The Scarlett Rose Garden

It's Windie in Kansas!

2011-10-13T11:57:30.480-05:00

I'm sorry to announce that the "It's Windie In Kansas" event has been canceled~Hurry and reserve your package for the "It's Windie in Kansas" event, this November 4-6, 2011!Proceeds from this event will benefit breast cancer research. Hattie McDaniel, who played Mammy in Gone With the Wind, died from this terrible disease. Come and celebrate her life, her Kansas roots, and of course Gone With the Wind! A fun filled packed weekend you won't want to miss!*info directly from "It's Windie in Kansas" as follows~Schedule of Events Friday November 4th:Opening Reception and screening of the movie Gone With the Wind at the historic Screenland Armour theater featuring an art unveiling by Joseph Yakovetic and local Kansas wine tasting.Saturday November 5th: Living History Activities at Mahaffie Stagecoach Stop, a working 19th century living history farm on the Santa Fe Trail including stagecoach rides, 19th century cook stove demonstrations, historic house tours, and much more!Panels with our special guests (see presenters page)Saturday Evening, get dressed up and head to the ball at Mahaffie Stagecoach Stop! Get your picture taken with our stagecoach or in our photo gallery, then taste some local Kansas wine and bid on items in our silent auction. Appearances by our special guests, representatives from the University of Kansas Cancer Center, our sponsors, and live music and dancing from 19th century band the Gum Springs Serenaders! There will also be a costume contest!Sunday November 6th:Living History Activities at Mahaffie Stagecoach Stop, a working 19th century living history farm on the Santa Fe Trail including stagecoach rides, 19th century cook stove demonstrations, historic house tours, and much more!Meet and Greet with some the special guests from the weekendTake part in a “Twelve Oaks BBQ” on the grounds of the 19th century farm at Mahaffie Stagecoach StopThat evening, enjoy the play “misUnderstanding Mammy” that explores the life of Hattie McDaniel and her experiences in 1930s Hollywood.Main website:http://itswindieinkansas.webs.com/Like their page on Facebook! https://www.facebook.com/pages/Its-Windie-in-Kansas/164750116917229Will I be attending you ask? YOU BETCHA! Hope to see you there!Pssst! Having trouble leaving comments on blogs? Try this! Worked for me![...]

Happy 75th Anniversay to my beloved Gone With the Wind!

2011-06-30T16:13:49.033-05:00

75 years ago today~ June 30, 1936 ~ Margaret Mitchell's Gone With the Wind was published! I'm sure Windies everywhere are celebrating!In the summer of 2003, my husband and I took a GWTW vacation. (Thanks again Kevin!!) We visited The Margaret Mitchell House in Atlanta, The Road to Tara Museum in Jonesboro, the Scarlett on the Square Museum in Marietta, and then drove on up to Savannah, GA.Here is a slideshow of some of the photos from the trip~ minus Savannah~It was so awesome to stand in the same room where Margaret had typed out her masterpiece.Those smokey pics and hoodlums hanging out on their cars... that was at our hotel one night. The entire place was full of street racers. Long story~ but we got our money back.I've been trying to cut back on my GWTW spending and collecting. Recently, I was SO excited to have won a blog give away prize! A 75th Anniversary edition of the book! YAY! I probably would not have purchased this for myself and am a very happy camper! Thank you very much dear Kate! Please visit her at Southern Belle Simple~ a darling blog!Peggy, we cannot thank you enough for your talent. For more Windie fun, please visit the following sites!Margaret Mitchell's Gone With the Wind: A Bestseller's OdysseyGWTW...But Not Forgotten"It's Windie in Kansas!" (a gwtw event coming this November!)Walter Plunkett, Costume DesignerThe Making of a MasterpieceGone With the Wind Museum in Branson, MO~ JUST OPENED!![...]

