The Royal Couple

That's how a passerby referred to us as she made a u-turn to come ask us if she could take our picture. Here's my favorite shot so far of us in our matching outfits:

Great Finds feature!

My Hot Pink Roses parasol is featured this week on Made for Me by Oaklie's Great Finds!

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Friday Favorites!

Old rose neck corset with black applique, by Serinde corsets:



Red Hat with Peacock, by HoneysuckleRose:



Weaved Glass Branch Basket, Organic, Abstract Vessel, by MorningLightGlass:


Hand sculpted ATHENA miniature corset necklace, by wickedgems:



Handmade Garnet Moonstone Brass Hammered Wide Cuff Bracelet , by SecretAura:

Hats and Spats!

I started out the evening making some simple hat bands for our tophats, to go with our matching outfits. And then I tried my hand at making a pair of spats. Very happy with how they turned out, so much so that I will have to make another pair (or three or five), and describe the process. So expect a tutorial at some point!



Remember, every successful outfit is made by the accessories.



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Another new outfit

I need more excuses to wear my vintage crinolines after all, don't I? I was lying in bed this morning, because for some reason I woke up at 6am, trying to convince myself there was absolutely no reason whatsoever that I should be awake and that I needed to go back to sleep, but my brain wouldn't cooperate, and instead it went off on costuming tangents. Why shouldn't the husband and I have matching outfits? (That's how a lot of my outfits begin, actually.)

I still have oodles of the brocade from which I made my husband's tailcoat.

I treated myself to this corset as a Christmas present to myself. The stripes are a bit darker than the brocade but it was close enough, I decided.

Started cutting out the pattern before church this morning, and finished sewing the skirt at about 6pm this evening. Paired with the corset and the vintage crinoline I bought last year, and voila!





I still haven't finalized the decoration for pinning back the front of the skirt yet. I've got some trim bows pinned in place for now, but may change my mind after a trip to the store this week. Will still also be making headbands for both our tophats as well. Oh, and by the way:





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Friday Favorites!

Elisabeth the Virgin Peacock - sterling silver and gemstone necklace, by CleopatraKerckhof:



Vintage Gold Etched Fan Pendant - Asian Bird Designs, Double Sided, from YesterdaysSilhouette:



Steampunk Butterfly Embroidered Apron, by PolkadotOrchid



Feather, crystal, beaded headpiece, by ImaginariumApparel:



The Nefarious Dress, by Blacklickorish:



Matisse bracelet & earrings, from BritneyLin:

Frocking the husband

I promised the husband a tailcoat. Silly me! I had planned on using Butterick 3648, but when I went to go cut out the pattern pieces for the jacket, I realized I only had it in the XS/S/M size. The husband has a 42" chest. I'm guessing I bought the smaller size because I was thinking about doing Victorian drag at some point. The pattern is out of print, of course! I made a trip to the store, and the only tailcoat pattern I could find is a silly costume-y one for Uncle Sam, but I worked with it, added lining, and actually came out with a piece that made both of us happy.



I used a champagne colored brocade that I scored at Goodwill last month when we braved the Day after Christmas sale.



I found a rich chocolate brown lining fabric that complemented the brocade beautifully.

Of course there have to be buttons!



And chain



So another step up in my confidence level of sewing things for people other than myself has been achieved.



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It's chicken soup time again

I had described the process of making soup here, but hadn't included any pictures! I made more soup last night, and took some this time around.

How it starts out, with the whole raw chicken and veggies, making the stock:



After simmering, this is how the chicken comes out of the pot if I'm lucky:



If I get distracted and let it go too much longer, it completely falls apart, which makes fishing out the meaty bits a bit more challenging. And of course, this is Miss Nellie's favourite part of the process, as a bit or two usually falls off.



In between warming my innards with a tasty bowlful, I've been listing again! I realized I had four parasols that had never found their way into my shop, and I finished two new necklaces this week as well. Here's the first set:

Hand Embellished Ivory Battenburg Lace Steampunk Parasol Bridal



Steampunk Brass Gear necklace with Vintage Brass Chain



Red Black and Ivory Geometric Steampunk Parasol OOAK Ruffled Trim

Friday Favorites!

Heart Full of Love - Handmade Sterling Silver Heart Necklace Pendant - OOAK, by SCJJewelryDesign:



Mario the Hedgehog Knitting Pattern PDF, by Yarnigans:



Victorian Style Cuff Bracelet . Antique Silver . Fluorite Cabachon - Her Majesty, by JemsbyJBandCompany:



Vintage Hawaiian Lace Wedding Dress, Cream Lace Illusion Victorian Style with Train, Petite, from StelmaDesigns:



Filigree Victorian Bat necklace in silver stainless steel - vampire bat wings silhouette necklace, by FableAndFury:



Narwhal Plush - Dark Purple w/ Mustache, Monocle and Top Hat , by OstrichFarm:



Fairy Woods print 8 x 10, by TwigStudioArt:

Eggs and parasols

I don't know how on earth the husband ended up on Martha Stewart's website, but he found this recipe a few days ago and strongly suggested it would make a good breakfast for the weekend. He was right. NOM!



Working on another black and purple parasol, with a floral lace overlay this time:



Realizing I'd better get dressed soon, as I have a sewing date this afternoon. A friend of mine and I are working on mockups for the original Star Trek female uniform. It is appropriately called a "Skant." Apparently, each episode, they raised the hem 1/4" until the censors complained. :o




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Friday Favorites!

Austro Hungarian Bohemian Garnet Bracelet, from DresdenDollz:



Sherlock Hound 24 X 16 canvas wrap, features a detective dog dressed like Sherlock Holmes, by DogtownArtworks:



Storm Moon, by Belethil:



Versailles Angel - mirrored glass angel wings , by PamelaAngus:



Streamer floor length tutu skirt formal red black adult, by SistersOfTheMoon:



Glowing Pearl and Citrine torsade necklace, by CapitalCityCrafts:

Adventures in Jelly

My contributions to all the holiday parties I've been attending this holiday season have been some of my homemade jellies, along with crackers and goat cheese, and they seem to have been a big hit. They're absurdly simple to make, too! I tried my hand at a merlot jelly first, and a pomegranate jalapeno variety as well. They both work off the same basic recipe:

4 cups liquid
4 cups sugar
1/2 cup lemon juice
1 package powdered pectin

That's it for the wine! Whisk the pectin into the sugar, bring the liquid to a gentle roil, whisk in the sugar/pectin mixture, bring back to a boil and let cook for 5 minutes, can and boil in a water bath for 5-10 minutes. For the pepper jelly, just a couple extra steps. Split and seed 10 jalapenos (and 2-4 habaneros if you want extra kick) and simmer in the juice for 10 minutes, strain out the peppers, and then again, whisk in the sugar, simmer, can, boil, yadda yadda. I ended up doing a second batch after I blew through the first (each yielded about six 1/2 pint jars), so instead of merlot wine the second time around I used mead.



A cracker, smeared with goat cheese, and a dollop of gourmet jelly on top? Heaven!



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