Happy Easter

Have a wonderful Easter!

Vintage Easter Postcard

                                      Click on the Easter Postcard above for more free spring clip art.

Dolce and Gabbana Fall/Winter 2013/14 Fashion Show

      The Dolce and Gabbana Fall/Winter 2013/2014 fashinon show is one of  my favorites this season. I love the Icon dresses and the purses at the beginning of the show and the red dresses at the end. The grey suits in the middle are beautifully tailored and I would love to have anyone of them but they seem out of place in this show. (You can slide pass them if they bore you)

Dolce and Gabbana Fall/Winter  2013/2014 Purses

Image From the Dolce and Gabbana 2013/14 Fall /Winter fashion show

Click on the arrow to see the fashion show

   

                                            

                                                           Dolce and Gabbana 2013/14 Fall /Winter fashion show

My Sketches with a Twist of Royalty

I love to sketch all different things so I looked through my sketch books to find some sketches that would work with the theme of the last few blogs. 

Queen 

Courtier

Princess

                                       If you want some drawing hints click on the turnip above.

Victorian Craft Brooches and Hair Clips

I sometimes teach craft classes at our local Museum . This is one I taught last week for a themed Victorian Night. It was a big hit.

Supplies you'll need:

An old sheet of music and/or newspaper

Some images: I used old Kings and Queens from a deck of cards and some postcards I found. Dover books have great images in their clip art books.

Glue stick 

Hot glue to glue ribbon and clips onto the back of your piece

Different colors of card stock

A thin felt pen

Hair clips and /or pins that you can find 

 online or at a craft store. 

 To make a paper ruffle just fold a thin strip of paper

 and curve it a bit as you go. Glue it on the back 

over lapping each ruffled paper a tiny bit. Once

 it's dried trim the edge to get an even width. 

   Templates work best to get round or oval shapes,

 but small glasses from the kitchen work too.

         To get the zigzag edges use a scissors made for the purpose.

 

I drew these wings in pencil until I got the shape

I wanted, I then doodled the design inside the lines. 

   Just have fun. These looked so cute in the guests hair 

   and pinned to their clothing. Some guests decided to put magnets

 on the back of their art and attach them to their refrigerators.

                             

France at the Chateau de Fontainebleau.

It’s time for a virtual vacation in France at the Chateau de Fontainebleau.

Chateau de Fontainebleau started being used in the 12^th century. It has housed many kings and Queens, some of these were King Louis VII, Marie Antoinette and Emperor Napoleon.  Fontainebleau is one of the only royal chateaus that has been in continuous use for seven centuries. Its contents were sold during the French revolution.  Later Napoleon reopened it and used it as a residence.   The chateau has 1500 rooms and 130 acres of Parkland and Gardens.  

If you click on the picture above you can go on a virtual tour of the chateau by just clicking on arrows and watching the little light on the left side telling you which way to go. Level 0 is a beautiful chapel. And on level 1 move to the right first and go around the U shape it’s my favorite part very richly decorated. Left has some very pretty places also. Make sure you look up at the ceilings and zoom into things to see details, use your scroll to zoom in and out. Play around with your mouse because you can move all over with it, click further down the hall and you will speed past things. It takes a few minutes to get used to it and then its lots of fun.

Chanel's Pre Fall Fashion Show 2013/2014

                         The Fall Winter Fashion Show's are out and there are a few great ones! 

It was hard to pick the best. So I picked my top three. 

I'll show them throughout the month. 

Karl Legerfeld the designer for Chanel usually shows around Paris but this time he chose Edinburgh, Scotland. His theme for the collection was Mary Queen of Scots. The setting was Linlithgow Palace. The collection featured the Scottish classics such as tartan, argyle and kilts.

Mary Queen of Scots

1542-1587

Born at Linlithgow Palace

A Hula Tale By The Sea

When I was in First grade my family relocated to Hawaii where my father got a teaching job. I have so many wonderful memories of the Big Island. One of my fondest ones was learning to hula. I had a very lovable teacher. I remember her as being so full of life and she was so wonderfully round and soft to the touch. She had beautiful brown skin, jet black hair that almost reached the ground and large hazel eyes.

I remember walking through the jungle towards the sounds of the ocean with my class. The shore was rocky with mounds of black lava hot from the sun. Waves of turquoise water trimmed with white foam crashing against them. We stopped just before the shore on a smooth grassy area shaded by palm trees. Vines hung every where making us feel as though we were on a stage.

 We made our own music with our gourds either pounding gently with our palms in a rhythmic way against our Ipu or shaking rapidly with our Uli Uli our music blending seamlessly with the singing birds and the ocean waves.

Ipu

Uli Uli

 At the same time we would move our hips in a gentle rotation with our small feet sliding through the cool grass. Some dances we’d sing and use our hands to tell stories others would be to the sounds of our music.

Out of the corner of my eye I could see my sweet brother watching us as he swung on a vine.  I would smile inside thinking he looked like a small Tarzan.

When our practice was done warm hugs for everyone and then back through the jungle we would hike. 

Hawaiian Hula Vintage Doll Craft

When I was in Hawaii on Kauai Island I found a shop with these cute vintage Hula Dolls. I could resist them so when I got home I made one for myself.  If you'd like to make one click on the doll I made below and it will take you to the instructions.

This is the card of the shop these dolls are in.

                                            Click on this picture to learn how to make this doll.

Kauai, Hawaii

Kauai is called the Garden Island. It is well named as it is truly beautiful. It's still very rustic and low key with wonderful people. 

                                                                Beautiful Beaches

                                                                 Wonderful Foliage

Texture is everywhere

      Lots of wild life

                                                       

                                         These are Taro (kalo) fields taro is a native Hawaiian food.

                                                                    Orchid Gardens

                                                               Beautiful landscaping

                                                                   Wonderful trees

                                             Great Valleys and a canyon, striking red earth.

                                                                  Amazing plants

                                                                 Gardens in the sky

                                                          Colors, colors, colors.

                                                             Incredible landscapes

                                                       Roosters and Chickens roam free.

                                                                  Gorgeous flowers.

                                                                             Aloha!