...Next trip I'll bring you some green silk for a frock to match it~

2011-01-14T09:59:43.919-06:00

...Rhett says to Scarlett as she wears the green plumed bonnet he brought her from Paris.As some of you may recall, I had Scarlett's Green Christmas dress made. To see the development and Scarlett's dress from the film, click here. Though no watered silk could be found, the fabulous jacquard made a lovely reproduction. It turned out beautifully! Thank you Christine!! Pics to follow! I recieved it just in time for a Gone With the Wind event in St. Louis, MO. "Gateway to the Wind." Author Sally Tippett Rains wrote a book about Margaret Mitchell's GWTW titled, "The Making Of A Masterpiece". Sally put on quite a soiree~ In collaboration with actual stars from the film and many special guests, you were pea green with envy if you did not attend! Check out this recap of the three day weekend!Day one was at White Haven, Ulysses S. Grant's home at Grant's Farm. Costume was not called for this day, but since I had spent the entire week previous to the event revamping a white ruffled dress I found on eBay; sewing on over 50 YARDS of lace... I had to wear it!Here's a before pic of the dress as purchased~I removed the red buttons and added white satin bridal buttons, adjusted the belt and added a vintage buckle, made a brooch, sewed lace to the bodice and tiers......added a hoop slip and voilà! Scarlett's white ruffled prayer gown~On the eve of the second day, there was a charity ball for Rainbows for Kids. This my friends, is where I got to wear my green Christmas gown.... do you want to see?? OK!Here I am giving that dyed hair woman Belle Watling a piece of my mind!Hobnobbing with the guests...Standing next to Sally Tippett Rains~ thank you so much Sally, for everything!!Oooo, and a red taffeta petticoat!I had a wonderful time and met so many new friends. SO much to tell!This post has become quite *windy* so I shall share more later. Afterall, tomorrow IS another day![...]

A boudoir for all seasons~

2010-08-29T13:07:14.149-05:00

Well my blogging friends, I think I have finally completed my all season bedding collection! I just picked up a set that I had been hunting for, it was in JC Penny's years ago for over $400. I had searched the bay off and on, but it still went to high for my frugal self! Finally, yesterday I went to haunt one of my favorite resale shops and as I pulled up I saw it!! It was on the sidewalk with many other sets. I had a 10% off coupon and snagged it for $26!This will be my spring set me thinks~ but of course I'm putting it on the bed now just to see it! Nova and I went to the laundromat today to wash it up in the big ol' commercial sized washing machine~He had never been to a laundromat and was quite impressed. It cost a whopping $7.75!!Of course what he was more impressed with was the snack machine since it's like the one on "Over the Hedge", lol!Ok, ok... so here's the set, it's called Lucerne~ Gorgeous buttercream background with floral swags and rose bouquets, with a crystal pleated bed skirt.SO~ that's Lucerne for Spring. Here is my summer quilt, Lucy by Armoire. I found the shams at Home Goods a few years ago on clearance. Didn't really want the quilt.... Until it was no where to be found. Searched and searched and finally found the last one left on the planet. A lucky find as it was not listed by name, I just searched for shabby chic robbin's egg blue. And it was NOT cheap. I choked as I hit the "buy it now" button.Will have to wait till next summer for pics of that on my bed!Let's move on to my fall ensemble... which you've already seen in previous posts. The Ralph Lauren Chaps Welbourne~ shown with vintage pink taffeta shams and a round accent pillow that did not come with the set. This was at Kohl's and I searched the net trying to find it cheaper to no avail. I did land it on clearance tho, but it was still steep at 60% off!Ah, my winter set. My first REAL bedding set ever! Kevin bought it for me for our first Christmas in this house. This is also from Penny's, Romance Tapestry. I don't like matchy-matchy, so I only wanted the shams and the comforter. I use a burgundy bed skirt and draps with it. So rich!I saw this set at the same resale shop last year for about $30 and it made me sick! I almost bought it for a backup, lol! Yes, I have a bedding fetish.We recently bought some crown molding for a boudoir project, will post about it soon! Click here to see the original "before" bedroom post, and feel free to click on the labels below to see more~[...]

Butterick 4790, only.... Not!!

2010-06-20T00:06:04.654-05:00

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I had some scrap gingham laying around, and *barely* got the pieces cut out, in fact~ I had to piece a section together but it's in the back wrap part so you can't see.
By the way, I could not for the life of me judge the right/wrong side of this fabric!

The pattern is a 32 bust and I'm a 36. I don't know how to up-size patterns, this is only the second garment I've ever made from a pattern, the first being the actual 4790.... (you can see that here)

So, I decided I would just cut the pattern a half inch larger all around, and could always take it in.
It also stated no hem allowances and I wasn't sure what that meant!
Anyhoo, I wish I had just cut it out as it was, I think it would've fit just fine. I have to tie it pretty tight to fit me. I'm going to sew it together under the arms like I did the dress.

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This blouse cost me less than $5 all together, I found the eyelet at a thrift store and had to buy two packs of bias tape.

