Happy Holidays!

I hope everyone had a very happy holiday! I got to go down to NC for a few days and spend Christmas with my family. It was such a great trip!





My favorite gift?



The Thomas Paul Kabuki tote from my wish list! I was a little more excited about it than I expected. I just love it so much!

Civil War Era Dresses

One of my favorite time periods for admiring historical costumes is the American Civil War era of the 1860's. This is of course the much romanticised days of the "Southern Belle" like Scarlett with her corset and hoop skirt. Women's (I should specify- wealthy women's) clothing of this time was by no means simple, ordinary or plain. Ladies sported voluminous skirts, large belled sleeves, tassels, ruffles, bows, ringlets and every fru- fru accoutrement imaginable. Color pallets ranged from muted floral linens to bold plaid silks. Ribbon and trimmed detail were often placed in large geometric patterns on skirts and sleeves. Ladies of this time were not afraid to make a statement.

Below are three beautiful vintage dresses from this time, in more muted colors. I have framed them with three patterns available today. Clothing was not "ready- made" at this time- so seamstresses we able to use their imaginations and mix and match pattern pieces as they pleased. Each dress shown has a little element from the other- and one bodice, sleeve or collar could easily be traded for another- to create your own unique Civil War Era dress.


Civil War Day dresses and patterns by Costume Diva

Here are four vintage dresses of the bolder variety. Two more Simplicity patterns are shown too.

Bold Civil War Day dresses and patterns by Costume Diva

My favorite movies to gather Civil War era inspiration from are:

"Little Women" 1994 Costume Design Oscar nomination for Colleen Atwood
"Angels and Insects" 1996 Costume Design Oscar nomination for Paul Brown
"Anna and the King" 1999 Costume Design Oscar nomination for Jenny Beaven

Stocking Stuffers!

Stocking Stuffers I love for (around) $5.00


$5.00 Stocking Stuffers by Costume Diva

Clockwise from left:
Lavender Hand Therapy Cream from Crabtree and Evelyn = $7.00
Lindt Lindor Truffles (dark chocolate is my fave) = about $.50 individually
Burt's Bees Lip Shimmer in Rhubarb = $5.00
Honey Vanilla Chamomile Tea from Celestial Seasonings = $2.99
Joann Fabric Gift Card = any amount you want!
Floral Nail Buffer from The Body Shop = $4.00

It runs in the family...

P.S. My sister is the most beautiful dancer in the whole world! (and my daddy is the best photographer!)






All photos copyright Rick McCullough 2008

Shower Curtain?

So Ive promised myself that I wont do any more "nesting" for a while. I will admit that painting two rooms in two weeks was exhausting. That being said, I already have our bathroom on the mind. I'm thinking yellow. Nothing neon- a nice muted mustard perhaps. Its funny though, when I starting looking up ideas for yellow bathrooms most of the pages that came up were people complaining that they were stuck with yellow bathrooms they hated. Then I started searching for a cute shower curtain with yellow accents- but I came up so empty handed. It seams most every shower curtain with yellow in it has either rubber duckies, fru-fru flowers or looks like it belongs in a mod Swedish hotel. It also doesnt help that I detest vinyl curtains and will never ever buy one. Ever. The best I could come up with is this curtain from Pottery Barn.


(p.s. coincidence that it has the same colors as my blog?)

I really like it but I worry its to flowery for E.

Then I thought, why dont I just make my own? But most fabric is 45" wide and shower curtains are typically 72". There are a few handmade shower curtains on Etsy, but I wonder if they have a big fat seam down the middle that is cleverly hidden in the photographs. Hmmm... any suggestions?

I took the challenge presented on Creature Comforts: to make a style board for an outfit that goes from Christmas dinner to New Years Eve.

Christmas to New Years by Costume Diva
This site polyvore.com is pretty awesome to make inspiration boards on!

Rain Rain Go Away

It is ugly and cold and rainy today. I would be much more excited to go out if I had one of these cool umbrellas:

www.umbrellas.net $39

www.totes-isotoner.com $25


www.rainorshine.biz both $40

Dream Cake!

Yesterday was my birthday and my friend Hayden sent me this picture of the most awesome cake ever!

Christmas Craft!

I found this super cute and easy Christmas Tree craft project on TheSmallObject.com via the awesome blog How About Orange. I decided to try it out and.... I LOVE the result! Here are the steps if you want to make your own!

