The Truth About Snow White

This is the first of a series of fairy tales, fancifully retold and illustrated with some of the best things I've found on Etsy recently. Each post will feature several gorgeous items, and you'll find the links to the corresponding Etsy shops in the text and collected at the end of the page.

To begin with.... The Truth About Snow White.

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Once Upon a Time there was a fair and beauteous land, ruled over by a fair and beauteous Wicked Queen. Nobody loved this damsel so well as she loved herself, and her only companion was her Magic Mirror.

Allen Design Boutique

It happened one day that the Wicked Queen had a new hat. It was a remarkable piece: as black as ebony and as shadowy as the night, its unique style was perfectly suited to the display of her particular personal qualities.

NBBWear

Thus arrayed, she presented herself before the Mirror and tapped lightly on the glass. The polished surface blurred, and a moment later a man appeared, half-shaven and holding a razor in one hand.

'Sorry madam,' said the Mirror, hastily dropping the razor. 'Caught me a bit early this morning.'

'How are you, Mirror?' said the Wicked Queen, with her best smile.

'Oh, quite well, madam, quite well indeed,' he said, scrubbing the foam from his face with a square of towel. 'And your wicked self?'

'Well, Mirror, I've a new hat. What is your opinion?' She posed as she'd seen all the best models do, with her head slightly tilted and her plump red lips pursed in a pout.

'You look perfectly delicious, madam, as always. Were I not a mere humble Mirror...' He left the sentence unfinished as he dragged a shirt over his tousled head.

'And who is the fairest of them all?' It was her favourite question, and she asked it at least twice a day.

'I'm afraid Snow White is the fairest of them all, madam,' said the Mirror apologetically.

'M-my stepdaughter? Since when?'

'Since nine o'clock last night, madam, when the surveys came in. Saw them myself. Snow White's taken the lead by a 15% margin.'

Enraged, the Wicked Queen smashed her faithful Mirror. The broken pieces fell unheeded on the floor, and it was seven years before anybody could put them back together again.

The Wicked Queen was downcast for some days, and allowed nobody to enter her high tower room. At last she took from around her neck her prized necklace, from which hung a glittering jewelled apple.

Octoberstale

The apple grew into plump lushness in her hands, sparkling invitingly in the light. She smiled, for though it appeared so innocently delicious, it was deeply poisonous. Any young, white-skinned black-haired maiden who might happen to bite into it (naming no names) would immediately fall into a deep sleep, from which she would never wake.

She wrapped it carefully in a beautiful box and addressed it to her sweet stepdaughter, Snow White. Inside she placed a note:

Dearest,

How is it that you have not been to see me in so long? In token of my love for you, find enclosed a gift. I know how much you have always loved apples.

Love,

W. Q.

***

Snow White lived in the woods, in a little cabin that she shared with her seven diminutive male friends. Her days were spent wandering the woodlands, collecting plump red berries and befriending the roaming animals of the wilds.

Slightclutter Photography

When the apple arrived, she and her seven friends were just sitting down to a meagre breakfast. It was winter and the woods were bare of food. The eyes of her seven friends lit up at the sight of the glorious apple, and before she could stop them they were passing it around among themselves, biting it to pieces.

She was dismayed at the fate of her glorious gift, until she observed that each friend stiffened and fell off his stool, lying on the rough wooden floor as if dead.

Snow White's eyes narrowed. She read the note again, and then, collecting her cloak, she left the cabin and walked quickly into the woods.

In a treehouse deep in the forest there lived a witch with whom Snow White was on very good terms. She knocked perfunctorily on the round wooden door, and stepped inside.

Anitadrie

The Witch looked up from her knitting, fixing Snow White with a beady green eye. 'Well, dearie, what's it to be? I'm fresh out of laudanum if that's what you're wanting.'

Snow White slipped an arm affectionately around the craggy old woman's shoulders, explaining her plan in an undertone. The Witch cackled appreciatively and immediately spread out her tools.

LilacPumpkin

Snow White waited for some hours, and at last the Witch's preparations were complete. She handed to Snow White two new apples: one as red and luscious as the first and filled with nothing but the sweetest of juices; the other green as grass and deathly poisonous.

