Mary (the Grecian Princess) had a little Lamb…….

I was invited to a glamorous evening this week and had a “what am I going to wear?” moment because it is Black Tie and franky, that dress code scares me…….

But then I remembered the little blue number I have been working on, so I pushed myself to finish it off.  The first of a whole series of upcycled ball gowns, I hope you are as excited about it as I am!

My Name is Tallulah……and Roxanne!!

Well, don’t you think these dresses should be on the set of Bugsy Malone??

I love that movie, especially the character “Tallulah” in which this dress is named after.

Tallulah

A little oriental inspiration in this design.

A lace overlay on a jersey dress with racer back detailing and a zip down the front for a bit of funk.

The obi style fabric belt is what makes this dress, cinches in the waist and creates some interest.

Comes in a long and a short version in your choice of colour combination.

$120

Roxanne

A very ‘ART DECO” flapper style dress.

A beautiful lace overlay with a soft jersey stretch lining makes for a very classic, stylish yet comfortable dress which can be dressed up (I would definitely add pearls) for an elegant affair or dressed down (try it over jeans – my signature style) for a more casual event.

The skirt is panelled and has a drop waist (classic ‘art deco’ style)

The top has an elegant cowl neck but with a racer back for a contemporary mix.

Comes in your choice of colour combination

$150

Which is your favourite??

The Head pieces are my other passion, do you love?

Love Kirsty

xx

PS. this lot of photos would have to be my absolute favourite of the whole shoot, do you agree??

Norma Jean

While wearing this little number, there is no cubic zirconia in sight, it is Diamonds all the way!!

I created this one with Marilyn in mind, a one shoulder full lace swing dress which can be worn with or without the plaited fabric belt.

I will be rocking this one at the Art Exhibition in my town on Friday night as my two Dowerin Field day Ag Art award dresses, the 2012 and 2013 entries will be featured there.

This one is in one of my favourite colours but yours could be any colour you wish.

It features the same colour lace as the satin lining for a colour block effect, a brooch on the shoulder and a rhinestone belt clasp on the plaited belt.

Available in your colour choice

$195

Seeing it in these photos with this backdrop kind of reminds me of a Grecian mermaid coming ashore to grace us with her beauty…….

or is that just me and my over creative mind again?

Anyway, I would love to know what you think of NORMA JEAN and also would love to make you one….what colour you would choose??

Love Kirsty

Models – Tarryn Woods, Adelle Cousins and Libby Rabson

Photography – Sheridan Lee Photography

Hair –Twisted Scissors by Lisa Rabson

Make up – Rachael Campbell

The results of the AG ART AWARDS and the whole story!!

Well another competition done and dusted with a lot of feedback about my design and although I didn’t win the ultimate prize and came third in my category, I walk away a winner in my eyes and of the eyes of the people around me considering I made such an impact to the general public that I took out

THE PEOPLE’S CHOICE AWARD!!!

There are a few categories to the competition

Avant Garde

Traditional

Landcare

Under 21

People’s choice

It went as I thought it may, when I started this dress I had 2 designs in my head, and knowing that ‘Shot Gun Wedding’ was a more ‘traditional’ entry, I took the risk of entering it into the Avant Garde section to win the big prize hehe, who wouldn’t, it is a trip to NZ to compete in the field days over there.

And although I didn’t win, the judges had some words for me through one of the organizers of the competition, I was told that they were super impressed with the design, especially the jewellery but felt it was more a ‘traditional entry’, so who knows what the outcome would have been if I had have forgone the chance of winning a trip!

I can’t be disappointed though, The people’s choice is a great honor and I have so much support from all of you, it is quite overwhelming and my talent is getting noticed more each day through things like this.

BRING ON NEXT YEAR!! (you should see the inside of my head right now hehe)

Here is my design  on the runway…

  

Even before I got to see the runway show and was browsing the lifestyle pavilion, looking at all that WA has to offer, including amazing kitchen gadgets, beautiful skin care, ‘out of this world’ handmade furniture, exceptional Australian made dolls (which I know 4 little girls will get from Nanna, you are so lucky my 2 nieces and my 2 daughters – I WANT ONE!) and soooo much more that I think a whole 2 or more blog posts should be dedicated to the Dowerin Field Days and a big urge to anybody who hasn’t been to come along next year to see what all of the fuss is, this year was a record breaker for the amount of exhibitors!

But, back to what I was saying hehe, I met a couple selling ARBONNE cosmetics, a vegan all natural skin care, but while I was talking to them I was telling them about the dress and they had seen it the night before and were amazed by it and asked me to talk to them later about possibly putting it down the runway at the next Wedding Expo they are a part of organising……

You haven’t seen the last of it!!!!

It will also be featured at the art exhibition in our home town along with last years dress.

Avant Garde winner Jaime Croeser

runner-up Annie Hooper

Third Me (Shown without hoop skirt here – I don’t know why)

Traditional winner Annie Hooper                                                   Runner up Patsy Metcalf

Third Leanne Hamilton

I have to say, this competition is a great thing to have in our state and the entries were a little sparse compared to last years, so I am urging you and anyone you know to take the plunge and have a go, it is a lot of fun and great prizes involved and lets face it, I would rather have more competition than not have the competition at all.

You will be hearing more from me about this working up to next years AG ART AWARDS as I would love to keep this great opportunity going. More information here.

So there you have it, it wasn’t overall winner but I am winning with the public!! and that is more than what I bargained for I have a few more jobs for this collection of ‘nuts and bolts’ (and more) as well as my first years entry, more details on where you can see them in the near future.

