Win a $1000 Shopping Spree! Fun Etsy Contest!!

We move Monday!! So lots of packing this weekend. I just wanted to pass along this fun Etsy Contest to all my readers.

WhatsInTheBox's Shop Announcement
welcome to our $1000 give-a-way!!!! This is a collection of feature shops that will be included in a $1000 give away prize!!!!! Absolutely no purchase necessary!

Do you like to MEET NEW PEOPLE, play GAMES, and win FABULOUS PRIZES like $1000 worth of GIFT CERTIFICATES from the shops you see listed here??? then come chat with us herehttp://www.etsy.com/forums_thread.php?thread_id=5936605

Each reply will be counted as an entry in the drawing! Come say hi, self promote, meet the artists, or shop in some of the stores listed here and let people know what you would put in YOUR ultimate mystery box! We play a lot of games and there are prizes as we go. And there are some AMAZING specials that are only available to those who are "in the know" on the thread.and sellers, if you want to be a part of this exciting experience, gain more exposure and drive more business to your store, then conversation us! we'd love to add you to our list of FEATURED SELLERS and include you in our next big drawing!!!! all it takes is one $20 gift certificate donation per store and a one time fee of $1 to cover the cost of your listing. Once we have 51 items listed here we will draw a winner and start all over again!

You dont have to donate to play. and if you do donate... you can still WIN!THIS ROUND'S FEATURE SELLERS INCLUDE:

1. frommyhandstoyours.etsy.com DESTASH, jewelry, scarves, shredded t's

2. Vidia2be.etsy.com

3. VictorianTimes.etsy.com (vintage & Reproduction items)

4. Sarahinflorida.etsy.com

5. DesignsbyEricaKortz.etsy.com

6. SouthernCreations.etsy.com-jewelry,photography,floral

7. JewelrybyJenn.etsy.com

8. HippyKlippyKlopShop.etsy.com A lil bit of everything

9. Junquete.etsy.com

10. HavenDawnDesigns.etsy.com

11. ClearLakeCreations.etsy.com

12. Desera21.etsy.com Hair Bows & Accessories

13. HammelmanArt.etsy.com

14. Sunnfox.etsy.com vintage treasures

15. Sheltie19.etsy.com

16. MoleHillTreasures.etsy.com

17. Krishenka.etsy.com

18. BeadWired8.etsy.com

19. ILoveHelloKitty.etsy.com

20. FlightFancy.etsy.com

21. Lyndee495.etsy.com

22. Lilesj.etsy.com-handmade chainmaille & metal jewelry

23. SarahNWonderland.etsy.com

24. Buppins.etsy.com vintage finds

25. IvyRoad.etsy.com

26. LizardQueenJewelry.etsy.com - One of a Kind & Custom Jewelry

27. CocosCreations.etsy.com-paper quilled items!!!

28. ShaShaAnn.etsy.com Art, Children's Art, ACEOs

29. JodayCraf.etsy.com

30. LoveStamp.etsy.com

31. LadyFarrah.etsy.com

There are some wonderful shops giving away $20 gift certificates and there will be 20 more shops added before the contest winner is drawn. Pop over to this link herehttp://www.etsy.com/forums_thread.php?thread_id=5936605 and just say hi for your chance to win.

Moving

Just letting everyone know that I am in the process of moving! Postings will be slow until the first of the year. At that time I will resume my normal weekly posting! Happy Thanksgiving Everyone.

My New Dress!

I just finished this new ball gown! I post some more pictures later and give some information about the dress!

Just For Fun

I just had to give it a try! This is an ACEO or Artist Trading Card. It measures 2.5" x 3.5". Talk about tiny works of art! I've seen so many ACEOs on Etsy, I've been itching to make one. My ACEO is called "Shall We Dance" and it has a wine colored silk background glued to cardstock. The Dress and trim is also made of silk.

I hope to make more of these to put in my Victorian Times store, but for now this one is just for fun! Now I've got to get back to work!

A New Dress - One Custom Order Finished!

Here is my latest Custom order dress. This was a ready made dress that I made some changes to to suit my customer! It's going in the mail today and I can't wait until she gets it. So that is one custom order and three to go! Hopefully there are more on the way. I just love this time of year.

