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Hello Darlings! Sorry. For some reason my brain was just high-jacked by the Cabaret soundtrack. That’s actually not why I’m writing today.
 Copyright Dragonvein Studios 2012
I’m writing today to share a tiny, last minute craft from Friday. The advanced student troupe, Off the Cuff Tribal, of ucanto belly dance performed at Halima’s Spooktacular on Saturday. Because it was a Halloween show, we used a few pieces of music from Moulin Rouge and had the chance to break from our traditional ATS costuming for something a bit fun & flirty. So we dug in our costume closets, and yes, we’ve all got at least a closet full, to find Moulin Rouge-esque costume pieces.
I had borrowed an over skirt bustle from my troupe-mate Petra and combined it with other pieces already in my wardobe. However when it came to my choli, my top felt kind of bland. I needed to fix that. So I took a page from my coin bra & added a more can-can appropriate drape.
 Copper chain drape. This was really simple for me to make. The hardest part was making the decision of what components I wanted to use. I chose copper as my base color since I was using a lot of sepia-tones in my skirt choices. I them added crystals for glitter and pearls to match the necklace I was wearing. I’m really pleased with how this turned out. And while goofing around before attaching it to my choli, I found that it even makes a pretty good head-drape piece. I made that 3-strand pearl necklace as well.
I hope you all have a great Monday! And for those of you being hit by Hurricane Sandy, please be safe and follow the instructions that are being sent out by emergency management. You’re in my thoughts.
Cheers!
~Robyn
And a good Monday morning to you. I hope your weekend was delightful. Mine was enjoyable & relaxing. Did you catch the Perseid Meteor shower? I caught a small glimpse.
 Aren’t they adorable? I’ve found a downside to attempting to blog regularly. I don’t always craft. There are times where I do other things. I know. It’s very shocking. I enjoy reading. I’m a sucker for crime drama television shows. I also enjoy walking around town with my husband sipping coffee with no other purpose than being together.
This weekend I spent my time watching documentaries about ancient myths and legends, and making more miniature roses because I’m obsessive. I’m really excited to make the Thank You cards that these roses are going to be put on. I need to buy a good brown card stock for a base and then I’m good to go. I had originally planned on distressing some white card-stock I had. However, my attempts at distressing paper are just distressing me. I need more practice before I can offer the service.
 Hematite donut, approximately 1-1/4″, wrapped in deep blue jewelry wire. I also wrapped a hematite stone I had lying around. Other than that, there hasn’t been much work on the jewelry front as I might like. I need to get some 2mm bone beads for my next project. I can’t seem to source them locally, which means I’m going to have to buy them from an online store. Not sure whether that’s good or bad. I always prefer to buy local, but when my local stores don’t carry what I need an Internet store is the next best option. I’ll try to keep you posted.
Have a great Monday!
Cheers!
~Robyn
I hope your morning is as good as my coffee. It’s Friday! It’s a day of rejoicing, and weekend event planning. I am however sorry for the people headed to the ocean today. There’s construction on the ocean beaches highway, and I believe that there will be a huge back up by the time I escape the Gray Cube of Doom today. Thankfully, my drive home heads in the opposite direction of the ocean.
I’m actually excited to head home today because I found a new miniature craft!
 Miniature paper roses While getting inspired to make some custom order Thank You cards, I stumbled across one that featured Prima paper roses. It was beautiful, and I realized that I wanted to include paper roses in this order. We know me. I try to always tell myself, when it comes to crafty things, if I can make it myself, why buy it? Now this doesn’t always mean I succeed, but I should always give it a good effort.
So I went searching for tutorials. The first thing I found was that a search for “paper roses tutorial” will pull up a myriad of options. Most of them being for tissue paper, crate paper, napkins, & coffee filters. So after tweaking my search to “miniature paper roses,” I finally found a tutorial I could understand, and that I thought would help me create the style of roses I wanted.
