Fascinating Fascinators

Melia and I buckled down and made a selection of fascinators - it sure was fun!

Flower Fascinators

Each fascinator has two clips that can either be clipped directly to hair, or to a headband for extra support.

Holiday Themed fascinators

Stay tuned for additional fascinators, and detail pics

PSA:  Curious about what a fascinator is or who wears them?  Take a look here.

New Fairies

I've finally gotten around to photographing two new(ish) fairies - These two are in different displays, however!

Witch Fest 2012

We had a lovely (albeit cold) day at WitchStock!

We (Kelley Emporium) shared a booth with Holly at Sable Greyhound - not a better boothmate to be had!  Hubby stopped by a couple of times; to help us set up, and then later in the day to bring us much needed sustenance in the form of pizza from Tonys'.  YUM!

The Tale of the Cunning Hat

If you like Firefly, are interested in a novice knitters' first hat-making experience, or just want to read my silliness, I have a full post over on my costuming blog all about the misadventures of the Jayne Cobb Hat!

Potion Bottles!

Back when we were starting the infused sugars, we purchased a large case of glass bottles for that project.  Unfortunately, we slightly mis-judged the size, and realized that they were much too small for the sugars, so we've kept them around for some future perfect project.  

That project turned out to be Potion Bottles!

We had so much fun making up gross (and sometimes funny!) things to put in our little bottles!  We used water, baby oil, or hair gel as the base for most of the bottles, and used dye and all manner of craft room detritus to make our potions.

The labels are our own creation, using the magic of Photoshop, and the frame and skeleton key from the ever-fabulous Graphics Fairy.  We tea dyed the paper, and used a lighter to distress the edges.

Needless to say, the contents are not for human consumption, but to prevent ingestion and accidental spillage, we thoroughly glued the lids down!

We used ModPodge to glue the labels down, and then made up a gnarly concoction of ModPodge, a little paint, and a little water for the wash we used on the outside to make the bottles nice and forgotten-on-some-shelf aged.  The awesome side effect of the wash is it gives the bottles a nice, antique poured-glass texture.  Honestly, the pictures do not do them justice, but I'm biased, of course!

'Jellied Gnome Eyes', 'Mermaid Seaweed', and 'Goblin Skulls'

'Jellied Gnome Eyes', 'Mermaid Seaweed', and 'Goblin Skulls'

'Gilly Weed', 'Swamp Moss', and 'Troll Extract'

'Gilly Weed', 'Swamp Moss', and 'Troll Extract'

We used little bottles to make up miniature versions of the potions, and tied on a slightly smaller version of the label, rather than permanently affixing them.....

'Jellied Gilly Weed', 'Swamp Moss', 'Dried Gilly Weed', and 'Fairy Jelly'

'Jellied Gilly Weed', 'Swamp Moss', 'Dried Gilly Weed', and 'Fairy Jelly'

If you want to see the potions in person, come see us this weekend at Witchstock on Ogden's historical 25th Street!

Caged Fairies

Here are a couple more of the mummified fairies that Melia and I have done - someone forgot to feed these poor creatures, and left them in a cage!

Masked Ball - A Redux and Confession

The masked ball has come and gone...  It was down to the wire in the last couple days about whether we would be able to finish everything or not.  In fact, our hats were done just minutes before we began actually dressing for the event.  But thankfully, all costume-related issues were resolved in time to go and just enjoy ourselves.

And enjoy ourselves we did.  The venue was gorgeous - perfect for a ball of this calibre.  It was so fun to walk around and see everyone's outfits.  It seemed that each one was unique, and we had to do quite a few laps of the room in order to get a chance to see most of them.

Anne, Noelle and Melia
 (See Noelle's blog for more information and pictures!)

All the people that we spoke to at the event were beyond charming.  But this brings me to the confession part of the blog.  We (Noelle and I) are very shy.  Well, maybe shy isn't the word.  We just have a bit of a hard time going out and meeting and really talking to new people.  Granted, we are lucky that we have a support system built in with each other.  And luckily there were a few other wonderful party-goers who came up and initiated conversation, so we did get a chance to talk to some people.  (Unfortunately, the conversation usually involved me (Melia) saying something ridiculous.[Noelle here - I'm pretty sure I give Melia a run for her money when it comes to awkward conversation!])

So, the point of all this is to ask that if you see us lurking in a corner at upcoming events (because we most definitely will be coming to more!), please, please come say hi.  We are nice.  Really.  We may be awkward or stiff at first, but that is just because we will be fighting our inherent hermit-like nature.  But eventually our inner geeks will shine through.  We promise.

