Books, Books, and some more Books..

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I worship books in whatever form they come in.  For the longest time, I refused to get a kindle because I feared that it would interfere with the pleasure I derived from snuggling up in bed, turning the pages and smelling the delightful papery-ness that comes from a good book.  I was SO wrong.  Instant gratification.  Now I have stacks of books and a pretty substantial kindle library, and I couldn't be happier.  I thought I would share a few of my recent purchases with you..feel free to ask questions about them, I'm always happy to provide my opinion!

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I love the idea of constantly evolving.  One of my favorite stories about Benjamin Franklin is how he kept a log his entire life of the things he wanted to improve on and rated himself regularly to keep track of  how well he was succeeding.  I was so moved by this suggestion, that I started my own book to track my evolution.  One of my more recent yearnings is to change up my make-up routine and shake things up a bit.  Jemma Kidd is amazing.  (Also, if you're in the market for a make-up manual, Kevin Aucoin is a genius.)

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Fair warning..there are no patterns in this book.  It's more of a technical "how to" on sizing vintage knitting patterns (which you can find for free in abundance on the internet.  One of my favorite resources for this is freevintageknitting.com).  However, if you've often been frustrated by yarn selection or resizing of vintage patterns, like I have, this book is great.

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Another great vintage resource, this one DOES come with patterns (on cd).  I love how they put the looks together in this book.  The outfits are adorable.  You'll be seeing a pattern or two from this as part of the Create 365 project ;)

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..cause you can never have too many books about Marilyn..

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Great tips on signature looks of some amazing women!

This is just the tip of the iceberg (I have oodles more to read on my kindle and some great vintage books I picked up at a used book store a few weeks ago).  Now I just need another 10 hours in the day ;)

Hugs and Smooches,
D

Crafting for the Holidays

If you love making gifts for the holidays, as I do, you know that it's never too soon to begin planning your holiday giving list.  (In theory..I do have a tendency towards procrastination and have found myself in previous years pulling all nighters with a pot of coffee and several skeins of yarn ;-)

I have vowed, however, that I will be organized this year!!  In this spirit, I have started sorting through some of my pins on Pinterest to identify what I would like to try my hand at, and who the gifts would be suited for..because, truthfully, I do sometimes find something I reallllyyy want to make that would only be suited as a gift for me :-)

Here are a few things I'm thinking about so far:

For her

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 These gorgeous origami fabric butterflies would be perfect for hair accessories, brooches or as an accent on a necklace.

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Hand scrub, great in a gift bag with a nail file and some pretty nail polish!

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Embellished cardigans..soooo easy.  (Incidentally, this is also an adorable blog with several other fantastic ideas!)

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Cozy sewn felt slippers (also a great idea for kiddos!)

For Him

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My husband LOVES these.  They're pretty easy to make..I may enlist the children to create a few for their Dad and uncles ;-)

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Despite his protests about the "Fudge Handles" he acquires every holiday season, The Man loveeesss some homemade fudge.

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Create a playlist, could be songs for your sweetheart, running songs, songs to brighten your day, type the list out on fun paper and attach to an itunes gift card..it's like a mixed tape for the 21st century ;-)

For the Kids

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Create a bunch of these.  Use to embellish overalls, sweaters, hats, mittens or stitch them all together to make a scarf.

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Rice filled heating pads to snuggle up to on a cold night!

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I'm a sucker for a cute hat, and this one's about as cute as they come..

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This link is for 25 Christmas Books and crafts to go with them, but you could do this with any book for any age!  My oldest daughter loves the Hunger Games, and I thought a neat combo would be the Hunger Games books and a craft project to make arrow hair sticks out of chopsticks and feathers or felt feathers.  My youngest loves Diary of a Wimpy Kid, so to go along with that, a craft for making your own diary. 

So that's my (preliminary) list!  What are your ideas for the holidays?  Do you make gifts as well?  What sort of items are on your crafting list?  Feel free to share here or over on facebook!

Brimfield 2012!

