I might be just a little crazy~

....Crazy as a fox!!

I have decided, along with my creative partner and seamstress extraordinaire (my mommy), the woman who passed down my love of fabrics, design, and creativity (my dad too, he's an artist who loves to paint), to overhaul my whole "business perspective".

My mom is an extremely talented seamstress. I used to steal the scraps of fabric from under her sewing table as a kid to make clothes for my Barbie's. :)

As a teen, I began to make my own patterns, and it was she, who would then bring them from a mere sketch and turn them into wearable works of art. So, teaming up is the only sound thing to do. She did teach me to sew as well, but she certainly wears the crown in that department. And unfortuantely, she lives out of state, which makes this even harder.

I have gotten numerous requests to design/make various styles of clothing. I'm so eclectic that there's not much that I don't like. And I'm a Pisces (we posess all the traits of all the other signs.)
But, I am only one person with a vision that I alone cannot fulfill.

She is graciously working on several items as I work on certain items so that together we can produce quite a bit to get this rolling.

Having said all that, this is going to be my LAST post here at SFC. I am moving on to something that I think will exceed everyone's expectations.
So there will be a new look, new name, new esty store, new blog (where you'll be able to purchase items if you wish, until a website is set up) and a style that I think everyone will just adore.

So, from here on out, you can find me at my personal blog~Check in over there sometime and say hello. And I'll reply to everyone as often as I can. (Sewing takes a looong time.)

It's been great getting to know everyone here....

(I'm going to leave this blog up.)

I received another blog award!!

Wow ! Denise of Couture de Papier really made my day. I've been running on empty the past few days and this really helped to lift my spirits and to let me know that I need to "keep on, keeping on".

*Here are the award rules:
List 7 things that you love and then pass the award on to 7 bloggers you love!
Be sure to tag them and let them know they have won!
You can copy the picture of the award and put it on your sideboard letting the whole world know.....you are KREATIV!

1. Music
2. Gardens
3. Reading
4. Art (of course)
5. history
6. vintage
7. architecture (the older the better)

And the se7en bloggers I've chosen are~

1. http://blo64rt.blogspot.com
2. http://www.aduckinherpond.com
3. http://artgirlatl.blogspot.com
4. http://downtherabbithole.typepad.com/my_weblog
5. http://michellerenee777.blogspot.com
6. http://verbenanestedtreasures.blogspot.com
7. http://houseinroses.blogspot.com

These ladies continue to inpsire me and entertain me everytime I visit their blogs.

The muse courts her fancy

I have always adored the Medieval times. Renne faires and all things pertaining to. The clothing (while most of it cannot be worn everyday) is still very romantic, to say the least. I have always been drawn to the art of John William Waterhouse. He along with Jean Claude Monet are my two favorite artists.

And while I would love my entire life to revolve around that particular era of time, I can also appreciate other era's and styles which all lend themselves nicely to a cohesive blend of elements.

The "garden fairy" shirt was something that i made for the fun of it. I love the color combo.

But I am currently working on a few pieces that are much more timeless, romantic, and elegant. Along with a few other things~I don't do paper collage or pictoral jewelry, I sew. I am working on a few things that are pictoral in nature and are turning out pretty good thus far, so check back for those too in a few days. (Time permitting).

I am still working on my house (renovating/painting (the ENTIRE house) and decorating).

*Also, I've been unable to view blogs/leave comments today, so I'll catch up later.

In the meantime, I have to get my PC Fax working properly so that I can work from home. I just started working as a private contractor for a media-advertising agency and have been allowed to work from home. Thankfully! Which means I can still have time for my 'hobbies' while earning a living. I worked along time to get to this point and I am very grateful to have finally gotten here.

Here is wishing everyone a great week~

*NeW* Garden Fairy Shirt

Inspired by the colors of hydrangeas and fairy dreams.

I will be putting this up on etsy shortly~

(I *need* to find a manneqin/form to display my clothing on. This is a FITTED corset, it doesn't look like it though because I don't have a form to put it on.)

Tattered Dreams~

My "partner in crime" and I have decided that for the sake of keeping all options open, have decided to give the nickname "Tattered Dreams" to the line of clothing and accessories that we are currently working on.
I will be posting a few things within the next few days...Please, check back.

