Some small projects

Since we finally got rid of our old kitchen table and moved my new 50s table into the kitchen, all of my sewing stuff go displaced on to the floor and in a cardboard box. Something needed to change.

So I took this floral canvas and made up a hanging organizer for my sewing things. Small light things like marking pens, seam ripper, and tailors chalk went in the top two rows.

I used the heavy canvas to make pockets for my scissors.

And the bottom two pockets hold patterns and notions for my current works in progress. They are really full right now since I have several works in progress. I'm trying to get myself down to just two!

And I also started working on my Red Riding Hood caplet. I used the same pattern for the hood and caplet from my husband's monk costume and just lengthened by six inches because that's as much as I could squeeze out of my yardage. I thought it looked great from the outside, but a bit cheap with just the wrong side of the red stretch velveteen on the inside so I dug into the stash to find a lining material.

I choose some left over black taffeta with a velvet pattern. I'm not entirely sure that the drape and stretch of the two fabrics will work well together but I also have some cheap black lining material I can use instead. Hopefully there is no fabric fail because I love the look of the black print inside the caplet. *crosses fingers* Right now they are hanging to let the bias set so we'll have to wait and see.

The birds loved the organizer fabric. They kept crawling all over it while I was trying to lay out the pockets.

I was trying to fly through making the organizer so that I could have time to put all of the stuff back in the organizer before my husband got home (instead of spread all over the floor...) so there were loads of scraps for the birds to play with. It always seems like the first step in any organization project is to make a bigger mess than you started with.

Adventures in Black Hair Dye

Here's a review of the drugstore box black hair dyes that I tried to get black hair.

If you can't wear a pretty dress, you might as well go shopping

Since the forecast for today was overcast and rainy, this Renaissance Faire trip was not a good one for costumes, but we made up for it in shopping! :)

My splurge for this year was a lovely leather corset from Brown Cow Art. It makes my waist look like it's been photoshopped. :) And it's not even nearly as tight as it could be. I'm sooooo happy that I was good at Jo-Ann's this weekend and only spent $10 instead of bringing home the 6-10 yds of $10/yd fabric that I fell in love with.....

The lady who helped me was very enthusiastic and let me try on several corsets before I found one I liked. Of course, now I need some appropriate clothes to wear under my corset.

My husband's big purchase for the season was a kilt and accessories. He's been wanting one for a while and aside from the fact that wool is ridiculously expensive, I have zero desire to do all of those pleats so he opted to buy one instead.

I also got some accessories for my new Renaissance costume.

I got earrings to match my growing collection from Stillwater Chainmail.

A nice black belt from Blue Flame Leather.

And a leather pouch found at a corset shop of all places (Renaissance Fashions). It's not nearly as nice of a quality as the leather from Brown Cow Art or Blue Flame Leather but I really wanted this size and shape and it was not too pricey either.

If you missed last year's haul, it's here and here. To catch up on all of my Renaissance costuming adventures, set aside a few hours and start here.

1940s Hide a Bang Hairstyle

My new middy haircut is great except that my bangs are not long enough! Here's how I cheat with my bangs to get that classic 1940s look.

Oh, a Wedding

My husband is a professional photographer (and I help) so we go to loads of weddings. Last weekend, I had the opportunity to attend a wedding as just a guest.

On Friday, I decided that I did indeed want a new dress to wear so I set about whipping up this dress.

Fabric: mystery garment district fabric ($2/yd)
Pattern: Simplicity 2509
Year: 1948
Notions: zipper ($2), buttons ($4)
First worn: August 2012
Wear again? Yes. I want to make the sash that goes with it and shorten the hem a bit. I decided that it was a bit long but I didn't have time to rehem it before the wedding.

I did view 2 on the right.

I just paired it with my normal shoes. These ones have just about kicked the bucket though. :(

I found the most adorable rose shaped buttons for this project at Jo-Anns.

I completed the outfit with a vintage hat and thrifted belt.

Me and my sassy mother-in-law.

I also met another vintage loving gal at the wedding.

Her name is Sarah and she rocked the wedding in a darling vintage 50s dress and hat.

She just started a vintage blog so pop over and say hi. Sarah has a few of our photo booth shots posted.

It's almost here!

Renaissance Faire season is almost here! I've been working furiously on my costume to make it wearable again.

I've made my sleeves detachable and whipped up a second pair of sleeves from Simplicity 3782 for when I'm in the mood for a more Elizabethan look.

Each sleeve is mounted on a facing and the rings are tied to another set of rings on the shoulder of the dress.

I didn't end up lowering the neckline since I was worried about it opening up a whole new can of fitting worms. But I did retrim the dress.

And I am almost finished with the foresleeves for those chilly days. Plus I have my lower class dress to wear. I really can't decide if I want it to be hot or cold since I want to wear both costumes so much!

My first outing to the Ohio Renaissance Faire will be Monday September 3rd. If you are going to be there that weekend (or another) and would like to meet up, please let me know. I was so bummed that no meet ups worked out last year.

The Girl Next Door

Last night, we went over to some friends house for dinner and a bonfire. I've been a kind of meh fashion week this week (probably because the humidity has been wreaking havoc with my hair) so this cute outfit was just the antidote I needed.

For some reason I felt very girl next door-ish. I think it was the ponytail.

I adore this vintage dress! It's light and cool but not super sheer.

Pleats!

I paired them with my new 50s style shades that I snagged in the LA garment district for $5. My husband makes fun of them but he also hates the shape of modern women's shades, so I figure that if he's going to hate them either way, I may as well wear the $5 pair that I adore.

I actually wore a bit more makeup than usual. I picked up a couple of mini eyeshadow palettes from Sephora a while back and I've been feeling adventurous in the eyeshadow department since then.

All in all, a really fab outfit, but now I have to go because I have a wedding to go to today (as just a guest for once!) and yesterday, I decided that I really did want to make a new dress to wear.