Crafting Project: New Life for Old Selkies

In 2022 I bought a Selkie Abbott Puff dress and altered it to fit in a way that is more flattering for me (click here to see that post).  Encouraged by the success of that project, I decided to tackle a few more problematic design features on my favorite Selkies including my Mucha Cottage Puff Dress (and click here for that one). 

  

At the end of each of those projects, I had a lot of left over (mostly organza) fabric.  Since the prints were so pretty, I decided to keep them in the hopes that one day I could use them on a different project.  As soon as I completed my first lampshade, (click here for that one) I knew exactly what I wanted to use all that extra lovely fabric for and the recent snow days presented me with plenty of time to sit down and really dig into the work.

I was gifted a pair of crystal globe lamps that had crumbling shades.  I removed the old shade outdoors so that the wind could carry away all the tiny crumbs. Then I wrapped the shades and selected four pretty ladies from the organza fabric of my Alphonse Mucha puff conversion and cut two of each.  

I spent so much time working on these shades, I developed callouses on my fingers.  And to be perfectly frank, because I am new to this game, the compositions aren't flowing naturally yet.  I spent a lot of time trying different fabrics and colors to see what looked best.  In the end I used an antique pink scarf topped with a floral applique for the center pieces to tie it all together and I am pleased with how this Mucha shade turned out.  

I'm going to put this little project under my home renovations tab although I don't intend to keep these shades for myself. I have recently inherited an abundance of antique lamps and fully intend to make new shades for them before gifting. I already have a taker for this set and look forward to blessing others from my abundance.

Tin Types

Biscuit tins have been a staple in British homes since Huntley & Palmers made the first decorative tin in 1831.  As Americans, we're more likely to have grown up with a ceramic cookie jar than a decorative tin, but there is something undeniably lovely about a kitchen shelf lined with pretty boxes filled with yummy things to eat or drink.  

It's something I have long admired about the British homes I entered during my time living there, and also remember fondly about my own grandmother's house as well.  Granted I was a tea and cookie lover long before I lived in England, but I grew a much greater appreciation for the ritual of afternoon tea during my time in that dear country.

    My tea & biscuit tin collecting days first began when I was a little girl and my mother got the notion in her head that she shouldn't go to the store and buy new tins for Christmas cookies every year when the local "junk stores" were filled with beautiful vintage tins for just pennies.  So for several years going to the junk stores to load bags with the most beautiful tins that would later be filled with cookies and given as gifts became a favorite tradition of ours.  

    Later when I moved out, I decorated my own bare kitchen in my first apartment with wooden tea boxes and candy tins as they emptied.  Something about having them on the walls made the kitchen seem so much cozier.  Sometime during all this, my mother remarked that the junk stores no longer carried tins (it had been many years at this point since we'd last looked) and she wished she had kept some for her kitchen.  And, so we searched together or I brought them home as souvenirs from my travels and her kitchen became cozy too. 

Now, all these years later, I still have my tins and have added a few more into the mix, and I use them not only for tea and cookies, but for other things around the house as well.

When I spotted this Horner Tea Tin print fabric at Hancock's I immdiately recognized some of the tins in my own collection and knew it would make the perfect autumn dress.  It was a perfect day for photos as well and I got so many beautiful pictures that I didn't get the chance to post them all last autumn, so I thought this would be a good time to share my love of tins and the unseen photos of this dress.

Outfit Info:  Robert Kaufman Library of Rarities Vintage Tea Tins Fabric from Hancock's-Paducah. YeMak Cardigan.  Sewing Pattern is Butterick Retro B5748. Bettie Page shoes.  Viviene of Holloway Petticoat.

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• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Biscuit_tin
• https://www.vam.ac.uk/articles/biscuit-tins-a-bite-sized-history/#slideshow=562394146&slide=0
• https://www.smithsonianmag.com/arts-culture/the-art-of-the-biscuit-tin-171494824/

Companion Inspiration

In May I watched this lovely little film called Companion and did a review here on the blog. I was completely smitten with the style of the main character, Iris, played by Sophie Thatcher.  There was one outfit in particular that I really adored and it was this simple gray top accented with black trim, lace, and a bow.

