Time Away...

So I just spent a total of about 6 months traveling. It was fantastic, full of new people and experiences. Hopefully soon I'll have a change to blog about them! lol

Busy little Bee!!!

Yes, this summer/fall has been insane for me. I was going through a lot in regards to home and personal life and I feel as if I'm back on track. So much so in fact, that I am finally opening the official "Copper Caravan" shop on Etsy! I know, I know. There are many of you who are saying "It's about time!" and I'm glad that you're excited for me. :)

So far it's just an empty shop, but I'm in the process of coming up with a logo and banner and getting some items made for inventory. It's going to be a couple weeks yet but I just wanted to throw an update out there. I'm really excited and hope that in time I will be able to use the added income to realize another one of my dreams. Please stay tuned for more info on all fronts!! :D

http://www.etsy.com/shop/thecoppercaravan

Etsy

I love Etsy. It's such a great place to support small business and the wide world of handmade art. I recently made a few wonderful purchases.

I stumbled across this shop back in February and was in love - such gorgeous vintage inspired pieces! The aprons especially caught my eye, as did the array of armwarmers. Well the other day, in need of some retail therapy, I was going through my list of "favorite sellers" and decided to have another peek at some of Tamilyn's goodies. How excited was I to see that she was having a "buy one, get one" sale"?! Yay! Double bonus! I ended up with two splendid pairs of arm warmers.

The first pair is called Cherish... lovely gray repurposed sweater sleeves with a pretty layer of embroidery and the merest hint of shimmer from iridescent sequins and shell like buttons- they have the perfect amount of slouch and are cozy through and through!

The second pair that I got, called Captain, are just as wonderful. Not half as girly, but every bit as comfortable and just downright cool. I love the fit as well and the navy blue wool will compliment almost all of my wardrobe. The rosettes are such a fun and unique touch.


Please check out her shop, she's a wonderful seller to work with and her pieces are unique and well made! http://www.etsy.com/shop/tamilyn?ref=top_trail

Also recently purchased was a wonderful fused glass pendant from Clint and Lacey Loumaster at Wood and Glass. As many of you know I have an affinity for compasses and when this pendant caught my eye I nabbed it up immediately.


The colors are beautiful and calming and I love the hand drawn quality of the sketch of the compass. It's most definitely a wonderfully crafted piece.


You can find them here: http://www.etsy.com/shop/woodandglass They sell everything from vessels to wine stoppers to mosaics... a wide variety of really cool and useful items.

Many Lands, Many Hands: New Book from Gary Reef's Ning

So here it is folks! The Create and Pass Journals have been published as a Blurb book!! It's been such an adventure for those little journals. Who knew what a wonderful future awaited them?! I am so honored to be a part of this collection, and for my piece to be able to be seen by so many people. It's quite an amazing thing really.

If you'd like to purchase your own copy of this inspiring book just follow this link: http://www.blurb.com/bookstore/detail/1428133

Without further ado... a sneak peak at Many Lands, Many Hands.

Another petticoat?!

This time we're moving ahead a few hundred years to the 1950s. Last week I had to take a break from creating my Tudor gown to do a little sewing for work. Every Monday night we have a car cruise and management decided to make it a 50's themed night, poodle skirts and all! How excited am I? :D Well, about a month ago I was talking to one of my managers and she had mentioned needing someone to sew some poodle skirts. Um...hello?! I can sew! She was thrilled and last week they finally solidified the plans and I was making skirts. Never having made a poodle skirt before I was pretty darn excited. I went online to figure out the best pattern, ran to the store, bought 12 yards of black felt, some funky fabrics to make appliqued poodles and got to work. The six skirts turned out perfectly and were a huge hit. I even have an order for two custom skirts from one of our vendors!

Being the lover of dress up that I am, I of course couldn't just have a plain poodle skirt with no fabulous underpinnings. I mean really, why bother with the skirt if you have no crinoline to give it shape and help with movement? I didn't make them for work since they weren't in the budget but I've wanted one anyway so why not just whip one up for myself? I proceeded to purchase 12 yards of 72" wide purple netting. Now I just needed a base slip. In my fabric stash I happened to have some funky hot pink polka dotted taffeta. Perfection!! I then begun then began work on the most obnoxious garment I have ever made!!

I kind of feel like a sort of mad cupcake...


It came out so nicely that another girl I work with wants me to make her one as well. They really make the skirts so much more special and fun. Monday nights are going to be such a great time this summer!

A few weeks a go I started working on a craft apron. I've been wanting one for ages, especially since when it comes to painting and inking I am an absolute mess. I think there's more on me than whatever my canvas is. I've been painting a lot more lately so I really wanted to finish this up and it gave me a nice break from the sea of brown taffeta that I've been working with for a week. :) I had 3 fat quarters of some really fantastic fabrics so I decided to make it a patch work apron with a large center pocket.


After working on my petticoat last night I revisited said apron. I had already made the patchwork panels, I just had to sew the backings on them and put the whole thing together. I wanted it to have a slightly rustic feel so I left many of the edges unfinished and did a lot of stitch detailing.


I eventually may add a pocket to the top half but we'll see. I also want to add some loops/small pockets along the waist to hold tools and maybe even add some buttons for some added interest.

Tudor Gown: Taffeta Petticoat

Last Thursday night I was able to finish hemming the taffeta. As it turned out it wasn't as tedious as I thought it would be and looks pretty darn nice if I do say so myself. :) Not too bad for my first time.

