Happy Birthday and Vintage Corsets

Happy birthday to me today! I think I've turned 29 about a dozen times now (maybe a few more). Ha! I've got the day off and guess what I'm working on?

a surprise for Mr Darcy - vintage corsets

Yep! I should have a corset template for you shortly. In the meantime, enjoy some corset inspiration I found from Messie Jessie. This was just too cute not to share. Enjoy!

Corset Diaries: Journal Cards

Journal cards and pockets are here! The Corset Diaries is pleased to offer the first of a series of art journaling products for your corset diary! Includes 4 journal cards and 2 pocket designs.

corset diaries: journal cards

Use these journal cards to write down ideas for your paper corset designs. Don't forget to use the back if needed! You can even antique the back edges and get twice the card use!

see more in Le Charmed Life on Etsy

What good are journaling cards without cool pockets to go with them?! The pockets are designed to glue directly on your journal page at the folded flaps. Enjoy!

How to Make a Scented Paper Sachet

While we're on the subject of sachets, I thought I would post a little tutorial on how to make them. These are especially easy to make out of paper. No special fabric or sewing knowledge required. All you need is an envelope template and your favorite dried flower.

learn how to assemble the favor envelope

Think outside the box a little bit about envelopes. These can be seed packets, over sized tea bag covers, or even a small paper bag. The envelope above was made from decorative vellum.

download template and labels from eat drink chic

Assemble your envelope, add dried flowers using a paper funnel, seal and embellish as desired. With some imagination, digital collage, fabric, ribbon or other bits, these can be really quite pretty!

lavender sachet from 
Regency Gifts and Crafts

The above photo is a commercially made sachet just to help get the creative juices flowing and give you an idea about what you what you can do with these. Have fun!

Free Vintage Lavender Bouquet

Lavender bouquets make handy little pieces of ephemera to have around. I downloaded this vintage lavender graphic from the Graphics Fairy.

free vintage lavender image

Sometimes you just need a lavender bouquet ya know?!  I altered the original for use on a sachet packet I'm making for the corset diaries journal.

click free vintage lavender image to enlarge

Voilà! A pretty Lavender bouquet. You are free to use this image in your digital or mixed media art for sale however, due to the work I put into this, my terms of use apply.

Note: Terms of Use are located in the left sidebar toward the top of the page.

From France With Love

Nuther little package from France this past week. I didn't even realize the item was coming from France until after I placed the order. Funny!

This one didn't arrive in quite as nice a condition as the spools but it was a charming parcel to receive in a rustic kind of way.

Thankfully these were wrapped ever so nicely in a hand made fabric bag or they might have fallen right out of the envelope.

Vintage skeleton keys are another recent fascination I've developed over the past year. They are such curious little things though.

I've seen these repurposed as place card holders which is a cute idea. I'm not sure what these will become at the moment. I guess I'll just contemplate them until an idea comes to me.

How to Make a Moleskine Style Journal

In case you want to get started making your own moleskine style journals, Ellen Luckett Baker of The Long Thread has a great journal tutorial. After doing some research, these are all made pretty much the same way.

cereal box journal by Ellen Luckett Baker

If you're like me, the cereal box might seem rather crude. Instead, try using decorative card and text papers that are more inspiring to your soul. You'll enjoy your journal a whole lot more. Have fun!

The Corset Underwear Model

Haha! I can't help but love the phrase "corset underwear model." That just conjures up all kinds of delightfully wicked images!

papier mache dress form

Let me introduce you to Yvonne, the model I'll be using for the August corset. Yvonne hasn't yet been possessed by my creative muse which so far makes her perfect to work with.

papier mache dress form side view

Karla Nathan has put together a dress form tutorial if you are interested in learning how to make these. You might want to check it out if you will be making corsets with me this year.

Karla Nathan mini dress form tutorial

If enough of you are interested in a more artistically refined tutorial I can put one together that describes my method for making the dress forms which is a little different from Karla's. Just let me know in the comments. I'll need at least 10 of you to make it worth my time.

