Miss Pettigrew Lives For A Day

So...wasn't quite sure whether or not this film would fit in with my movie tastes but I added it to my Netflix queue anyways...the other day I finally received it and watched it.

Ever since I have been listening to all my jazzy 1940's music and being all romanticy. It was such a FUN film and very touching. Just an all around summer feel good film filled with a bubbly (but not in an annoying way) wanna-be starlet, and the unabashedly handsome Lee Pace (star of the TV show Pushing Daisies and one of my favorite films The Fall). 

The costuming and set was GORGEOUS and the characters very intriguing. Plus if you're into vintage lingerie like I am, you'll love the lingerie fashion show scene. 

Robert Ryan & The Book Of Lost Things

The saying goes..."Don't judge a book by its cover"

Yeah...I'm really bad at that. I'll admit it. About maybe a year ago I spotted The Book of Lost Things by John Connoly at Borders. The cover was so beautiful but I wasn't about to pay $24 or whatever it cost there. To my detriment, I didn't write the name or author...relying on the striking cover to allow me to find it again...

That didn't happen until about 2 months ago when I can across it at the bookstore I worked at. I was so happy to finally be able to own it! 

In the end, the story matched up with the cover it was so hauntingly beautiful and fantastical. I loved it. *Highly Recommended* 

Now, by chance I came across a post on Free People that highlighted right away the paper cut art of Robert Ryan. I noticed immediately that the style matched my beloved book! Hurray!

I hope you enjoy his fine paper art skills...creating these seems basically impossible to me my goodness!

Water For Elephants

“I remember, when I was a child, being taken to the celebrated Barnum's circus, which contained an exhibition of freaks and monstrosities, but the exhibit . . . which I most desired to see was the one described as 'The Boneless Wonder'.”

~ Winston Churchill

I just finished reading the book Water For Elephants by Sara Gruen. It's sort of a behind the scenes look at a 1930's circus and all the politics and struggles of workers and performers living a traveling gypsies life. 

I've never spent a lot of time thinking about the circ

us. It's not something that we ever experience in our modern age. At least nothing like how it used to be, where the circus coming to town was the main event. Reading about all the animal abuse was hard to get through but there are many tender moments as well that almost make up for it. Times were tough in the 1930's and just reading about how these people survived makes me so grateful to live how I do. 

Please please read this book! I gained so much unusual knowledge that I'm sure will make an interesting conversation starter or something along those lines. Enjoi! 

Art Nouveau/Deco Tattoos

I'm not even going to try and link to where these all came from but I figure it's okay because I found them on Google images...To all those who see these images, try not to be offended by the hairy bellies, saggy panties or pale skin. Remember, at least these these people committed to getting beautiful tattoos in honor of the Art Nouveau and Art Deco eras, we can forgive them for the distasteful distractions. 

Drawer Geeks

I came across this site via Folk & Fairy (which an really clever site you should all check out), and I was utterly amazed at the beautiful artwork it contained. Mostly by artists I had never heard of, it opened a lot of doors to exploring all new art forms. Drawer Geeks is a site that challenges artists to create their own artwork inspired by a certain characters such as Cereal Mascots, Star Belly, Catwomen, and Cinderella. See if you can guess what inspired these works...

Marco Bucci

Chuck Vallmer

Mel Milton

Mark Behm

Sarah Mensinga (my favorite! can't get enough)

FaerieWorlds 2008

For all of you who missed out on FaerieWorlds in Eugene, OR this year...I wanted to share a little taste of the wonderous world of Faerie. I was only there for two days and was extremely sad to leave. The smells were delicious and the people there were the friendliest I've ever met! 

For my costume, I made the faerie wings from the tutorial shown in my last post. I know I copied them completely, but in the time I had to finish them I was too pressed for time to experiment. The only thing I changed was that I wasn't able to find strong enough wire to hold the shape after the stockings had been added. I bought cheap wings from a costume shop, cut off the nylon on them, and added my own so that I could have a clean slate. It works out wonderfully although it was harder to create a strong enough base to keep them from flopping around. As you can tell in the picture, they are a big saggy by the end of the day...but you get the picture. Post. Script. I made the tutu also. 

I was lucky enough to hang out with the lovely Cleo Wolfus who creates beyond beautiful dredfalls. I never wanted to leave her booth because the colors and textures surrounding me were so magical, they truly embodied the essence of FaerieWorlds. I'm wearing the pair I bought in the picture above. To get your own, check out Cleo's Etsy shop!

Here are such a few of my favorite photos from the festival: