Show & Tell Friday~

For this weeks show & tell I'm sharing some old Daguerretype photo's that I picked up from a second hand store. There was a bag of 5 for $20. I had always wanted some of these.... no reason in particular...lol...just wanted some. They are housed in little cases/boxes that are super cute all by themselves, then they open up to showcase an old photo inside a golden mat. There is velvet opposite the glass photo I imagine to help protect the glass from breaking. I had to use my scanner to get a close up of these. These are daguerretypes which means they reflect like a mirror so they are tricky to photograph....okokok, and I was lazy.They are not in "pristine" condition, all of them no longer are hinged together.... I like to believe that the people in those photos were so deeply loved that the boxes were opened so often that the little hinges broke that way :-)

Here is something I copied/pasted from the web about this type of photograpy if anyone is interested in reading it ~

Daguerreotype The dawn of popular photography arrived in 1839 with the daguerreotype image. Though an earlier process, the calotype, had been invented in 1835, it was the "dag," invented by Louis Daguerre in 1839, that excited the public and brought our ancestors to the new studios that opened primarily in the larger cities. The daguerreotype photographer was a true artist, and needed significant skills to create the one, non-reproduceable image. The daguerreotype produced a direct positive image by coating a copper plate with silver, polishing it, then exposing it to iodine vapors to make it light sensitive. The plate was placed went into the camera, was exposed, then heated over mercury. The result was a very sharp & detailed image. Wrinkles, lines, muscles, wounds are all keenly delineated. You will often get the feeling that the subject in a dag will step out of the image and come to life! Dags were delicate and easy to damage. Thus, the daguerreotype was the most expensive type of image to buy then as it is now. The daguerreotype is a startlingly realistic form of early photography. You can recognize a daguerreotype by the mirrored appearance to its surface.

This show & tell is hosted by Kelli

Vintage Heart Swap~

I managed to get my things wrapped and sent off (today) to my swap partner Angela in Dolly's Vintage Heart Swap.

I made then embroidered an apron....

I made this pink heart shaped container. It folds completely in on itself to form one heart....

Here is a little cupid thats been caught and stuffed into a jar~Bunch of odds & ends.....

1 World/1 Heart~

New swap~ I found this swap on Cheryl of "Zanymayd's" website. Here is the link for this swap One World-One Heart Event. Anywho, here is something that I copied/pasted from that blog to better explain:
It is a blog-wide giveaway event. The original idea behind this was to bring bloggers together from around the world who may never ordinarily meet. It closes the gap of the blog community and enables us to interact, discover new and wonderful people, and in the process possibly win a prize or many prizes along the way. Last years event had nearly 100 participants and many connections were made because of it......friendships that are still going strong.

There is instructions on this blog that you must follow.... thats my problem, I skim-kinda read it....lol....bad me! Sooooooo I come to find out you have to show what your giving away, then join in the fun... duh. Always needing to go back and READ the instructions lol.
Anywho~ for my giveaway.... I offer up this little cherub. Here he sits in all his mischievous glory. He sits upon a tree limb ever so patiently waiting for just the right moment to fly about your garden and sprinkle those "weed-seeds" he has in his little hand....the little stinker. Please leave a comment to participate in this give-away. :-)

WIP

Ok, here is my first attempt at making a doll. Not to shabby..... the basic shape is one that I can live with :-) so much so....
That I've made the very same doll but in a larger form.
I gave her a little nose. I want to give her some ears as well...but I think ears would be hard. Maybe the next doll :-P
Now, I'm off to make fingers and toes :-)

Show & Tell Friday!

This week I'm sharing a fleece blanket with a crocheted edge that I recently made for my 9 month old grandson. (instructions to follow~) I purchased a yard and 1/8th of fleece fabric with skull & cross bones on it... (since he is my lil' pirate!) I cut the fleece so it made a perfect square, I then rounded each corner. There is enough fleece left over to make a pillow... I'll whip that up at a later date. I used sport weight yarn and the edge is done with a tight stitch so as his little precious fingers don't get tangled the crocheted edge :-) Instructions: Using masking tape mark off at 1/2 inch intervals- about a 10 inch piece (this will be used as a guide to poke holes into the fleece evenly) You can reuse the same piece of tape several times :-) I used an awl to poke through the fleece to create the holes.

