The 30 Minute Letter Clutch

Well that was done very quickly! The clutch was very simple, I just chose the size of cardboard, cut the fabric out around it with enough room for seam allowances. It probably could have been done so that it was tighter on the board, but I fixed that by sewing the extra down over the opening edges. Pretty good for a 30 minute project!

Open outside. I chose the gold ribbon. It was my grandmother's and then my mom's.

Open inside. There is potential to add pockets and a pencil holder.

The finished project!

Spring is Here!

Well, I am finally finished classes for the year! HORRAY! I decided I would take this afternoon off before I start studying tomorrow.

So tonight I am going to attempt to construct a clutch/folder. I am planning to use it for keeping the letters we write to each other at work (it is a living history museum, so this is normal).
Anyhow, here are the pictures of the materials.

Cardboard for stability!

Cream and rust coloured fabric for the outside cover.

Cream Lining.

I am going to use a ribbon or leather lace to keep tie the folder shut. I am leaning towards the gold ribbon.

A Creating Spree

So, I did not get to create a fantastic Edwardian gown over the holidays, there will be time for that in the spring.  Instead I made a few small projects.

I made some fun earrings, and a cozy head band, using some of my favourite colours.  

I bought some peacock feathers and gave a go at creating my own earrings. 

I added some lovely peacock coloured crystals.

I also crocheted a headband for the mildly cold winter days.

I added a "flower" and buttons to make it more fun.

The pattern for my dress.

I spent this past weekend in creative bliss... first with cookies and wafers, and then finally sewing together my 1950's style dress Saturday afternoon.  It is a bit large, but I can fix that later; I am super excited to have finally finished it!  It can be worn jumper style or not, and looks casual with my knee high boots and dressy with my heels.  Versatile and very cute.

The Finished Product. 

About Me

Well, I decided to start a blog.  And surprisingly the most difficult part was deciding what to call it.  I didn't want something simple like Kesia's Blog, or Thoughts or what not, but I new that I was probably going to write about my job at a living historical village, my sewing endeavors, museums and history.  And then I came up with my title - and after submitting it thought I may have gone a bit overboard with the tacky blog name.  Oh well, I find the tackiness of it rather funny, and hopefully this blog will somehow bring in the ironies that I find during life.

So a bit about me - I am currently enrolled in a BA degree in Canadian History with a minor in Museum and Heritage Studies.  And I absolutely love it (most of the time, we will see how I feel next term with 3 History courses and 2 Museum courses)!  So I am sure the ideas, issues, and interesting things that come up in classes will make their way onto this blog at some point, especially since I was doing a journal for my MHST class last term and am not ready to give that up yet.

I grew up in a prairie farming community in Central Alberta, and am now living in a big city by the mountains.  Sometimes I feel claustrophobic - the big buildings and tall mountains want to eat me.  I do love the mountains though.  Growing up in a small town, I often feel as though I grew up in a different era.  I have distinct memories of the grain elevator in my hometown from before it was torn down, and can remember the loud siren that would call the volunteer fire department for an emergency.  (And I am just approaching 20 so I fell kind of lucky to have these stored in my brain.)  I went home at harvest time and could smell the wheat in the air, and boy was it great!  My mother was my teacher and we walked the five minutes across town to school together, and my grandparents live across the street.  All these things were important influences on my upbringing.

Another incredibly important influence in my life has been museums.  My father is a curator at an agricultural and transportation museum, and my brother and I spent a lot of time there.  I have thus gained many ridiculous skills for my resume - butter making, bread baking, flailing and winnowing, grain grinding, tractor driving, sickle chopping, Model T driving.  These wonderful skills have offered me the opportunity for me to work my dream job at a living history site.  Best job ever!  So, this will probably come up an awful lot too, as it is a lot of fun and I sometimes have crazy ideas that I want to implement to make myself even closer to my ultimate goal of living in the past for one year.  (I am thinking of Victorian and Edwardian Farm and that Quest series.  Amazing.)

I also love to sew, sing and bake.  They are my creative outlet, so expect lots about this.  I love to bake cupcakes, and I have been enjoying testing recipes form my old cookbooks.  I took voice lessons for many years and have a Gr. 8 with RCM, and right now I sing in an Early Music (Renaissance, Baroque, Medieval music) Ensemble and have been having fun learning music from the 1900s at work.  I love creating historical clothing, but I want to get more into retro and vintage inspired clothing that I can wear everyday.  But costumes will always be my passion.  I have recently acquired a dress form and am in the process of picking out a name for her.  I like Elenore and Dora, but have been leaning towards Mabel (I do however, love the name Mabel and worry about using it on a dress form when it would be a great name for a kid.)

I think that is all for now, as I need to do some studying.