Until my next crazy adventure – which won’t be too far away, I promise you – don’t forget to tune in for the next chapter in “The Secrets of the Forest (with a lace addiction)”

Love Kirsty

Here it is!! My Dowerin Field Days Wearable Art Competition entry 2013!

So, last year I entered the Dowerin Field Days Wearable Art Competition with my ‘hessian sack dress’ and placed runner-up!!

Great achievement I thought , for my first attempt.

Let’s see if I can go one better this year with this creation, I call it ……

SHOT GUN WEDDING

I wanted to go MASSIVE this year – go big or go home! – and I think I achieved it because I had to get hubby to take a photo of it on me so I could see it properly, our floor length mirror was not big enough to see it all!

I had a plan of making it soft creams and whites when I found a large piece of canvas in one of the farm sheds, and so it begun……

The main dress is made of this heavy canvas with a mosquito netting as an overlay.

I found some soft rope and inset it into the bodice for some interest and then made another overlay out of rip stop (used for making light weight horse rugs) and ruched it up over the front to give a meringue look – essential for the biggest of wedding dresses!!

I then made a bustle to wear on top of the dress with the canvas as the bustle and the rip stop as a ruffled train (I will go into the belt buckle soon)

I finished the look with a massive hoop skirt made from the rip stop and stiff number 8 grade wire and when it was all put together, I was very happy with what I had achieved.

Then came the jewellery….

My very first idea for this dress was the same day I was announced runner-up for the 2012 wearable art competition, and it was to use bullet shells somehow in the design.

So, that is what the belt buckle is made from, the very ends of empty bullet shells that my husband lovingly cut for me!

And while I was in the shed “helping” him (more like getting in the way), I found some metal nuts (used to screw into chip board, I think) so I snatched them up to make the necklace and earrings – I hope he didn’t need them for anything – whoops.

For the engagement ring, it is made from a bullet shell and a diamante – can’t have a wedding without first showing off that bit of bling!!

The head piece is totally different to what I had in mind as it came together after a trip to one of the old farm tips where I found a speaker cover from one of the old abandoned utes.

I spray painted it gold and it just came alive and showed all of the fascinating ‘honeycomb’ effect that was hidden before (small things hahaha)

This then became the base of my fascinator, which I attached an abundance of white feathers to, some mozzie netting and a few scattered bullet shells, I wasn’t sure about it until I saw it altogether with the dress in the fantastic photos my sister took.

Now, if anyone really knows me, they know that I like to collect old rusted bits of crap hahaha, I love the colour of it, so you could imagine how I have styled my house around rusted things and what people must think when they visit.  It really doesn’t help having really old farm tips full of amazing treasures close by (I am trying to think how to display a very old washing machine with the roller attached hahahaha)

Every wedding dress HAS to have a bouquet, so there was no question of what it would be made of – yep , you guessed it, bits of rusted metal – I found an old shearing comb, springs, bolts, blades of some sort, wire and other things I don’t have a name for ( it isn’t as though the tip has things in neat piles of labelled goods) I threw in a few bullet shells and canvas remnants from the dress and ‘voila’, a very interesting, heavy wedding bouquet!

We had a blast doing the photo shoot, my talented sister Adelle, came up from Perth, I geared up (and took out most of the things on the buffet while I was squeezing my way down the hallway), put on my cowboy/workboots and trudged through the sheep in the paddock to the old shearing yard, gathering sheep poo in my train along the way.

I had some interesting ideas for poses that just did not work – walking was hard enough in this dress, what was I thinking trying to climb a tree? – Adelle then directed me and it all fell into place and we produced some amazing shots – she is so clever!

All the while, my Mum and the kids were checking out a little weak looking lamb half asleep under the tree ,after a few hours of watching, we decided he WAS all alone and now he has been added to our little nursery! (I always said to myself, “if they follow me home, they must be desperate, so I will look after them” – this one ended up following the kids home that afternoon)

So, that is the journey of the Dowerin dress!!

AND, here it is….

It still has a ways to go, it goes to preliminary judging today and if it makes it though that, it goes to the Dowerin Field Days on the 28th and 29th of August.  If you are close by, go check it, it is a good day out, but otherwise, I will keep you posted on the winner, it could be me…….

I’d love to hear what you think!

love Kirsty x

A Little Something Just for Me

My youngest with the new additions to the family and the cause of my jean’s demise

I rarely have time to do sewing for myself these days but when I tore my favourite jeans which I wear ALL of the time ($1 at the op shop in Esperance) while rescuing orphaned lambs a few weeks ago, I thought it was about time!!

Note the small tear under the left pocket, could be easily repaired but I had other adventures in store fro my favourite jeans

I bought some really lovely fabric on one of my many ventures to Spotlight, it was on SALE (my favourite word) and I didn’t know what I was going to do with it but bought 4 metres of it anyway.  I have since cut out 2 dresses that I have designed to make up in this fabric and had just enough left to create something “for me” with my poor jeans, and this is what I came up with…..

I thought a big split up one leg would add some interest

 

 

Clearly this is where I rescued our lambs from, there are literally hundreds of lambs out there now, mostly twins, isn’t life amazing!!

I kept the back pockets intact.

I teamed up my new skirt with a vintage military vest which I picked up from January Sage Vintage and Retro, a big plaited black belt which I thrifted, a bracelet from Jet Empire Jewellery and the fringed leather necklace from I Love Lola – both pieces of jewellery I won!!

So, what do you think??

Did I make the most of a bad situation??

If you would like me to create something special for you from some of your favourite clothes that you no longer wear, send me a message.

Until next time

Love Kirsty