All my pretty things. (or, the arrival of Elsa!)

Last Thursday I got two things I had really been looking forward to.. A weekend visit from my childhood best friend (which is far too close to my heart to be shared with strangers on the internet) and my new non-human friend, Elsa. Yes, I named her Elsa. 

Elsa is my new dressmakers mannequin. She arrived on Thursday morning, when I was in the shower..obviously...had to sign for her...of course..and after my weekend of catching up I dressed her for the first time and it. was. awsome. Now I can start making things again!! My mind explodes with creativity! (the wine probably helps..) 

I already made some things to try out, aside from the skirt that's already old (but still cool!). First thing was to fit the corset I made some months ago with some new bones at the back and lace it up..still needs some changes but so far its looking nice.. And then there's the hooded cape! I made it for halloween as a 'just in case'-thing but never wore it. One never knows hen one needs a red hooded cape though. 

Then I started looking around... I feel a lot of the times like I do very little creative things now..but actually...it's just in a different form then it used to be. 

So this is a kind-of-collage of my favourite pretty things: 

Every morning when I wake up the first thing I see is my chat noir poster.. I love that poster..can't believe I actually have it.. Then there's my chicken clock that doesn't actually work! and my recycled candle jars and the rice lamp that's really just a scarf...Then I went on a shopping spree (encouraged by my husband and my house-friend, you sneakily encouraging lovelies..) and bought shoes...yes, shoes...and a rosary! and some adorable pictures of Victorian people. 

The pictures in frames are a work in progress, but I like where it's going!

Lastly...some months ago I got the idea of crocheting into my head...those lumps are supposed to be a shawl and fingerless gloves for my house-friend. Let's see how that goes... 

Greetings from Scandinavia in Maidstone!

Remembering 5th of November.

In the aftermath of Halloween the haunted spiritualism gives away to something much more earthly: the spirit of revolution. 

Revolution - no one needs to die!

I feel more and more like art is no longer enough..creativity is no longer enough. When I made this blog it was in a way a form of escape, a place that made me feel good to be in and a place that cut me off from a world I couldn't stand to live in. Then I left that world.  In the world I live in now there is real hope.. a place and a purpose, space to breath and think, for people like me that just wasn't there before. And I'm thinking...what kind of person would I be to ignore that just because I'm suddenly better off..because I no longer have to scrape for the bare minimum. I refuse to be made silent trough comfortability! 

But comfortability trough fear...is that really being comfortable?

So as a start to my officially expanding my blog-horizon, here is one of the people I think deserves some (more) attention! He doesn't have to be right..or likeable..but much like Charles Dickens, who was kind of a dickhead as a person, and his stories the important thing is to shine light on what is happening right in front of us while we are watching strictly come dancing and complaining about drizzle! Not everyone can hide under the covers and still feel worth something. So here it is:

Russell Brand "against death camps"

I'm sewing an A on my coat and becoming a Brand-groupie...I think this was what my history teacher called "Confessing ones colours"...

So what happened to the Halloween countdown?!

Well...the countdown went the way of all things. It is usually a rule that if I say I will do something it is almost sure that that will be the one thing I do not do. So as Halloween became busy with other more important/fun things, I just left the blog updates to its doom. I'm fickle like that.

But it was a good Halloween. 

Made lots of new decorations (including pumpkins), went trick or treating, ate sweets and lit candles..even went to a grown-up dress up party. And not until now is the rain pouring down. It was as close to perfect as I ever want my life to be.

Over all the theme for this Halloween seems to have ended up in witchcraft and hauntings..as is only appropriate I suppose! There will always be a part of me sceptical to the supernatural...and then one part completely convinced that there are unknown things out there that will snatch my soul away in a second if I let them. So I put my witch costume on and went out in the darkness...

October 29th. Two days to go.

After a relatively hellish morning including nightmares in true Halloween style and a day fixing all kinds of stuff me and Lus took out the Halloween box of awsomness. It's still kind of tiny but give it a couple of years or 10.  

I love decorating for Halloween... sometimes I let the decorations stay because I kind of like the strangeness of finding a bottle of laudanum with a skeleton inside behind the baking powder. But anyway! with some fake spider web ,lights, bottles and twigs  we now have the first steps towards a spooky feeling.

Last year I didn't dress up so this year I really want to...but there is not much time so we'll see how that goes...!

Gonatt x

October 28th. Halloween countdown.

It is finally here! Halloween, my favourite holiday. I have been in the mood since Lus asked for a ghost costume and I started watching Great British Ghosts and that is a long time for a goldfish such as my self!

But starting today, with the help of my lovely boys, the Halloween preparation can begin..

If only I had a real witched brush, because today has been a backbreaking cleaning day. In a way it feels ironic to sweep away the real spider web from the windows just to be putting fake spider web in them the next day, but I still did. Washing, dishing, sweeping, jar collecting and looking for inspiration...

Tomorrow we will be going trough what there is aand putting ghoulish things out. So far it is mostly about decorating, Lus already has two different costumes and I will have to improvise sometime during this four day countdown...looking over at my husband there in the kitchen wondering how far I can take this costuming idea of mine...!

But anyway, this is, so far, my favourite inspiration for the spooky night.  

Countdown fact nr. 1:

Being scary at Halloween is to scare away the spirits that come trough when the veil between the living and the dead is the thinnest at this very night...dressed up the ghosts will not recognise you and you will live to see another year.

Waiting for the storm.

A storm is sweeping over the south east of England this night..or so they say. I just put some pots in the kitchen for the water to drop into so it must be true. 

But before I put my hair up and creep into bed (which is looking more bohemian by the day, thanks for asking)  I want to tell you about my creative dream. Her name. Is Elsa.

Ok I don't actually have her yet, but that's what dreams are for! I realised not long ago that partly why I keep dropping my creative ideas like enthusiastic flies on a light bulb is because I lack a foam-stuffed companion. So I have decided, for the good of the art and for my peace of mind, I must find one. And when I do find a suitable mannequin. I will call her Elsa and that is that!

Lets see how it goes.

It's finished. My box home is finally finished after a couple of days of obsession.. 
 

It did turn out quite like I had in mind..a little tidier actually, but I suppose the full debauchery of 2006 would be hard to recreate in a box..at least when it comes to the dirt and crowdedness!

 

I decided not to include people after all. Turns out that my past home contained a lot more people than a simple shoe box could hold, so instead I went for hinting at the existence of people. For instance, notice the shoes that's been taken off on the way to the bed ( no shoelaces?) and the drenched petticoats on the hanger.. Both beds are unmade, one possibly being slept in right now, the other just a blanket and pillows on a mattress, dirty and thrown around... Someone didn't have the time to finish breakfast beside the bed. There is an iron being heated on the stove..no cooking needed for bread and apples!
 

In a way, more than anything else, this reminds me of those moments when I stumbled, exhausted and hungry, into my rarely empty flat..ate my noodles and fell asleep. Some hours later waking up to live the rest of my life. It's very much a Victorian styled idealization of my own long gone past..It's my point of view.

It is a past that made me. I did love it..but I am so happy it is over!