On this Halloween night.....

So, I went to a harvest party yesterday at Allison's house, and we made a movie...shocker......what you should be shocked about is that we made a music video to "Thriller" by Michael Jackson :) Are you shocked? Hee, hee, just wait 'till you watch the movie!

Christmas Carol 2011

In September, I auditions for "A Christmas Carol" as usual. This year, I sang "On my own" from Les mis(love that song!!!!)

No surprises there, until I got a call back, and they asked me to be Martha Cratchet!!!!!! WHAT'S UP! Yay!!!!!! I was so excited, I'm still a little excited, actually :).

My mom auditioned, too, and she got a part in the Chorus, which is exactly what she wanted. She's going to wear the blue dress I made two years ago, and she looks great in it :)

~Erin ♥

PS
I have yet to bring my camera to a rehearsal....I believe it's time for a change, don't you?

Lantern tours 2011

Hello all! It's been so long, I've missed blogging, and, now that I have something to write about, perhaps I can get back into it.

So, it's Lantern Tours time again!!! I really do so love Lantern Tours. Allison joined me on Friday, and, of course, we had a photo shoot in our costumes before we left :)

And now for the un-edited, goof off-y pictures that are very historically accurate, and, oh! One of Allison reading a book ;)This is what happens when I go inside, and leave the camera with Allison

The Napoleon Bonaparte pose :)

.....and Allison reading a book..........

Until later!!!!

~Erin ♥

The Hobbit video diary 3

Here's part three of the video diary series Peter Jackson is providing during the production of "The Hobbit" by J.R.R. Tolkien

The Hobbit video diary 2

As I said in my last post on this subject, I am SOOOO excited for "The Hobbit"!! I also think it's really great that Peter Jackson, the director of the film, as well as for The Lord of the Ring trilogy, is making a video diary of the production of the hobbit. And here it is....part 2!

A Thrifty find

Actually, I bought this last summer, but it didn't fit. But it was so cute, and only 50 cents, so I just had to have it! And now, {hoorah!) It fits!!!! YAY!! Don't you just love it? I'm so excited to have a summer 1860's dress{or 1970's, depending on whether or not you want to wear the petticoat} Someone actually made this dress, it wasn't made in a factory, which, I thought was extra cool.

It's got some pretty cool detail too.

I love thrifting! It's so much fun!

Tony Awards highlights....

Well, at least in my opinion!

The Battle of the hosts:




Sister Act{Love this movie!!} :



The Cast of Anything Goes singing "Anything Goes" :



Harry Potter's Daniel Radcliffe in "how to succeed in Business without really trying" :



All in all, a pretty entertaining evening of televised Broadway!

Total historical eye candy!

Aren't these some of the most beautiful gowns you've ever seen?!

We're just two unsocialized homeschoolers, doing our thing

I would like to apologize in advance to Allison, for ruining her reputation, and to any friends or family members of myself or Allison who are about to get a shock. I must say, however, that I just HAD to post this music video, to show those previously uninformed masses that we homeschoolers are not as sheltered as previously assumed.........Brace yourselves. Seriously.

Sewing project

Afternoon, all!

I am SUPER excited about my latest sewing project! So excited, in fact, that I have told you about it before I have even bought the pattern and supplies, ha, ha!

My inspiration picture:This is one of my favorite of Arwen's dresses. Arwen, for those few who don't already know, is one of the elves from "The Lord of the ring".


I'll be using this McCall's pattern:

Isn't this exciting?! I can't wait to get started! Wish me luck.

~Erin

The hobbit.......It's been a long time coming

Hello all! Yes, yes. It's been ages. And I know that I missed yet another Inspirational Monday, and I apologize. Long story short, I left the house Monday morning at 9:00 am, and did not return until around 8:30 in the evening, and did not feel much like doing anything.

And now, on to more interesting things! I'm sure you will remember the Lord of the Rig trilogy? I am not usually interested in films from that period{sort of medieval with a touch of the mystical} mostly because no one is EVER clean!!! :/ But I found the Lord of the ring to be highly entertaining, with a good story, great costumes, and fight scenes that at least stood up to my over-active imagination. And now, for all you Tolkien fans out there, "The Hobbit" has now begun filming! You'll excuse me while I fling my arms up to the sky and shout "Well, it's about TIME!!!"

O.K. All better. As a young child of about 11, I read "The Hobbit" for the first time, and have since read and re-read it another dozen times at least. A bit obsessive? Perhaps. highly enjoyable? Definitely.

