Twinkle twinkle

by Kathleen Brewster. Posted on January 29, 2015

29 Jan

little star……..

Vintage stars. If you know someone handy with a jigsaw perhaps the moon and star backdrop could be easily made and used for a photo booth.

Etsy is a wonderful place to search for creative little star details in accessories and jewlery.

I have seen these starry string lights around on Pinterest but never anywhere for sale in australia. they seem to have much smaller bulbs than your average christmas might and also are on a wire that can be shaped and will stand on its own. Perhaps worth a search online.

These lanterns were a diy made from an easily available pattern for a star lantern. The garland would be easily made from cut out stars, 2 stars stuck together with string in between.

Norman Hartnell sprinkeld the wedding gown of the then Princess Elizabeth and her bridesmaids with stars.

He must have loved them as he used them in a few more gowns.

Invitations inspired by charts of the night sky.

It’s not even my Birthday

by Kathleen Brewster. Posted on January 27, 2015

27 Jan

Arriving at my mum’s place yesterday there was a present waiting for me. An amazing lady who keeps amazing poultry had been putting aside feathers for me.

I knew she kept chooks and peacocks but I was surprised to also find Galah, sulphur crested cockatoo and a mix of rosella feathers too. When they arrived they were a bit of a mess but I wiped the dust out with my finders and helped the barbules to line up and they look lovely. Even the damaged ones will be perfect clipped.

I love to work with natural feathers, they tell you what they want you to do with them instead of the other way around.

A gown for Queen Elsa

by Kathleen Brewster. Posted on January 25, 2015

25 Jan

If she was real and couldn’t make herself a gown with her magic, I would suggest she headed to Paolo sebastian. The perfect shade of Ice blue and layers of sheer instantly reminded me of Queen Elsa. I think my daughter has watched Frozen too many times.

Petals

by Kathleen Brewster. Posted on January 22, 2015

22 Jan

Two of the icons of post war Haute Couture have to be the Venus and Junon gowns by Christian Dior. Both gowns are held at the Met museum (Venus. Junon) where they belong so they can be marvelled at into the future. I am staggered that there once was a time when women (undoubtedly wealthy women) would have somewhere to go that required a gown like this.

The sequins are applied to a mesh which would have been stretched onto a frame and the petals marked. The petals would only have been cut out after the embroidery was complete.

Here are some rare photos of these dresses on models.

Not quite white

by Kathleen Brewster. Posted on January 20, 2015

20 Jan

I love a subtle blush of colour in a wedding dress. It gives the chance to bring some of your personality into your day but still retain the pale colour reserved for the bride.

Butter

Silver

Blush

lilac

Ice blue

Wild Fennel

by Kathleen Brewster. Posted on January 10, 2015

10 Jan

Blooming now along side the Queen Anne’s lace is the wild fennel. A similar flower but yellow, it is just starting to bloom properly now (late december, early jan) around Bega. I didn’t pick any of this when I stopped, the stalks are too hard to break so I can’t give any advice about their longevity in a vase. I can suggest you bring some secatures.

Here is a small selection of wedding flowers using wild fennel (or wild dill as it has an almost identical flower)

Coloured veil

by Kathleen Brewster. Posted on January 5, 2015

05 Jan

Here is a little collection of coloured veils. A bright coloured veil offers a wonderful contrast against a white dress. Use the same colour highlights throughout your bridesmaids flowers and invites to tie the whole look together. These images use mostly russian or birdcage veiling but colours can also be found in bridal tulle for a more traditional style.

Stripes

by Kathleen Brewster. Posted on January 2, 2015

I couldnt devote a whole post to spots without giving stripes the same courtesy.

Above is an Incredible graphic stripe sash. This would be an amazing addition to a simple purchased dress. I will come back to this and make a little tutorial for how to create this look with some basic sewing skills.

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The long sleeves in this dress are especially elegant. It is decorated with lace circles but If i was going to use these stripes and lace as inspiration for a dress I would crochet the circles.

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A seperate top and skirt can be a great look for weddings. This skirt is made by joining strips of fabric so the look could be re created to work with any colour scheme. Paired with a litle lace top – White and ivory stripes for a subtle bride, White and a pastel floral print stripes for a garden wedding and white and Navy stripes for a harbour side yacht club.

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This deceptively simple dress is using a wonderful technique, It isn’t made from fabric with a natural stripe, it is made from a sheer fabric and each of those stripes are applied to the dress. An incredible amount of work. I am assuming they used bias strips so they would curve around the fluted hem, staggering.

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This dress is made of a sheer white/solid white stripe fabric. The fabric is cut as large ruffles so the direction of the stripes changes throughout the skirt. This kind of fabric can also be used for a very simple style and the stripe then gives a point of difference.

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Lastly this wonderful strapless stripe dress. The stripes make a perfect V in the front. The waist of this dress is quite high which is unusual. Here it all ties together perfectly. Also pockets.