'You be careful with that, dearie,' she said as Snow White stepped back into the darkening forest.

***

It was two days before the Wicked Queen received a reply to her note, and she was growing impatient. At last it arrived.

Dear Stepmother,

I acknowledge receipt of your generous gift and thank you for the same. It is such a beautiful fruit that I have decided to save it for my birthday feast, which is next Tuesday. I beg you will join me at my humble abode at six o'clock in the evening, where a banquet will be spread in our joint honour.

Yours etc,

S. W.

When the Queen arrived, Snow White had decorated the cabin very beautifully. She sat alone at one of the eight stools arranged around her humble table.

'Gracious, dear, where are your friends on this joyous occasion?'

'Gathering winter berries in the woods. Sit down, Stepmother. I've prepared a special treat for you: Green Apple Pie.' And from a cupboard Snow White produced a glorious pie, topped with the lightest of pastry and sprinkled with spices. From it arose the fresh scent of apples.

gelDlights

'Why, my dear, how generous,' said the Queen, eyeing the pie with hunger. For Snow White was not the only lady of the family with a weakness for sweet apple flesh.

'However,' she said, tearing her eyes away from the pie, 'It is your birthday, dearest. Shall you  not enjoy your gift first?'

'Certainly, Stepmother,' said Snow White. She bit deeply into her red, red apple and the juices flowed down her chin.

'Quite delicious,' she said, calmly. Then her body stiffened, her eyes widened in shock, and she fell from her stool. There she lay as if dead, with the treacherous apple loosely clasped in her limp hand.

Artisan Maskers

The Wicked Queen laughed to herself with satisfaction as Snow White lay motionless on the ground. 'NOW who is the fairest of them all?' she said smugly. She picked up the pie and left the cabin.

After she was gone, Snow White stirred from her apparently endless slumber and sat up, smiling.

***

The Queen was never again seen to enter the high castle on the hill that was her home. She was later found by travellers, resting asleep in a glass coffin in a clearing in the woods. Around her were arrayed seven smaller coffins: in each one lay a diminutive man, white as death.

The castle became Snow White's home. The Mirror was eventually restored, and it sang Queen Snow White's praises enthusiastically until the end of her days.

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The Artists (in order of appearance)

Allen Design Boutique features handmade home decor, including furniture, lighting artwork and accessories. http://www.etsy.com/shop/allendesign

NBBWear or Natural Born Beauties: makers of uniquely stylish hats, accessories and lingerie http://www.etsy.com/shop/NBBWEAR

Octoberstale makes beautiful fairytale jewellery. The Poisoned Apple necklace is one of several pieces currently available in their shop at http://www.etsy.com/shop/octoberstale

Slightclutter Photography offers signed prints of beautiful stills, often nature-themed. http://www.etsy.com/shop/slightclutter

Anitadrie offers prints of her quirky and colourful original illustrations. http://www.etsy.com/shop/anitadrie

LilacPumpkin specialises in whimsical creations both life size and in miniature, especially fairy or halloween themed: http://www.etsy.com/shop/Lilacpumpkin

gelDlights makes handmade scented art candles http://www.etsy.com/shop/gelDlights

The Artisan Maskers mostly create beautiful, dreamy masks. They also offer hats & a few fine art prints.  http://www.etsy.com/shop/artisanmaskers

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Thank you for reading! The next story in the series will be The Truth About Red Riding Hood. Got an item to recommend for a feature? Let me know!

The Influence of History

I've said in various places that I quite often draw ideas and inspiration from history. I've always been interested in historical costume, and I recently finished a degree in Heritage Studies which drew out that interest even more.

What this actually means for my work is variable. One of the first designs I created (in fact, thinking about it, the very first design I created) was my red velvet cape, which is proving to be agreeably popular. This idea was originally inspired by some of the beautiful half-length velvet/velour cloaks popular among ladies in the nineteenth century.

Here's a fashion plate from the November 1854 edition of La Belle Assemblee. 

Being me, I naturally couldn't just recreate one of those (though  maybe I will someday: they are delicious). I had to give it a fairytale twist. I created a shorter version with a tapered hem - because it looks pretty, and it leaves the arms free. And, of course, I put an enormous hood on it.

