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

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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More purple parasol fun

I tried something different with my latest parasol, creating a faux lacing pattern on alternating panels, in between sections covered in the sheer purple fabric with the silver spiderweb pattern I used on the previous piece. It was mainly a thrifty necessity, as I didn't have enough of the remnant left to do all 8 panels, but I've been wanting to try something like this for some time now, so it all worked out, right?



Again, I'm hampered by color balance in photographs. I either get a blurry shot that is almost true to color, or a focused shot with the flash or sunlight where the purple turns cobalt blue. Blurry it is, at least for now:



I do now have a couple of yards of a bright purple lace, so I'll probably be doing another iteration or two in this color combination in the near future.



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Pagodas!

I've found myself some pagoda parasols, and I'm having fun with them. Here's two that I've completed this week:





I've got a hot pink one as well that I'll hopefully get finished before next weekend.

I've also found a surprising number of pieces that I made during my Year in the Making challenge that I'd never photographed or listed, so I'm slowly getting them into the ArtFire shop. Here's two pairs of earrings I listed today:

Green Garnet and Brass Gear Steampunk Dangle Earrings Pierced:



Faux Pearl and Brass Dangle Earrings Pierced:





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New shinies!

Working on some new pieces for Steamcon, which is only a week and a half away! Eep!

Steampunk Lolita OOAK Parasol Tan with Ivory Braid and Green Trim



Peach Pearl Steampunk Necklace with Engraved Antique Pocketwatch Part OOAK



Cobalt Blue and Crystal Steampunk Necklace on Sterling Wire OOAK



Wing'd Key Steampunk Necklace Silver Key Turquoise with Vintage Beads OOAK



Vintage Red Glass Steampunk Necklace with Engraved Watch Piece Silver OOAK



And here's a few that I haven't listed yet, because, well, I'm lazy and hoping they'll sell at the con and it'll save me the time and effort of putting them in my ArtFire shop.









10 days and counting!



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Upcoming Events

It's going to be busy for Designs by Victoria for the next few months. I've got three upcoming events at which I'll be vending!



On September 2, October 1, and November 12 I'll be vending at the Indoor Flea Market at the Century Ballroom, from 11am-3pm.



Then of course, there's Steamcon, October 14-16. Oodles of new parasols for your pleasure!



And I just found out yesterday that I was accepted to sell at "Art at the Moulin Rouge" at Teatro ZinZanni on October 19, from 6:30-9:30pm.



Busy Busy!



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It's PINK!

I recently completed two black and pink parasols. I had someone contact me about a piece I'd sold some time ago, and I've been meaning to do another one in this color scheme, and just one wasn't enough. Plus, now I've got two chances to tempt the headmistress of the Gothic Charm School!



A first for me - I added a black lace overlay to the panels before trimming the ribs. I like the look, and am itching now to do another one, but with ivory lace and trim. It came out fabulously!



The second one is a lot closer to the first of these I did, although the trim is different. I alternated with three different types on the ribs, and also added a black beaded fringe around the edges.



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New Steampunk Creations

A long overdue post - I finally listed the jewelry and parasols I've completed over the last month in my Artfire shop!

Steampunk Lolita Parasol Olive Green Rust and Ivory OOAK Lace Trim



Steampunk Victorian Nanny Tan Parasol with Burgundy Trim and Lace OOAK



Steampunk Flower Cameo Necklace Antiqued and Vintage Brass Chain OOAK



Steampunk Brass Key Necklace with Vintage Chain and Black Glass OOAK



OOAK Steampunk Lolita Black Pagoda Parasol with Black Fringe Gothic



Steampunk Flower Cameo Necklace with Vintage Chain and Glass Pearl



Steampunk Lolita OOAK Taupe Parasol with Ivory and Gold Braid and Lace



Steampunk Red Rose Cameo Necklace on Vintage Silvertone Chain OOAK



Steampunk Flower Cameo Choker Necklace on Vintage Chain

At the EM Gallery

This week, I was invited to set up and display my pearls and parasols for a reception for wedding planners at the EM Fine Art Gallery here in Seattle. It was a lovely evening, with amazing food catered by the folks from Herban Feast, especially the creamy paella with pan-seared scallops, garnished by lemon basil foam. (Yes, I am obsessed with food!)

The venue is truly lovely, an older building lovingly refurbished. I especially love the old brick along the back wall.


Podium by Candlelight by *dbvictoria on deviantART


Candlelight by *dbvictoria on deviantART

I packed light, but still got to show off some of my favorite pieces.







They even stuck a couple of nails in the wall so we could hang and backlight one of my parasols:




And on top of all the other goodness, it gave me a chance to wear my new pearls:



If you're in the area, you should go check them out to see what loveliness is hung on the walls!



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New parasol, and lots and lots of pearls!

First, another new parasol - stripes!

Steampunk Lolita Black and White Striped Parasol Lucite Handle OOAK




And last night I completed a personal project, making myself an obscenely long strand of knotted pearls:


106 inches of knotted pearls by *dbvictoria on deviantART

I saw something similar to this in a department store before Christmas, and it's been on my brain ever since. So now I have my own! I'll probably make another one to see if it's a marketable product for me, but in the meantime I'll just enjoy my own set!

New parasols listed!

Okay, so they're not really new, as I've posted a picture of most of them here awhile back, when I was prepping for Steamcon, but I've finally gotten good sets of pictures for them all and gotten them listed in dbvictoria on Artfire.

Ivory Embroidered Cotton OOAK Steampunk Lolita Parasol w/Vintage Lace



Butterscotch Plaid Steampunk Lolita Parasol OOAK



Red on Red OOAK Steampunk Gothic Lolita Parasol with Lace Trim



Batik Brown Grey and Ivory Steampunk Lolita Parasol OOAK



I also wrote my first poem in over a year! Maybe my mojo is coming back!

Part one of my Saturday suit is finished!

Bloomers, full circle knee-length skirt (that I drafted myself!), and jacket complete. Ruffles everywhere! I'd originally planned on wearing this with an ivory blouse, but then I fell in love with this vintage crinoline:



So now I've switched from ivory to black accents, but I can live with that.

I also finished up another new parasol to be premiered at Steamcon: