Broke my camera out of the block of ice in which winter has encased it to capture a small sprig of spring. In this very rare moment to myself—no dog, no other people; just me, my car, and the woods, I tried to get a little lost in the empty… Read More »A Rare Day Alone
Another skull painting to add to the series I’ve been working on: a bison. This is the first full-size watercolor that I’ve completed in the new house, though the sketch and reference photos began last year before the move. Very straight-forward, I start with a pencil sketch transferred onto a watercolor… Read More »Bison Skull Watercolor
I’m back! It’s been a long time since my last post because life has been very busy happening. Those of you who have checked in before might know that Jake and I bought a house at the end of last year. It was a very scary and joyful experience and… Read More »We Do A Lot of Dreaming
Goodness, I’ve been so busy lately with absolutely no time to post because we just bought a house!!! Finally, the process is done, and the house is ours. We’ve been trying to close on this thing for the better part of a season, but as anyone who’s ever bought a… Read More »Get Ready for the DIY Home Improvement Posts
It’s everyone’s favorite season; faires, fires, skulls, and sweaters. Below is a visual diary of my romantic autumnal adventures. Scroll over the images to see a caption. Connect with me on social media for more pretty photos of mushrooms and folk-wear. Facebook Instagram Twitter
I finished another painting! And it’s another animal skull! It is a 12×16″ inch original watercolor painting of a giant pheasant skull. Matted to 11×14″ and framed to 14×18″. The frame is much more beautiful in person. My iPhone does not do the image justice photographing through the glass, but you… Read More »Really into Skulls
This weekend was very Game of Thrones around my house. Jake and I are preparing for King Richard’s Faire this upcoming weekend and so our individual chores were much more medieval than usual. In addition to drinking sweet mead-like drinks, altering costumes by hand and being gifted some vintage furs… Read More »Viking Drinking Horn Holsters
I am thrilled to finally be able to share this painting with you. I finished it some time ago but just presented it to the client this weekend. Commissioned by the Army Mountain Warfare school in Jericho, VT, this large watercolor painting combines the school’s mascot (a Ram’s head) with… Read More »Large Watercolor Commission
Jake and I had a great Sunday night at home painting toxic zombie figurines for our ever-growing Zombicide tabletop game. The gallery below features both of our handy-work using Army Painter paints and tiny tiny brushes.
We had an absolutely amazing trip to Costa Rica this month! Days and days of adventure in the sun, water, mountains, and surrounded by animals. The food was spectacular and the views, beautiful. When a break was needed from our non-stop go,go,go adventures, I took some time to paint tiny… Read More »Mini Paintings of Paradise, Costa Rica
I once had a silver clamshell purse. It was small and couldn’t fit my entire cell phone, but the silver purse was cute and matched my formal attire as well as any bag I owned. I owned the silver clamshell purse for many years, but didn’t use it that often.… Read More »Iridescent Brocade Clam Shell Purse
Last Friday night while we were on an evening stroll Jake and I spotted two free chairs on the side of the road in great condition. We snatched those up to refinish them to go with our tiny kitchen table. Here’s the chair before: After $3.30 in fabric, $6.00 in… Read More »Free chairs, refinished for under $10
More costume accessories to showcase! My ultra-functional canteen bags! Ever been to an event and not drink enough water? That’s every event, right? I try to drink a lot of water every day, but it’s really hard when you’re busy having fun walking around at a convention or fair. So… Read More »Viking Costume Pleather Canteen Bags
Here’s a closer look at the simple Viking-inspired hat that I made as part of Jake’s winter Viking kit, worn at last weekend’s Vermont Winter Renaissance Fair. The shape is super simple, and historically based but also still popular today. I used a Luxe fleece instead of wool because of… Read More »Closer Look at the Fleece Viking hat
No, I haven’t even seen the History Channel series. I prefer to get all of my information from books, lecture series, and historical reenactment. I cannot get enough information on Viking clothing, lifestyle, social structure, combat strategy, trade habits and armament. It’s all I’ve been sewing lately in preparation for… Read More »So I’m Really Into Vikings Right Now.
