Tales of a shoe hoarder, episode 12~

Ok, ok.... so I'm still stuck on the pink shoes we wore in my sister's wedding. They are So freakin' cute!

I hope to resume my shoe hoarding posts to normal soon.

However, today's post is special.

~BECAUSE~

IT'S MY GRAND OPENING!!

I have joined Etsy to bring you The Scarlett Rose Garden Shop.

"A mixed bouquet of vintage fashoin & handmade goods."

Shoes are my main focus right now.

WANT SOME CANDY?!

These are some of the shoes that I have listed, or am getting ready to list.

They are either vintage or embellished.

When I got married over 8 years ago, I searched high and low for Marie Antoinette style shoes. I burned my eyes out on the internet and could only find shoes for $200 or more. I ended up finding a black pair in a thrift store, and I "reupholstered" them with the fabric from my wedding dress.

Today, they are still hard to find. There is really only one shoe that shows up for retail, and it runs between $50 and $70. And yet, the heel is too spikey and not so 18th century looking.

So I have decided to alter shoes to resemble colonial and victorian times, or a mixture of modern day with the past.

I'm having fun with it.

It has kept me quite busy lately!

And that vintage pink baby scale I showed you recenlty? It will come in handy to weigh things for shipping! Cool, eh?

You can click on the photos to enlarge them, or if you would like to view my listings please click www.scarlettrosegarden.etsy.com

I would love to hear from my fellow blogger friends who have Etsy shops as well!

Wish me luck!

*please note: if searching sellers for The Scarlett Rose Garden on etsy, leave off the "THE"*

Marie Antoinette Birthday Soiree and La Boudoir Episode Three~

Welcome to a Birthday celebration for Marie Antoinette!

Joy at Cupid's Charm

was kind enough to host a wonderful soiree that you're sure to enjoy. Please visit her so that you may sashay over to the rest of the participants! Please, EAT CAKE and grab a glass of champagne!

If you'll scroll a few posts back (please!), you'll see I've been working on my boudoir. It is quite inspired by Marie Antoinette; along with other vintage eras. We started working on it last year, ripped out a closet to make room for an armoire; and painted the floor, walls, ceiling, and trim. Still much to do in the decor department.

I'll add a few photos here again, so I apologize for those of you who have already viewed them!

This is a vintage bedding set from the 30's. I think Marie would've approved! The head board was a yard sale find for $20. We painted it gold and raised it about 15 inches to look more majestic~

Purse with colonial scene~

Now on to something you haven't seen before! This is a fabulous french foot board. I bought the bed at an auction for $15. Termites and/or moisture have taken their tole on the feet. Are you thinking what I'm thinking? I've been wanting to use it for a cornice for quite some time. I just can't make up my mind about the finish. The grain is so beautiful, but the peice needs a lot of work. Plus, I want to somehow make two smaller copies for the other windows. There are just ugly boards trimming out the windows currently, as all the original trim is long gone. Doing cornices would be easier than putting in all new elaborate trim!

This floral motif is extremely fragile and I'm not sure if I'll be able to save it. If not, I plan to buy an applique to replace it. Click to see detail~ it's a very fine cut vaneer.






Here is the head board that goes with it. Can't decide what to do with it either. I thought about just changing it out with the gold one when I get bored once in a while. But, while viewing the pic just now I had a revolation that might work.... putting a mirror in the oval part and hanging this above my mantle in the parlor. Hmmm. I'll have to do the measurments to see if that would be a possiblity!

This is a lovely print, another auction find. I think it was around $35. I'm on the prowl for the perfect chandelier sconces to flank the sides!

I plan to use this wallpaper border and gold crown molding. I had ordered 6 more of these velvet drapes and they just came in yesterday~ I haven't had time to mess with them.


The following are a few random boudoir items, with no place to *go* yet!










$15 night stand from a flea market. I don't think this little beauty is going to fit in my room. : (

Hey! There's a before pic of my PINK bike, I didn't think I had one! Woohoo!

A $75 auction buy~ I need to revamp this finish somehow without *changing* it. It's worse than it looks.






Ok Antoinette lovers... onto some things that are not boudoir related!






Let's start with SHOES!

(I hope to have another Marie Antoinette inspired shoe hoarding post soon!)

I wish this pair had a french heel~ but I still LOVE em!








These are my wedding shoes. They were black brocade and I covered them with the velvet from my dress. The bows are made of corduroy, also from my dress. Horrid pic, it's an old scan. I looked far and wide for louis heeled shoes and could not find them anywhere at the time. I finally found these (in black) at a thrift store. They were too small and I forced them on like an ugly step-sister, let me tell ya!

Interested in Marie Antoinette inspired shoes of your own? Perhaps I could help you! Visit my shop at www.scarlettrosegarden.etsy.com!

Here's my gown. I designed it and had it made. I wanted victorian, colonial, and civil war influences; I think it turned out quite nice! That house in the background is where the french bed came from. We had a contract on it but our inspector told us it had the worse case of termites he had EVER seen, so we passed!







I got out my gown recently, as I wanted to embellish it and wear it for a Marie Antoinette look on Halloween. It didn't happen tho~ the gown is just too big for me now and doesn't hang right. I didn't have time for alterations, and we didn't have any "big" plans anyway. So I'll put it off till next year! In the mean time, here are a few detail shots~

I was SO excited when I found that chenille trim that seemed to go so perfectly with the panne velvet and fine wale corduroy. I'm all about texture!

And lastly folks, a few TEASING glimpses of my parlor goodies. This room is not even started yet. We want to do the upstairs bathroom first, and the plumbing runs through the parlor ceiling. Le sigh~

This armoire actually came from France. The mirrors unfortunately didn't make it. I do plan to have beveled mirrors cut, but they are mighty $pricey$. Yet, had the piece arrived with mirrors in tact the selling price would've kept me at bay.



I have had people ask me if I'm going to paint this. Um... that would be a NEGATIVE.

I'm sure I could go on and on, but you've got other people and places to see!

I hope to visit Versailles one day.

Happy Birthday dear Marie~

Tales of a shoe hoarder...Episode Five...

I'm WAY behind on my shoes tales!! I'm going to cheat and show you three pair at once, since I already have the photos!

Pair #1 is a cute red gingham platform in a modern style with a vintage pinup girl in mind. These are Guess brand and I got them on clearance at Burlington Coat Factory last year for $25.

Pair #2, adorable black patent Mary Janes, with a spectator look. They are made by UnionBay. I got those at Burlington as well. I don't remember how much, but it had to be under $20.

Last but not least~ My Marie Antoinette shoes. I RARELY pay over $20 for shoes...and even MORE rarely pay over $40 (unless they're vintage). But I had to have these beauties. I haven't even worn them yet, but since I want to revamp my wedding gown into a Marie Antoinette inspired frock, I'm sure I'll be wearing them with that. There had better be a good Halloween party this year! Unfortunately I cannot remember the maker... and I should because I about burned my eyeballs out searching the internet for them.
Ah! Hold on.... it's all coming back to me now! Ellie brand. Here's a link, tho it's not where I found mine. They have the blue, cream, black, and PINK! I really adored the pink ones, but felt the blue looked more French.

I found my shoes at 3 Wishes. No, I was not there shopping for naughty lingerie, *snort*... I was looking at this! I purchased my "Naughty" Scarlett costume on ebay for MUCH less. But I have to say, it's worth it because the green floral sprigs on the fabric ARE replicas of the orignal dress, tho not to scale. But, that's a whole 'nuther story! (I'll think about that tomorrow!)