This is an underpinning set. I have it for sell as a custom order in my Etsy Victorian Times store now. This is for a muslin set. I plan on listing it as a flannel set as well. Dickens people and civil war reenactors can get very cold while attending fairs and reenactments!

This is just the Chemise. It tucks in to the pantaloons. I am working on one of these today. I traded this for a very pretty necklace from another seller on Etsy.

I've got to get back to sewing. I thought I would update everyone with my new finished projects.

A Great Place for Cameos!

This is my busiest time of the year. I love working on all my custom orders and making new friends as I work on their dresses! But I don't get a whole lot of time for other things such as writing on my blog. I currently have three dress orders and more coming, but today I'm taking the day off! (I've got to get my house back in order before I start on another project!)

I've posted several wonderful Victorian Shops on Etsy the last couple of months, but now I'd like to post a new one I've found. I just love Cameos. My Grandma gave me all of her cameos before she past away, and I think they are so pretty. Cameos can be rather expensive, so when I found the following shop on Etsy I was pleasantly surprise to see how affordable the cameos from Conscientias Cameo. Here are a few of my favorites:

All is Golden Ring

Blush Necklace

Free Love Brooch

Hook Earrings w/ Black and Grey Cameos

(These are my favorite! Any of my family reading my blog this would make a great Christmas present! Hint, Hint!)

Conscientias Cameos can be found on Etsy as well as on blogspot. Just click on any of the pictures or the highlight words to take you directly to Conscientias Cameos or blog. Thank you Conscientias Cameos for letting me feature you on my blog!

I will try to post when I can. And I'll try to post some photos of my custom made dresses in the upcoming days.

Warm and Cosy

Here is my new dress. This dress is made out of soft and warm cotton flannel. It gets cold at some of the fall and winter reenactment events. When I bought the fabric for this dress I had the Dickens Christmas Fairs in mind. October is my big month for making Dickens dresses. The style of the dresses are the same as my civil war dresses only the colors are different. Most ladies I sew for ask for gem colored fabric (ruby, sapphire, and emerald) or dark Christmas colors (wine red and hunter green).

This dress is more of a ruby and sapphire colored dress. I have it listed in my store Victorian Times and I can't wait to see who buys it. This time of year it could be a civil war reenactor, a Dickens Fair reenactor, or even a Halloween shopper. Who ever buys it will stay nice and warm!

Here is a picture of the whole dress. It still needs to be hemmed. But I will hem it to the new owners measurements. Some people wear five and six bone hoops while I only have the dress on a four bone hoop. The bigger the hoop the longer the dress needs to be.

In the next few days I plan to feature some more Etsy sellers and some more wonderful Victorian items they sell.

An Update

Hannah's Handwork silk dress for 18"doll.

Just to let you know, I've been busy sewing some new dresses. I hoping to put some more items in my Victorian Times store. I'll post my new dresses just as soon as I get them finished. In the meantime I would like to inform you that Hannah's Handwork , an Etsy seller I featured last month has added some new items to her shop. The two pictures of the doll dress from Hannah's Handwork is the same beautiful silk fabric of the ball gown in my shop.

Here is a close up of the doll dress.

Here is ball gown that is featured in my Victorian Times store.

You can click on the pictures to take you to the shops mentioned. I think Hannah has some wonderful items in her shop. I love to see what is new! She is now selling hand bound journals and address books that are just beautiful!

O.K. So it's Not Quite Victorian

I just could not help myself. I think the Regency Dresses made popular by the Jane Austen novels are just lovely. I bought this blue fabric with the intention of making a Civil War Ball Gown, but the longer it sat the more I thought it would make a gorgeous Regency Gown. So here it is the dress I've been working on this week. The rest of the week I plan to go back to making Civil War dresses!

Side View

Back View

Front View With Sash

Back View With Sash

More of My Favorites!

Here are two more CDVs that I plan on keeping! The first one is a picture of a young couple. They are either newly weds or a courting couple! Look at the way they are holding hands! When my husband and I were newly married we went to Civil War reenactments together. We were given a lot of grief for holding hands and public and where told that only courting couples hold hands, and not at all the way we hold hands now. I have not had a chance to research the art of holding hands during the Civil War era but now that I got this CDV it is a good reminder to want to know more!

