I'm posting here as I'm not sure where to turn to and you all are the best people I can think of to help.

As a budding seamstress, I'm pretty reliant on my beloved Mannequin/Tailors Dummy - who I call Bonnie
Bought for my birthday a few years ago, Bonnie has lived through several house moves (three so far) and as such has suffered a little damage. I'm pretty upset about this already, especially since she's an adjustable form, but she still worked and did her job so I didn't do anything about it.

However, as I am now more seriously hoping to pursue a taloring career, I decided to relocate Bonnie to take some photos of things I've made for my portfolio. In doing so I've managed to (somehow!) break her even further which I fear has now rendered her inopperable! 

This makes me very sad, as I have had her a few years and found her really useful, not to mention she was a joint present from several family members (tailors dummies aint cheap, Im sure you know!). I really need to have one right now to work with, but totally can't afford to buy a new one as I am stoney broke (planning ANOTHER expensive house move and need to buy furniture).

The damages now mean the form AND the base are broken. The adjustable body has one of the adjustment screws inside snapped, so it is hard to adjust the waist. The base has snapped today, which means it is only supported by 2 legs (so cannot stand!). I have tried a bodge job repair to no avail.

SO, to cut a (very unnecesarily long) story short, I'm wondering what you guys think I should do. I figure my options are

1. repair, or get someone to repair, Bonnie - I know people repair sewing machines, overlockers etc. But what about dress forms? Does anyone know if this is possible and if people do it?

2. buy a new one, in which case whats the best way to go about getting one cheap/second hand.

3. curse myself for my clumsyness and accept this as punishment

It couldn't have come at a worse time! Im really hoping some of you can offer some help or advice 

Thanks y'all. x

I'm sure you, like me, have craved over Amy Adams wardrobe in the film 'Miss Pettigrew Lives For A Day'. Every time I watch it I wish I lived her life - so bit by bit I'm trying to slowly bring myself closer starting with.....this headband!

She wears it in the bath and looks so elegant and effortless. I was throwing out some fabric scraps and just couldnt bear to part with this blue satin, so decided to put it to good use!

The oiginal:


Mine:




Obligatory action shots!




Thinking of making the bow bigger....



I use it for keeping my hair off my face whn doing my makeup. Makes me feel a little bit more chic and elegant!

This whole ensemble, including undergarments and decoration, was completely handmade from scratch and all came to less than £20 in total! (That about $32 USD)



A quick explanation: I am a Burlesque performer and this act was created for a Movies themed night run locally. As I was promised a star guest appearance (you will see!) I decided to do a Pirates of the Caribbean act.




The costume comprises of: bottom layer: a corset (not period accurate and not made by me, though I did make an 18th century corset anyway for the hell of it ) and bloomers made by the lovely VintageGrace, covered by a chemise I also didnt make....now we get to the bits I did make!



On top is a pair of panniers which cost about £2, made from white cotton and shaped with metal arches meant for gardening decoration! In this photo, I look VERY pleased as the next layer got STUCK on stage and I had to rip it off!  I was worried I would be stuck forever!
The layer that got stuck was a petticoat, made from an old lace curtain from a thrift store - cost £1.50.



On top of that goes the underskirt, made from a thrifted bed cover costing £3, then the overdress with attched front pannel, made from thrifted lade edged curtains costing about £5. The pannel was decorated with a piece of crochet I did from left over yarn and decorated with pearls from a broken necklace. The lace sleeves were made from lace ripped from an old wedding dress.




The fan and lace gloves I already owned and the 'cursed pirate medallion' came from amazon for about £2.50.



And my special guest? He was free 

Let us parade our Parisian delights!

Swap name: Marie Antoinette Swap Round 2
Craftster member who is organizing this swap: midnight
Sign-up date range: 09/30/2010- 10/10 Thursday 30th September - Sunday 10th October 2010
Date to send item by: 11/08/2010 11th November 2010

Limited to a certain number of people? (optional): 25

Restricted to people who all live in the same country? NO

Swap Organizer himself/herself meets these conditions:
- Has fully read the Swap Info Guide: YES
- Has successfully completed two swaps as a participant: YES
- Is not organizing more than three swaps right now: YES
- Will recruit a co-organizer or give all details to a Swap Moderator if this swap has more than 25 participants: YES
- Is at least 18 years old: YES

Swap Organizer will check each participant to make sure they meet these conditions:
- Has been a member for at least one month: YES
- Has posted at least 15 times: YES
- Has completed one swap successfully before signing up for multiple swaps at a time: YES
- Is not currently signed up for more than five swaps: YES
- Does not have any negative feedback: YES
- Participant has agreed that he/she is at least 16 years old: YES
- If within the US, understands that Delivery Confirmation number is required for this swap: YES
- If outside the US, understands that a mailing receipt copy is required for this swap: YES

Details of swap:

Original Swap:
http://www.craftster.org/forum/index.php?topic=306853.0
 And Gallery:
http://www.craftster.org/forum/index.php?topic=311927.0

Join us for another sugar sweet swap inspired by the Queen of luxary and decadence - Marie Antoinette. Be you a fan of the film, the period or the magazine, this queen of France poses wonderful creative opportunities whatever your craft may be. For this swap - everyone eats cake!  