Create your base row by making a sc followed by 2 chain stitches all the way around your fleece blanket joining with a slip stitch to the beginning stitch~
Second row: sc in each stitch around- join with a slip stitch to beginning stitch.

Third row: This row is worked using an "X stitch" The x stitch is made by crossing two double crochet stitches over each other. Sounds hard? but is so darn easy! (I've borrowed this photo below of someone demonstrating the stitch~) Sooooo you basically chain 3 (counts as your first dc) Then you yarn over and do a dc in the stitch to the right of your first dc. You are working backwards for this dc stitch. This creates your first "X" Then.... you skip past those two dc.... skip the next stitch and make a dc in the following stitch. Yarn over and do a dc in the stitch you skipped. Continue this pattern around the whole blanket and slip stitch at the end. Almost finished!

Fourth and final row.... Sc in back loop only all the way around your blanket to give the edge a nice "finished" look, join with a slip stitch and finish off...taaaaaaaa-daaaaaaa instant cute!This show & tell hosted by: Kelli

The Allure of a Veil

Sexy, smoky eyes peeking out from behind a veil - what could be more alluring? Ralph Lauren showed this hat, among others, in his Spring 2008 runway show. And Madonna used a veil to great effect in 1994 for her music video "Take a Bow".

But you don't have to spend hundreds on a new hat. At Couture Allure, we've got loads of vintage hats for you to choose from, including several vintage 60's whimsey veil hats.

See these hats and more at Couture Allure Vintage Fashion .

Free at Last~

Here is my 9 month old grandson doing an interpretive dance in honor of MLK.... here it is in all its glory~
I feel so repressed~
Free at last, free at last... Thank God Almighty, Free at last!

The Tomato Dress

Last week, over at the Vintage Fashion Guild Public Chat Board, we had a great time posting our favorite vintage novelty prints. Sellers were showing some really great stuff, while I was pulling out my hair trying to find something worthy to show off.

Today, I found this 1960's shift dress with the cutest print of tomatoes in pink and green!

Here in Boston, we only get tomatoes that are worth eating for about 6 weeks in the late summer. The rest of the year, grocery stores sell these pinkish red, hard orbs they'd like us to believe are tomatoes. Hah! But now, when I'm longing for a tomato fresh from the garden, I can look at this dress, smile, and wait for summer.

See this dress and more at Couture Allure Vintage Fashion .

Show & Tell Friday~

This Friday I'm showing a cupid I made using an old vintage photograph of a baby.I enlarged the photo onto cardstock and copied it in black & white so I could paint on the color (cheeks & dress) I then glued some old sheet music from the 1900's on the backside. I used illustration board as a base for the wings which I then hot glued white feathers onto. I also made a quiver using a beautiful piece of glittered paper to hold the 5 red glittered arrows this cupid has. The paper hat I made using old vintage text from a book written in French, it is embellished with a red feather ploom and a red rhinestone. In this little cherubs hand is the red glittered bow ever ready to load & shoot.I've housed this little love-bug in a pink bird house~This show & tell was hosted by Kelli

The Prom Dress of My Dreams

My Junior Prom was in 1971. This was the dress I wanted to wear. I wanted to look like the fairy princess of my dreams. But I was not a risk taker, especially where fashion was concerned. I was one of those gals who attempted to fit in. I wore jeans and platform shoes every day. Our school dress code had just been abolished and girls were no longer required to wear a dress or skirt, so no one did. But I wanted to.

Instead of my dream dress, I wore one very similar to this with a large scale floral print, which was the style that fashion dictated. I did not feel beautiful or princess-like in any way. Of course, 37 years later, its easy to say I should have had the guts to wear what I wanted. Hindsight is 20-20, regret is a waste of energy, and I can't go back. But I can urge you to choose the dress you've always dreamed of, no matter what.

See this dress and more at Couture Allure Vintage Fashion .

