I am this excited right now!

(image via flickr)

I am pretty excited right now. I have just had my first sale on Etsy! My little Eglentine doll is off in the great big world now and I am so happy she found a good home. Thank you!

I started this blog partly as 'promotion' for my shop and partly to keep myself on track. I feel like when I am actually expected to write things down and do things I am a more productive person. So although I am excited I have a few goals for myself

1. more items for my shop- i need to sit down and work on stuff!

2. take better photos- some inspiration from flickr and some quality time with my new-ish camera should do the trick

3. create better packaging- i would really like to spend more time on this

Also in exciting news my good friend Sarah took me to see 'Rent' last night. (Thank you Sarah!) And one of my other good friends just bought a car. I have been looking into getting a car but I get a little overwhelmed by it sometimes.

In sadder news I am remembering 'Grandma' Della. She passed away this last week and I just found out about it. She was one of those amazingly spunky/adorable 90-year-olds that you just hope you will be cool enough to be some day.

MORE 'Things to do when you are upset'...

Gala Darling has a great blog post up entitled "100 Things To Do When You're Upset (The Sad Trombone List)". I was reading it at work (which was a bit rough this evening) and even just going through the list really made me feel better. I was thinking about it a lot and I thought I might just add or 'amend' a couple of ideas that I actually do to feel better.

• "Watch movies you used to love as a child"- this is one listed by Miss Gala Darling but I cannot stress enough how good this one is. I recently re-watched a bunch of Disney movies and it was excellent
• Watch a movie by yourself
• Color- whip out the coloring book or sidewalk chalk and have some fun
• Plan your dream garden- draw it out or just daydream it. Does it have flowers? Veggies? Tall vine covered walls with a secret door?
• Make anything- do you already have a favorite craft? Have you been interested in trying something new?
• Try a new recipe, master a family favorite, or get your BF's secret cookie recipe

Girls Rugby Union team, c. 1930s / by Sam Hood

Girls Rugby Union team, c. 1930s / by Sam Hood
Originally uploaded by State Library of New South Wales collection

So I just finally got a flickr account and I love it! So much creativity and inspiration in one spot. I was just browsing through 'the commons' when I happened upon this great picture of a 1930's women's rugby team. I played rugby in college and I miss it a lot. It was one of the few sports that most people joined not knowing anything about and we all learned together. We didn't even have a proper coach- the girl who had the most experience was automatically it- and we all learned together. I miss the play hard, party harder attitude between teams, the muddy practices, and the overall badassness (is that a word?) that comes with playing rugby.

'Watchmen' or more importantly my vintage hair crush

I was excited for 'Watchmen'. I am not a die hard fan of the book (though I did read most of it) but I am a fan of director Zack Snyder and it had an amazing cast. Many people have already commented on the movie itself, how it fits into the new 'darker' superhero genre, how it is visually stunning, etc. But I am most interested in talking about ONE aspect of the movie and that is Sally Jupiter, a.k.a. Silk Spectre, played by Carla Gugino. Now in my limited contact with the source material the movie is very true to the book (some say too true) but one area that they improved upon GREATLY was Sally Jupiter's style. Not only is she upgraded to super-retro-awesomeness in her fashion but her hair at the beginning of the film was to die for.

Ever since I saw this promo picture for the film I have had a mad crush on this hair. The faux bangs, the side rolls, even the color is so 50's pin-up! And even though her 'costume' was perhaps not the most practical for a long night super-heroing it was super cute and I am guessing will pop up as a popular Halloween costume later this year.

To make things even better James Jean(see more of his great work here) created this Vargas-esque painting of Silk Spectre for the film!

Hot. I love it. After seeing the film and talking about it with friends I went home and attempted to do some faux bangs- it did not work out. If I were going to do this for a Halloween party or something I would probably get a red wig and style it that way...hmmm.

One hair style I was NOT in love with? Matthew Goode's blondness. Dear Matthew, you are super hot and you are an amazing actor but this look is not for you. I understand it was part of the character (and you did rock it) but you need to go back to dark hair.

love,
me

Feeling Crafty T-Shirt Recon

I have been searching for the perfect dress pattern to make some everyday summer outfits and as I was searching I got one of those deep down crafty urges. My sewing room is full of clothes that are in various stages of projects (or patiently waiting for projects) and I found this old homecoming shirt that was perfect.

(As I found it in my craft pile- the neck was already cut out of it.)

I have been really getting back into fairy tales lately and was kind of thinking of something with a peter pan collar. My biggest thing is that a lot of my clothes are still just 't-shirts from college' so I am always looking for ways to re-work them into something better. Also I am one of those self taught DIYers that doesn't really know how to to sew but manages with her limited knowledge

Here is the after. A little less tragic 80s don't you think? And double bonus is that it will be the perfect comfy shirt to rock on St. Patrick's Day. The dark green fabric came from a just a plain green t-shirt that didn't fit right.

Finally...new items in the shop.

It took me way longer than I expected to get these into the shop.

When I started making these dolls I was really just trying to develop a pattern I liked to make a 'base' doll. But as I made them I just didn't have the heart to change them. I didn't want to give them little faces and hair and clothes. I liked them just the way they are and that is the way I am keeping them. I got the idea from these old dolls from the early 20th century- the ones with the cloth bodies but the hands, feet, and head were bisque. I liked the look of the jointed limbs and different colors working against each other. So I bought some craft felt to make the head, hands, and feet and firmly stuffed them so they are harder then the rest of the doll. The bodies are made from recycled t-shirts that had been sitting on the craft pile waiting for a new life.

Each doll is hand and machine sewn and although made from the same basic pattern they all come out different! I even made fabric labels with the Spes logo on it inspired by this tutorial.
This is Eglentine (10 points if you know the name reference). She is a purple/eggplant color that is really quite delightful.


And this is Gertrude. She is a bit longer than Eglentine and is a lovely robin's egg blue color. (Forgive the pictures winter clouds are not making it very easy these days.)


Cheers.