Sumi-e..

Japanese brush painting..



Simple..graceful..elegant..



..Really fricking hard to do. :sigh:

If you feel like giving it a try yourself, Youtube has a million really cool tutorials to teach you. I need to spend a lot more time with them. :P

A fractured fairy tale..

Have you seen Penelope yet?? SUCH a cute little movie..




And not just cause it's Christina Ricci, and James McAvoy...and not even all the rest of the actors, where even the "bad" guys turn out to be not bad, or at least not as bad...



No, what grabbed me the most, were the colors...



..and the sets..


..and the clothes..



Penelope is a fairy tale, about a girl cursed to be born with the face of a pig..



As a result, she is shut away from the world, kept in her own private little world, in her room..



Which leads to her developing a strong and creative streak, completely reflected in her surroundings..




And her wardrobe is to die for, too...I think I would wear every single outfit she wore...even the fluffy wedding gown, if I were actually, you know, getting married. :p

So, if you are in the mood for a cute, quirky, funny, adorable little movie, with some major eye candy, I'd say Penelope would be a good choice. I, personally, need to own it now. :D



Credits:
1, 2, 4: Penelopethemovie.com
5. The Fabled Needle
6. Confessions of Christina Ricci
11. Christina Ricci Online
All others, my own screencaps from the movie Penelope.

It just keeps coming..

Okay, the first time I won something on a blog, I won another thing like a day or so later, even though I *never* win things.

So now, I won something again, and, whaddya know...I won another thing a day later!!! :D I entered CraftyB's giveaway for the cute little Cath Kidston purse here! I'm on a rooooolllllll!!! Rofl

I wonder if that's the end of the streak, then?? :p

Living in the Past...

I have a friend, one of those online ones, that I've never actually met, but that I have known for years now...Her name is Chole. She is a reenactor, and has the coolest blog about it. Seriously.



Who knew living in a tent for a whole weekend could be so FUN??



Of course, it's not all living in tents. How nice does that look?? Sitting around on the beach, exactly the same as it would have been 150 years ago. I think that one was a pirate encampment or something.


Apparently, it's not ALWAYS peaceful...Really, Chole?? You guys set off cannons?? At WHO?? Just how realistic ARE these reenactments, anyway??





She even has the whole family involved. Not even reluctantly, from what I hear! :p



When she is not running all over the country participating in encampments, she is busy sewing the most amazing, authentic, detailed, down to the last detail costumes ever.



And learning new, arcane skills, like writing with feathers, how to cook in a Dutch oven, and learning how to lucet?? Or something. I dunno.



She also has tutorials for things like making a housewife, knife pleats, genuine stomacher stays, your own duct tape dummy...oh, and a butt to out-J. Lo J.Lo's. All hilarious to read.

You should jump over and have a peek...she has such a love for her passion that she gets YOU all enthusiastic, and ready to put a corset on and join her!!


Credits: All from Slightly Obsessed

Look at ME!!!

On the same day, and even in the same hour, I am a FEATURED BLOGGER over at Candy Hearts and Paper Flowers, AND, I have my hairpin tut in one of Rachel's at One Pretty Thing's posts!!!

It's like, I've hit the bigtime or something!!! :D: D

Credit: Unknown

A giveaway...

I've been planning on doing this giveaway for ages (meant for Post 100..and then Post 200...what am I up to now?? :p ), but I might as well get my butt in gear and join the Blogtoberfest giveaway bonanza over at Curlypops, huh??




It's a cross stitch book, filled with patterns of Dutch scenes, and stuff. It's not for the faint of heart, being all in Dutch, but the illustrations are all in color, so I would imagine it would be easy to work out how to make them up on your own.




I haven't cross-stitched in close to 15 years, so I don't really have a need for it, but I just think it's such a cool book, and want to pass it on to someone who WILL use it!!




To enter, just leave a comment, and it would be cool if you spread the word, too. :D I'll leave it open til Nov 1 Midnight my time, which is Halloween Midnight to the other side of the world. Whoooo-ooooo....Okay, my spooky whoo-whoos leave a lot to be desired. Never mind. lol

So how about it?? Anyone up to the challenge?? :D

It pays to participate...

So, I'm having a peek at my blogstats, and notice a number of visitors from over at Pink Chalk Studios. Huh?? Why?? Dash over there to have a look, and discover I had WON!! And I hadn't even entered!!! All I had done was make a comment, which I can't even remember doing, and she put me in her random draw!! How cool is that?? :D

I will be very interested to see the differences between her way, and the way I made up from a vague memory of a pic of hers, lol!

Apron love..

A little dress for a little girl..


Made from Ottobre 2/2005 design 12, but changed up a little, as usual. I attached a little apron, and rather than making elastic on the armbands, I did a little double row of shirring. That didn't work out quite as well as I was hoping...but I think that is the fault of my seriously deficient steam iron. Time for a new one, I think.


Also sewed a mock tie to the front, leaving the ends loose at the back to tie in a big bow (yes, I know my bow-tying capabilities are lame!! :p ) Oh, once again, busted into one of the thrifted sheets.

Came out really cute, I think!! :D

Papercuts pt. 3

I am always so amazed what people can do with paper. I've talked about it before, but I am still wow'd, so I'm going to do it again. :p




Su Blackwell...I love that dress at the bottom...wish it were possible to actually wear something like that!!


Beatrice Coron..okay, so that is cut Tyvek, but the principle is the same! :p










Brian Dettmer..Book autopsies...really?? How freaking amazing are they??






Chris Natrop...how ethereal does that first room look?? I want to have it in my house, just to..you know...look at or something.






Kako Ueda..how creepy-cool and intricate. Not sure I would actually want to have one on my wall, but ADORE the unique creativity!!




Ingrid Siliakus..I think that first one is a fairy castle...I swear the Twelve Dancing Princesses should come sneaking out a side door any moment.


I keep thinking I want to try papercuts, but wow...I have a lot to live up to!! :p


Credits:
1. DesignersBlock
2. Cherry Coloured
3. Miss V
4. Gla Quicolli
5, 6, 7, 8. Beatrice Coron
9, 10, 11, 12, 13. I forgot to save the sources for these ones. :(
14, 15, 16, 17. Chris Natrop
18, 19, 20, 21. Kako Ueda
22, 23, 24. Ingrid Siliakus