I’ve been so industrious lately! I had some extra fabric leftover after making my mom this sweater, so I decided to make some more winter hats and a pair of arm warmers.I just love this fabric so much; it feels so good against the skin, it’s hard not to make… Read More »More Winter Hats
Last night I finished another commission piece! It’s a Sophie Hatter cosplay dress, a character from the animated film Howl’s Moving Castle. I’ve cosplayed as this character myself in the past, so this was my second time around making this dress. It’s a fairly simple design, with a very forgiving… Read More »Completed Sophie Hatter Commission Dress
Last night I finished a cozy sweater for my mom. I’m trying to make more clothes for other people to improve my tailoring skills. This sweater is made from plush “Luxe fleece” from Joann fabrics. It is thick, soft, and has minimal stretch. I used a pattern to make this sweater,… Read More »Big, Warm, Fleece House Sweater
Here are some shots of a Princess Kraehe cosplay wig commission that I just finished and shipped out this week. It was my first experience with a heat-resistant wig, which were much less common back in my wig-wearing days. The material was lovely–soft, shiny, easy to work with, and very… Read More »Princess Kreahe Cosplay Wig Commision
Ah! I’ve refreshed my resume for the new year. Feels so nice and new, even though it’s all the same information, hopefully in a more easy-to-understand quickly format because there is a lot on there. I am a person rich in skills and diverse working experiences. I’ve removed my contact… Read More »Updated Resume
Hats! Hats! Hats for all the children! This Christmas is all homemade hats courtesy of my new sewing machine, and my need to learn how to use it. Jake has a LOT of nieces and nephews, and they’re all getting hats. Fun fleece hats made with anti-pill blizzard fleece from… Read More »Fleece Hats for Everyone!
Merry Christmas! Below is the painting that I made for my aunt’s annual Christmas card. It is a portrait of two new family dogs. I painted this piece in quite a hurry using watercolors and colored pencils. It is impossible to get a photograph of two dogs looking in the… Read More »Commissioned Christmas Card: Watercolor, Colored Pencil
Happy Yule, everyone! I’m feeling a little sick this Solstice, but I wanted to wish everyone else well on the shortest day of the year. I have some Holiday posts coming up in just a few days; commissions and crafts that should be seen in person on the 25th before… Read More »Yule Tidings
Last month for my birthday Jake completely surprised me with this jewelry cabinet that he built himself. I knew for weeks that he was in the basement building something, but I never would have guessed how intricate, large, or useful it would be! Because this cabinet is a handmade, artistic… Read More »Birthday Jewelry Cabinet Handmade by Jake
Finished at least until I decide to do some huge hand embroidered design on the back. This Viking age coat is made from “Luxe” fleece from Joann’s an embellished with a woven trim, polyester bands on the sleeves, and lots of hand-stitched embroidery. I patterned the coat myself and it… Read More »Men’s Viking Kaftan Is Finished!
A post two days in a row? Whoa! Today I have for your some vague progress photos of the Viking kaftan that I’m working on for Jake. What’s a kaftan? It’s a long coat. Above is a sketch of the design as it sits now, after many revisions. We originally… Read More »Men’s Viking Kaftan WIP
I have progress shots of the Viking age hood that I’m making! This hood follows the same popular pattern of the one excavated from Skold harbor (Skjoldehamn), on the Norwegian island of Andoya in 1936. The self is a waxed canvas, and the lining is a “luxury” fleece from Joann’s. This fleece… Read More »Skjoldehamn Viking Hood Work in Progress
On October 15th, 2016 we had an absolutely fantastic time at the Connecticut Renaissance Faire in North Haven, CT. The CT Ren Faire isn’t as big as the King Richard’s Faire, and it doesn’t have permanent faire structures, but the people and programming is top-notch. This mid-fall faire was also… Read More »Connecticut Renaissance Faire and New Viking Costumes
Last weekend me and my crew attended the King Richard’s Faire. What a beautiful October day to travel through time, wear flowers on my head, and shop for weaponry. We saw some big cats to whatever they wanted on stage, ate stew from a bowl made of bread, and Kelley… Read More »King Richards Faire
Granite Con was a blast once again! As always, the variety of vendors, good programming, and unrivaled access to guests of honor made this another memorable year of convention-going in Manchester. This year’s convention had an unofficial Star Wars theme, and so, on fairly short notice, my friends and I… Read More »Star Wars, Belly Dance, and Granite State Comic Con
Every costumer has wrestled with the issue of where to put their cell phone while in costume. Some costumes can’t have pockets, and often times carrying a purse clashes with your look. But in order to move through society we need to have some money and an ID on us,… Read More »Quick Underskirts Phone Pouch
After seeing them all over Pinterest, I decided to make myself a trendy, convertible “infinity dress” to wear to a friend’s wedding. This style of dress is appealing to me because it can supposedly be worn an “infinite” number of ways, hence the name. Well, I’ll tell you right now that… Read More »Formal Infinity Dress
I have recently completed the largest sewing commission I’ve ever accepted. Very rarely do I accept commission work when it comes to garment construction; it is very time consuming, mistakes are costly, fitting another person is challenging, and the price tag is often prohibitive to most of my would-be clients. But for… Read More »Large Evening Wear Commission Complete!