This tutorial is very simple, and easy to follow. I kind of love it. I used this tutorial to make the roses I have pictured to the left. These are finished, but “unfinished” as I hope to glitz them up a bit more before using them. Here is another tutorial that also works, but varies slightly when it comes to the base of the rose. I’m totally thrilled that I can make these now. I’m looking forward to playing with potential designs.
The first paper rose I made went on the Dreadnaught Darling’s birthday card. While I don’t think the rose was the best paper rose ever crafted, I was proud enough to include it on a gift to a friend. In the future I look to my skills improving.
 Happy Birthday Mum! Speaking of cards! My mum received hers in the mail yesterday. A day late, but it got there intact! I’m pleased with her card for a variety of reasons, but mainly because I think it looks smashing. I used pictures of her guinea pigs and combined them with other stock photography to create a collaged birthday tea party. There was a lot of cutting involved, but I feel it was worth it. Overall, Mum likes it and that’s what matters. Now I just have to mail her the gift I had purchased for her, misplaced, and just found. Silly me.
Have a delightful Friday!
Cheers!
~Robyn
So many things to do, and so little time! I have been busy as always, but it seems like it’s never enough time devote to what I want to work on. Currently my attention has shifted to costuming. I’m not the best seamstress in the world. I could use a few (read: a lot) of help in that department, but I seem to manage to get by.
Which is probably a good thing since The Boy & I have been shanghaied by a burly ogre of a Viking, and told that we’re attending June Faire this year. I suppose that makes it seem that we’re being forced against our will to attend, but honestly it’s in a loving fashion. Our dear friend Kass, husband of the awe-inspiring Eowyn, decided to hold a fund raiser to bring a fabulous friend of ours out to visit for this event since we haven’t seen her in years. Since achieving that goal, Kass decided to turn the event into a reunion of most, if not all, of his closest SCA friends & family. To that end, Kass has been the most instrumental in our attendance to June Faire. We originally weren’t going to go.
 My lucet with yellow cord But now that we are, I need new clothes. I’m such a girl, right? Yes, and no. I have plenty of anachronistic medieval-appropriate garb. Now, ask me how much of it still fits me since my weight loss. Yeah, not much very of it, and going half clothed is not acceptable. So I need to create at least one outfit for the weekend. I should have enough time within a month to do that, right? I hope so.
With that in mind, I dug out my lucet. A lucet is a tool used in cordmaking or braiding which is believed to date back to the Viking and Medieval periods, when it was utilized to create cords that were used on clothing,or to hang useful items from the belt. Lucet cord is square, strong, and slightly springy. It closely resembles knitted I-cord. Lucet cord is formed by a series of loops, and will therefore unravel if cut. Unlike other braiding techniques such as finger-loop braiding or plaiting, where the threads are of a finite length, lucetted braids can be created without pre-measuring threads and so it is a technique suited for very long cords. So grab a ball of yarn or thread, and just go until you run out of material or you reach the desired length.
 My project: A mantle/drape like this one shown in Caravaggio (Michelangelo Merisi), The Fortune Teller, ca 1594-1595 Since it’s been so long since I’ve used my lucet, I grabbed some cheap “practice” yarn – a horribly textured yellow. I’m not sure what I’ll do with this cord once I’m done with it, but it has certainly been good practice & a reminder that sometimes the quality of the products you use affect the quality of product you turn out. I don’t believe I will use it for my purpose, which is creating a Gypsy blanket/mantle. I have the drape almost done. I just need do poke the holes for the cord, create the cord, & then I’m finished with it. It’s been a fairly easy creation, that I promise to blog about later.
So my Thursday looks to turn out well- not only shall I be crafty with my attempt to re-create psuedo-period clothing, but I shall also see my favorite gypsy, Morrigan. When she comes over for tea we shall be taking a break out of The Studio to have dinner at La Gitana, which translates to, you guessed it, “The Gypsy.” Hope your Thursday is marvelous!
Cheers!