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And here's the finished product~

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Pink Saturday, Episode Seventeen~

2010-05-29T00:26:36.804-05:00

Welcome to Pink Saturday, hosted by Beverly at How Sweet The Sound. This is a very special Pink Saturday, celebrating 2 years~ Congratulations Beverly and thank you for being such a gracious host! Please visit her to enjoy all of the pink festivities! Today I give you~PINK STITCHES~I have rounded up some of my favorite things that have been stitched in pink, many hand sewn.Let's start in the dinning room.First up, a hand crocheted table runnerAnother runner on the buffet, this one factory made... (pink teapot bonus!!) glancing to the table we find hand stitched applique placemats~complete with napkins and holders,Moving on to La Boudoir~I pulled a bunch of things together, some from storage. All shown on top of a vintage bedspread and a 50's quilted taffeta pillow.A sweet dresser scarf and hankie, along with a needlepoint pillow~Two crocheted doilies and a vintage hooked chair pad~ I'm lucky to have the set of 4, squeee! Ahhh... pink stitched garden flowers...These purses could tell a story~Can you imagine this gentleman courting the fair maiden with bouquets and then walking her home to her quaint little cottage?A cross stitch rose apron with embroidered pillow cases~And let's not forget... one of my all time fave finds...this incredible vintage chenile embroidered applique bedding set! To see more about this awesome ensemble, visit La Boudoir.Happy Memorial Day to all.I thank our soldiers and verteransfor giving us all we have.[...]

Peace and Quiet~

2010-02-05T10:03:21.980-06:00

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I have felt much too overwhelmed to blog lately. No time to visit, no time to load photos, no time to sit and wait for pages or pics to load.(image) So I've actually been going to bed earlier than 1 or 2 AM. Or reading a book. Spending *real* time with my husband and son instead of *virtual* time blogging memories of them.
(image) Just trying to get my priorities straight around here. But I will post and visit when I can. I do miss it so! I hope you all are well and hope to see you soon!

Hugs,

Nikki

Holiday House Tour #1, 2009

2009-12-11T01:20:56.261-06:00

Welcome to the Hooked on Holiday Houses Tour hosted by the lovely Julia at Hooked on Houses!I'm participating, however I am CHEATING. Guess what... not MY house! But boy, do I WISH!!A gorgeous Victorian home built in the late 1800's, with a fantastic partial octagon front~ Lovingly restored!The first room we came to after the entry way was the dining room; filled with exquisite flow blue china! Keep an eye out for the pretty decorated light fixtures!I knew right away that the owners had impeccable taste. Fresh greenery adds the perfect touch tothis beautiful table setting.Candlelight dances across the buffet showing off the snowflake pattern of the china~A swag decorated in blue rests upon the china cabinet,Next we enter the kitchen~ where gingerbread "fills the air"...The cabinets and countertops were built by the home owner. Phenomenal!We then went into a sitting room~ I LOVE the green furniture and the window here...After exiting the room, I heard someone say that carolers came to visit! How perfect! It was so magical~We then stepped into the hallway... can you guess what was there? The staircase of course! Can you imagine moving furnture up that sucker?Looking down from the top,We then ventured into the parlor. Ah, what a sight!Anyone else recognize that "Melissa" rug from Walmart? I have two of them, plus two runners!What a mantel!The Violet Bedroom upstairs,Decorated vanity from another bedroom,Nova's favorite spot in the upstairs hall~Enchanting powder room!Ok folks, this post is LONG and I do apologize! I know you have other homes to tour.I suppose I'm making up for not posting in over a month, lol!But I took over 100 pics of this beautiful home and if you would like to see more you can go here. You can play the slideshow there or enlarge each photo.Be sure to stay tuned, as I plan to attend a big home tour this weekend! Bye y'all![...]

BOO!

2009-11-04T13:42:39.510-06:00

I'll get you my pretty, and your little dog too!!I hope you all had a Happy Halloween!Nova told me almost two months ago that he wanted to be a bat. So I got right on ebay and found this cute costume for only $10! It was a really chilly night, so it worked out perfectly.He loved his wings!It was also Nova's idea that I was to be a witch, and Daddy a ghost. Cool. Nice, cheap costume year!Oooooo, creeeepy!Glad I had this black vintage coat, I was cold! Had this nice hat to keep me warm too~My son is really into skeletons. It's kinda making us wonder about him! LOL! He begged for this guy from Walmart, but I'm totally creeped out because it's "his" size~I'm glad Nova shares my love for costuming! Unfortunately for him, he is just as anal about details as I am. He wanted me to look EXACTLY like the Wicked Witch of the West from Oz, and was NOT happy with my hat of choice. He kept showing me to pull my hair back like hers and that it should be black. Too funny!The witch was fun to do. I'd never used liquid latex before, cool stuff!! By the end of the night I couldn't stand it any longer tho... only because my nose was running inside the fake nose, LOL!All good things must come to an end....I can't believe it's been a year since we were Captian Hook, Peter Pan, and Wendy! WHEW! The time is flying by![...]