First I made patterns. 4 semi circles at 10", 8", 6" and 4". The Small Object has a pattern you can print out- http://www.flickr.com/photos/thesmallobject/2065152899/


Then I used iron-on interfacing on the underside to give the fabric some weight and reduce fraying.


Next I used a zig-zag stitch all the way around each semi-circle.


Then with a glue gun- I glued each semi-circle into a cone, overlapping about 1" on the bottom.


Finally, I stacked the cones and secured each one with a dot of glue at the point.


Voila!

New Furniture!

I love the new gossip bench! Its the perfect size and has already been put to good use. I still need to make a cushion though. I have left over fabric from the curtain and I think there's enough for it.



But the BEST is my new sewing nook! I LOVE it! We had an awful 5 hour long treck to Ikea and back in the freezing rain- and it was a real pain in the ass to assemble, but it was sooo worth it!!



I cant wait to get to work on some Clairebelle's costumes!!

Kidz theze dayz

A few days ago while exiting my local C-Town grocery store- I was stopped in my tracks by the new toy dispenser I noticed. I guess Im getting old- because in my day these contraptions dispensed the old standards of gumballs, bouncy balls, and maybe the occasional slappy hand or googly finger monster. No, no, no people. These are relics of the past my friends because todays toy dispensers provide children with these...



Bling Teeth.

I was appalled, embarrassed, disgusted. Who would buy these? Isn't it obvious? Me.



I wanted them so much I even asked a check-out girl for help when they wouldnt come out of the slot. Apparently you can "collect all 10" but I dont think I'll take it that far.

Paint and more paint...

I've been a very busy bee lately as I moved on from my sewing room to paint the kitchen. Kitchens are hard to paint 'cause there are so many nook and crannies! Im still not done with the second coat- but hopefully I'll get it done this week so I can post some pictures. Im so mad I forgot to take a "before" shot so you could see the stunning "after". Oh well. I'll just tell you it was white before and green after. I did buy this awesome little "gossip bench" for our entry. I thought it would be a cute place to set our keys/ mail- and a place to sit while putting on shoes and boots etc. Its supposed to get here today.



I also got out our stockings and this really tacky dancing Santa Eric's mom gave us. I also got some cheep-o tree ornaments from Duane Reade (our drugstore) and filled a few vases with them. No tree- but its still a little Christmas-y! Oh! Tara, my long time friend from home, was in town too!We did some shopping and I got this awesome pair of boots(Sporto brand)at DSW! They are SO soft and warm inside!



Well, I guess thats all for now folks!

Happy Turkey Day!

Happy Turkey Day! Even though I had to work and I wasnt with Eric or in Winston, I still had a lovely day. My dear friends Katie and Patrice hosted an "orphan" Thanksgiving, and it was so tasty! Mama Christu provided the yummy turkey, I brought stuffing and Pumpkin pie. There were sweet potatoes, mac n cheese, green beans, etc. It was delicious!



Love y'all!

Curtain Fabric?

Well Im very proud of myself because I single handedly painted an entire room! The room is my previously mentioned "sewing nook", but I went with "feather gray" (from Benjamin Moore) rather than blue. Actually Eric and I painted it blue first- then I decided I didnt like it. Now Im trying to pick out fabric for curtians, chair cushion, etc. and I've narrowed it down to these three Amy Butler prints. If you dont know Amy Butler fabric check it out! My favorite source is www.fabric.com. I've narrowed my choices down to three:




What do you think?

Bills Game!

We had so much fun on our little road trip upstate! Pro football was much more enjoyable than Nascar. It was VERY cold though. I told Eric I would prefer to go earlier in the season next year, then I would have had a great time- rather than a good but really cold time. Its always nice to get out of the city and the 6 hour drive went very smoothly, even through the scattered snow storms. I think we will definitely do this again!

Playground for Lease?

As promised, the proof that Burger King is leasing its playground. I just don't understand. I'll let you know what ends up in there.

Anyways, on my way home from work this evening I was reminded of a very important lesson every New Yorker should learn about the subway. Lesson: If the entire train is crowded except for ONE car- there is a reason that ONE car is empty. That reason could be one or both of the following- 1. There is a VERY smelly homeless person who's stench permeates your hair and clothing. 2. There is vomit.

Tonight my fatigue caused me to forget this very important rule and tonight- there was vomit. Not just one puddle either, but two puddles.I thought about taking a picture of it for you- but then I thought better of myself. The punishment for forgetting said rule is that you are then stuck in the stinky car until the next stop when you and all the other New Yorkers who forgot the rule scramble into the next car. We also don't bother telling the people now entering the stinky car- because they should learn the lesson the hard way like we did. That's New York City people.

