Kelly Doust introduces readers to her wonderful world of reviving and customising vintage pieces, while bringing a modern and unique twist to wearing vintage clothes – Dita Von Teese
Cheap thrills
Fabulous 50s frock
Some of my latest finds from Rozelle Markets:
I’ve been searching for an authentic 50s dress with this silhouette for years. Made from pink silk (the kind ordinarily used for cheongsams) this beauty set me back $15 and – joy of joys – it fits. I love the stiffness of the interfacing used to line the skirt, which gives it a Dior New Look feel. It doesn’t even need altering, and has no marks or moth damage. Needless to say, I am thrilled. We had our first outing together last night to see The Semptember Issue, which I thought quite fitting.
The same girl sold me these vintage clip-on earrings for $5 a pair. I think it’s clever the way she’s displayed them on playing cards, and reminds me that I want to incorporate playing cards into a collage or reproduce them in felt appliqué at some stage.
Pearl & bead clip-ons
Enamel flower clip-ons
And here’s a French hat box I found about a month ago for all of $4. It’s the new home for my modest collection of winter beanies.
Salon de Chapeau box
A simple idea
Scrabble magnets
These cute magnets look so effective but could not be easier to make. Take a clutch of old Scrabble letters, a pack of sticky-backed magnets and a pair of scissors, and you’ll have them whipped up in minutes. And the nice thing is, the magnets won’t ruin the pieces if you want to use them again. Dab Eucalyptus oil on a cotton wool ball and rub to remove any sticky residue once you’ve peeled them off.
I bought a pack of magnets for a few dollars from my wonderful local stationer, Amazing Paper, but I’m sure you could find them in any crafts store or well-stocked newsagent.
Swoon alright…
An all-white closet
Here are a few favourite pictures from the most beautiful home I have ever seen.* This Texan dream of a place is my idea of heaven. I love all the wood, warm greys and white. And I adore the bleached skulls and antlers everywhere.
If you’re looking for a less macabre version, made from fine bone china, visit Have You Met Miss Jones. We have several antlers and the bull horns living in our sitting room with shells and stones collected from special places around the globe while on holidays.
*Pictures of Samantha Reitmayer of Style/SWOON’s home taken from Design Sponge
Gorgeous bedroom
Girly dressing room
In LOVE
I know it’s been around for a while now, but I have such a crush on this Paul Smith for The Rug Company wall hanging. Isn’t it gorgeous? I don’t think I want to know the freight costs to Australia.
I’m planning to attempt my own version, but with paint and bits of treasured fabric on canvas from the crafts cabinet. I will report back…
Tricksy milk painting
I forgot what a complete pain milk painting is. A couple of years ago I had all four wisdom teeth out in one go and spent two weeks at home looking like an unfortunate squirrel. To avoid climbing the walls I renovated this large cedar robe from Mitchell Rd auction house, cursing all the while.
You would think I’d learnt my lesson, but no… I’ve gone and done it again.
This time I opted for an oyster grey paint from Porter’s, pencilling a cameo in the centre piece before filling in with black acrylic. The profile sort-of looks like a young Elizabeth II. I was having a nostalgic moment for ‘ol blighty, having just had our Keep Calm and Carry On poster re-framed for above the bed. Vivienne Westwood’s Union Jack cushion would finish off the look perfectly, don’t you think?
Cedar robe
Elizabeth II
To market, to market…
Katrina sets up
Anyone who loves wearing vintage knows you need to put in the hours hunting through piles of tat before finding a keeper. There are favourites I will hold on to forever, such as the black suede Chanel pumps from a Battersea op shop snapped up for 8 quid (oh what an inheritance you’ll have, Olive – I hope you like clothes) but many more I recycle again so they can go on to a life with someone new. Someone who loves and appreciates them and (most importantly) takes them to some fabulous parties.
Soaking up some sun
Yesterday the lovely Katrina and I raided our stash, liberating old friends who were looking a little lacklustre back there in the recesses of our wardrobes. Off to Rozelle (my favourite flea market in Sydney) where we watched them walk away and shed nary a tear…
One day I’ll write a novel like Annie Proulx’s The Accordian Crimes or The Red Violin, but about a cheeky little frock who gets about and lives in more cities than I ever will. Wouldn’t that be fun?
A simple tee
A top for Lizzie May
I am at the age (32) where it seems everyone I know is having either their first or second child. Our friends Cat & Angus welcomed little Elizabeth May into the world this winter and my, she’s a cute one.
This is a top I made her from special swatches of vintage fabric and a new Baby Bonds tee. The floral sprays are pinking-sheared around the edges and attached with Vliesofix and different-coloured embroidery threads to pick up the orange, pink and blue of the print.
Dabbling in floristry
Bronwyn's bouquet
My neighbour Anna is a florist. She had a holiday planned when Bronwyn asked if she could arrange the flowers for her wedding. Anna suggested me, so I had my first (paid) gig as a wedding florist recently.
Here’s some pics of a few of my favourite arrangements. They’re hyper-bright but looked beautiful against the white linen and simple, chic setting of the Bondi Surf Lifesavers’ Club.
Vestibule
Table centre
Welcome to The Crafty Minx website!
Olive & Kelly
January 2008: I was feeling a little blue. I’d just spent the holidays concocting an idea for a book about very simple crafts, for very impatient women (like me) who wanted a quick creative fix – yesterday. But then I had to go back to my job as a book publicist. With author tours and festivals stretching on ad infinitum and already feeling bone-tired, it seemed impossible to find extra hours in the day to write it.
A month later I got caught in a Suzy Homemaker moment, saying rather glibly to a friend “I just wish I could be at home with a baby, writing and making things.” A few days later I found out I was pregnant. And a few months after that I quit my job to work on the proposal for The Crafty Minx.
Fast-forward to September and the super-talented Kay Scarlett at Murdoch Books has just said yes to publishing it. “Hurrah,” I said to my husband James over an inch of celebratory champagne; four days before our daughter, Olive arrived. The book was due in January 2009. I thought I might explode with happiness… then I wondered how on earth I was going to manage anything more challenging than washing my hair with a newborn.
Olive is now almost a year old, and The Crafty Minx just went to print about a week ago. Luckily James is a project manager and deftly handled my panic attack with a whizz-bang Excel spreadsheet that virtually wrote the book for me. And the sequel, which is out next year.
So to stop me itching for November to arrive, I’ve started this blog to share some of the new things I’m working on, as well as favourite suppliers and finds I hope people will enjoy and take inspiration from. Please let me know if you have any feedback and feel free to get in touch with your own handiwork, which I would love to see. And stay tuned… we Crafty Minxes need to stick together, after all.