I had to work most of the weekend so I didn't get much sewing done but Saturday evening Jeanne and I spent a couple hours at the fabric store. Most of the time was spent trying to decide on my final fabrics for the gown and kirtle. I believe I am going to use a wine colored velvet for the outer gown. It may be a bit on the heavy side for summer wear but there are generally some cooler days when I'll be quite comfortable and I do go to a decent amount of autumn events and it will be perfect for the 12th Night Feast. For the kirtle I have about 6 fabrics to choose from. The prices are a bit higher than I'd like but will a 50% coupon I can swing it and I do have some nice options.

Today I was able to resume sewing and managed to pin the lining and skirt together, baste the top edges and hand sew the center front just below where the eyelets will be. I also stitched about a quarter of the lining to the skirt along the hem line. Unfortunately I'm a closer at work today and won't be able to do more until tomorrow. I should be able to finish the hem, work on the knife pleats and from there it's just a matter of sewing the bodies and the skirt together and hand sewing down the lining to cover the waist seams! Voila! I will have a lovely taffeta petticoat!

Tudor Gown: Smock and Petticoat

Last night I finally begun the actual pieces for my Tudor gown! I have completed patterns drafted for my smock, petticoat and kirtle. All that's left is the gown and farthingale (which I haven't decided if I will make or purchase.

Due to my budget I decided to go with a lightweight muslin for the smock instead of linen (which I would much prefer!). For a base piece, although I would love to be as period as possible with my fabrics, the muslin will have to do for now. I began cutting and sewing last night. Despite the many garments that I've made I had never actual done any french seaming. Most of the garb I've made was really just whipped up and though construction was done well it wasn't done as properly as it could have been. I don't own a serger and wanted all of my seams finished on this piece. Since I'm taking the time and making the effort to draft the pattern I figure this one should be done right. :) I finished the smock on the machine fairly quickly and spent the next couple hours catching up on my stories and handsewing the arm holes so that the seams were completely encased. Even though it's a simple garment I'm really proud of the way it came out so far! I have yet to finish the neckline, as I must wait until the kirtle is finished to get the proper fit, but the seaming is lovely and it will be so comfortable to wear.

Today I began cutting the fabric for the next layer - the petticoat. While traditionally they are red I wanted something more earthy so I chose a dark, chocolately brown taffeta. It reminds me of a Dove chocolate commercial, where the chocolate is flowing and silky looking... mmmm... Thus far the lining is cut and after I grab a bite to eat I'll work on the top fabric. I really can't wait to get sewing on this one. With any luck I'll have the day off of work (I'm an on-call) and I will be able to finish the entire garment today, with the exception of maybe the hem, which is to be hand sewn down in a herringbone stitch, something else I've never done. I think I'm going to use some of my scrap taffeta and practice before I potentially butcher my gown though. lol Hand sewing is not exactly my strong point but that's half the fun of making this outfit - it's challenging me to learn new skills and really get outside of my comfort zone.



Later that afternoon...
So, I worked on the petticoat more since I didn't have to go into work today. Woohoo! I got a lot accomplished. I was able to cut out all the top fabric, put together the bodies and skirts of the lining and taffeta and make a few yards of bias tape from my leftover taffeta to finish the bodies.


Next up is hand sewing the entire hem of the outer layer of the skirt. It's going to take a while but I really want to make this gown special so hand stitching it is! It'll be good practice too since I'm not that familiar with that stitch. It seems to that it will be a tedious yet rewarding evening. :) Once I'm good and sick of the Herringbone stitch then it's on to pinning my outer skirts and lining together, knife pleating all around, finally sewing the bodies to the skirt and finishing it all off with hand sewing the lining down to cover the seams along the waist. Whew!! lol

Receive. Create. Pass.

I love circle journals. They're such a fantastic collection of artwork, feelings, thoughts, ideas, techniques... I am very lucky to be a part of one collection in particular - the Create and Pass journals of the site Lovin' Mixed Media.

This is my contribution to this amazing collection. I call her Josephine.


I used a combination of acrylics, glaze, water color pencils and paint, collage elements, staz on ink, stencils and gold and silver ink.

Here are the items for the Ren faire swap that I recently finished. First is this - at first I was going to turn it into a brooch but I ran out of pin backs so it became a necklace instead. I'm in love with this face mold and wanted to make a piece of jewelry with it so when I found my stash of the glass seed beads that were used on my beach fairy dress I went to town. I really like the way it came out - fairly simple but it still has that altered look that I adore so much.


This is why I ran out of pin backs. :) Pretty simple and rough, these are some faire favors that my partner can keep or pass out to friends.

I found this amazing fabric at Joann's and made one of my favorite faire garments - harem pants! Not just for belly dancers, I like to wear these under all of my gowns as bloomers of sorts. They're great when running from shop to shop in a thunderstorm - you can hike up your skirts as high as you need to and still be a bit modest. :) I hope she likes them. My partner does a lot of fighting and swordplay so I think they'll come in handy.


Next are some arm warmers. My partner has a condition that leaves her hands cold constantly so I whipped these up. The pattern is Trellis Mitts and they were made using Lion Brand Wool-Ease. The red was tough to photograph though. :(



Also in the package is a set of Butterick patterns that consist of hanging belt pouches, cool waist cinches and belts and some bracers. Also there's a silver spiral pendant that she can use for one of her many outfits and characters and 2 different styles of eyelets for lacings. You can never have too many eyelets!

I hope I can make it to the post office tomorrow to mail it finally!! It's got to make it all the way to the Netherlands! :-D

**Edited to add package info!!