I hope everyone has a great weekend~

Perfectly sweet Victorian Shabby home

One of my favorite clothing designers~ Michal Negrin!! If you've never visited her site, you really should take a few minutes to visit~It's worth it. {And for you vintage lovers, she has just released a 1920's inspired line of clothing...it's very pretty to look at. ('Cause I sure can't afford her stuff.)

I love this necklace though, it looks like it has a tiny paper doll attatched to it.

Cupcakeville

Oh, to visit Cupcakeville where nothing it as it seems...Once you cross the threshold, it's as if you're in a dream. For it's only here in Cupcakeville where whatever you wish, will be. So won't you join along and dream this dream with me?

{new Polyvore creation}

Ladies & Gentlemen, Boys & girls of all ages....Step right up and you'll be astounded....There's going to be a party in blog land~

Hop on over to a land of enchantment....and let her know you'll be attending! It's going to be FuN!!

Show me what you create & I'll tell you who you are

Being creative and selling your work is alot harder than it appears. There are rules and regulations that must be adhered to when conducting oneself as a business. But, it's especially hard when your line of work pertains to clothing. As required by the FTC, each article of clothing must have tags sewn into it. (This includes pillows, table runners, blankets, etc.) In other words, by law, I am required to tell you (the purchaser/wearer) of the components that the fabric consists of, and HOW to take care of the garment. This placed me in a condundrem. What tags (50/50 cotton/poly, 100% cotton, etc.) to buy and from whom? How many? What would they look like? Would they be reliable? So forth and so on...

Well, being the crafty (independent) person that I am, I have created my own line of clothing tags~One to advertise my company name. And secondly, the content tag (which I'll make to accompany each piece as I make it.) They are made of 100% cotton.




Being creative takes alot of courage. "Your creativity is who you really are." At some point the mind gives way and the creation begins. The mental connection is gone and in it's stead is a trust that whatever is supposed to come through will come through. That is it's purest form, it's not planned, or contrived, even though sometimes it feels like it originates from the mind.

Thomas Moore talks about creativity and living the creative life as being more the way you do things-not the things you create.

Creativity is your soul expressing itself.

Romance of yesteryear at Stately Oaks Plantation

The prized jewel of the South. If Atlant-ians (or anyone) wants to see what the "old South" looks like, you need not look any further than South of Atlanta. Sherman and his soldiers, pretty much left this area intact when burning down the South. Stately Oaks was the residence for one family (4 generations) for 81 years. Can you imagine that?

NO CAMERA'S WERE ALLOWED INSIDE. Which bummed me out, they had beautiful vintage wedding gowns, etc. on display that I would have loved to have talked about here. But, we'll work with what I did get.

This house was built in 1839. And prior to entering with our very hospitable tour guide, we were informed that the house is "decorated" in a way that Margaret Mitchell would have thought it be. In other words, very "Un-Hollywood". The decor (furniture, curtians, etc) were Victorian in nature, but the interior of the house, was in my opinion, very Colonial in style. The restoration team spent a long time getting it back to what it used to look like. And so, much of the house, with the exception of the parlor, which was done in peach, the rest of the house had creamy-ivory walls with just the baseboards and windows frames painted to add a touch of color to each room. The colors were pink, blue, and peach. But very peculiar shades of those colors....As paint back then was made of buttermilk, flowers, Georgia red clay (the peach?), and other natural things.

We had to purchase tickets for the tour inside Judds country store which is also on the property. It is very typical of the country stores you'd expect to find still in existance in the North East.

This here is the "Tenants House"....Another example of really how simple they truly lived in those times. Stately Oaks was actually once a "farmhouse". (Again, the white house with the green shutters....) So, while the house may have been large enough to house a large farming family, it was very simple indoors. And of course the servants slept away from the main house. The kitchen was seperate from the rest of the house too, and smaller than the tenants quarters, and looked like a log cabin.

Now if you take a close look at this bed. You'll see rope at the foot of the bed. This is where the phrase "Good night, sleep tight, don't let the bed bugs bite" comes from. As the goose feather mattresses would start to sag, you simply cranked the rope (around some mechanism) and the mattress would become firm again. This is where the tenants would have slept.

