I am absolutely in love with the newest addition to my work space! I figured, seeing as how this marvelous dress form will be making frequent appearances in my blog posts, that she deserved her own introductory post. My brother informed me that I had to name her, to which I shouted the first name that came to mind, which just happened to be Giselle. I don't personally feel she needs to have a name, so I doubt it will stick, but you never know. This specific Dirtz dress form can be found HERE and it is one I would suggest. She's easily adjustable and seems durable. I do wish that you could pin into the surface, but I could either get one that was adjustable or pinnable, apparently you can't have both. And there you have it. Isn't she wonderful? 

Stripes!

Bad Lighting :/

Sorry! I have no tutorial for this one. I've just made this dress and I couldn't wait to share it. I'm loving it! It reminds me of some of the dresses that Maid Marian wears in the BBC Robin Hood series (An incredible show, by the way) 

To make the pattern I used a really simple vest pattern and basically just made it longer, as well as changing the neck line and the front/closure. I traced out the pattern onto the back of wrapping paper then added my changes. If you wanted something similar you could just use a vest pattern without changing anything but the length.

The red underskirt (as you can see in one of the photos) is not attached.  I did that so I could interchange what I wear under it if I want to. I thought I could wear a long sleeved shift with it, so the sleeves and skirt are the same color.  Or perhaps pants could be worn underneath so I could go ridding in it. That's a thought!

 I do think I am going to add some length to the underskirt (and maybe I'll iron it as well... that crease is not supposed to be there) now that I'm looking at the pictures I think I'd like it to be closer to the same length as the overdress.

I really love this, and I think I will love it even more this winter as an added layer when it gets cold. 

We can be warm And  stylish! 

And of course Lexie had to have part in the photo shoot!

She's such a cutie, how could I not make her a part of this?

3 yards for 3 dollars! SCORE

The pattern I used 

Painted Cigar Box

I had this Cigar box for a number of years and was recently going to pass it along to the thrift store but decided I'd give it a face lift instead. I think I'll hang onto it for a little while longer. Here is basic directions on how I did it if you want to try something similar. 

You will need

• A wooden box
• Thick cardboard
• Sandpaper
• Paint (3 colors)
• Paintbrush
• Scissors 
• Glue
• Decorative paper

Start by cleaning the box and sanding the entire surface. My box had a metal plate on the lid, which I removed. The plate popped off easily but I did have to scrape the top of the box with a knife where there was a thick layer of dried glue.  

Cut your cardboard into whatever shape you like. I printed gear clip art off the web to use as a template. Glue them on using a strong glue. I used Tacky Glue because it's what I had handy, a wood glue would probably work well too though. 

Paint the gears. I chose a metallic brown, but you can paint them whatever color you'd like. Just keep in mind that you will be painting over this and the color will only show through in the end. 

Once your cut outs are dry, paint the entire box with your main color. As you can see, mine is an off white. Paint right over your pretty cut outs. Just be cautious that you don't paint the box closed, or perhaps paint with the box open. 

Let dry and apply a second coat. 

With your third color ( mine was black) add design. You can use stencils (as I did) with a foam paint brush, stamps, or you could free hand it. The color should be much darker than the main color. 

Once the black is completely dry, paint over the entire surface with your final coat of your main color. Go lightly over the black design as you want it to show through. 

Let the paint dry entirely. With a small piece of sandpaper, sand over the gears very gently. You want to sand it enough that the metallic paint shows through, but not so much that you start to see cardboard. 

Now can move to the inside of your box. 

You could choose to leave it plain if you'd like. If not: read on. 

Decide what you would like to cover the inside with. I had a lot of papers to choose from. I almost went with pages from an old music book (I love music!) but in the end I decided upon pages from an old Tabacco ledger that my mom had found in an antique store. I though it was appropriate for a cigar box. 

Measure all the places that need covering and cut the paper likewise. Paste the pages in place. Elmer's Glue seemed plenty strong for this.

 And that's it. If there is anything else you'd like to add, you should certainly do so. Make your box uniquely fabulous.