The second CDV is of a civil war family. Wow! Six girls and only one boy! I wonder if they ever had any more. The image has faded with time but it is still a wonderful treasure. I just love large families. I know back then that it was normal to have a big family but now it's just not so common. My husband is the 2nd of 9 children, and I just love his family. It is fun to get together now that the family is getting bigger with Grandchildren!

When studying my family genealogy I found that most of my civil war ancestors had big families. And being from the south, all the boys of fighting age and sometimes even the fathers fought in the civil war. A couple families in my genealogy had all the boys fighting in the same civil war unit! (Of course it made my research a little easier!)

I hope you like these CDVs. I have some listed for sale in my Victorian Times store and plan to be listing more later.

An Interesting Find

I recently purchased a CDV album, from the civil war era, filled with CDVs. Some of the CDVs I plan to sell in my Etsy store Victorian Times, while others I intend to keep for my own collection. When I decide to keep a CDV it is because of something unique in the photo. While looking through the CDV album I came across the first picture shown. This picture of the older woman has an article of clothing that is not usually shown in photos, and that is a pinner apron.

Pinner aprons are aprons that have a bibbed front that is pined to the dress hence the name pinner apron. The aprons where worn to protect the dress while doing housework and such. Rarely where pinner aprons worn to take a nice picture.

The second picture is of a pinner apron and a work dress that I made a few years back. I have some pinner aprons made and I hope to be listing them in my Victorian Times store soon.

I am making some new dresses this week and I can't wait to post them for you all to see! Everyone has been so encouraging and kind in your comments!

Victorian Silhouettes

On Monday I went to a Church Rummage Sale. The sale started on Saturday so I did not expect to find any extraordinary treasures. However, much to my surprise I found the black and white framed silhouette of the Victorian Gentleman and Lady. It was in the bottom of a box of Christmas decorations. I don't believe the silhouette is hand cut. It looks like it could be painted.

I bought the silhouette and when I got home I got out my craft paper and made a few silhouettes of my own. Only my silouettes are hand cut! Pictured is my first silhouette I have listed in my Etsy Store, Victorian Times. I titled it "Victorian Bride". The silhouette remind me of a Bride holding her flowers as she is about to get married. Although my silhouette is not quite as detailed, I like the way it turned out. And with more practice I hope to make more detailed silhouettes in the future.

Civil War Inspired Art

I would like to introduce a new seller on Etsy, Alissa Studio. Alissa set up shop last week and I just love her art work. I found out about her site after I wrote my last post. This is what she says of herself on her Profile:

"While working on my family tree, I became interested in those family members of whom I had no photos. I had piles of records, but no image of what they looked like. I began trying to create a visual reference for them in my paintings. Some of my paintings are inspired by these distant relatives of mine..." (Alissa Studio's Profile)

Joy

This is my favorite paint sold by Alissa Studio. I love the way Alissa captures the civil war look!

Here is an up-close view of Joy.

Caroline

This painting by Alissa Studio was inspired by an old photograph of Alissa's great great great grandmother, Caroline.

Here is the whole painting of Caroline.

Frontier Woman in Blue

Here is another painting that I like from Alissa Studio. If you like these panitngs you should check to see what Alissa's other paintings! Alissa paints pictures portraits from several different eras.

Thank you Alissa for letting me feature you on my blog! (This pictures were used with permission from Alissa Studio)

The Past at Your Fingertips

Yesterday I sold out of CDV's in my Etsy Victorian Times store. A couple of ladies wore browsing "Civil War" and came across my original Civil War CDVs. So today I am listing some new ones. While looking at the faces of the women in the photos it made me look back in time for a while. What were these women thinking as they were having their pictures made. Was the terrible war just starting and they wanted to give their loved one something to remember them by? Or had the war just ended and now was the time to celebrate!





The photo with the woman with her hair pulled back has chevron strips on her sleeves. The sleeves are called a two piece coat sleeve and resembles the sleeves worn on military jackets. Chevrons are what the officers wore to denote rank. Women during the civil war mimic military marking and designs in their own dresses. It was fashionable to do so. Was this woman's sweetheart or son an officer in the army? Her eyes are so deep and serious.