We will be sending out 4 points worth of items. For more info on what this entails message me or check out the swap rules.
Parters can send more than 4 points provided they negotiate with their partners and notify the swap organizer (me!).


If you want to participate, information to send to organizer:

QUESTIONNAIRE TO ANSWER:
Name of swap
Craftster username
Email address
Your real name
Mailing address including the country
Would you be willing to ship to an address outside your own country?
Confirm that are at least 16 years old or, if not, that you have moderator approval(YES/NO)

What crafts do you like to do?
What would you like to receive?
What would you prefer not to receive?
What are your favourite colours?
What are your hobbies?
Are you a fan of the Sophia Coppola film/the Marie Antoinette magazine?
Do you have any allergies/allergens which we should be aware of?
How would you describe your style?
Do you have any wists/blog etc? (Please include links)
Will you do your best to communicate with your partner and the swap organizer for the duration of the swap?
Anything else you'd like your partner to know?


IF YOU WANT TO PARTICIPATE, REMEMBER TO SEND YOUR INFO TO ORGANIZER VIA PRIVATE MESSAGE AND NOT TO REPLY WITH IT HERE.


Also, remember to read the Swap Info Guide to find other rules about participating in a swap.

LIST OF APPROVED SWAP PARTICIPANTS:

1.midnight
2. DollfaceDarlin
3. Pixiefirefly
4. NeedleMonkey
5. sillysmushyhippocak e
6. wonderwoman1976
7. hgddm
8. StrawberryJeli
9. NiinaMaria

Partners:
sent    
received      
sent and received    
late

midnight - NiinaMaria
DollfaceDarlin - sillysmushyhippocak e
pixiefirefly - hgddm
wonderwoman1976 - StrawberryJeli
NeedleMonkey - wonderwoman1976

I've recently moved so have been prettifying my room. I made these new cushion covers to fit in with my uber girly room. I just used fabrics scraps and things i had left over from other projects. I think they fit pretty well, doncha think? My fave is the peach satin one in front

"Donde esta la bibliotheque?"



Anyone else love Community as much as I do and crave some Abed related crafting?

Post your gorgeous goodies!

Original thead:

http://www.craftster.org/forum/index.php?topic=355561.0

I'm gutted that I sold this at a fair 'cause I really wanted to keep it for myself! I'm determined to try and recreate it though so i can have one of my own.




I wanted to put everything on it for the perfect tea party, on a pink theme! (hence no cucumber sammiches )



So observe the tiny cookie, cupcake, strawberry merangue, french fancy, jam scone and cream, tea cup, a decorative rose and a spooon to nom it all with!

After my first disastrous try at cupcakes (seriously, where can you go wrong? I'm sure only I could manage it!) I found this adorable idea for lavender cupcakes. The method was a little too complicated for me, so i made this simple version which worked like a dream, was easy as pie and tastes like a lovely garden! (in a good way!)




easy cupcake recipe:
5 oz (150g) Butter - softened
5 oz (150g) superfine (caster) sugar
6 oz (175g) self-raising flour
3 eggs
fresh lavender flowers (straight fom the garden if you've got 'em!) - about 14 stems should do.

First, as always, preheat the oven to 350oF/180oC

I pulled the flowers from the 4 or 5 stems of lavender and mixed them in with the caster sugar. Then all I did was beat the eggs, then mixed everything together by hand until it was smooth and creamy. I spooned the mixture into 12 buncases and popped in the oven for about 15 mins (or if you're like me, until they look about done! ) Leave them to cool completely on a wire rack before icing.

For the icing, its an easy buttercream icing - just mixed 175g (6 oz) icing sugar and 75g (3oz) margerine - didn't add any milk or water as last time i did it went very wrong! This does make quite alot of icing, so you can afford to be generous when spooning it on! I added blue and red food colouring to it to get the right purple colour the swirled it with a teaspoon onto the cupcakes, adding a single lavender stem or sprinkling a few individual flowers for decoration.

I've never posted on this board before, so I'd love to know what you guys think