...And cooked. (For themselves). The kitchen side of the "tenants" quarters.

The porch of the tenants quarters.

And this is what the "hired help" would have worn. To the right of the dress, is a basket full of cotton. Which we got to keep a piece of. Inside each cotton "ball" are seeds. Each seed had to be picked out of the cotton leaving every stray hair behind. We all tried to pick just one seed out and it took awhile. I couldn't imagine having to have done that everyday....

Here are some things I learned while touring the home about the 1800's era:

1. They slept with caskets under their bed. Usually just one adult and one childs sized coffins. As death back then happened at any time. And if you ever received a letter in the mail (a piece of stationery trimmed with black) you knew someone in your family had just died. The black trim was usually visible through the envelope.

2. The stairs in the home were narrow (slightly narrower than today) and the reason why they were eventually widened was to accomadate the "hoops skirts". Prior to that, womens skirts just flowed and fell grafecully around the ankles.

3. Prior to indoor plumbing, there was what was called a "trunk room" at the top of the stairs along with a fainting couch. Why? Well, even though the skirts were flowy, their corsets were often so tight that by the time they got up the steps, they were out of breath and had to sit down for fear of fainting.

4. They collected blue "flow" plates for their dining tables. (The blue & white Asiatic style we see today).

5. next to the dining room was what was called a "warming kitchen" thats where the food was brought to keep warm while the family dined, awaiting the next course.

6. Dinner was served at lunch time, and it was a full-course meal. Meats, vegatables, biqsuits, pototoes.

7. Traveling artists, if lucky enough to get work, would travel house to house for some cash and room & board while they painted. So often times, that is the reason most paintings are of just the bust. The larger the painted portait, the more money the family had. As was the case with....

8. Wedding gowns. If they had an actual wedding gown and a bridal party, they were considered to have had money. Otherwise women got married in their Sunday best with just a veil and small bouquet. (And dark brown was a popular color back then.)

9. They didn't have screens in their windows. And in the South, bugs are definitely a problem. So instead they hung these glass cloche looking things filled with molasses at the windows which caught the bugs.

10. They farmed, went to church on Sundays, and, spent evenings in the parlor with the family sewing, reading, sharing stories, letters they might have received that day, playing musical instruments, etc. IF upon entering the home, you saw books in the parlor, you knew the family was educated....This was the late 1800's remember?

Well, I hope you enjoyed my little visit to Stately Oaks. I wish I could have taken pictures of the interior of the Plantation, but I couldn't. But if you ever want to visit, it's defintiely worth the trip.

It's a blog thing....

"I reckon...." says Steve, after explaining to him my reason for switching to Typepad and switching back.... (Kind of like his Harley...you may have heard the saying..."if I have to explain it, you wouldn't understnd". Well, thats how blogging is....to me, at least.)
I've decided to keep my blog here!! While Typepad has many great features (one of them being the photo albums), I decided to stay on here blogging. Blogger actually has an easier format and is, well, like "home to me" now.
So....I'm officialy back!!!

Inspired by "found" objects~
Don't you love it when you're out "junking" and you stumble upon some really great things that just seem to shout out "bring me home, bring me home". Certain things that while you're not sure what you'll do with, you just know that you'll find something to do with them because you can aleady feel your creative juices flowng? Often times it's the little things that can spark a big imagination. Such was the case with these~ These little things are the inspiration behind a few of my new shirt designs.

The "rusty" cream angel door knocker (wich I use as a paper weight) I already had, but it's the inspiration behind a new vintage cream shirt.

The silk weathered and worn looking purple with a hint of blue silk roses are so pretty and remind me of a fairytale, Spring, and all things sweet. And the burgandy with a hint of black "velvet" rose reminds me of a night out on the town in a little black dress~I can't wait to get started on them, and I'll post pictures just as soon as they're available to purchase.

"Your bliss" is what you're supposed to be doing. The thing you're meant to do, the thing that nourishes you the most, the thing that harmonizes your inside truth with your outside life, the bringing together of who you are with what you love doing....You just have to want it. {Author, unknown}