Beautiful Vintage Dresses

Each year in September, I attend the Brimfield Antique Market and several things happen:

1. I forget to take as many pictures as I'd like to share here on my blog
2. I miss out on at least half of the offerings because the market is so huge and vow to extend my visit the following year
3. I find some remarkable treasures and remarkable people!

1940's Zeigfeld Follies Costume

 I wanted to share some of my favorite interactions from this year with you all.  First up, the amazing train pictured above was more than 10 ft. long and belonged to a Zeigfeld girl.  It was velvet, lined with red silk and covered with tiny mirrors in a pattern resembling a peacock's tail. It was INCREDIBLY heavy, and the girl who wore it said she had to do back exercises to be able to wear it (along with an enormous headdress).

Petticoats!

I also had a fun conversation with a fellow operating a vintage circus items booth.  He stopped me as I was walking by and explained that he was writing a book (a sci-fi/steampunk/circus theme that had a pretty neat story line) and as I walked by he "recognized" one of his characters.  He asked to take my picture for reference, and I gave him my email so he could send me the information on his book.  (How do you like that?!  I could be immortalized in a story :)

Brooches!

We visit the "pin lady" (who's name I have never remembered to ask) every year because of her wide selection of amazing and creative brooches.  I own several of her pieces, including an Aphrodite brooch, several dragonflies, a pretty peach tree with a hummingbird and a cat :)

Bakelite Rings

Can anyone tell me what these are used for?  I just loved the way they looked, but I couldn't imagine their use.  (I thought perhaps belt buckle?)

Goodies!

I ended up coming home with a pretty decent haul that included some wool felt hat forms purchased from a really neat lady who used to design hats for MGM (can't wait to start working on some new hats for the shop!), Several 1950's/1960's dresses that I will be photographing next week, some really amazing costume and fashion design books from the 30's and 40's, a few 1940's sewing patterns, a 1920's Bowler Derby, several hats and blusher veils, a fur collar, hand beaded millinery flowers from the 1930's (which I plan to use on one of the finished hats!) and a few 1920's magazines.

All in all, a very successful weekend!  (And next year, I plan to go down early for the vintage textile show!  *swoon*)

Hugs and Smooches,
D

Oh the Possibilities..

As a self confessed self help addict, I subscribe to a plethora (< FUN word)  of excellent self improvement sites and blogs.  I simply can't control myself.  I LOVE possibilites.

Dream 1 - Start dancing again ( credit )

Today, I read this excellent post over at The Zen Mama's blog about becoming a "possibilitarian".

Dream 2 - Visit Paris (credit)

It came at a good time.  While I adore possibilities, I frequently lack direction.  I like to cram as many experiences in as possible, which can sometimes lead to burn out and a lot of half finished projects and ideas.  It can also cause me to get a bad case of the "can'ts".

Dream 3 - Build a wardrobe based on my Signature Style Project (Credit)

"I can't do that, I don't have time!"

"I can't do that, I have a family and responsibilities!"

"I can't do that, I have financial obligations!"

Dream 4 - Design a line of ConstantlyAlice Clothing and Accessories

The can'ts are just awful.  Besides being terribly irritating to The Man (he's a problem solver.  When I come at him with a "can't" he counters with a "do what makes you happy, I'll support you".  Kind of takes the wind out of my tantrum sails..) they frighten me into maintaining the status quo.

Status quo (<NOT a fun word).

Dream 5 - Open a physical location for ConstantlyAlice (credit)

I firmly believe the universe wants us to succeed.  That things are put in our paths when we need them to remind us to follow our hearts, dream big, fear less, act more.  The post about possibilitarians was like a road sign reminding me that life is short and I need to live it.  Stay tuned for some new adventures...

Dream 6 - Write a book (credit)

Hugs and Smooches,
D

Book Review - Steal LIke an Artist

I'm an artist.

There, I said it.

