Daily Outfits: February and March

First an update about the "Virtuous Unicorn" line!  I've been working coloring the sketches.  The animals and flowers are done (and look great!), and the maidens and unicorns are almost done.  I was stymied on the maiden's dresses; designing a dress to go on a dress was a bit meta for me, but it seems to have worked out.

So look for some more previews soon and the actual line after that!

Other then dabbing watercolors onto paper, I've worn some clothes and taken some photos.

Worn on St. Valentine's day, and posted to the egl community for the Red theme.

This coord on lookbook

Jsk: Handmade

Cutsew: Thrifted and altered

Collar: Vintage

Pin: Vintage

Earrings: Gift

Corsage: handmade

Purse: Thrifted

Belt: Thrifted

Cuffs: Handmade

Hair Bows: Handmade

Socks: Innocent World

Shoes: Easy Spirit with handmade bow clips

Worn to a Valentine's day party.  I went for a sort hime look.  Not sure what I think about the high bun with my face.  Bit of an experiment. 

This coord on lookbook

Jsk: Handmade
Blouse: Ebay
Mink Stole: Antique's Mall
Tiara: Gift
Necklaces: Handmade
Shoes: Thrift store
Bow Clips: handmade

Striped dress again.  I went for a more mori style this time.  I wore this to drop off my Mother's and my "jewelry" entry for the Philadelphia flower show.   I tried out pinning my sandal shoe clips to my boots but they went a bit wonky and one fell off while I was taking photos.

This coord on lookbook

Jsk: Handmade
Blouse: Forever 21
Cardigan: Burlington Coat Factory
Belt: thrifted
boots: Steve Madden
Shoe Clips: handmade
Sweater Clip: Antiques store
Pin: Thrifted
Tatted Headband: Handmade

And I wore this to the Member's preview of the Philadelphia flower show.  My newest dress, which I can't seem to stop wearing!

A little view of how long my hair has gotten.  I've since gotten a few inches trimmed.  

This coord on lookbook.

Jsk: Handmade
Turtleneck: outlet store
Cardigan: Burlington Coat Factory
Corsage: handmade
Shoes: Thrift store
Bow Clips: handmade
Sweater Clip: Antiques store
Pearls: Gift 
Hat: Hats in the Belfry

And for those interested here is our entry.  The catagory was "Hair Comb" and the theme this year was Hawaii.  Other then the paint it is made entirely of botanical materials (calabash, lentels, mustard seeds, poppy seeds, orange peel ect.)  We won second place; which was great because last year we only got an honorable mention!

Flower Show Report: part the second

Well tonight was the last night for the Philadelphia Flower Show.  I hope everyone who went had a good time.  I am already excited about next year!  Blue ribbon here we come!  Hopefully

So here are our competitors from our class.

First place

Second place

Third place.  I really thought this one should have done better, it's really well done!

And here are the other two entries that didn't place

Here are my favorites from the other classes.
Purses:

Watches:

Necklaces:

Of course the "jewelry" competition is just a small small part of the Flower Show, the main attraction is the big garden exhibits.  The main one this year had a very well done suggestion of the Eiffel Tower with carousel animals made from fresh and dried flowers on frames.  There were also many other individual gardens, decorated rooms, and other large displays all around the main one.

It's amazing to look at these photos and remember that it's all took place inside in one very very large room.  

Tomorrow I'll be going in to pick up our piece.  It'll be very interesting to see all of this being taken down!

Flower Show Report: part the first

Of course I have to start this post with a photo of the completed jewelry piece!  I'm very very happy with how it came out, it's something I'd love to wear if it was an actual jewelry set!

Here is the materials card, for those interested in seeing what exactly we used to make it:

On Friday we went to the Convention Center to have our piece passed and pin it to the display board.  We had no trouble with the passing and got some very encouraging comments from a veteran of the category.  

You can be sure that on Saturday my Mom and I rushed over to the Jewelry Competition section with a very nervous excitement; to find that we had not placed but had gotten a very respectable honorable mention (the only one in our section to receive one).  

