Christmas Swags

Here are some of the lovely swags that were made at my 5th annual swag-making event.

Every year, a group of friends come over to make a swag for their doorway or to give to someone else.

We have a lovely afternoon, creating, conversing and enjoying some treats. Some swags are made by friends who live on my street, so I get to see them every day as I pass by. 

 At the end of the swag-making afternoon, it always amazes me how different each swag is from the other, and all so very lovely!

Victorian Dinner Party #20

Just one more post about my Victorian dinner party, and this one is about the head gear.  Naturally there were top hats in attendence for the gents.

This was a hat that I made for one of my guests to go with her outfit, and suited her to a T!

It was a conglomeration of velvet, silk, ribbon and feathers.

I think it looked great from every angle!

 And these last photos show the headpiece I made to go with my outfit. A combination of silky fabric, black netting and a brooch.

The fabric was actually the leftover ties from the dress that I used to make a bustle for my skirt. It is a wonderful teal colour.

And that, dear blog readers, is my Victorian dinner party, from head to toe!

Victorian Dinner Party #19

I thought it was about time that I showed you what I wore for the Victorian dinner party. This amazing blouse was given to me by a dear friend when I was a teen and probably dates back to the 40's or 50's. It has the most amazing ruffled and lace trimmed jabot and cuffs.

The fitted tapestry jacket with black trim was a thrift shop score just a week or so before the party.

The skirt too was a thrift-shop find.

I found a dress that had a ruffled skirt that I made into a sort of bustle. Luckily the colour in the top stripe matched the teal of the jacket.

I padded the bustle to make it stick out a little.

A view from below.

And underneath the skirt was a pair of real vintage bloomers with lovely lace trim.

And lacy tights, because you can never have too much lace!

And to complete the outfit, a pair of lace-up leather boots that I have owned for over ten years. They were perfect for the occasion.

Victorian Dinner Party #18

The decor for my Victorian dinner party extended to the main bathroom of our home. I hung a makeshift clothesline over the tub and hung a collection of vintage children's clothes.

Airy white cotton embroidered baby and toddler's chemises and dresses were hung with old fashioned clothes pegs.

Lots of exquisite embroidered details are there for those who take a closer look.

Victorian Dinner Party #17

After dinner, but before people stood up to move around, I brought out this reproduction set of of a Victorian-era game called "The Comical Game of Who?"  Cards are divided between the men and women and ridiculous questions are asked in numerical order and the response is given by the holder of the next consecutive card.  It is an innocent game with wording that provides a sense of Victorian attitude. With everyone feeling relaxed and well fed, all got into the spirit of the game and was actually great fun, resulting in lots of laughter, mostly as there were several hams in the room and because of the game's silliness factor.

After the game of Who?, the men retired to drink cognac or brandy, and the ladies with their liquers sat down to have a tarot card reading and a reading using special flower spirit cards, both in keeping with the spiritualism that was sop popular in Victorian times. It also worked very well with the Halloween timing.

Victorian Dinner Party #16

This lovely two-volume set of  Le Marchand d'antiquites, the French version of Charles Dickens's The Old Curiosity Shop was published in Paris in 1942. It was a hostess gift given to me by friend R. at my Victorian dinner party. How wonderfully appropriate was that, and I pressed into service as part of the decor immediately.

A stamp on the title page reveals that it was part of  the "Location de livres francais et anglais" in Paris at one time...

with its location on the shelf marked by the consecutive nos. 523 and 524 on labels affixed to the spine.

There are lovely marbled covers clearly showing a well worn patina...

as do the covers' edges and wavy pages. All of these signs of its age come together to make a beautiful artifact, which exudes the feeling a past time. 

Victorian Dinner Party #15

Several weeks before my party I was in Mont. St. Hilaire, Quebec and visited a farmer who had pumpkins for sale, including the grey pumpkin atop the urn in the photo above, and the large grey Hubbard squash pictured below.  They were the perfect addition to the evening with their fascinating and somewhat eerie colouring.

Victorian Dinner Party #14

Pteridomania, otherwise known as fern mania, was a craze that swept Britian during Victorian times. Specimens were brought back from journeys to far-away places by botanists and eventually grown for cultivation in Victorian homes. People also roamed the countryside for specimens for their collection.

With that in mind, I decided to transplant my one fern into my black iron urn and decorate it with peacock feathers for added Victorain flair.

A collection of umbrellas and walking sticks were plalced by the door.

And some giant tassles that I found in a thrift shop and kept just in case one day I might find a use for them, were hung from a hook in the ceiling so that we could summon our non-existent servants throughout the evening.