Maternity coat sketch

For those of you who are interested...

This is the plan. :)  I am scrounging up pennies to pay for the fabric now--hopefully I can begin working on it next month! 

Have a lovely day,

Bessie

Fondant and A Maternity Coat

I am throwing a baby shower for a dear friend of mine next weekend, and decided to make these adorable fondant-frosted cupcakes:

(sorry, I cannot find the original source for this picture!)

 I used the Martha Stewart chocolate buttermilk cupcake recipe [here] and an easy marshmallow fondant recipe [here].  Having never made or worked with fondant before, I thought it might be wise to do a test run.  Glad I did!  

Here was my first attempt at fondant-ing a cupcake:

Ugh!  Yeah, no.

Attempt #2 turned out much better.  In fact, the rest of the batch all turned out pretty good.

Then I had some fun with the fondant! :D

Not too shabby, if I do say so myself!  It was so fun.  Edible play-doh!  This cupcake is for my lovely sister Sylvie's birthday.  She turned 12 today. :)

 So, on to the maternity coat!  I couldn't find a pattern that I *loved*, so I decide to just design one for myself. :)  Here is my inspiration:

[source]

I forgot to scan in my sketches, so I'll do that later.  For now, here are a few pics of the bodice muslin and the distressed rose-colored twill I am going to use for the coat. 

The coat will have a peter pan collar, straight sleeves, and a bottom section that is slightly gathered under the bust to accommodate baby and is straight in the back.  Inset pockets, and biggish brown buttons down the front.   I am psyched. 

Well, I am off to feed my poor animals, who unfortunately took the back burner to my fondant adventures today and are probably pretty hungry.  ;)  Have a lovely weekend!

~Bessie

Return of the camera: Farm News

Ok--got the battery charger and the memory card, and now my camera is back in working order.  FINALLY!

I thought I'd celebrate with a post about chickens.

Well, our chickens.  And their new house (which is not entirely finished yet, but it works).

Here it is!

You will notice the door is being held shut with a small 2x4.  It will have a latch, I promise. ;)  There will also be a screened vent at the top front--we had left the space open until we could finish it, but chickens were flying out, so we had to cover it up with an extra board for now.  The chickens seem to be very happy with their new dwelling, and I am very happy that they are no longer in my kitchen or on my front porch!

 Here are our lovely ladies and their gentleman friend. :)  They are about 3 months old now, and will probably begin laying in the next month or two.

Aren't they pretty?

The rooster is bigger, lighter in color, and has his comb and wattle already.

 This is my lovely new mineral feeder!  Remember that video I posted a few days ago?  Well, this is how mine turned out.  I am very happy with it so far.  

 I bought four shiny new water buckets for the animals and Rousseau has already started chewing them up.  I even sprayed them with "Yuck" spray (basically rosemary oil).  I suppose her need to destroy things is strong enough to withstand foul tastes.  ERRRR.

 Desmond got a hair cut a little over a month ago!  Poor fella was so hot--he did not shed out his winter coat like Rousseau did.  You can't tell in this picture, but he kinda looks like a lion--he wouldn't let the groomer go near his head.  

 In this picture the chickens had followed me back up on the porch.  They thought I was going to feed them.  Silly chickens--you have to eat lots of bugs first!  You know the deal.

(We let our chickens out in the morning and feed them in the evening so that they can roam around and eat buggies all day). :)

And that's about it as far as farm news goes.  Planning to breed the goaties next month--very excited about that!  Oh, and I have to find a home for Truitt--he has gotten a little too aggressive lately, and what with those horns, I am nervous about having him around our new baby.  

Next post: My thrifted and re-covered glider!  Whoop!

~Bessie

p.s. Just in case you forgot, this month at Bessie Miller Vintage all patterns from the 1950's are 20% off! :D 

I'm an Aunt!

One of the most amazing experiences of my life so far: becoming an aunt for the first time!
Little Titus was born a few days ago. :)  Welcome to the world, little guy!

~Bessie

Look what my lovely sister Jenny made for us:

We are going to name the baby Evelyn, which has three different meanings that I can find--"Life", "Beautiful Bird", and my personal favorite "Hazelnut". ;)  

Thank you Jenny!

~Bessie

What I did today. :D

I had put these together a few months ago, and finally put them up today for the goaties!  They LOVED them.  I love them too--they are super easy to make and install, and super easy to refill.  I installed one on each goat house, underneath the roof overhang.  When I get my new memory card I will take some pictures for you.  Until then, if you are a goat keeper, please enjoy this video tutorial by applegoat9!

September Sale: 20% Off 1950's!

Our new September Sale starts today!  20% off all sewing patterns from the 1950's!  

Check it out here!