~Robyn
 The Boy's Favorite of 16 individual Thank You cards It seems appropriate that I should post a picture of my Owl Thank-you cards today.
As most of you know, Thursday is Tea Night when my Favorite Gypsy & The Dreadnaught Darling come over for tea, chatting, and dance. However, last night they brought the party with them. You see – tomorrow is my birthday.
So to celebrate another successful survival of another year on this earth, they brought steak, wine, cupcakes, and gifts. While I always appreciate it when the girls come over, I cannot get into the depth of what last night meant given the week The Gray Cube of Doom has been dishing out. They were truly a delight last night.
I wish I had thought to snag a picture of the cupcakes Morrigan made. Imagine them – chocolate cake filled with a cheesecake-y center, and then covered with a cream cheese frosting. My mouth is water just thinking about them, and silly girl that I am I didn’t bring one to snack on for lunch.
On top of the food gifts, they brought shineys for my dragon hoard. Morrigan makes these delightfully bustles she has named “Agonies.” They’re mostly upcycled material, and they look great. She made a “pixie-sized” one for me that matches the ruffle pants she made me for Christmas. Again – I wish I had snapped a picture for her. But, hopefully soon, she’ll have them listed in her Etsy store, and then you can just buy your own instead of coveting mine.
Kera, as always, is thoughtful, semi-practical, and an upcycle kinda gal when it comes to gift giving. Since moving into Fortune Cookie, she always takes the extra time to think before she gives, which I appreciate. It normally means you end up with something fantastic. Something you didn’t think about, but when you get it the light bulb turns on. As my birthday gift, Kera informed me of 2 things.
One – I had two gifts, and only one was able to be given to me right away because for the other one she is *gasp* learning to use a sewing machine. You might not understand what that means so let me break it down a bit. For Kera to admit that she was braving a sewing machine to make me something makes my heart all warm and gooey. Kera does not sew. I blame & thank our friend, Eowyn, for Kera’s sewing inspiration.
Two – I had to close to receive my second gift. Quick back-story – I lust Kera’s skirt collection. Always have, and possibly always will. Being the smart cookie she is, Kera remembered this. As my second gift I received a beautiful multi-shade green wrap skirt. Kera has several of this style of skirt, and I’ve always loved it. Now I have one of my own. I just need to learn all the crazy, awesome ways to wrap it.
On a non-birthday note – I did make the Lady Gray Chocolate-covered Shortbread Cookies, and tested them on The Boy & the girls. General consensus is that it needs more tea. I apparently didn’t get the ratio correct. Or, using 90% chocolate is just not the right way to go. As it was requested yesterday, once I get the recipe right I will share it here. Until then, I’m taking applications for taste-testers.
Goal for tonight & tomorrow- Finish the Bunny Basket.
Cheers!
~Robyn
 Off the Cuff Tribal Photo Copyright Distict Glimpse Photography Good morning! Or at least I hope so. I’m still working on my morning coffee. This weekend was delightfully crazy with Cues & Tattoos going on. There was a lot of dancing, a lot of silliness, and even some seriousness.
I had a private lesson with Kristine Adams of FCBD, and it was good. I danced with my troupe- Off the Cuff Tribal, and with Students of Ucanto Bellydance (a.k.a. the Tacoma ladies & a few Seattleites.) I had a blast. Still, spending the weekend in Seattle means I wasn’t in the Studio crafting anything.
Computer issues followed my fabulous weekend, which is why there has been radio silence here. For that I apologize. I just can’t bring myself to type my blog from my smart phone. My WPM on my phone are good, but not good enough for that.
I spent the beginning of this week tidying up because it looked like a tribal belly dancer exploded in my living room. Again – this is no good for crafting. Once finally back to an organized chaos last night, I pulled out some yarn to begin crocheting a bunny basket.
I received the pattern for this basket by email from Lion Brand Yarn, and it’s adorable. I really like Lion Brand Yarn. You can sign up on their website, and get tons of free patterns & ideas. They also have an option where if you find a pattern you like you can order all the materials you need from their website with the click of a button. It’s rad.
