Caspar-Davis Lives Again

My recreation of a 1940s Caspar-Davis double faux bird tilt hat. The hat body is constructed out of a 1940s black wool felt capeline, and has a wired circular felt band in back to hold the hat onto the head. The hat body is circular, with a decorative side tuck. Two faux birds (1930s/1940s) grace the top of the hat, and a gorgeous chin-length section of 1940s vintage veiling completes the piece!

Happy Holidays & A Goofy New Year!

Ryan and I loathe following the pack like lemmings to the cliff.  I procrastinated on sending out Christmas cards until the very last minute for this reason, and even then only sent them out to about four people!  Instead, we have chosen to send out a mass quantity of Happy New Year cards, because very few people in our circle ever do that.  I purchased a fantastic lot of 12 assorted vintage New Year's cards from the 1940s & 1950s on Etsy, and since I adore getting cards containing photos of the friends sending them, we thought we would take some humorous photos and pick our favorite to include in our cards!  Here were our favorites:

I am a mighty lion tamer!

Bird Hat:1, Husband:0

(Always choose your holiday card hat carefully...)

And the winner is...

May your New Year be filled with pleasant surprises!

Peekaboo!

I love vintage, and my husband loves neckties.  This Yule, I decided to combine the two into one amazing gift!: a custom-made vintage-style peekaboo tie.

Every Yule, my husband and I exchange one handmade gift.  It's been our tradition for as long as we have been married.  In previous years, I have given him such items as horehound cough drops (made from horehound grown in my own garden), and he has carved me necklace pendants out of bloodwood, and created handmade wooden boxes for my herbal hand salve.  This year, I decided to make him a necktie!  We both got such a kick out of the "peekaboo" pin-up neckties from the 1940s and 1950s.  Unfortunately, these ties are of course highly collectible and therefore very expensive.  Not to mention, who wants a tie that a zillion other lusty men already have?!  So, I made my own.  *grin*

I found an original 1940s pin-up print of a mischievous little redhead (just like yours truly) in an emerald green dress, playing chess, and with her garters showing.  It's awesome, and so totally the classy 1940s version of "risque."  I had this image custom-printed on a 4"x6" piece of white cotton fabric.  Then, I ordered a yard of the hysterical vintage-looking comic strip entitled "Dysfunctional Family" by Michael Miller.  If you have not seen this fabric before, you have to look it up!  It is just about the funniest thing I have ever seen!

I stitched the pin-up girl into the lining of the tie, so that she "peeks" out from the underside.  You can look down into the tie to see the rest of her.  I also found that my "Jillian Garrett Originals" millinery label makes for the perfect tie keep!

So there you have it!  Judging by the gigantic smile on his face, I'd say the necktie was a hit!

Coming Soon to a Head Near You...

Santa brought me a little present for my millinery projects...

I was very, VERY good this year!

Mitzie Girl

I'm finally getting around to posting pictures of my latest faux birdie hat!  

 This gorgeous tilt style hat has two colorful faux birds in front, and is completely covered in iridescent turkey feathers.  The label reads "Original Mitzie Creation."  I stumbled across it purely by chance, and it was (of course) love at first sight.  I had to have it!

More Custom Hats In the Etsy Store!

A couple more hats are available for order in my Etsy store...

Family Portrait(s)

The two fur balls, "Tank" & "Termite"

It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year...

The winter holidays are definitely my favorite!  I'm a child of summer, so I need something to get me through the cold doldrums of winter.  The bright lights, shiny ornaments, evergreen smell, and gift-giving, are exactly what I need to feel completely happy!  For the first time in 3 years, I was able to decorate my own Christmas tree.  I used the vintage ornaments that belonged to my grandmother...

Custom Hat(s) Made To Order!

This is one of my favorite "go-to" hats when I want to wear a hat but don't want to be over-the-top.  

I also love that (like the dragon cloche), it's short enough to wear while in the car (unlike my fabulous faux bird hats, which are so tall that I have to take them off before getting into a vehicle).

I am now offering the Dragon Cloche as a custom order hat: you choose your felt color, dragon color, and fire color!

Finally, I was lucky enough to purchase an amazingly rare lot of 7 vintage faux millinery birds!  I am going to be taking custom orders for tilt topper hats (or any other hat design you like!) utilizing these striking decorations.  Please contact me through the Etsy store for details and prices.

Another Finished Hat!

As you may recall, I created a fabulous little dragon cloche hat to match my also-fabulous 1940s beaded dragon dress.  Well, I had such a positive response about that hat, that I decided to begin creating it as a custom order in my Etsy store.  The only problem: finding a dragon.  The dragon used on the original hat was a one-of-a-kind piece that I could never hope to replicate.  So, I decided to make my own dragon appliques out of vintage sequins and seed beads.  Here is the result...

Newest Frankie

I'm in love...

 

again...

Puttin' on the Ritz!

Just another Sunday...

Heading out to a wedding in grand vintage style!

Stepping Out with STYLE!

Yes, I realize I've been awfully quiet lately...I won't bore you with the details.  Instead, I'll scintillate your senses with pictures of my latest millinery endeavor!:

The Dragon Hat

I purchased the most A-M-A-Z-I-N-G 1940s black rayon dress with silver beaded dragon design from Magpie in Portland while on my vacation last October.  I had been meaning to make a hat worthy of this dress ever since, but could not find a dragon decoration that I liked!  Finally, after ages spent trolling the internet, I came across this adorable little silver embroidered dragon (I am pretty sure it came off of an antique tapestry).  I used curled and dyed peacock tail feathers as the "fire," and (using a piece of ~1940s black wool felt) constructed a sculpted cloche.  I hand-beaded the cloche's sculpted ridges with silvery seed beads.

Saturday night was my friend's Bachelorette Party. I decided this was a perfect excuse to "Premiere" my lovely dragon hat as part of the complete vintage ensemble...

Almost Forgot!...

I don't know why I didn't post these pictures sooner...? 

  

 

In any event, here is an entire outfit purchased on our vacation!  

 

The 1940s black velvet turban was a score found at Seattle's Goodwill "bins" (I think I paid 49 cents for it).  The very late 1930s/1940s dress was a lovely little find in a hole-in-the-wall antique store in Astoria, and I only paid $24!  

Finally, (and oh!  Finally!) I discovered my beloved Juliana book piece necklace & earrings set at a little store in Lincoln City.  Be still my heart!