Moving right along~

I finished the red gingham apron that I'm making for part of my valentine swap... here is a little peek at it while it was a WIP. I did some "chicken scratch" embroidery on the apron and also added some white ric-rac to complete it. It looks very vintage~
I've started on the cloth body of the doll that I'm creating for the doll swap I've joined. I had visions of granduar and now I'm nervous it won't turn out cute. Ohhhhhhh the pressure I needlessly put on myself! I'm going to make the hands/feet and head out of clay... I have no idea of where I'm heading with this doll. I have no "vision". I've never made a doll before....... The initial pattern I made I've had to revise so as the NEXT doll will be better lol

Another swap~

Well, I've joined another swap... Vivian is hosting a "Beat the winter blues doll swap" I have been wanting to try my hand at making a doll. Here is the perfect "match" to light that fire under my rear end :-) Click on Viv's name above to check it out/join~

Yummy day~

I started working on a little something for my "valentine swap"... ok, I can't keep a secret, I'm making a red gingham apron :-) very vintage inspired~ okokok, I'm making myself one too! Geeze, make me spill the beans....lolWith the weather being overcast and threatening rain that puts me in the mood to bake. Today after shopping *insert smile here* I made a double batch of bananna muffins. AbSoLuTeLy fabulous muffins~ To top it off, I am lucky enough to be having a sleep over/paijama party with my grandson. Am I a lucky girl or what?
This photo shows the FABULOUS muffins..... topped with a brown sugar glaze. I like to use this 3 tiered dessert server as my cooling rack. I bought it for myself for Christmas. Doesn't my tile counter look good? I tiled my kitchen myself :-)

Show & Tell Friday~

Here are two small paintings I recently bought at one of our local thrift stores. The frames are solid wood frames that have a richly carved look to them. They set me back a whopping $4 dollars each. *big grin* One is a painting of a cat... (I adore cats)
the other a dog~ I have no idea where I'm going to put them, but I thought they were pretty funny and super cute...and for a total of $8 bucks, I couldn't pass them up!This Show & Tell is hosted by: Kelli over @ http://kellishouse.blogspot.com/

A Touch of Color

We've started to list dresses for spring at Couture Allure Vintage Fashion and my office is a riot of color. After months of dealing with winter woolens in navy, grey, brown, and black, it feels like the proverbial "breath of spring" around here. Outside, we still have 3 months of winter winds, boots, scarves, and mittens to deal with. But inside, we're daydreaming about warm sunshine and butterflies.

This cute day dress from the early 50's is one of my favorites so far. This is the type of dress a typical homemaker would wear around the house while doing laundry and ironing, washing the dishes, and caring for the kids. Who wouldn't want to do chores in this bright yellow and red plaid cotton? Today, I can see this dress worn with a red belt and red wedge sandals for a day of shopping. Sweet!

See this dress and more at Couture Allure Vintage Fashion .

Latest Swap~

I joined a Valentine swap which is hosted by Dolly. She has a lovely blog which everyone should check out. The swap is now closed due to an overwhelming response. It seems there are one hundred ladies signed up to participate. My partner is Angela. It sounds like a very fun swap :-) There are rules to this one: everything must be either red, white or pink also things must be heart shaped or have hearts on it. Seeeeee told ya its a fun one. I've already started buying things! Any excuse to shop!!

I am

bored. I've been keeping busy though... I finished painting a small tray with a pirate motif~ I hammered in the gold studs along the edges of the wooden tray, they are actually those "bedazzler" studs which I got loads of from an estate sale.

I also finished working on two fish made out of felt. All of which will be boxed away for later use :-)

I'm still bored. I think I need to go ShOpPiNg~

Keeping busy~

I just finished this sign for my front door (for the upcoming pirate party...) The wooden plaque I had painted the word "Antiques" on it, it was so cute...but sometimes you've just got to reuse things lol.and I found this thingy-ma-jig for sale at a thrift store for three dollars that I painted this lovely shade of pink then distressed. I have no idea what it was intended for...but I'm going to use it as a drying rack of sorts~Lastly, my little love Charlie keeping my seat warm for me, what a dear~

Rainy days

are great excuses for just sitting for hours sewing~
Thats just what I've been doing through these rainy storms that are passing through our area. I've been working on some felt fish for my grandson's birthday. They are from a kit and are working up pretty fast. I've also started to work on some things for Valentines day. Everything is in the "works-in-progress" stage.