I have to admit to being somewhat disappointed, being a very competitive person, but I quickly got over it.  My Mom and I are now fired up to try again (and WIN) next year!  The theme will be Hawaii. 

As usual when I go into the city, I took my chance to dress up !   Here's Friday:

You might remember this look from the 7 item 10 outfits challenge.  I changed up some elements and to my frustration forgot to put on the brown leather belt.  It really would have tied the outfit together more!

This coord on my lookbook with outfit list.

Slightly unflattering accessory shot!  Why yes, that is acorn jewelry you spy!  Yes it did take 4 month for my findings package to finally leave that mysterious Hong Kong post office!  

That means that the Sweet Acorn jewelry line will finally be released with the Sweet Matryoshka Skirts (soon!)

That flower pin I made out of scraps and is one of my newest favorite accessory.  

The hair pins are another new item.  I was unsure how to do my hair and picked out a few of my  Grand mom's buttons from a collection of her's that I inherited and just glued them on to a flat back hair pin!  I like the subtly vintage/mori look of them!

I got this hair stick as a Christmas present from my friend Autumn and have since been wearing it nearly everyday.  It's such an easy and comfortable way to put up my hair. 

I wanted to dress up the style a bit and added a braid to one side as well as the button hair pins; while still keeping it messy for that mori look.

For Saturday I wore another slightly changed challenge look.  I wanted to wear the beret for the Paris theme, even though the Matryoshka dolls on my skirt are of course Russian!  

This coord on my lookbook with outfit list.

This is my first time wearing a beret with lolita, and I can see why they are so popular.  Cute and comfy!

You can't really see them too well in the coords photos but I added some removable "tassles" to my boots.  I've been hankering for tassle boots for a while, but I can't really justify buying a new pair just for some fiddly bits.  So out came the fake leather, glue, and thread.

I'll be posting a tutorial for them soon.

Part the second will have photos of our competitors and of the prettiness of the flower show in general!

Gilded Lily

A lovely flower, shiny as a jewel.  But what is it made of?  I'll give you a hint; it's not what you expect!

Onion skin, papyrus leaves, clove, tangerine peel, some paint and nail polish, and a bit of wire to give it stability!


Wait! What?!



Welcome to the world of the Philadelphia International Flower Show, and more specifically the Jewelry Competition.

The Philadelphia International Flower Show is one of the largest and oldest horticultural shows in the world, and also one of my family's annual traditions.  There are lots of spectacular displays and hundreds of different competitions.  The fairly tiny jewelry competition is been my Mother's and my favorite.

The rules are deceptively simple: use plant material to make something that looks like jewelry.  You can use glue and paint (most commonly nail polish) for color, and non-plant material for structure as long as it doesn't show.

The results are usually breathtaking, and very surprising.  The artists have scoured their gardens and wild areas, scoped out the grocery store, and raided their spice cabinets for the perfect pearl stand in, the most interesting shaped seedpod to incorporate.

here are some example from past years.

Every year my Mom and I crowd around the bright cases, talking about how we would have judged differently or changed the piece this way or that.  With my Mother as a fine arts jeweler , and me as a seamstress we couldn't resist it's siren song.  This year it's our turn!

The Flower Show theme this year is "Springtime in Paris" and the specific competition we entered is "A brooch and earring set inspired by a French jeweler"

We chose René Lalique an Art Nouveau  artist from the turn of the century who did quite a bit of 

Plique-à-jour: transparent enamel with no backing.  We both love Art Nouveau, so it's a perfect match!

Here is some of our inspiration: 

We chose lilies as our inspiration as they are the traditional flower of France (often depeicted as the symbolic Fleur de Lise.

We are mostly done the piece, and planning on finishing with a final work session tomorrow; which is good because we must drop it off at the show this coming Friday.  

The plant materials we are using are: 

• Onion Skin
• Tangerine Peel
• Papyrus Leaves
• Clove Buds
• Sago Palm Leaves
• Lentils
• Corn Husk
• Hazelnuts
• Chick Peas
• Bamboo

We will find out the results this coming Saturday, so expect to hear about them (and the rest of the show) sometime Sunday.

Here is an early "work in progress" photo to give some idea of what we are using.