And now, here is the very first vlog of the pre-production and first shooting days of "The Hobbit". Enjoy!




As one final note, For those of you who don't already know, but might be interested to discover, Richard Armitage has been cast to play one of the dwarfs, Thorin Oakenshield, I believe{If you don't already know the story and its characters, Thorin is king of the dwarfs}. All I can say is YAYAYAYAYAYAYAYAYAYAYAYAYAYAYAYAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Come on, who's with me?

My latest project

Yo! Wazzup, homedawg?!

Hee, hee. Okay. Enough foolin'. I have decided on my next sewing project!!!! I'm super-de duper-de excited about this one, and now I'll show you why. :)



Aren't you psyched?! I know I am!!! I'll be making the one in the bottom right corner, with the wicked awesome sleeves. Though I have never been thrilled with the medieval time period as I have been with others, those fantasy sleeves just make me want to dance with joy! I'm so happy I finally get to make my own fairy dress! Before long, I'll be wearing flowers in my long, flowing hair as I stroll through the forest, filled with mythical creatures. Sounds fun, no?

History night

Not too long ago, my homeschool group held what we call "History night". Basically, each child will pick a time period{or specific person/event in history} and create an elaborate report on that topic. I say elaborate, because it's not just an essay, it's a display board, food, costume, and sometimes, a skit. The whole thing is pretty big, and I think this year's history night was the best we've ever had.........and that's saying a lot! Two years ago, I had a mini drive-in movie theatre as part of my report. Cool, right?

Amelia Earhart

The 1950's

Annie Oakley

The wright brothers

Anastasia Romanov

Eleanore Roosevelt

Cowboys

Daniel Boone

Plantation life during the Civil war

See what I mean about it being elaborate? The girl who did the 1950's had an ice cream shop, complete with laminate checkerboard flooring, swing music, and, of course, ICE CREAM!!!! And the little wright brother would twirl his little painted on mustache while he talked {AWWWW!}
Annie Oakley showed me and entire show of her shooting tricks, finishing with the one where she is riding her horse and shoots a moving target while she herself is moving. The kids really went all-out this year. I was very impressed!!!

dream sewing list

I have been thinking a lot lately of possible future sewing projects{Especially after successfully completing my Emma dress, I am all encouraged and inspired}

After scouring the pattern sites, I have compiled a list of things I would like to make this year. Obviously, due mostly to lack of skill and experience, this is an unrealistic list, but, hey, a girl can dream, can't she?!

Butterick patterns has a new line of retro patterns that I am completely in love with. These are my favorites:



I am ashamed to say that I am woefully behind on my apron collection. In fact, I don't have any. I'm in the process of making one, but I have been hand-sewing it in front of the tv{I like to do that sometimes, when I'm not drawing} and it's been a work in progress for going on two months now. I also really like it when one can buy multiple patterns in one. I'm really cheap, and so this concept appeals to my penny-pinching side. Plus, I think you can cover nearly every era in this one package.

Isn't this dress beautiful? When I make this one, I plan to make it the exact shade of blue as in the pattern picture. I'm not usually fond of the fabric choices of the pattern pictures. They look Halloween store products, which, let's face it, they're junk. But this one is different. Not only does it look professional, but it looks good on the model.

There's something about medieval dresses that just really inspires me. I see one and my mind instantly goes to fair maidens with long flowing hair adorned with wildflowers, strolling through a wood to meet her chivalrous prince charming on horseback{a white horse, of course!} I wait impatiently for the day when I can put this dress one, and reenact the scene I have just described, possibly while singing "Love story" by Taylor Swift, at the top of my voice!

All the above patterns have been for costumes, mostly because I only have a desire to sew things I cannot easily find in the store, and, as I have had a great deal of luck in clothing shopping, I have no real need to sew my own wardrobe. Now, well-made costumes are hard to come by, and costumes that are pretty and fit my body and taste perfectly are nearly impossible, so I have a much larger costume list than every day wardrobe list. however, I have always been overly fond of those apron-style skirts, which, oddly enough, are hard to find at a length that doesn't make one blush. I plan to make a couple, probably following a similar pattern to this, but lengthen the hemline to the knee. Sound like a good plan?


Do you have a dream sewing list? What is it? Is your list so drastically different from mine, or are they eerily similar? I'd love to know your thoughts and opinions, if you would be so kind as to comment below!