Oh, and Happy 18th Birthday Bryony! Love you! ;-)

Bad blogger :-(

Well, I've been a bad, bad blogger! These past few weeks have been kind of crazy for two reasons. One, I started a new job! Two, Eric severely sprained his ankle!

My new job is as the Wardrobe Supervisor for the Off- Broadway show Forbidden Broadway! The show is a hilarious 1.5 hour spoof of Broadway shows and stars, past and present. Think the SNL of musical theater. It is by far the hardest track I've ever run- I dont sit down for one second, not even during intermission! Its so fun though and Im finally not having to refer to my notes!




Now, Eric's ankle. He sprained it while playing football and it was nasty! It looked like his ankle swallowed a grapefruit! He couldnt do anything for a week. Now hes fine and going to work again, but its still not fully healed.

**ERIC made me remove the picture of is ankle!**

Im so excited for Monday because we're renting a car and driving to Buffalo to see a Bills game! Its going to be frigid, but Im really going to try and not complain! It cant be worse than the Nascar race, right? Check back for a final verdict on that.

Oh, and I have to take a picture of our local Burger King for you because they are leasing their PlayPlace! How do you lease a PlayPlace? Who's going to move in there, an attorney of some kind? Only in New York people, I tell ya!

Ribbon and Pie

I was so excited to receive the ribbon I ordered from namemaker.com! It's pink and has Clairebelle's Closet written on it in silver! Clairebelle's Closet is the name of my up-coming costume business! I've been working hard on the first products, and I'll post pics as soon as their ready!


I also made three Pumpkin pies this week. We're about half way through number two. My grocery store didnt have all the ingredients so I had to make three different trips! It was worth it though!

Blue Hue!

I made this little curtain so our extremely white kitchen could have a bit of color. I have now realized that every room in our house has blue as its main hue. It must been its calming effect that draws me to it!

Unemployment!

One of the side effects of being unemployed is that you have a lot more time to think about things you otherwise wouldn't. Or, not that you would never have thought about these things, just probably not as much as you do now. For example- I am obsessed with getting my sewing "room" (that is actually more like a "nook") up and running so that I may start my (other obsession) Fairy costume business! This has therefore led to my (third) obsession with Adobe Illustrator, which I have been using to design hypothetical logo's, business cards, hang tags, etc.
Today I just HAD to go and buy paint samples for my sewing nook walls, which ended up being the new color of my dress form.

I gave her a snazy bow too. I just couldn't take her previous appearance of pink and purple sponge paint any longer! She looks a little alien though.

Oh! I also bought a branch with Autumnal berries to give the living room a more fall-ish feel. I think its super cute!


I had such a great time at home last week! I loved getting to spend time with my Mom and Sis! The weather was beautiful so I spent a lot of time driving the convertible! If the weather is like that next year for our wedding, it will be perfect! One year to go!


Love y'all!

Goodbye American Girl Theater New York

Ever since I was a child and my Oma Claire started my doll collection with "Samantha", American Girl has been a significant part of my life. I have come full circle now, and I rejoice knowing the impressions that the American Girl Theater left on millions of young girls hearts. The hearts of the patrons, the hearts of over 100 young girl performers, and the hearts of the entire staff were deeply affected by this wonderful Theater. This was by far the most amazing experience of my life. Unless you were a part of it, it can't really be explained, can it? I thank you all from the bottom of my heart. L.O.V.E. love.

Before...


Strike begins...



Breakdown...


After...



Closing Tech Staff...


Well, Im off to visit N.C. tomorrow, and a new chapter begins!

Well, AG Theater has officially closed. Myself and about 8 others are there "striking" until Sept 26th. It was sad, but Im glad Im a part of strike cause its kind of like closure. Kind of. It was such a magical place, and it has meant so much to everyone who's walked through the doors. I already miss the girls and everyone so much!


Closing Company of Ag Theater!


Thats 150 lights down from the grid! Phew!

Still no job, but I did finally find a posting to apply for! Cross your fingers for me!
Dado's coming to visit next week, and I cant wait to see him! After that I just look forward to coming to Winston for a week! I need some QT with mom and sis! Sept 27- Oct 4th I'll be there so mark your calenders! La Caretta will be premiere dinner of choice! Love you!