Pink Saturday, Espisode Sixteen~ Pink vintage dresses on parade~

2009-10-17T00:28:39.787-05:00

Hello and welcome to Pink Saturday, hosted by Beverly at How Sweet the Sound.Please visit her to see many other participants showing off their pink eye CANDY! Today I thought I'd share some of my pink vintage dresses. Since we're building a storage area in my craftroom, (no~ still not finished, weekends only and we've been doing other things instead), I wanted to have an area to hang some vintage things for show. Most of them are from the 30's or 40's, some 50's. These first two are aprons. However, they meet all way in the back and I've been wanting to adjust the closures so that I can wear them for blouses. The pink and green one has such a cute rose motif.You may click the photos to enlarge if you wish, just remember to hit the back button to return. The dress on the left was a gift from a fellow collector. The one on the right is one of my faves with great PINK buttons! It needs a few repairs, I've worn it quite a bit. Here's a closeup of the darling embroidered design on the one.I may have featured this dress below on the left before. It is one of my all time favorite vintage dresses. I found it "new with tags". The dress on the right I got on my birthday, yet I haven't had a chance to wear it yet. Just haven't felt like styling my hair properly, etc. lately. I think as soon as I color my hair red again, I'll have my vintage "mojo" back, lol! I bought the dress at the Vintage Haberdashery in St. Louis.I adore the coral pink shade of the 30's crepe dress on the left. And the texture of the linen dress on the right.Ok, you caught me. The dress below isn't vintage. It's a $3 Walmart clearance cheapie. But it's one of my lazy day favorites!I bought this coat, (probably circa 80's or 90's) on ebay to embellish into Rose's pink coat from Titanic. I've changed out the buttons but that's as far as I've gotten! This plum colored dress is so cool because it's cotton, yet it's iridescent. Changes from plum to green. Just awesome. Next to it is one of my oldest dresses, to too small for me... it's a teen or pre-teen's garment from about 1912. Just darling. Perhaps I'll do a Pink Saturday post on that one alone some time!Ah... I HATE to alter vintage via cutting it up, unless it's too far gone with stains or rot. But this vintage 60's or 70's dress on the left is just TOO scrumptious to let go. I plan to cut part of the length off, and add it to the bust and waist so I can wear it. Incredibly selfish me thinks, but I just HAVE to do it.I beleive the dress next to it is actually a dressing gown, made of nylon. It has some repairs to be made too... and I'm thinking of hemming it. I just love the dogwood pattern on it! I hope you've enjoyed seeing these pink frocks! I have recently shared some new pink in my life. In the previous post, the background on the table is actually a vintage full size bedspread that I bought for only $8!! I'm using it as a tablecloth for now.And a few more posts back I shared a baby scale from the 50's. Wonderful, wonderful retro pink. WOOT! Thank you everyone for your well wishes on my new ETSY shop! Enjoy your weekend everyone! [...]

Tales of a shoe hoarder, episode 12~

2009-10-17T00:56:53.416-05:00

Ok, ok.... so I'm still stuck on the pink shoes we wore in my sister's wedding. They are So freakin' cute!I hope to resume my shoe hoarding posts to normal soon.However, today's post is special.~BECAUSE~IT'S MY GRAND OPENING!!I have joined Etsy to bring you The Scarlett Rose Garden Shop."A mixed bouquet of vintage fashoin & handmade goods." Shoes are my main focus right now.WANT SOME CANDY?!These are some of the shoes that I have listed, or am getting ready to list. They are either vintage or embellished.When I got married over 8 years ago, I searched high and low for Marie Antoinette style shoes. I burned my eyes out on the internet and could only find shoes for $200 or more. I ended up finding a black pair in a thrift store, and I "reupholstered" them with the fabric from my wedding dress.Today, they are still hard to find. There is really only one shoe that shows up for retail, and it runs between $50 and $70. And yet, the heel is too spikey and not so 18th century looking.So I have decided to alter shoes to resemble colonial and victorian times, or a mixture of modern day with the past. I'm having fun with it.It has kept me quite busy lately! And that vintage pink baby scale I showed you recenlty? It will come in handy to weigh things for shipping! Cool, eh?You can click on the photos to enlarge them, or if you would like to view my listings please click www.scarlettrosegarden.etsy.comI would love to hear from my fellow blogger friends who have Etsy shops as well!Wish me luck![...]