It's been a long time coming for me.  It's been hard for me to embrace this label because I'm not Degas, Van Gogh or Georgia O'Keefe.  I'm a perfectionist and have never felt worthy of the title because what I produce (to my mind) is not perfect.

Here is a small example of something I recently created.  It's a mixed media cuff bracelet for my daughter.  I painted the miniature in water color, glazed it with modge podge and then banged out the words on my vintage typewriter.  It was a labor of love..and I guess it could be considered "art".

What Big Eyes You Have!

I paint murals on the walls in my home, doodle whenever I have a chance and carry a sketchbook in my purse to draw design ideas for new things to sew or make as they come to me.

Still, I've always just thought of it as a quirk of my character..like loving vintage clothes and my tendency to stick my bare feet out the window when riding in the passenger seat of the car.

Enter "Steal Like an Artist: 10 Things Nobody Told You About Being Creative" by Austin Kleon.

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I've been a follower of Austin's blog for a while now.  My favorite thing about his site (besides his creative blackout poems) is that he writes like he's talking to a friend.  This book is no exception. 

The premise of the book is twofold.  One - Be yourself.  Two - Nothing is original, so embrace the ideas that have come before you, mix them up with your own ideas and create something that is uniquely "you".

The concept that resounded with me the most (and refers back to the beginning of this post) was "Don't wait until you know who you are to get started."  I had been waiting..and waiting..and waiting to "feel" like an artist before I considered myself one.  This liberating idea that I could just create (and sometimes create badly) and be an artist set free about a thousand ideas for projects this weekend, many of which you will see in the ConstantlyAlice shop along side my vintage items...because, as another idea from the book explains, I don't have to be limited to "just" selling vintage, or "only" being an artist, they are all valid parts of who I am.

Hugs and Smooches,
D

The Pin up Plan - Bibliography

Ok..I'm going to let y'all in on a little secret..I am a total Nerd with a capital "N".  I approach pretty much anything I tackle as a research project.  I collect information (and more books than any girl needs), hang out at the library, write up notes and "research papers" and then I implement things as if they were a science experiment.  I take notes on what works, what doesn't, I tweak, I start again.

You couldn't even begin to imagine the amount of joy I get out of this process..

Sooo, that being said, I've already begun collecting reference material for the Pin up Plan, I have a rough outline and I'm getting ready to jump in with both feet.  I thought I would include you in the process by sharing the information sources I use with you, so at the top of the blog (where the page tabs are) you will find a new page titled "Books and Videos".  This is by no means a comprehensive list (yet!), but it will give you an idea of where I'm starting from.

Some of these books may be hard to track down or are out of print.  I will share the info and some of the pages from these books in future blog posts.

Have fun :)

Hugs and Smooches,
D

A Room of One's Own

I thought today I would give you all a little tour of the space I create in :)

My space began it's life as a dining room, but since we all gravitate towards the kitchen, It was quickly taken over with my crafting supplies.

This lovely old machine is from the 1920's.  The amazing 80yr old woman who previously owned it was still using it up till last year!  It's my back up machine, because it doesn't have the modern bells and whistles, but it runs like a charm!

A small portion of my fabric stash (I have two steamer trunks and several suitcases full so I'm never without when I get inspired!)

The only thing I love almost as much as vintage...books ;)

One of the afore mentioned steamer trunks, more books and my poseable sketch model, Cordelia, who the children like to put in random poses to amuse me ;)

I have two of these pegboards to hold my supplies (and that gorgeous jacket was rescued from a yard sale for $2.  It's authentic to the late 1800's and it's in BEAUTIFUL condition)

Lola <3 (If you look carefully behind her you can see a tortoiseshell hair comb from the victorian era.)

A small selection of my patterns (that sideboard they're sitting on is chock full of them from every decade you can imagine!)

I keep little jars of buttons, notions and feathers readily available for inspiration!

A repurposed plant hanger holds mason jars of buttons, spools of ribbon and my inspiration journal where I jot down ideas.

The sign on the door that goes from my sewing room into the husband's "Man Cave" ;)

Hugs and Smooches,
D