So tonight my goals after escaping the Gray Cube of Doom are:
1. Bake Lady Gray Chocolate Shortbread Cookies
2. Finish Owl Thank-You Cards
3. Work On Bunny Basket
Hopefully I’ll have pictures for you tomorrow.
Cheers!
~Robyn
I think the thing I love most about my friends is that they’re all crafty in some way. I have friends that are bakers & chefs. Some that make cards. Others that make jewelry. Some that excel in personal beauty products & accessories. And a few more still that sew. They’re all different, and they’re all talented.
 By Stephanie - All personal data has been removed to protect the guilty The best thing is going to some type of craft store and wandering through, bouncing ideas off of each other. I did this with my friend Steph a few weeks ago. We went shopping for wedding miscellany, and ended up at the craft store – of course. While we were there she picked up some delightfully bright cardstock and the most adorable owl stickers in the world! I loved the combination. With these items she made this marvelous invitation for my bachelorette party.
Now, I’m not surprised that Steph managed to create such a delight. If I ever need help getting a project started she’s at the top of the “People with Helpful Ideas” list. She’s one of the more crafty people I know. She could give Martha Stewart a run for her money when it comes to home holiday decorations.
Steph is a preschool teacher by day and a mother 24/7. A fact I am sure her three year old will appreciate in the long run. She’s always looking, assessing, and repurposing. She’s a wonder. In fact she even has a blog where she talks about ideas for preschool children. Some of the stuff she comes up with is fabulous.
 The in-process "Thank You" card Because I loved the invitations she made so much, and I knew where she bought the materials, I decided to make “Thank you” cards to match. I try to remember ettiquette and send thank you cards as often as my scattered brain will let me. So last night I started on them. I’m fairly pleased. I made them half the size of the invitations and blank on the inside to allow me plenty of scribble room.
They still need the finishing touches, which I didn’t get to put on last night. There will also be at least one more night of delay as there is dance class tonight. So hopefully, they will be finished by Wednesday night. Not that there’s a huge rush, but I’d like to get them done anyway. I’ll post a “finished” picture once they’re done.
Cheers!
~Robyn
Oh my goodness, is this “Monday” all over or what? I’m currently running on about 4 hours of sleep. I suppose it’s really not so bad, but with cranky foremen and an office printer that does not want to do your bidding, it’s hard to realize that. On top of it, my coffee is cold.
But enough of that. We are on to better things – like what I did with my weekend. I had intended to hit the craft store Friday after work, but that didn’t happen. Office Manager Marti started feeling better Friday night so we stayed in and played “herd the Baa’s.” Who knew a terrier-Shar Pei mix was actually a herding dog?
So Saturday saw our run to the craft store. After managing not to indulge my desires to buy everything I wanted to use in some type of project between here and the next millennia, The Boy and I escaped. Then armed with Lady Gray & Mythbusters, a late night of crafting ensued. I do have to give the boy credit. He’s an absolute trooper when it comes to my crafting.
I can’t share everything that I created on Saturday, as all of them are gifts. I try not to share gifts before they’re given. However, I am going to make one exception and share something I made for one of the girls in my bridal party. She’s got some inkling of what’s going on anyway, so it’s not like it would be a surprise.
I, personally, have this small obsession with hair adornments. I think a hairstyle just isn’t complete until it has something in it- rhinestone hairpins, hair flowers, something. So when I found these pretty copper roses, I knew I had to make something out of the. This particular piece has a headband base, decorated with inky green feathers (I’d love to know what bird these feathers come from- I love them!), and the petite copper roses. I also created two hair clips for the other girl in the bridal party using the same type of feathers and roses. I didn’t manage to snag pictures of those, unfortunately.
Well, that was my weekend in a nutshell. How was yours?
Cheers!