~Erin

B.O.L.O

In other words.....Be On the Look Out for appletree production's newest project, Alice. Based on the children's book by Lewis Carroll, we have put a modern twist on this classic tale.

It's not out yet, and I can't give you a precise date as to when it will, but I wanted to give y'all a head's up. Sort of a sneak peek, if you will. And, as with all sneak peeks, here is a tid-bit of useless, but very interesting and possibly entertaining information about the process:

The entire story is portrayed by only three people. And here they are:

From left to right: Zakk, Erin{Me!} and Adam
{don't worry. Adam does NOT wear those ridicules fake lip rings. He was just messing with me, because he knows I hate it when he wears those. LOL}

For those of you who don't already have it, here is a link to my youtube channel. If you click on it, it will take you straight there, and you can keep yourself updated on our projects!

~Erin

As I danced through time

This past Saturday night, two friends and I participated in "A dance through time", an event held at a local college as a fund raiser for various charities. The entertainment, much like the television show "Dancing with the stars" includes a number of dances performed by a prominent member of the community, such as the mayor, along with their partner, a member of one of the many local dance groups. The audience votes for each person by giving money to whatever charity that person is collecting for, and the person with the most money collected wins. There are also twelve "celebrity" judges who give their scores as well.Along with my two friends, {from l to r}Kara, Julia and I was a volunteer, collecting the judges votes and taking them to the people who would count them and decide a winner, handing out awards to the participants, and aiding the coat checker afterward. I had so much fun, and I got to wear my new Emma dress!!

After the event was over, we got a little carried away......

Kara striking her "Kira Knightly as Elizabeth Bennett" pose. hee, hee, hee

All in all, it was a enjoyable, long, eventful night, full of running back and forth in uncomfortable shoes and a pretty dress, laughs with friends, and a maxed out camera memory card!!

Yeah, yeah, I know. It's inspirational monday, but that's going to have wait 'till next Monday, after I've had time to find some truly inspiring photos

Emma dress completed

Do you remember that post not too long ago where I mentioned that I wanted a dress just like the one Romola Garai wore in BBC's 2009 adaptation of Jane Austen's Emma? No? Oh, well, then. I'll give you a link to it so you can read it! Here you are!






Now that you're up to date, I wanted to announce that I started my dress, and finished it!!! And in only 5 days!!!! That's the fastest I have ever finished a sewing project.

This is the original from the movie:




And this is my version:




And the back:



Now that it's done, I can't wait to wear my new dress. But that's another post.......

Examination....

I often find it useful to, after drawing a picture, find the aspect I like and dislike the most. I tend to learn from that. If I didn't like the face of the person I drew, I will try a different way next time. I may decide I like the way the shading turned out on another picture, and rarely stray from that technique, that is, until I can find a better way of doing it. I also enjoy others' opinions, to see what they like, and dislike the most. That is what I endeavor to accomplish in this post. I will show my favorite drawings, give my opinion on each, and then this is where you come in. I want you to comment and tell me which is your favorite, why, what you like best about that picture, and what you think should be done differently. Are you ready? Then let's get started!

I'm not digging the leaf.

I love Tink's face and hair. I thought it turned out very well.

The window doesn't look right. I think it's slightly lopsided.
However, I think this one is my favorite.

I really like her hair

Actually, I'm not to fond of this picture in general

The dog is SO cute!!

I don't like this picture, either. Everything is wrong with it. Her face is squashed, I have no idea what happened with the hair, and her entire person looks two-dimensional.

I like the flower in the book

The girl is more than a little fatter in my drawing than she was in the original picture, and the foliage is so sparse it's not even funny. I was just lazy, and didn't want to draw an entire bush.

The butterfly is so tiny!

In contrast to the rest of the picture, the umbrella has almost no detail, and just lopsided and flat

I think her bustle is simply marvelous, if I do say so myself

I should have added more to the picture, and her apron is just sad.

That doll is great! I totally want one!

Her hips are HUGE in comparison with her waist

I'm really in love with the twig paint brush

I don't like her face, I should have done more with the curtain, and I wish I had drawn more of the picture.

I like her delicate necklace, lace collar, and lace sleves

The little boy isn't centered on the bed, and his knees are way too low down for that short child

I can't help but laugh at that duck head board.

Now it's your turn. Be honest. I really want to know your true opinion.

~Erin