Happy Valentine’s Day to all the sexy beauty lovers out there.
Xoxo Carlie
Victorian
Issue 9, Spring Passion Pinups
The Spring Issue of Passion Pinups Is finally here and I’m so happy that I got featured again. You can see my name and what page number 28. wink wink. The first issue I did for Passion Pinups was the winter holiday issue last year which featured me on the front cover. I loved being on the front. If you haven’t seen my holiday winter issue last year definitely check it out here. And I’m excited to report that I have my photo in the centerfold of this issue.
I’ve become good friends with Chrissy( Kittens) Blake, the creator of Passion and I’ve told everyone on here how sweet she is. She know’s I’m an artist so you asked if I could send her a few photos of my pieces because she wanted to feature and showcase my art which I thought that was so cool of her. I ended up sending her a print two of my new deck that I just created, images from my latest Victorian Steampunk jewelry/trinket box, and an oval creation that I loved making and have hanging in my vanity area That’s just a couple of the many reasons why I enjoy being part of Passion Pinups.
Here are some of my spring photos, you might recognize some of fascinators from my wonderful friend Debra Shirley because I used her floral but they were perfect for spring. I hope you enjoy the little teaser.
Ok on these pages above here, you will see my Lover’s’ tarot card, my “World tarot card, and my Victorian Steampunk box images.
Here’s a closeup of the hanging Victorian Vintage piece I made.
And this is the centerfold image that they used for Spring. You can see my art piece on the left.
To get a copy of the magazine, go to @passionpinups on twitter, Passion Pinups on Instagram, etc. Contact them so they can send you the link to order and pay copy. I also want to thank Chrissy, her man Brett, and everyone involved with this magazine.
Interview and Feature with Debra Shirley
FINALLY FINALLY FINALLY, I got to interview and write a feature on the extremely talented hat and fascinator designer, Debra Shirley. You all know who she is from my Victorian photoshoot I did last year, my Burlesque shoot I did last year, my recent article on her with my latest hat from her in the, “BLACK VEILED BEAUTY” article, and more. If you haven’t seen all those posts, click on her tag here or type her name into SEARCH here to see all the posts I’ve done on her.
Here is my interview that I did with her. I absolutely am in love with Debra and her talent!!
1. How did you get into making these gorgeous hats, fascinators, and head pieces?
1). Princess Diana inspired my love of hats at the age of 10, when I borrowed a book on her from the library. She was so stunningly beautiful in all of the hats that she wore that I’m certain she seared my 10 year old brain into linking beauty with hat wearing. It did not occur to me that I could design hats until I was studying fashion design in my 20’s. Whatever class that I wanted to take during the summer was full and I did not want to remain idle so I ended up taking a Millinery class to keep busy. I quickly became enamored with the art, and the skills involved in creating came oddly natural to me.
2. How long have you been designing your art?
2). I first studied millinery in the 1990’s, and soon after was able to start a full time job as a Milliner in a high-end Bridal Salon in Chicago, designing wedding veils and headpieces. As can sometimes happen with trying to earn a living, I lost focus on my true passion for hats and playful headwear. It wasn’t until 2014 that I decided to devote time and energy into creating hats and fascinators and getting them out into the world.
3. Did you teach yourself or take a class when you were starting out?
3). Veronica Chin, a very talented Milliner at Burning Bush Millinery was my millinery teacher when I first started out. I took millinery 1, and 2 which is all that the school offered. The school ended up adding a 3rd level class to its curriculum, because of the interest of myself and a few other students at the time. I learned classic techniques such as blocking, pattern making, wiring and embellishing. I took what I learned and expanded as much as I could. Each time you make a new piece you can learn from it.
4. What are your favorite events to create your fascinators and hats for?
4). I love to create hats and fascinators for any event that a woman wants to dress up for and feel fabulous. That could be a day at the horse races, a polo match, a ladies luncheon or even a special photo shoot!
5. What’s your main source of inspiration?
5). Inspiration can strike in various ways. One of my favorite ways to be inspired is to work off of the colors or details in a dress or favorite outfit. I like to pull the concepts out of the print of a garment and bring them to “life” in headwear, as if the hat is an extension of the outfit. Sometimes I am inspired by a separate component or embellishment such as a flower or feather. One piece can get me excited and I start looking for other pieces to go along with it, until the next thing you know, its a finished hat!