I haven't had a sewing project in a while, but felt certain I could make myself something very close.  At first I looked at patterns so I could make something from scratch, but I realized somewhere in the process that I had seen a very similar style in a Dear Creatures dress from a decade ago.  After doing a little thrifting, I managed to find and buy the Fleetwood Mini dress by Dear Creatures for about $20 and then spent a further $15 buying lace, trim, and a package of bows so that I could make my own Iris dress.

As you can see the Dear  Creatures dress has lots of pleets, but not much else in the way of embellishment.  This alteration was extremely easy.  I just added a lacy trim to the underside of the neckline and sleeves, and at the hem.  I also added a band of lace across the bodice and put a bow in the center.  Easy peasy.  Instant Iris dress.  For the outfit I chose a yellow cardi and a thrifted blue ModCloth coat since the days have suddenly turned chilly, and I've worn this outfit to work twice already but added black tights since it's freezing in my work building all year round.

Outfit Info:  Dear Creatures Fleetwood Mini

Strawberry Alterations

    Springtime brings so much activity.  Proms, graduation, Lent, Easter, birthdays, and vacations.  I've had a bit of all those things on my plate this season, and it's been a little exhausting.  For Lent, I gave up shopping/spending for 40 days.  It was tough, but I did it and I'm glad I did.  During this time, I did neither outfit planning nor photos , but I did take this Collectif beauty out of my closet and customize it a bit to better suit my tastes.  This dress was part of the December 2024 re-opening sale of dead stock, so I got it for extremely cheap.  It has since been re-released on the website, in a full range of sizes.  

    No disrespect to Colletif, I love all the dresses I have bought from them over the years.  I bought this dress without intending to change a thing because I love the print, and acutally, I do love the dress with the white accents, but I don't really have the shoes and accessories for styling it with the white.  I realized that if I couldn't style it, I wouldn't wear it.  So, I jumped in and made the changes that would help me get the most wear out of this dress.  The full video of how I made these adjustments to the dress is available on YouTube today and I've included the link below.

Outfit Info: Collectif Waverly Strawberry Patch Swing Dress

Sewing a Christmas Dress and Apron

     

 I wear aprons.  I wear an apron everytime I cook, even if it's just to scramble a few eggs on my way out the door in the morning.  It's a habit I picked up long ago when my daughter's array of food allergies meant that pre-made food of any kind was out of the question.  I spent so much time in the kitchen that within a short amount of time, all of my tops had some sort of food splotch or grease spatter.  But, really, it began before that when my mom and I started flea marketing together and collecting vintage aprons for ourselves.  At the time, I just loved how pretty they were and couldn't really see myself getting much use out of them, but that all changed with a single diagnosis.

      It was tough to have to make all the meals all the time, including needing to pack all the food for our trips, because there were rarely restaurants that could accommodate her needs, but in the end, I'm glad for that experience because it kept my family away from the processed food trap that it's so easy to fall into and forced us to eat wholesome homemade meals.  It also taught me a myriad of substitutions and gave me a reason so put all those pretty aprons to use.  Recently I saw some autumn toweling fabric and thought it would be fun to try to make myself a fall apron with it.  I loved it so much, I'm doing one for every season.  Christmas is mt second try at this pattern and I love the results.  The YouTube video link will be posted below if you'd like to see my process.  The dress and brooch are also handmade by me, but perhaps I'll save that for another post.

Sewing Project:  Dress pattern is , Dress fabric is  , Apron pattern is Simplicity S9496, Toweling fabric is Moda Retro Christmas Tree, Dot fabric is from Joann.com

Life's A Box of Chocolates

Life is like a box of chocolates.  Sometimes there's a guide to tell you just what to expect and sometimes even though you follow all the rules, you still wind up with disgusting coconut sludge. All that aside, I wanted to make a pretty little fall gingham dress and found the perfect fabric by Mountains Calling.  I did manage to finish this beauty before the end of the season.  I don't expect to get much wear from it this year, but it will definitely be in the rotation for next year.  With all the browns in this gingham, it reminded me of a box of chocolates, so maybe I can manage to wear it at Christmas and Valentine's day as well.  We'll see.

Outfit Info:  Sewing pattern B5748, Shoes by Qupid, Cardigan by YeMak, Mountains Calling Mountain Plaid fabric, Petticoat by Vivien of Holloway, Bag is from Ecosusi