Garage sale goodies!

2009-10-07T10:59:03.262-05:00

First up is a vintage baby scale~ TOOOO cute and perfect 50's pink! I got this a few weeks ago for $5.It will come in handy with a new endeavor I will share with you soon!*NO, it's not a baby!*Some antique flatware~ mostly from the 30's I beleive. Ten cents each. My latest find.... two antique iron fireplace fronts!! I have wanted one forever, as we have a mantel to put in our parlor. I was so lucky to find these... and guess what~ only $10 each!You can click to enlarge.Such beautiful scenes!I was so excited as I adore cherubs. That one is busted on top but I think it can be fixed. I'll probably paint it white later. They have both been painted, the other has a great patina as is. The other find was a sheepskin rug... I already had two, but it was so cheap I couldn't pass it up. I'll put it in the bathroom this winter! I used one to take pictures of Nova when he was 6 months old. These are some of my favorites!Naturally, he peed on it~ That was some thick wool to wash! He's wearing a vintage balloon outfit with trains here. Cutting teeth and drooling like crazy!He still sleeps with this elephant. [...]

Melly is home and doing well~

2009-10-06T11:32:04.519-05:00

Back at the vet till Monday~

2009-10-03T14:21:43.244-05:00

Eight hundred sixty three dollars and 60 cents later.....

2009-10-01T13:03:25.388-05:00

Under the knife...

2009-09-30T13:24:43.042-05:00

This time it's for real~

2009-09-25T10:49:48.674-05:00

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Ahoy Maties!

2009-09-21T20:05:14.360-05:00

As some of you may know, Saturday (September 19th), was Talk Like a Pirate Day.Lucky for us, the Pirate Fest was going on in the St. Louis area.First, the wee lads and lasses were to make a booty bag to keep their treasures in. Loot could be found throughout the day at various merchants.Here I am tucking Nova's bag into his pocket.Next up we saw some beautiful parrots and parakeets. This one was looking for a cracker, but Kevin's pocket was empty~Isn't he pretty? I forget his name, but he is six years old. They can live to be 120, so they are a huge responsibility.Shake a tail feather!Avast! It is finally me turn at holding him!The lighting is weird here and it appears I have no eyebrows... I look like a Muppet~He liked to play and was a very good listener. He also liked to be scratched under his wings.I wore me best pirate garb. I don't have a full shot, but I wore the same outfit a few years ago for Halloween, shown here~Only I couldn't find my coin belt and it was too hot to wear anything on my head...And instead of boots I wore my funky Demonia coffin heal shoes~ with striped stockings of course!This couple had exquisite clothing! I had to go in for a closer look. I definitely wanted to sew a new frock after looking at so many fine garments all day.We were to stop at the Leathersmith to pick up some booty. Here Nova got to stamp a small leather medallian with a scull and crossbones.I had asked Nova if he wanted to wear his Peter Pan costume, but he turned me down... which was suprising. We looked for a pirate hat there, but no luck within our budget!You can click HERE to see us dressed as Captian Hook, Peter Pan, and Wendy last year.We enjoyed the music. These ladies did a fine job! The one sitting played various drums, and in this photo she is playing a sickle. (Some folks call it a kayser blade, but I call it a sling blade...) Err... sorry, wrong blade! *Ahem*They are Shillelagh Law.Follow Me Up to Carlow was a good song. The song I am playing for this post is The Queen of Argyll, a folk song. (The version playing is by Silly Wizard)A group called 3 Pints Gone sang it at the fest and I just fell in love with it. They were really good!Here are the lyrics,Queen of ArgyllGentle men it is my dutyTo inform you of one beautyThough I'd ask you of a favor,Not to seek her for a whileThough I own she is a creatureOf character and featureNo words can paint the pictureof the Queen of all Argyll.cho: And if you could have seen her there,Boys if you had just been thereThe swan was in her movement,And the morning in her smile.All the roses in the garden,They bow and ask her pardonFor not one could match the beautyOf the queen of all Argyll.On that evening that I mention,I passed with light intentionThrough a part of our dear countryKnown for beauty and for styleBeing a place of noble thinkers,Of scholars and great drinkersBut above them all for splendourShone the Queen of all Argyll (cho.)So my lads my needs must leave you,My intention's not to grieve youNor indeed would I decieve you,Oh I'll see you in a whileI must find some way to gain her,To court her and to tame herI fear my heart's in dangerFrom the Queen of all ArgyllFrom singing of Silly WizardRGoct97Here are some scurvy pirates enjoying the music, We missed the belly dancers, but I've seen them several times during the Renaissance Fairs. Nnotty Bits put on a fun little show. Two guys did lots of fun juggling tricks.This guy was on stilts with a wooden spoon in his mouth. The other guy passed out bean bags and we were to *toss* them so that stilt man could catch them on the spoon. Yeah, he got pelted.Back home, Nova[...]

