Fairy Fest Costume Preview

          We’re going to the Fairieworlds Festival in a couple of weeks, and I’ve started working on my costume.  I’m planning to wear a pretty pale pink blouse and the pink velvet vest I made for the last Regency picnic.  Here are the new pieces I’ve made so far:

I started with a lace and taffeta jabot.

I have a ruffled bustle.

And a brocade cumberbund accented with lace and antique embroidered silk.

The underskirt is unbleached silk with vintage crocheted lace trim.

The overskirt is embroidered peach organza.

They look lovely together.

My favorite part is the hat.  It has ears! 

I started with a white felt top hat and added peach striped bias-cut taffeta around the edge, along with knife-pleated peach ribbon on the brim. 

I covered the top in point d’ espirt and wrapped the crown in a piece of lace left over from my sister’s wedding dress. 

The ears are brocade and taffeta, and it has a lace fall in the back.

I found a gorgeous shank button made of an Irish penny from the year I was born at the Oregon Country Fair yesterday. 

It looks perfect on the back of my hat.

Now I just need to make some new fairy wings and I’m all set!

New Creations

I haven't blogged in a while, but I have been busy and creative lately.  I've had lots of custom orders through my Etsy shop.  A pirate festival in Connecticut, 1812 celebrations on Canada Day, and an Australian Lady Gaga.  People are having fun all over the world, and I'm thrilled that they are wearing my hats and fascinators!  Here are a few non-Etsy projects I have been working on in the last month.

We updated our Maypole, a tradition in my family.  It was a little late this year, because my parents were in France over May Day, but we did it as soon as they came home.  I use strips of taffeta fabric instead of ribbon, because I can make them nice and wide so they wind around the pole beautifully.  We have a variety of colors every year, and they sometimes change, except for my brother-in-law, who will only participate if he gets a “dirt brown” ribbon.  Here is our maypole this year.

Every year at our winery’s Memorial Day open house, I hang my hand-dyed silk scarves on makeshift clotheslines.  They look particularly lovely when blowing in the breeze.

I recently made a special birthday crown for the little boy of a lady I work with.  I made the numbers out of felt and attached them with velcro so it can be changed and used when he turns two next year.  I got to use a fun new product (new to me, at least).  It’s a fabric that you run through your computer printer.  You can print words and pictures on high quality cotton.  It works wonderfully and I can’t wait to try it again.

One of my New Year’s resolutions this year was to wear more skirts, so I have decided to make myself some fun ones.  Here is my latest.  A pretty blue print with an octopus wrapping his little tentacles around the edge.  I like that the polka dots look like little suckers. I plan to wear it to the beach-themed end of year party at work this week.  I love how it turned out!   

Spring Regency Ball and Picnic

          We had a lovely time at our Spring Regency Ball on last night.  We spent all day decorating the ballroom and it looked amazing.  Everyone was dressed to the nines, and we danced the night away.

          This morning was a gorgeous day for a picnic.  We met at Hendricks Park, which was full of rhodedendrons in bloom.  We had tea and scones, fruit and cucumber sandwiches, and lovely conversation.  Then we went for a stroll through the park full of flowers and birdsong. 

It was a wonderful Regency weekend!

Sneak Peek- New Ball Gown

The Emerald Regency Society has our annual Spring Ball in Eugene tomorrow night.  I'm giving a bonnet-making demonstration beforehand, and we're having a picnic the next day, so it will be a whole Regency weekend.  I have a new ball gown for the occasion.  It's a very pretty pale blue and gold brocade, decorated with cream colored braid.  I used point d'esprit over satin and taffeta for the sleeves and front panel, and I added pointed scallops on the sleeves and a knife-pleated ruffle at the bottom.  Here are some pictures of it.

Stay tuned for pictures of the ball and picnic!

Fox and Ox Dolls, and a Rose Update

I've been working on some new dolls lately.  I just finished some fox dolls and kits which are now for sale in my Ety shop.  I just listed them this morning, and they have already been favorited by people from England, Greece, Canada, Israel, and Denmark, as well as the US.  Apparently foxes are popular the world round!

Hazel

Lavinia

Sadie

The roses that I rooted are doing well.  Only one didn’t make it, all the others have little leaves and look healthy and happy.

Last but not least, I wanted to show off the little ox doll I made for my brother-in-law’s birthday tomorrow.  He’s part of a silly joke about “foxes” versus “oxen” dolls and I think he turned out quite well.  I especially like his little horns!

Award Time!

  Melissa from The Crafty Panda Girl has given me with a Liebster award for blogging.  I feel like Ugly Betty when she got her Blobby.  Excited, honored, and without a clue what it is.
  Turns out it's a networking tool for bloggers, a bit like a chain letter, but instead of scaring people with bad luck if they don't participate, it just gives new bloggers accolades if they do, as well as extra exposure and hopefully, more followers.

‘Liebster means ‘favorite’ or ‘dearest’ in German.  This award, which originated in Germany, recognizes up and coming bloggers with fewer than 200 followers.

Melissa awarded me the Liebster, so I go to her blog http://thecraftypandagirl.blogspot.com/ to get my award, and thank her in a comment, as well as adding a link to her blog on mine.  Next, I choose 5 new recipients, and award them the Liebster as well.  If they want to participate, they do the same and we all get more exposure and readers.  It sounds like a win-win situation to me.  I looked at lots of blogs from people who are on Etsy teams with me, and here are my new awardees.  Please take a peek at their lovely blogs!

http://balmyatticarts.blogspot.ca/

http://deepmidnightperfumeoils.blogspot.com/

http://virginiadiakaki.blogspot.com/

http://sarawenperfume.blogspot.com/

http://theengineerandthegypsy.blogspot.com/

Coloring Eggs

This year I thought it would be fun to use natural dyes to color eggs for Easter.  I looked at lots of recipes and decided which spices and vegetables looked like they would make the best dyes.  I used things like blueberries, red and yellow onions, and tumeric and paprika.

 Beets for red eggs

 Red cabbage for purple

Spinach for green

Some steeped in hot water

Some boiled in saucepans

They looked like rich beautiful dyes when I put the eggs in...

But they all came out pale and sickly, or without any color at all.

So, in the end, I used regular old food coloring on brown eggs from my neighbor's chickens, and I got the rich earthy jewel tones I had been hoping for.  Conclusion:  natural dyes are fun, but they (at least the ones I tried) don't produce much color.  Brown eggs and food coloring work very well!

My finished eggs, a combination of natural dyes and food coloring on brown eggs.  Have a very happy Easter!