All the way From France: Vintage Spools

I received a most delicate little package this week that came all the way from France. A vanilla yellow envelope with some some light wrinkling and smelling of lavender graced my mailbox.

from France with love

The unboxing was pure magic as this feather light bundle came wrapped ever so sweetly in a white, paper doily and some creamy antique lace.

wrapped in a paper doily

Having also received a very fragrant package of lavender that day I had the best smelling mail in town! Oh my but how that charming fragrance contributed to the romance of it all.

vintage spools tied with antique lace

Heavenly! I can't help but wonder what kinds of stories these little wooden spools have to tell. Who used them? What was she like? Did she have a good life?

rustic vintage gorgeousness

Are you thinking Le Charmed Life yet? I'm not sure how I will use these but I know it will be nothing short of some fabulously tasty vintage style morsel.

Moleskine Journal Inspiration

Have you ever made your own moleskine journal? Etsy's Dorothy Jane makes them so sweetly that I couldn't pass up the opportunity to share just how charming these little journals can be.

Dorothy Jane pocketbook journal on Etsy

Can you picture something like this adapted to the corset diaries? I sure can! The exciting part is that these are very easy to make. Look for printable diary kits to become available soon!

Image Credit: Dorothy Jane

Le Charmed Life

It's true, I'm addicted to new ideas. There's just something so fresh and exciting about them because they are full of possibility. So what could I be thinking with something called Le Charmed Life?

©Kell Belle Studio - Le Charmed Life banner

Well, I can tell you it's born from the "if you can't be em, join em" concept. Divine guidance seems to be leading me in this direction and it feels positively euphoric so I must be on the right track. More later.

Internet Connection Problems

Kell Belle Studio is currently experiencing internet connection issues. Frustration does not even begin to cover the range of emotion you experience when you spend 3 exquisite hours troubleshooting both on your own and with your service provider and then still can't come to a satisfactory resolution. I may have narrowed down the problem though. With luck, I'll be working again soon. :)

UPDATE: After wrestling with my service provider for another couple of hours, internet is working and happiness is restored! Yaaay!

Tutorial: How to Tint Mason Jars Blue

Vintage blue mason jars seem to be all the rage right now but if you have done any kind of browsing for these on Etsy or eBay you will find that these jars can get quite pricey. Add shipping on top of it and you've made a serious investment.

tutorial found on Bridal Buzz

If you're interested in a viable D.Y.I. solution to the blue mason jar dilemma, you might try giving this tinting tutorial from Bridal Buzz a shot. I thought alcohol ink would work but it's not permanent on glass. Good news! You can find clear mason jars on amazon.com for a song!

Photo Credit: Luzel of iDiY

 

Paper Corset Diaries: Inspiration I

We're going to get a little more dimensional in this series. This could get frustrating for some of you so I won't be putting out as many templates this time. You can still follow along and enjoy the journal goodies however.

1902 ribbon corset pinned to Corsets and Lingerie

I thought we would start as simply as possible to dip our proverbial toes in the corset making water. That said, we'll go with this under bust number. I think this has a lot of room for artistic license for those who want to get fancy.

Inauguration Day: The Corset Diaries

The Corset Diaries project officially launches today and I'm effervescing with excitement. One of the first things we'll be doing is creating a really yummy, layered mini journal to keep all of our inspiration in one place.

purchase on Amazon.com

This journal will be full of pockets, pullouts, fancy envelopes and of course, all manner of corset goodies. I'm still working furiously on getting the kit together for you but it will be worth the wait.

©Kell Belle Studio 2012

<a href="http://www.kellbellestudio.blogspot.com/2012/08/inauguration-day-corset-diaries_1.html"><img src="http://kellbellestudio.com/site/images/musings//blogsideimages/corset_diaries_button.jpg" width="190" height="266" border="0" /></a>  

I'll be offering goodies for you to add to your journal along the way but feel free to put whatever you want in it.  Ready? Grab a button and let the creativity flow.