Thank you~

2009-09-16T14:13:29.926-05:00

A little corner of my world~

2009-11-27T22:42:04.857-06:00

Some of you may remember my 100th post, If Walls Could Talk. If you missed it, please check it out!This is how the front bedroom looked when we moved in... and I mean exactly how it looked. Plastic and all.It's a strange room, cut up into two sections.Here's my brother helping Kevin tear out the lath a few years ago~And how the corner pretty much looks now... except the room is A LOT more full of junk, piled high with no place to put it! We need new windows and trim yet, but that will have to wait for budget and time.I wanted to have some built in shelves but wanted them to have some sort of old or architectural elements intead of just plywood. I got the idea to find two old panel doors, 36 inches wide. We could then cut them in half vertically and use them on the ends of the cabinet and for the main structure.Well, no luck finding old doors, esp. ones that I would want to cut up!BUT! I did find two sets of used bi-fold closet doors. They had the panels, and they were exactly the right size for what I had in mind! Only $8 per set, woohoo!I showed Kevin what I wanted and he went to work~(sorry, this is thru the screen!)Not much to see yet, but I hope to have everything in this week. Yay! To be organized and have everything up and off of the floor. I cannot wait! Stay tuned![...]

Knock, knock!

2009-09-10T09:17:39.936-05:00

Hiya folks, come on in!Help me to decide what color (s) to paint my front doors!I'm pretty much set on a cranberry red, to match my mailbox. Before we painted the house I had planned on just stripping the doors. I know they would be beautiful. But I think they would get lost from the street and red would really pop.And since the doors are already painted, it's no big deal.The thing is, I can't decide if I like the swag white or not. And if I don't paint it white, what other option would there be? It would be boring to paint it all red. So, what do you think?We just painted the exterior last year. It's Jersery Cream from Sherwin Williams. The new porch floor color is Storm Shadow from Walmart, (which is made by SW). Oh how I wish it stayed shiny and mirror like after it dried!Here's a before pic!*EDIT*I just did some quick rough virtuals.Here's red with white, and red with black, red with Jersey Cream, and what about red with a metalic gold? Probably NOT, but I'm throwing it out there anyway!*EDIT #2*A few of you have asked if the swag can be taken off. NOPE. It is original and will stay. I hope everyone enjoyed the Gone With the Wind Ball as much as I did! I so enjoyed everyone's posts and comments.I will be drawing for the give away next Monday, so there's still time to get your name in the hat! Just leave a message at the party post! [...]

Welcome to the Gone With the Wind Ball!

