feeling frisky

Etsy's blog The Storque teemed up with The Frisky to compile some sexy Halloween costumes from Etsy listings, and my tea for two cocktail hat made the cut for the pinnacle of sexy Halloween costumes: the french maid!


They also did a line up of selections for one of my personal favourites; the bad kitty! Meow! Maybe it's because I'm a leo, but I love the sexy kitty costume! Cliche, yes, but you really can't beat that look! The bad kitty that The Frisky created is pure classic 1950s pin-up! If I had an extra $60 just lying around, I would totally snap that body suit up! It's purrrrfect!

shuffleboard anyone

In September, Shane's mum is taking us on a cruise... to nowhere. Yeah. That's right. Nowhere. It's a comedy cruise too.
Yup.

Anyhow, we were planning on wearing Hawaiian costumes the whole time, you know, to be ironic (we're not leaving the coast people). I photographed this dress a while ago thinking that I was going to sell it, but I decided to keep it for the cruise, but now I'm changing my mind again! I'm not a huge fan of white, so I thought I'd pass this little number on to you guys while there's still sun in the sky and beach barbecues to be had! It's so perfect for summer parties! It's in my etsy shop right now!

skirting the issue

After what seems like an eternity, I am finally starting to update my etsy shop again! I spent all afternoon photographing and listing, and the three skirts pictured above are now available for sale right here! I was going to list the skirt and top pictured below, but when I saw how gosh-darn cute I looked in the photos, I decided that I couldn't part with it just yet! tee hee!

get the look... etsy style

Well kids, today just got a whole lot better than yesterday!

For someone who was told just days ago... hours ago even, that her amateur merchandising skills left much to be desired, the good folks at Etsy pulled through and posted a little feature on their blog, the storque, about how to get the look of my playful parlor! There's a link to more detailed photos (some that didn't appear on my blog) here.

Thanks Christine and Alison! You guys made my day; my week; possibly my month! Maybe even my year!

whistle while you work

I've added two more pairs of vintage shoes to the shop as well as restocked a whole bunch of sold out earrings! I'm trying to catch up with my ever growing list of earrings to make, and I'm happy to say that I made a pretty big dent in my "to make" list!

I was planning on photographing some new styles of earrings and maybe some vintage today too, but I found out that I was scheduled to work a half hour after I was supposed to be there, so I went to work instead of... working. At home. I also got into a fight with my boss. It was a *great* day! Tomorrow will be better!

tender tootsies

I've added a few pairs of super discount shoes for someone with tiny toes at my etsy shop!

you asked for it

Alright, so, maybe about a week ago the lovely Ambika tagged me to show where I blog. I'm cheating and showing you just the desk because I'm currently too depressed to clean up (yeah, that's it)... So there it is.

My lovely old desk, my shiny white computer, my hacked mystic wall clock, the top of my fake Eames shell chair, a prayer plant emerging from the dark, a stack of clothing that may or may not make it into the shop, a stack of paper, a hair ribbon, a giant box of "student quality" pencil crayons (I bought these when I was in uni because I was too cheap to shell out the $100+ price tag for the professional ones. I regret that decision. These are too waxy.), and a drawing that I was working on last night in the dark... almost. I was working on it by light of a single amber glass lamp from my collection of 17 that reside in this room. Here they are, Susan, in all their tacky glory!


Now you see why I hesitated to add another to my collection yesterday; these things take up A LOT of space! I can't even close my closet due to an ill placed orb. There's a couple not pictured because they are in the messy portion of the studio! Photos of them will have to wait until another happier day, when I get around to tidying up!

One of the disadvantages of working by the amber glow of these lamps is the inability to discern colour! It's virtually impossible to differentiate grey from blue, purple from brown, pink from orange, and so on, and so forth. I had no idea what colours I was using on my drawing last night. In the morning light I found pinks and purples where I assumed oranges and browns to be. It was strange. I would never have chosen purple (I think it's for wizards and unicorns), but it kind of works here.



I am a terribly lazy artist. I rarely draw anymore, and I find it so incredibly frustrating that it makes me never want to pick up a pen or pencil again... and paints? Forget about it! I used to be so good at colour mixing it was insane! I could duplicate any colour with ease, but now I don't even know where to start. It's funny how one forgets. As you can see I ended up scratching out the bottom half of this drawing in a fit of rage, but it's all part of the process. I've decided that I must, MUST get back into the habit of drawing and painting. Yes, friends, I'm putting my ego aside and hanging up that case of "masterpiece-itis" that I developed way back when because it inhibits my ability to finish ANYTHING!

back in business

Just a quick note to tell everyone that I'm doing much better, and today marks the first day since last Wednesday that I am wearing something that does not directly resemble pajamas! Hooray! I know that all your positive vibes have healed me! So, I am now able to do all those fun chores that Shane left for me before he left for the interior. Great.

I have reopened the etsy shop, and hope to have some of the recently (and not so recently) sold items restocked by tomorrow... as soon as I tackle that pile of dishes.

fops and dandies

I've added some new vintage lovelies to the shop! I broke out the masquerade masks to really get into character! Everything has sort of a Valentines vibe to it, but ended up looking all messed up because of my weird little brain!



This is the most perfect pink 60s dress! But styled so I look like an anachronistic 18th century French aristocrat!



This fitted blazer would be so perfect... except for the fact that it just does not fit me! I went a little Oscar Wilde with this one but mixed with... err... um... a little bit of this and a little bit of that, hence the snarl.


This needlepoint tapestry bag is just so pretty! It has the smallest needlepoint stitching that I have ever seen! And I like black.