While I am working on very large sewing project, I haven’t had a lot of finished projects to show you. However, I did manage to find some time to harvest an early bounty from my garden and porch planter. This is just the beginning of the growing season and I am hoping… Read More »Dried Herbs
This weekend my friends and I attended the New Hampshire Renaissance Faire. It was a gorgeous 82 degrees in May, and I needed a crown of flowers for the occasion. With the forecast calling for a such a warm day, my garb needed to be kept simple; no layers of skirts… Read More »Crown of Flowers
My latest little sewing project is this pair of flowing palazzo pants! They took me an afternoon to make and are sooo comfortable and breezy. I am in love with this fabric, which I got at Joann Fabrics during their black Friday sale. It is lightweight, soft, and drapes beautifully.… Read More »Palazzo pants
Hope everyone had a wonderful weekend celebrating the arrival of Spring, the vernal equinox, and whatever else you honor. I spent Easter with my family, and like many families, we had a light feast. Here are the things I made this weekend. Eggs! Hard-boiled and colored. Coloring eggs isn’t just for… Read More »Happy Ostara! Celebrating the Vernal Equinox, or Easter.
It’s Spring! Happy Ostara, everyone! The Vernal equinox. Winter is over. Spring is the season of creation, and to kick things off, I have made a quick and easy medieval loop belt. I sewed a long tube of hunter green poplin left over from the dress the belt is featured on,… Read More »Medieval Belt
Apparently March is National Craft Month. My boyfriend Jake and I got a head start this past weekend by building our own custom plant shelves on a whim. With spring right around the corner it’s time to start some of our seeds indoors. This year we hope to grow sweet… Read More »Custom Shelves
I have finished sewing an iron-age-inspired tunic dress, a new staple of my costuming closet. The desire to sew this gown came to me after looking at all of the warm costuming options that the Vikings wore. After attending an unseasonably cold Connecticut Renaissance fair in October in my… Read More »Iron age tunic dress
Want to see all the sweet patterns I scored at Joann’s annual $1 Simplicity pattern sale? I know you do. What am I going to do with all these patterns? I am going to sew so many things! At $1 per pattern, when they normally retail for $15-$20, how could… Read More »Pattern Haul
How was your Valentine’s weekend? Mine was amazing. It was freezing cold here in the northeast, with wind-chill temperatures reaching as low as -30 degrees Fahrenheit. Not a weekend for putting on a dress and going to dinner after dark. Instead of going out, my boyfriend Jake and I opted… Read More »Painting Zombicide Figurines
Happy Valentine’s Day, everyone! Let me fail to access my emotions for a minute here, and talk about what this fresh internet start means to me, or at least, what my intentions for it are. I’ve always been kind an over-publisher when it comes to designing websites. There’s a battle and… Read More »What This Fresh Start Means To Me
The skin absorbs 60-80% of what’s applied to it. In an effort to be more picky about what I put on my skin, and after much research and experimentation, I started making my own anti-aging beauty potion. This custom blend is a 100% Pure, therapeutic, food grade quality essential oil beauty blend… Read More »Homemade Anti-aging Beauty Potion
Another small sewing project complete! In about two hours time I whipped up these funky harem pants for dance using Simplicity sewing pattern 5359, and this wild cotton print I got at Joann’s Black Friday Sale. This pattern was ridiculously easy. It consists of 1 pant leg cut twice, and a… Read More »Harem Pants for Dance
Hello again, internet. Life has been busy. I’m almost four years out of college and I’ve been pretty consumed with living. Many years ago I build a portfolio website to exhibit all of my creating–I make a lot of stuff. I paint, I sew, I build, I craft, I concoct… Read More »Shiny New Website
For the entire month of June I will be exhibiting some of my brightest watercolor paintings in a Solo show at the iYo Cafe in Davis Square, Somerville, Ma! Though the subject of the work varies, the collection was assembled primarily for its warm-weather feel. I would describe the bunch… Read More »Solo Art Exhibit at iYo Cafe in Somerville, MA
Finally I’ve finished another painting! This winter has been brutal in every way imaginable. Because of this I’ve taken to painting dreamy summer scenes all season to console my shivering skins. Last summer I took a trip to P-Town Mass, early in the season before the crowds arrived. The town was just… Read More »Provincetown On The Water
I am now registered with the Mass Board of Library Commissioner’s Performers List! Some of you may know that I teach “How to Draw Manga” Workshops at Libraries and Community centers across the state of Massachusetts. I started teaching these workshops back in 2003 (yikes) and began by cold-calling libraries… Read More »Libraries of the World, Here I Come! (How to Draw Manga Workshop)
I can’t believe its almost Christmas!! Where did this month go? Where are all the months going!? I blame the lack of blog updates on my job and blossoming social life. It’s been a great year, but I certainly don’t have as much free-time to craft as I used to.… Read More »Crafty Christmas Wrap and Handmade Cards