The end product doesn't look much like the above, but that's the nature of inspiration.

More recently I have been drawing from eighteenth century fashions, and specifically the technique known as 'polonaise'. Here's a photo of a gown currently in the V&A, London:

'Polonaise' refers to the method of pulling and tucking up the fabric of the overskirt into those pretty gathered layers. The lovely thing about this technique is that it looks very beautiful and sophisticated, but it's really quite simple to create.

It consists of tapes or ribbons sewn into the waistband of the skirt. Loops of thread are stitched inside the skirt at intervals down to the hem, and the tapes are threaded through these loops. Then simply use the tape like a drawstring, pulling the fabric up into gathers, and secure the end at the waistband once you're happy with the arrangement. Easy, but no one'd guess that from looking at a gown like this!

Here's the use I've made of it this week:

I've been experimenting with creating fairytale skirts for a few months now. This new interpretation retains the asymmetrical handkerchief hem of earlier designs, with a polonaise skirt over the top.

I've embellished it with the embroidered leaf trinkets I was working on last week. The effect is much more elaborate than my other designs: I think this calf-length style is destined for a ballroom. I'll be creating a similar skirt in sea-green, dark silver and white twinkle tulle next week.

Making fabric charms and trinkets

I've been working on a new idea this week. I want something unique to decorate my fairy skirts with, so I've been experimenting with creating embroidered fabric charms.

I cut a shape out of a piece of felt, sandwiched this between two layers of lighter fabric (in this case cotton on one side and taffeta on the other), and then satin stitched around the edge. Since I'm doing a brown-hued, autumn-themed skirt next, I began with a leaf shape in shades of brown.

Here's the taffeta side. I chose some warmer, brighter colours for the embroidery:

The experiment's been successful enough to be worth repeating. I'm planning to attach this one of the ribbon-ends of the drawstring on the upcoming skirt, with a cluster of gold bells. Another idea is to make star shapes with some of those beautiful little twinkling hotfix gems. Possibilties galore!

I also made a new treasury on Etsy today, my third. It's not fantasy themed or fairytale themed, but feline themed (it begins with 'f', so it counts, right?).

'Cats Behaving Badly...' by ChaelenDesigns

...and sleeping it off afterwards.Feline fun: because I miss my cats.

Clockwork Kitty Steampu... collageOrama $6.99	Fluffy's diet by Ma... eweandmeow $15.00	Vintage Cat Tags- Digit... DigitalAntique... $3.75
Cat Art / Free Ice Crea... amberalexander $17.00	A playful little kitten... beakyandbe $25.00	This Is My Pumpkin 8x10... Erina68 $25.00
Catch of the Day Dichro... JumpGlass $25.00	Bomb anitadrie $	Meet "Baby" T... JulesCeramics $11.00
Original 3.5x5 Painting... PainterNik $50.00	Sleeping Cat Disc Penda... MagpieandPhoen... $15.00	Fairy Cat Cameo with Ke... SpellboundWing... $24.00
Orange Tabby Cat Signed... McNellyFineArt... $36.00	PLACE AN ORDER for a Sl... BayColonyDesig... $32.00	Keeping Up Appearances ... jasonedwarddav... $200.00
Crochet doll amigurumi ... cheerymarjo $4.00

Treasury tool is sponsored by Lazzia.com A/B image testing.

The Fabric Markets of Amsterdam

I spent a bit of time in Holland lately, and of course I made a point of going to Albert Cuyp street. There is an enormous day market there, selling just about everything imaginable. The most interesting parts, to me, were the fabric shops (of course!) - many of them, and most of them are enormous and extremely well-stocked.

I bought some new lengths of taffeta in extremely pretty colours, along with some cottons. Luckily they survived the experience of being determinedly squashed into my luggage to come home to England with me. I acquired crinkled taffeta in teal, dark silver and coppery-brown, plus some dark red and mid-purple cotton. Added to my existing fabric stocks, I find I have enough to make some fairy skirts in wholly new colour combinations. So that's my project for this week!

I've also resolved on searching out some beads, trinkets, bells, new ribbons and charms to decorate them with. Especially bells. What could be better than a fairy skirt with its own accompaniment of tinkling fairy music?