2010-12-15T10:57:02.793-06:00

Warning: My posts can be very "windy".... this one is especially long but I assure you I could go on forever! Much of my collection has been packed up or on the back burner for years, so I am thrilled to be getting everything out! Thank you for attending, I'm so glad you are here!Our dear Margaret Mitchell had no idea she would create such a stir with her incredible talent. We are celebrating 70 years of the film Gone With the Wind (1939), but the book was published in 1936.If you have not read the book, you simply must. You don't know what you are missing. So much that they could never fit into a movie, and they tried their hardest! We took a GWTW southern vacation before Nova was born. We visited the Margaret Mitchell House, the GWTW museum in Marietta, and the Road to Tara museum in Jonesburo.It was SO amazing to stand in the same room that Margaret created the novel in. She sat in the corner by the windows. None of the furniture is orginal though. While there I also got to see the front door from Tara, and the actual painting of Scarlett from Rhett's bedroom. This brought tears to my eyes. And for a long time, it had hung in an elementary school and has a lot of damage from kids poking holes in it, etc. WAHHHH!!! In Marietta, one of the actual film gowns was displayed. I tell you, I was in heaven on this trip. It was the honeymoon/shopping spree outfit. Just phenomenal. So tiny, and such detail. The sleeves were amazing. Margaret herself said that the film had the PERFECT cast. I love these photos of Margaret and Vivien Leigh~ both avid cat lovers. Just like Scarlett, Vivien was from French descent. Viv was so passionate about wanting to play Scarlett and it was an absolute miracle that she was discovered for the role. I had to include a photo of Clark Gable without his mustache. Be still my heart...I've been hard at work getting things ready for the Ball. Our home is 100+ years old and we have been working on it for 6 years. This is our stairway. We only recently took down the safety gate for our son. There is still much to do in this area. No trim around the windows but I just had to dress them up for the occasion!I found the sage velvet drapery panels for $10 each. Here is Katie (Katie Scarlett), overseeing my progress... I am the queen of cheap and when I saw this trim at a fabric store that was closing, I waited until the price dropped very low! It was originally $11.99/yard and I got it for $22 for 25 yards! It was fun to "pet" the whole bolt, so soft!I just swagged the panels over the rod. I attached the fringe trim with safety pins. Yes, that's what I said.... it's just pinned on!I went ahead and pulled the drapes to the side because I couldn't stand how dark the hall looked with them down. But I wanted to have something on the windows to protect my framed art.These botanical prints are coming down.........And my Walter Plunket costume sketches are going up! These are each personally signed by Plunket, who designed the costumes for the film. He put out a 1000 copies~ my set is number 226. It is one of my most prized gwtw memoralbia. You can still find them sold separately, for around $125 or so each. His work is amazing. He did a version of the velvet party gown in green as well, as it was described in the book.There was another version to the drapery dress too, but it was deemed to exspensive to make.There were also other variations of the BBQ gown... but this one won out. I'm so glad!Now let's see.... whatever shall I wear for the BALL? I've al[...]

Bust a move~

2009-09-02T13:46:49.700-05:00

We've been moving furniture around here at the Scarlett Rose Garden.Took one cabinet out of the parlor, needed to paint it and move it to my craft room... here it is:I forgot to take a before shot before I tested the paint!Note the center of the pediment is broken off, and there are drips from the previous finish. This cupboard was given to me~ a trash to treasure.I painted it yellow, and plan to do some other embellishment on the doors. I know, I know... it's an old primitive cupboard but that finish had to go.The inside... this will house most of my hoarded fabric! Ok, so we took that cabinet upstairs to the craft room. Brought down a white pre-fab cabinet and put it on the back porch. Moved the black wicker chair from the back porch and put it on the front porch. Then, we broke down the knock down French armoir that was also in the parlor, and set it back up in the dining room (for now). Oops..... back up. I first moved a chair out of one corner of the dining room, then moved my library table to THAT corner, and now the armoir is in the corner where the library table had been! Whew! Next, we will move the small deco armoir that is in the dining room... upstairs in the hall by the landing. Then, we'll bring in a china cabinet that a friend of Kevin's gave him, that just so happens to match my buffet. Woohoo! Hope to get some storage built in my craft room, and the rest of the stuff moved out of the parlor. The parlor needs new drywall and refinished floors. But.......... we have to do the bathroom upstairs first. The plumbing for the bath goes thru the ceiling of the parlor. Still with me? Got all that?? Ok... now don't forget, I'm also getting ready for the Gone With the Wind Ball! I hope you are too. I've started a list of those who said they would participate under the button in my sidebar. If your name isn't there and it should be, please let me know! Some of the comments were vague and I wasn't sure, or I don't have your link.There is still time to click here or click on the button if you are interested in joining the party; of course everyone is invited to attend whether you're participating or not! I'm so excited to get all this furniture moved around. We've been so busy socially, etc.. that we're finally getting some time to get things done around here! We'll have to see how far the money stretches on the reno projects tho....[...]

Down by the "crick"

