Grey and red Gentleman's hat

There are some that just tell you how they want to be. 

Parade Float hat

Finished the last custom order in this batch!

Taupe/beige perchy hat with "parade float" style feathers.
I'm pretty tickled with it, though these feathers took some effort to get them to behave. They ended up pretty glorious.


Not much content in this post either - just pretty pictures :)

Next Project: A bejewelled girdle that has been waiting patiently for me to finish this batch of orders. After the girdle, the next batch will begin. :)

Black and grey perchy hat

She's lovely, no?

Those are some IN-credible grey feathers. I wish every feather I ordered came looking like these.

That's it - just pretty pictures :)

One more order in this batch!

New orders finished!

Here are three custom orders that I just finished last night and today, and thought I'd show some photos.

Flamboyantly feathery Navy and rust: (my camera made this look much oranger than it is) Also, I have only one more hat's worth of this rust trim. MUST find more, cause I love it. I also discovered that I can make filigree cones out of some of my filigree findings. They are a great size for feather ends.

 A Lovely Khaki green-brown bowler. This one used a sueded fur-felt blank that feels quite wonderful and was a pleasure to work with.

Fabulous bright red bowler, with a leather sweatband and satin lining. it's really a smart thing with red hats, or you end up with a bright red forehead. Only color that really does that.

Finished Fascinator

Here she is, all finished!

Top view of the red fascinator, all attached to the base and the headband.  I think it came out beautifully.

 

My customer asked for a little more height, so I added a small bandeau-like base, to lift it up and cup it forward, and I made a bunch more of the lavender beaded flowers to place around it.

It's all stitched together. I think glue would have added too much extra weight.

I think she's going to look wonderful!

Sparkly flatcap

I begin to think that perhaps I like these sparklies on everything.  

Photography and Carcanet necklaces

I have a new photography studio setup for product shots!

My neighbor and dear friend Cory is a top-notch pro photographer with experience doing both portraits AND product shots, and he came over and we designed and built this frame setup and he had these used lights

I've just ordered the last few things (my own reflecty umbrellas and a proper tripod)

and anyway - Lookit what I can DO now!!

(Shakespeare needs a little hair gel, it seems)

In other news, that is only semi-related to the photography:
- I've started making some jewelry things from the ouches:

I took a jewelry making class, and have sortof exploded with these.
They are called carcanets (kar-kuh-nets) at least according to Webster, that's how it's pronounced. I'd have sure thought it would be kar-kah-neighs, but yannow. Whatever.

Here's a little composite of some grand ladies sporting carcanets.

I LOVE that they come in all colors. I LOVE that they vary in size from close around the neck to sortof wider, collar-of-state-like affairs. I love that they are so fabulously sparkly.
And I admit that although I needed a new crafty obsession not at all, I'm really enjoying it.


Now - to figure out whether they need to be off-the-rack carcanets for sale, carcanets for custom order, carcanet kits, or all three. Cause I can't wear all of the ones I've even made so far!


Anyway - that's what's going on here :)

All four Musketeers!

Ahem:

After much ado and little sleep, here they are!

Can you tell who is whom?

Here were my inspiration images:

 

So - Can you tell??

Tha's ok - Just in case, I tell you anyway.

 Athos

Porthos

Aramis

 

 

 D'artagnan

 

 

 The only thing I need to say about these is that D'Artagnan's feathers are not lavender, they area lovely grey. Not sure what my camera did there, but I decided to just tell you, and not worry about color correcting.

And now - I sleep.

And then worry about finding the right boxes.