And what says "Happy Valentines Day" better than a white kitten? How about a white kitten with a beaded handbag!

Meow! You can find all of the above in my esty shop right now!

charleston!

I channeled my inner Zelda Fitzgerald and danced a little Charleston for my latest shop update! I think that you can't help but have a good time when you're dancing the Charleston! It's so fun!

The vintage bolero from the first photo is here and the crochet flapper dress can be found here. This dress is just waiting for a good party!

dress you up in my love

I've added a few new items to the shop!


The first is a lovely little cocktail hat made from a high quality virgin wool flannel with a vintage doily and a whole lot of hand stitching! When I think of doilies, I think of two things: tea parties and Anabela! So I called this hat tea for two! I'd love to actually have a tea party with Anabela, but we live far away from eachother, so it will remain a dream for now. Incidentally, Anabela has the most amazing made to order cape in her etsy shop that would go smashingly well with this little hat! Everything this girl makes and her boy draws are so perfectly delicate! Their shop makes me swoon!





The second item is the black forest capelet! I was going to go full out victorian goth with this one, but I realized that it was so much more than that! It's kind of gothic fairytale styling to the hilt! The cotton trim and Victorian reproduction floral print cotton lining with just a splash of red just puts it over the edge! I actually feel like a walking Amy Earles illustration in it!




In case you're wondering:
both dresses were made by me
the Battenburg lace collar cameo and shoes from the "tea for two" were all thrifted
the fur hat was thrifted
the boots are fluevog samples

it's beginning to look a lot like christmas

I did a pretty big shop update this afternoon! Most of the new earrings are slightly hinting at Christmas, only subtly though. I'm not making any of those Santa and Rudolph things, just hints of whimsy and red and green. But not red and green together, so you can get away with wearing them all the time!

vaudeville

I've added a couple of vintage pieces to the shop with a bit of a victorian vaudeville feel. Both the skirt and the shoes are in pristine vintage condition! I love finding mint pieces! I've also restocked some of the jewelry that's gone missing in the shop over the last little while.

runaway

I got dressed up and played ANTM today for wardrobe remix! I was really feeling it! Total glamour shots!!! I decided that I needed to revamp my etsy listing for the hat that I'm wearing! The old photos just weren't glam enough!

ask alice

I'm trying to fully realize my dream etsy shop! When I first heard of etsy a year and a bit ago, I knew that I wanted a shop that would entertain my every whim and obsession. I somehow got stuck on just making jewelry.

I want things to change.

I originally saw myself exploring themed sections that would include, not only jewelry, but handmade clothing and art and vintage finds. Maybe even a little bit of home decor as well. I am a master pillow-maker (according to my mum). That's where the "jack of all trades" bit comes in, I haven't really made good on my claim so far. I did post a few drawings way back when, but I haven't since. I really haven't been doing much in the old art department anyhow, but I may, and when I do I will surely be inspired to add some to the shop.

I'm working on a gig poster for love and mathematics at the moment, and once they're printed I'll post it here for you to see!

moonshine

I cheated with wardrobe remix again, and posted a photo from the shoot I did for the shop! I hope that's okay. I ended up changing into grubs to do laundry immediately following the photos too. That's really cheating! Oh well. I hope you can forgive me remixers.



I am so pleased with how this capelet turned out! I love this wool tweed! The edges are finished inside and out with this sweet chocolate brown baby rick rack, and I used one of my vintage ornate metal clasps to dress it up even more! I got two sets of these clasps from a friend that had inherited a huge box of buttons and beads, some dating all the way back to the 20s! I don't really know how old these ones are, but they are so pretty and special! They're kind of a classic Baroque pattern, which makes them impossible to date (for me anyway), but I would guess that they are pre-1960s.

I finished this capelet for the shop two weeks ago, but that was around the lost-time era of April... so it just didn't get posted. I wanted to post the hat and the cape in the shop at the same time and I just couldn't get it together! The days are so dark now that I'm having a hard time getting things done. I should be photographing in the mornings, because by 3:30 the sun is pretty much gone! Ridiculous! And sometimes I'm just not that functional in the morning! Anyway, I finished the hat and they're ready to go!


This hat is sort of a remixed version of the mademoiselle de la lune hat that I sold at the beginning of the year. I cut back on the number of black cock tail feathers and added a few tan coloured cock tail feathers to warm it up a bit, and I really love the result!

egyptomania

I'm taking inspiration from both the Ancients and the Egyptian revival of the turn of the last century. In the late 1700s Europeans had "rediscovered" Egypt's treasures which inspired a century of design and literature. In the early twenties King Tutankhamun's tomb had been unearthed and the whole world went crazy for it again! Egyptomania reigned and the Art Deco and Nouveau styles incorporated elements from the Egyptian treasures that were unearthed.

Below is a title slide from the lost 1917Theda Bara film, Cleopatra. Apparently all but 11 minutes were destroyed by fire... but those 11 minutes are illusive! Housed in some museum somewhere never to see the light of day. And below that is the Gustav Klimt portrait of Adele Bloch-Bauer. Klimt used gold leaf and Egyptian symbolism in many of his works. These are just two of the obvious influences that have inspired me lately.



I made up a little mini-collection of earrings for the shop and I decided to throw a little pop culture into the mix for good measure. Not only was Egyptomania all the rage, but absinthe too, was also de rigueur at the time.

An Egyptian theme with an art nouveau sensibility as interpreted through an absinthe fueled fever dream.






All earrings are available in the shop right now! I have some more goodies in the works for this theme so stay tuned!