisers on May 28, 29, 30 at the Silverland Inn and Suite(aka Ramada Inn). You can register your Pre-'65 traditional hotrods, customs and motorcycles. The car registration begins at Noon on Friday May 28th and the show will start with a PRE-PARTY Friday night at 6pm at the PONDEROSA SALOON (next door to the Washoe Club) with music by The Moonlight Trio, The Pendletons, The Darlins sponsored by the LEFTOVERs Car Club.  On Saturday May 29th car registration begins at 6am and the car show is from 10am-7pm with music by Vintage Vandals, Cowbelleros. The Saturday night AFTER-PARTY is at 7pm at Red Dogs Saloon with music by Long Gone Trio, Little Robby and the Woundups with special guest. The entry fees are $20 for cars and $10 for bikes. The show is free for spectators.  For more info, check out the Myspace page www.myspace.com/battlebornshowdown. I'm looking forward to seeing all the cool cars and motorcycles and hanging out with my friends and family! You'll find me with the Flying Coffins & Coffinettes, look for our vintage trailers - looking forward to seeing you there! 

"Where do you get your clothes Pheenix?"

People always ask me where I get my clothes so I thought I would share with you some of the places I shop. You may be surprised to know that I like to shop at Target, Wal-Mart, Forever 21 and you may not be so surprised that there are great vintage finds at Junkee Clothing Exchange in Midtown Reno and Antiques & Treasures Downtown. In the pic above, the romper, clutch and cute pump are all from Target, the leopard print cardigan and wedges are from Forever 21. These are great examples of how you can buy one simple item and add the retro look to any outfit. And just a quick note, "vintage" is defined as an item that is 20 years or older and "retro" means a vintage inspired item. I have both vintage and retro items in my closet and mixing the two will always make a fabulous outfit. For instance, my Mom likes to collect vintage earrings and clutches, you'd be amazed how skinny jeans and a top are inspired vintage with just those two items. If you don't want to go all out vintage or retro, just an item or two will make you stand out and your outfit unique!

Make Up for Spanish Springs High School Production

I wanted to share the make up I did for the Spanish Springs High School production of "How To Succeed in Business." This is my friend Nick VonNolde. He played an older character in the musical and I think his make up turned out pretty well!

Headlights & Hot Rods

I went with Danny and a few friends to help support Asia Tuschen (she was is a terrible car accident in her Implala) at the Headlights & Hot Rods car show at the California Automobile Museum this past Sunday. It was a beautiful day, perfect weather for a car show in Sacramento.

Spring Break Photoshoot

Last week was Spring Break and I spent my time in beautiful green Napa with my Grandparents, Jim & Carol Beazley and was also able to schedule a photo shoot for

Janelle Lei Cardenas ("Inspired by icons like Marilyn Monroe, Audrey Hepburn, and Twiggy you can expect Love by Janelle Cardenas designs to inspire you with classic lines combined with feminine fabrics, texture, and contrast.") and Charles Casela ("...photography student at AAU of San Francisco i'm known for my photographic compositing or i like to call it photographic illustrating.") did the photography. I styled my hair and make up. Look for me on her website soon and check out Charles' blog!

Signing Autographs

At the VIVA LAS VEGAS car show I signed autographs at the DollFace Design booth. This was a really great experience and I got to meet a lot of neat people!

Viva Las Vegas 13 Car Show

I had a great time at the VIVA LAS VEGAS car show. It's held on Saturday during the event from 9:00 - 8:00 and hosted by the Shifters So. Cal. This is a great time to get out there and meet people. Lesley Ward did my make up and I styled my hair. My outfit was made for me by Jeanne Dugan of the Doll House in Reno. The first photograph is by Eddie G. and the second is by my good friend Kelly Jones - she's an amazing photographer!

Viva Las Vegas 13 Fashion Show

I had the terrific opportunity to walk in the 2nd annual VIVA LAS VEGAS Fashion Show for DollFace Design. Christina Mendez and her mother/partner Carmela Melecio launched DollFace Design in June 2008. They are influenced by the vintage look of the 40's & 50's and everything is handmade! My hair was styled by Carmela, I did my own make up and the photographs are by Six Gun Serenade. I was truly honored to walk for such a great company in such a fun event!

Hello Again!

OK! OK! So I haven't been as committed to this blog as I think I should be...but I'm back with a vengeance. I'll share with you what has been going on in the world of Pheenix Van Sparks and what is going to be happening in the future. Hang on!

April has been a very exciting month for me. I was recently published in the VIVA LAS VEGAS 13 program. This is an annual Rockabilly Weekend in Las Vegas with bands from all over the world, including Wanda Jackson this year, and a car show of all car shows, people drive from all over the country. There were 13 cars that we drove with from the Reno area to Las Vegas this year! While attending this event you'll find that perhaps you're not as unique as you thought you were, but it's great to be with like-minded people - beautiful girls, handsome guys, great music and sweet cars - what more could a Pin Up ask for? The ad printed in the program is for my good friend Lesley Ward and her company Kitschy Kitschy Cool. She and her husband Mike have a booth every year at VIVA. I did my own hair and makeup for the shoot, the "kitschy" accessories are from Kitschy Kitschy Cool and David Duffy, a local Reno photographer, took the photograph.

Pheenix Van Sparks' Wardrobe MUSTS

Hello!

I found a wonderful, amazing, FREE, fashion design website Polyvore.com

I was looking for a type of hat Beyonce was wearing and fell upon this great website and decided to share it with you...

This is my first creation and I cannot wait to make more...

I'm looking for feedback so please help me out!

If you want to see me create a certain outfit let me know and I will definitely make it happen!

I'll use this and video to help out FUTURE Pin-ups of the world!

Thank you for looking at my second blog!

Feedback please!!

xoxo

~Pheenix Van Sparks

Find me on Polyvore

Welcome to the Pheenix Van Sparks Blog!

Welcome to the Pheenix Van Sparks Blog and thanks for joining me! I will be sharing with you all the adventures of being a Pin-Up model and living the vintage lifestyle. From my shoots, to backstage at my fashion shows, from the how-to's of make-up and hair, to cars, the history of pin-up, and a little about my friends, family, pets and art - we should definitely have a good time!