2009-08-26T11:04:20.926-05:00

What a strange and beautiful summer we've had. The weather has been so unseasonably cool! Right now I have the windows open and I'm not even running the attic fan. Wow. This is NOT August. I'm used to 102 degree weather and the upstairs AC running non stop and still not getting down to what the thermostat is set on, lol!Saturday we went for a drive. Nova loves things with "pinchies", and Kevin had promised to show him some crawdads. So down to the "crick" we went! It was a lovely drive, everything so green... wildflowers blooming... a few trees beginning to change hue. A perfect lazy day.Sorry, this is the only creek pic I've got, since I went wading in it as well and didn't want to risk taking the camera. Wish I would have tho, it was so cute watching Nova try to get those little rascals! He was excited to see we had to drive through the water~ He wanted to take the crawdads home to show the cats. Melly was not too impressed. She went for a second look tho. BTW, she seems to be doing fine. Still on the special food and the vet is not ready to take another x-ray yet...Hi Mr. Crawdad! I think we had about 5 in there~ they were set free later in a near by lake.I can't beleive it's been a year since my baby started "pretty" school. He started back to preschool on Monday. He sure has grown!I had to laugh as I put these two pics together for comparison. He's being a little goof in both shots, ha!I made a paint smock for him, it turned out pretty well. The fabric really annoyed me because no matter how you laid it out the print looked upside down. He likes it, that's all that matters! I couldn't find a smock pattern anywhere, and time was short! So I ended up buying this cheap $2.50 Simplicity 4927 pattern for a girls dress. Left the sides open, and cut out the flare a bit. I cut off the length of the dress and used it for pockets along the front.I thought I had some velcro at home, but couldn't find it. It was about 10 PM and I didn't feel like running over to Walmart, so I decided to sew some magnets to the insides. Seems to work and it's easy for him to get in and out of.He loves school and couldn't wait to go back... and now perhaps I can catch up on blogging! : P [...]

~*O.E.O*~

2009-08-22T08:48:15.041-05:00

Hello and welcome to the Wizard of Oz Gala, hosted by Twyla and Lindsey at Two Crazy Crafters!To get the party started, let's have some wine~ shall we?Back in April, we went to see a Wizard of Oz museum in Wamego, KS and next to it was a great little winery; Oz Winery. I just LOVE their logo, cool eh?The wine was wonderful! I've never experienced such a good wine tasting, there was *something* special in each one.Isn't the tin ceiling gorgeous!?It was hard to decide which wine to take home.... so it came down to which bottle I liked best, lol! I chose the O.E.O. An incredible, flavorful dry red wine with a hint of vanilla. They all had cute names too, such as Witch in a Ditch~Ok... let's get on down the yellow brick road... (just don't drink and drive!)Here I am in my ruby slippers, ready for some candy a few years ago~This was about the third time I had worn the outfit for Halloween. The dress is very special to me because my Grandma helped me make it. Not to mention I was huge when I first wore it... and had to take it in twice, woohoo!Nova was only 18 months old! Doesn't he make a "dandy" lion? I looked all over for a good tutorial for Dorothy's hair. These are the best two,http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YRoxdOPQvdEandhttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wttn0HoLDrwBoth of them always have awesome hair videos.I do my Dorothy 'do a bit differently, but much like the first video. I wanted to do a tutorial for you but didn't get around to it. Plus, it would've been alot better before I cut my long red hair and dyed it brown~ My hair was layered in that pic so I had no fluff to curl at the ends.Being a hairdresser, I can't help myself but watch the hairstyles in movies like a hawk. I can always tell when scenes were redone, ect.Look at how short and kind of thin Dorothy's braids/curls are in the black and white segment... and then notice how many times her extensions change during the scarecrow scene. Cracks me up! Her haircolor varies as well throughout the film; reds are notorious for that... Just like Rose in Titanic. Before getting to Wamego, we stopped in Kansas City for a Wiz exhibit at Crown Center. Nova liked pretending to be a tree...And melting the Wicked Witch! I made a special dress just for the trip, in Wizard of Oz fabrics. (Hi Colleen!) The pattern is Retro Butterick 4790.Help, help!!Going into the haunted forrest inside the Wamego museum... ooooohhhh I DO beleive in spooks!!I enjoyed seeing all the different books by Baum, such beautiful covers! Both the Crown Center and Wamego exhibits were fun, filled with tons of memoralbia. Lots of dolls, books, and info. I bought a book, "The Wizardry of Oz". A must for Wiz collectors!Next up.... you just won't beleive your eyes! An amazing hand made quilt by Sarah Lassiter. She quilted every scene in amazing detail! I love how she used the sepia fabrics for the black and white parts.Dorothy and Glinda's dresses were 3-D! These photos do not do her talent justice. I stood there in awe for quite a while! Click on the mosaic to enlarge~ just remember to hit the back button and not the X when finished... I didn't touch it, honest! I just held my finger up to show the scale and unbelievable detail. Did you see the little hand stitched monkeys flying out of the witch's castle? Do you know who this is?Why, it's Billie Burke! She played Glinda. Isn't she beautiful? She was born in 1884, can you believe it? She was 55 years old when she p[...]

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