~Robyn
Down by the salley gardens my love and I did meet;
She passed the salley gardens with little snow-white feet.
She bid me take love easy, as the leaves grow on the tree;
But I, being young and foolish, with her did not agree.
In a field by the river, my love and I did stand,
And on my leaning shoulder she placed her snow-white hand.
She bid me take life easy, as the grass grows on the weirs;
But I was young and foolish, and now am full of tears.
“Down by the Salley Garden” by William Bulter Yeats
I love weekends. Mine was stellar. Saturday was peaceful and crafty. Sunday was filled with crazy antics during a photo shoot for Dreadnaught Darling, and followed by a stunningly epic two hours of belly dance class. It is weekends like that which truly make me mourn my time in the Gray Cube of Doom.
So, I admit that I didn’t actually get the custom order finished on Saturday like I had planned. I was actually distracted by my desire to make new hair flowers to show off with my synthetic hair falls. Hair flowers are very common in hair flower gardens worn by belly dancers. If you want a hair flower fast – ask a belly dancer. They probably have one or a dozen you could borrow. I had a beautiful red tea rose I had been meaning to use in a new hair flower piece for quite some time, and had not gotten around to it until Saturday.
After I made my hair flower I intended to use on Sunday, I was lured by other flowers and feathers and shiny things. I made one more. Then I was lured into making a third. And a fourth. And I was going to make a fifth, but then realized I wanted a bigger clip for it. So that will have to wait until I actually make it to the craft store.
I made two blue lily pieces. One went to live with Kera. The one picture with the butterfly might be mine, or it might end up in the Etsy store. I’m not sure yet. I may just make a second one to sell as I do have more of the same components. The pink rose hair flower I created has been stewing in my brain for a bit. I enjoy how it turned out. The little yellow piece was created simply because I like the flower-feather color combination.
Well, I hope you have a delightful Tuesday.
Cheers!
~Robyn
Happy Friday! I hope your day is smashing! Mine is very positive so far. I have another custom order to work on. It is a variety of stones that need wrapped. So that’s the plan for this weekend’s crafting. It’s looking to be a full weekend between working on custom orders, updating the etsy store, and helping Kera with a dread photo shoot.
 Hand drawn "Alice" caterpillar.
Last night was moderately productive. I got one card made – the “most important” one. It will actually arrive to its recipient late, but at least it’s done and in the mail now. Hopefully I’ll be able to get ahead on the rest of the cards I want to make.
The card made last night is for my oldest friend and I hope they like it. I was at a bit of a loss as to what to put on their card. It’s not that I don’t know what they like, but a matter of lacking stamps and other such things to decorate it. It wasn’t until The Boy recommended the caterpillar from Alice in Wonderland that the idea really took off.
Making a card with the caterpillar was very appropriate for last night as Thursday nights are generally my tea party night with the girls. We get together to chat, drink tea, and dance. Since I was working on the card there was a lot of chatting and a lot of tea drinking, but not so much on the dancing. Which was okay because the card required a bit of attention. You see, I sketched the caterpillar by hand and needed to apply a lot of concentration. Believe me when I say that I was cursing because I didn’t have a printer to be able to print a coloring page. I can easily admit that I am not the artist my friend Suzi San Souci is, but I can at least draw my way out of a paper bag. And, yes, I did think about posting a picture of that.
 Simply Spring necklace This card was different for me on a few levels. It was the first where I included personal hand-drawn artwork. In fact, it uses the least amount of stamping as well. This card also made me contemplate more about investing in a printer as well as brushing up on my own artistic skills. I think I’ll end up doing both as each has multiple uses.
Oh! I also promised you a picture of “Simply Spring,” didn’t I? Well, here you are. This simple piece is made from green glass seed beads and pale aventurine. I wanted to do something simple that could be worn everyday or used as the perfect accent when dressing up. There are also earrings that go with this necklace, but I could not figure out how to display them to show how they hang. Hopefully I can get that remedied soon.
Cheers!
~Robyn
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