Vintage Style at the Oscars

I always love to watch the Oscars to look at the fabulous and sometimes, not so fabulous dresses. This year I think overall there were more people that got it right than really wrong. Most of the looks  captured old  Hollywood glamor and thankfully it seemed like it wasn't just all about flaunting clevage!

But also, from what I have seen, it seems many of the looks were quite conservative and there was not one ensemble in particular that was a real stand out.

As co-host, Anne Hathaway had several wardrobe changes. I thought this Vintage red Valentino looked stunning on her. Pictured here with Valentino himself.

Of course I love the look of this 1950's inspired dress by Marchesa, worn by Hailee Steinfeld. Many fashion commentators suggested that this 'ballerina' style was inspired by 'Black Swan' and the whole ballerina theme. (There were on awful lot of feathers on the red carpet this year)

 Marisa Tomei also dressed in vintage couture, this gown by Charles James from Lily et Cie Couture.
(I love the ink colour)

 'Our Nicole' dressed in Dior Haute Couture (what could be more classic than that?)  Not many critics seemed to like this dress, but I quite like it. (I must admit I wasn't a fan of the hair, she had a pony tail at the back!)

I do always love to check out what Helena Bonham Carter wears because she is usually the most interesting and has a particular fondness for Vivienne Westwood. This year, I thought she was quite conservative too, opting for an elegant black velvet piece by Colleen Atwood. Shown below with partner Tim Burton- great to see his Film 'Alice in Wonderland', get an award for best costume!

Not to be disappointed, I did see some Westwood on the red carpet. Worn by Helen Mirren, who I think did a fabulous job presenting with Russel Brand!

Images from style.com

Greetings!

Over the last few days, I have been busily sending out my new greeting card catalogue. This is a small sideline that I do as a hobby, but thanks to some encouragement from a helpful friend of mine, I have finally got my act together and produced a proper range! Here are a few samples of the current collection, it has an obvious vintage inspiration of course.
Within the collection there are a few small ranges/themes, there is a soft watercolor collection featuring subtle hues and overlapping semi abstract shapes, subject matters such as bathing boxes, cupcakes, balloons and my favourite: cocktails.

There is also my signature or couture collection that features fashion illustration. Usually these images are created with a combination of watercolor paint and ink. 99% of the time I work freehand, but sometimes will finish off the image in photoshop by adding a block of color of pattern, as is done in the images below.

Another medium that I love to work in is collage (Although it is very messy- I usually end up with tiny bits of torn paper everywhere) Sometimes a piece is constructed purely by using collage, other times I will combine illustration with collage. The first image below is created with torn paper and then detail has been added with prismacolor (coloured pencil).

The image above was originally created for a friends wedding. This is created by a variety of wrapping papers, photographic images and coloured paper. I will be posting more, but in the meantime, you can download the entire catalogue at my 'lizzie lamb' website (just look under the 'greeting card' heading)

Valentine's Day Cocktails

"Little Nips of Whiskey

Little Sips of Wine

Make that Rosey Nosey

On my Valentine" 

- Vintage Valentine's day Postcard

I'd like to wish everybody a Happy Valentine's Day! While here in Australia, Valentine's day is promoted as a day for lovers and romantic love, it is really supposed to be a celebration of love in general and a time to be reminded of and show our appreciation for all who are near and dear to us. In my opinion there is no better way to show your love for someone than to make them a delicious cocktail!
Why not try one of these ideas, they are all easy and have a gorgeous Valentine's Day hue.



Valentine
Champagne flute

Rose Champagne
sugar cube
Dash Agnostura Bitters

Dash the bitters onto the sugar lump, place in a champagne flute and top up with rose champagne.

Strawberry Fizz
highball glass


30ml Gin
1 tsp sugar syrup
30ml strawberry liquer
soda water
ice
strawberry to garnish

Combine ingredients in a highball glass with ice. Top up with soda and finish with a strawberry slice and a sprig of mint.

Valentine's Day Boutique

As you know, Valentine's Day is coming up soon, so I have given the shop a bit of a romantic theme.
Here are a few current snaps of the store .... Oh and Happy Champagne Friday!
(today I am drinking a simple glass of Champagne, but I will have some recipes for Valentine's Day themed cocktails coming soon!)