Steampunk Masked Ball Updates

Hi!

I've made some updates on our gowns over on my sewing blog -

Melia's Gown Update

Noelle's Gown Update

Steampunk Masked Ball: Noelle's Gown

ERMERGERD!  

It's less than a week away!

The good news is, both Melia and I both have underpinnings completely done (save for the odd button/hook), and both of our skirt ensembles are within a hairs breadth of being completed.  (leaving bodices & hats left to do...)

I used TV202 for the petticoat, and it went fairly smoothly, although  I struggled with the hem mightily - so I hope it works out in the end!  

Were I to do it again, I would make the gathers much less full....but I was not about to re-do them after the 6th time messing around with the hem!

I used the same skirt pattern,  TV202 for the skirt.  Which would have been ok, except the back panel was about 6" or so too wide for my fabric, and I made the unfortunate decision to not piece the back.  I really ought to have pieced the back....lesson learned - don't make big decisions late at night after a long day of sewing!

Full post over on my sewing blog: Adventures of a Wanna-Be Seamstress

Steampunk Masked Ball - Melia's Gown

My sister and I are going to a Steampunk-themed Masked Ball, and as is par for the course for me RE: costuming, even though we've talked about it for what seems like ages, we've kind of started a bit late!

While I'm not a stickler for Victorian-era accuracy (I honestly don't know enough to be a stickler!), especially in a Steampunk setting, I do like to do things at least a little bit right, which means proper underthings!

I am pretty excited about her gown - it is going to be pretty awesome, if I do say so myself! Melia has been such a trooper, bearing the brunt of the 'grunt' work - pre-washing, ironing, cutting out, etc.




Thankfully, I have a victorian-esque corset in the stash that fits Melia well enough that we do not have to start from scratch!  (Even though we should make one specifically for her one of these days....)


I also have quite a selection of bustles to choose from in my costume closet, so that is taken care of too!  I made this bustle a few years back for my red and gold stripey victorian, and if I remember correctly, I used  a modified Truly Victorian TV101.

(Bertha (my dress dummy) has no junk in her trunk, and the bustle is not as boufty as it is on a real human form!)    

The 'real' sewing started with the petticoat.  We used TV201, with a few modifications.  I found that I like the way the back hangs over the bustle if I turn the pattern piece for the back upside-down, and put the curve at the waist, and the straight edge along the bottom.  Totally personal preference, and probably doesn't make that much difference in the long run.

We also made the ruffle quite a bit deeper than the pattern; but there you go.  I can never follow directions.  (Pretty sure I'm allergic to people telling me what to do!)

Melia found some amazing 109" wide white muslin on an incredible sale, and we'll be using it for both of our underthings!






And here is where the REAL fun starts!  Quite a bit of the bits of both of our gowns is coming straight from the stash - all that is purchased in this picture is the muslin and skirt lining (ok, not in this picture) and the wide gold trim!

The pattern is pretty much exactly the petticoat, with a smaller ruffle at the hem.

Stay tuned for more sneak peeks into both of our costumes!

Once upon a time, I knew how to insert polls into my blog posts, but that knowledge seems to escape me at the moment!  At any rate, dear readers of this blog, would you be interested in seeing more details, how-tos and 'dress diary' type information on this blog, or would you rather visit a sister blog (pun totally sorta intended) which has been more or less costume oriented?  

Teeny Tiny Pie Magnets!

I have a deep and abiding love for tiny things, and one of the ways that it manifests is tiny pie fridge magnets. I've been lucky enough to sell a few, so my current stock is a little on the short side, but that's okay, since I have a bunch of fruit tarts and cheese cakes that I have been dying to make!

Two fruit tarts

Apple lattice pie - one of the ones that has now gone to a new home!

Some people see a peach pie, some an apple pie....I think this one is a peach a cobbler.

Yummy apple pie!

The cake is a lie!!!  I love that people only notice this little guy once in a while, but when they do, they invariably shout "The Cake! The Cake is a lie!"  It kind of makes my day!

Cherry pie!

More Cherry Pie!!

***And now for the PSA: "You can buy any of the above/request a special commission from our Etsy shop, or by dropping us a note here, on this blog, or email us!***

Boys Make Stuff Too - Leather Masks

So far this blog has been about what Noelle and Melia have been up to... but did you know we have awesome husbands too?  We've been posting a lot about our Fairies, but thought we'd take a break to show you some of the stuff that one of The Boys has been up to.

Matt Kelley (aka Melia's DH) does some fantastic work with leather and has been creating some beautiful masks.

Autumn Fairy