These things we will never know. There are no names written on the back and no way of finding out who they are. They are now just artifacts, relics of our nations (the United States) most horrendous war. I'm sure these women had no idea their image will become collectors item. The very photo they held in their own hands now out lives them over a hundred years. Their pictures have seen things that were beyond their own comprehension. I'm sure they did not think there picture would be posted on line for all the world to see. And yet here they are. I know they did not think these things. When was the last time we wondered where our pictures will be 150 years from now while the photo was being taken?

Civil War Doll Dress

I am back from the wedding and ready to start blogging again! Today I want to share with you another Etsy seller, Hannah's Handwork. Hannah is a new seller on Etsy but I think she will become very popular especially as the Christmas season approaches. Take a look at these cute civil war doll dresses she makes. They are just darling. What little girl would not want one of these!

This dress is a 3 piece set that includes the dress, a hoopskirt and a petticoat. That is a really good deal for $25! The dress will fit an 18 inch doll such as the American Girl dolls.

Here is an up close look at the petticoat!

Here's another three piece set!

This is my favorite! It is a 5 piece set that includes a bodice, skirt w/underbodice, hoop skirt, petticoat and bonnet. I just love the bonnet!

Here is an up close photo of the detail on the dress.

Check out Hannah's Handwork on Etsy. She has some more dresses as well as other items. Hannah's Handwork is a new shop so more items will be listed soon. (These photos were used with permission from Hannah's Handwork.)

I hope you enjoy looking at these beautiful civil war doll dresses as much as I do! If you would like more information about the dresses just click on the photos and it will take you to Hannah's Handwork.

Off To a Wedding!

Sorry I have not been posting much. A lot has been going on here getting ready for my brother-in-laws wedding. My family will fly out to Omaha Thursday, but there is still so much to do to get ready.

I don't have much time to post much, so since I'm on a wedding theme I'd like to post this beautiful Civil War Bride!

Victorian Dolls on Etsy

I would like to introduce to you Uneek Doll Designs. See your favorite literary and historical characters come to life! All miniature dolls are made by Uneek Doll Designs and are made without a pattern. Each doll is indeed one of a kind! Fell free to look at all the dolls at Uneek Dolls Designs on Etsy. Bellow are a few of my favorite dolls.

Ah! What is the civil war era without Scarlet O' Hara

and of course you can't have Scarlet without the handsome Rhett Butler!

Here's a couple I was surprised as well as delighted to see! Jefferson and Varina Davis

The lovable Queen Victoria Herself!

My favorite literary characters The Little Women: Jo, Amy, Meg, Beth, and Marmee.

These are just a few of the dolls offered by Uneek Doll Designs! Just click on the pictures to learn more about each doll.

Victorian Items on Etsy

This week I plan to feature several people who sell Victorian Items on Etsy. If you like handmade or vintage items, Etsy is a great place to look for them.

Today I want to feature an item for sale by Lilly Queen. Lilly Queen has been selling on Etsy for three years come August 13th. You can find a wonderful assortment of jewelry in Lilly Queen's store. One of my favorite items for sale is the ring pictured. Lilly Queen calls the ring Victorian Marcasite and Mother of Pearl Ring. Rings were very popular during the civil war. This ring would be great for a living history impression or for a reenactor. It is very lovely.

Lilly Queen offers Internet parties that anyone can host. You can contact Lilly Queen for more information by going to Lilly Queen's Etsy store. You can also check out Lilly Queen on her blog Lilly Queen Jewelry.

Lilly Queen : http://lillyqueen.etsy.com/

Polka Dot Fun!

Polka dots were very fashionable during the civil war and Victorian era, as was the Polka Dance. Here is an original picture of a civil war photo (CDV) of a lady in a polka dot dress. Also pictured is my newly made civil war day dress.

The polka dot dress comes with a paisley apron. Paisley was another design that was also popular during the civil war. I think polka dots are fun and make a simple yet elegant dress. I've had the CDV for years and wanted to make a dress with polka dots. When I saw the fabric I had to buy it. I knew it would make a pretty dress.

I am selling the dress in my Etsy store at http://victoriantimes.etsy.com/. While making the dress my two year old told me I was making a dress to go dancing! (He loves civil war balls!)