6. What’s the best compliment that you have received from a client?
6). The best compliment that I have ever received from a hat client? It doesn’t get any better than “I felt so beautiful wearing your creation” the key word is “felt”. I love when women “feel” beautiful in addition to looking beautiful.
Debra and I have developed a great relationship and I’ve probably said this before but I’m so extremely happy that I met her and have become friends with her. I hope to see her soon. I hope you enjoy her beautiful photos to give you an idea of what she can create and make sure to check out all her sites.
Instagram: @DEBRASHIRLEY1111
P.S: Thank you Debra, my talented fellow artist friend!
One of my sexy sweet montage! Enjoy!
Enjoy this cool montage video that was put together by friends of mine. Stay tuned for more soon!
Holiday Gifts From Annabel Lee
You first heard me talk about Alexandra Walden who runs the awesome blog and newsletter, http://www.meandannabellee.com/ in October. She introduced me to the Samhain Society which I wrote about here as well. If you haven’t read my post about what the Samhain Society is, definitely go check it out, but in a nutshell, the Samhain Society is a society of bloggers and website creators that love all things spooky like me, and write a lot about horror and gothic subjects. Even though not all my articles and posts here are spooky/horror related, I do write a lot of that topic and everyone who follows me here, my art site, and all my social media know that I LOVE CREATING SPOOKY DARK WORKS OF ART AND AM A HORROR LOVING WHORE!
Besides Alexandra’s newsletter and blog, she also has an etsy shop where she makes and sells really cute gothic home-making items. For the holiday season, I recently purchased two items from her. The first thing I bought was a gift for my husband. He loves having his tea so I bought him a handmade BLACK BUTTERFLY TERRARIUM CAMEO TEA BALL INFUSER which he absolutely loved and will definitely use a lot.
The other item I bought from her was a gift for myself. I got a Victorian Gothic Tea Cup Candle with a yummy currant scent. I bought the last Alice in Wonderland yellow and white striped cup and saucer which I was very excited about. All the Victorian cup and saucer candles are gorgeous and it was very hard for me to pick which one I wanted but when I saw the Alice in Wonderland one with the detachable saucer and that it was the last one, I immediately purchased it….and I’m very glad I did.
If you are looking for some holiday gift ideas for your spooky or gothic loving friends or for yourself, definitely check out Alexandra’s etsy shop called, MeandAnnabelLeeShop.
“Victorian Private Show Lady” Photo Shoot Part 2
For part 2 of this shoot, my inspiration was still the “Victorian Lady” theme obviously but I wanted to dress and pose how a burlesque dancer from the early 1900’s would’ve dressed. I definitely did my research on this considering burlesque is a major passion of mine but I also took inspiration from one of my favorite television shows, “Murdoch Mysteries,” which is a brilliant Canadian show that I recommend to everyone.
I love the second hat fascinator from Debra Shirley and it worked perfectly with my Victorian corset, my fishnets that I stoned myself, and my other accessories. I wanted to do both outside and inside shots since this is a little bit more of a “PEEK A BOO” shoot but still “CLASSY AS ALWAYS!” That’s a true burlesque performer.
Hope you enjoy my second photoshoot images. All makeup and hair done by myself and this my very own costume. Photos taken by the best, Nick Sorat!
Victorian Lady Photo Shoot Part 1
I finally finally finally did my Victorian Lady Photoshoot. I was so excited to not only do this shoot but also I got to finally wear my handmade hat fascinators made by my friend Debra Shirley. I first mentioned Debra in a past post on how I was excited to receive her hats and you can click on her tag to see the past article. She’ll be writing a bio for my interview I’m doing with her soon.
I did two parts for this amazing shoot because I had two different costumes and looks. Also I had different inspirations for each look. Here is my first photoset look and my inspiration.
My FIRST inspiration for this shoot was my mom. My parents bought a new house not too long ago and my mom is an amazing interior decorator, even though she was never professionally trained. She just has a beautiful and amazing eye! Her theme of the new house is Victorian. She actually suggested me doing a Victorian-themed shoot because I’ve never done one before. My other inspiration, especially fashion wise, for PART ONE of this shoot was two of my favorite films, “MY FAIR LADY” and “MEET ME IN ST. LOUIS.”
I hope you enjoy these photos from PART 1 of my “VICTORIAN LADY” photoshoot. A huge thank you to Debra Shirley again for creating me these beautiful hat fascinators.
Makeup all done by myself. Photos taken by Nick Sorat.
Bombshell 