As the founder and president of The Black Hat Society I organize and host an annual murder mystery dinner party - this year is the 7th annual dinner.

I often purchase the game from a site called Host Party.com which is pretty neat with an interactive online game page for participants, but this year I went for something slightly different. I went with a London-based company called Ace Murder Mysteries and got a box set. I purchased a Marie Antoinette Inspired French Revolution mystery entitled Le Mystere des Masques...and drumroll please...today it arrived!! Perfect timing - just in time to give out everyone's secret motive!

Since I didn't have the online page I simply used Pingg to send online invites and even make a webpage for the game- you can see it HERE!!I'm so excited!

This Years Murder Mystery By Ace Murder Mysteries

Stay Tuned this Week for Halloween Costume Fun, Halloween Decor and More Murder Mystery Mayhem!!

-Ciao Amarettogirl

Interested in Marie Antoinette?? Read on for major inspiration!

handpainted napkins by my hubs and me inspired by Marie Claire Idees

Marie Claire Idees French Magazine Before the holidays I planned an evening in which I invited some of the ladies from my sewing group in Sugar Loaf NY over to my home for a ladies dinner. I decided the theme for the evening would be Marie Antoinette - of course!

So I got busy sewing a new tablecloth, placemats, centerpiece and... My hubs and I hand-painted some Parisian Patisserie inspired fabric napkins with fabric paint (as seen in image above). We used the French magazine Marie Claire Idees for reference.

For any of you who are so inclined to host a Marie Antoinette dinner I thought I would share some of the results and research with you.

First of all for future reference a good date to host a Marie Antoinette dinner is in November since her birthday is Nov. 2nd.

Some Chocolates on display and my sewing group ladies, Sylvia, Linda and Manon!

A great website to go to to be inspired to design a dinner on any night of the year is a site called DINNER EXPLOSIONS. It takes a bit of time to load but it's beautiful and whether you're a cook or not you'll be happy you went to this internet gem with ideas for music, decorating and food.

My Table

If you google Marie Antoinette QUIZ, you'll get a whole lot of fun quizzes you could use at your gathering for a give away, like I did.

Marie Antoinette Inspired Cookies of corsets, fans and shoes by guest Sylvia Williams! My handmade table runnermy table- click to see larger My centerpiece- click to see Dinner Activity - Kanzashi Brooches

We ended the evening with a sewing activity - ofcourse! I got a book (which I will be reviewing next post so stay tuned) on the Japanese craft of Kanzashi flowers. So we got busy and made ourselves some brooches to commemorate the evening.

The menu: Salad Greens with Lemon Curd Dressing, Apple and Beet side salad, Vegetable tarts, Beef Apricot Stew, Dessert Wine, Sparkling White Grape Juice and Linda's chocolate raspberry supreme and Sylvia's cookies

The front pattern sewn the first skirt layer The button detail Unfinished torso...almost finished by marisol diaz

Stay tuned for the up and coming sleeves, the second and third layer of the dress and the coat!

Unfinished Cupcake Display Doll

The last time I had a craft fair for my Mai Sweet Shop, I really wanted to make a Marie Antoinette Display doll to house my cupcake carousel and never found the time. A while back when I was browsing through cyberspace, I saw a gorgeous old porcelain display doll and I never forgot it. I went to A.C. Moore and bought a generic plastic doll. I plucked her legs off (sorry legs). Using a Dremel I cut the pelvic area off and drilled holes along the bottom edge of the torso.

I drilled holes with a Dremel I used strong wire and pipe cleaners to make the cage There will only be cupcakes in the open cage...the bird is free Unfinished Doll This is the face the doll came with that I plan to alterpattern for satin skirt The fabric and color palette for her dress Buttons that show the dress color palette Stay tuned to see how she turns out. I think she would make an excellent table centerpiece too - maybe you can make your own! Let me know if you do!

Sweet Delights, Introducing Mai Sweet Shop Cakes!

My latest crafting venture has taken me into an entirely new realm thanks to yet another fantastic Japanese craft book that I found on making replicas of cupcakes, icing and candy with soft clay. Though these are a great departure from my usual work, here are some 'sweet' containers I made this past Thanksgiving weekend. Everything you see- short of the tin containers are not edible- but fortunately non-toxic if you try! (hee-hee) I think they're fantastic little storage boxes for the truly treasured jewelry in your life! I was so inspired by my trip to Paris, Baroque and Rococo time periods and Marie Antoinette,that I call these Mai Sweet Shop cakes, M-A-I stands for Marie-Antoinette-Inspired & 'Sweet Shop' for what my studio currently looks like! Each cake has their own personal name, so today meet Sophie, Natasha, Sherry and Maybelline. Enjoy!

Mai Sweet Shop Cake, Sophie -double container by marisol diazMai Sweet Shop Container Sophie, opened once by marisol diaz Mai Sweet Shop Cake, Sophie, opened twice - by marisol diazMai Sweet Shop Cake, Natasha, rectangular container by marisol diaz Mai Sweet Shop Container, Natasha - opened by marisol diaz Mai Sweet Shop Container, Sherry, rectangular container by marisol diazMai Sweet Shop Cake, Maybelline, double container by marisol diaz

I have made Mai Sweet Shop barettes, bobbi pins, rings and charms! I'm loving it! I'll be a featured seller at the craft fair at the Dwight Englewood School, in Englewood NJ during their Winter Arts Festival SUNDAY DECEMBER 14TH, from 2-5pm with a whole table of no-calorie goodies. You should stop by! I will be posting any remainder items on sale at my etsy shop immediately after! So if you're looking for that extraordinary gift box and are interested contact me or stay tuned! Let me know what you think!

I'm getting ready to write another 'Inspiring Artist' Blog, but until I have all my facts straight I thought I would share another collage with you all!!! I did this one right after I returned from the Europe trip. It is directly related to the images, Laduree treats, color and Marie Antoinette Exhibit that I saw while I was in Paris (See past posts). I cannot tell you how relaxing collaging like this is!!

Soon I'll be putting prints of my collages up for sale on Etsy...but I've also been inspired by other creative bloggers to do GIVEAWAYS once a month of collage prints - so let me know if you would be interested in me- doing that kind of thing. I was thinking I would post the small artwork as Giveaway art, then choose a 'comment' to which I send the piece to FOR FREE!!!! I believe in exchanging too, so lets see how this goes! Anybody interested in me doing this??

The Louvre is to Paris what the Metropolitan Museum of Art is to New York City. As an art museum in its most recent existence, the architectural structure of the Louvre, has been a focal point in central Paris since the late 12th century. Built on the city's western edge, the original structure that originated as a fortress was transformed into the modernized dwelling of François I and, later, the sumptuous palace of the Sun King, Louis XIV. The Musée du Louvre is said to house a fine collection of over 380,000 objects.

Here is a shot I took of the ever-popular Winged Victory of Samothrace. As stated in the Louvre website:

_{"The Winged Victory of Samothrace is one of the masterpieces of Hellenistic sculpture...The nude female body is revealed by the transparency of the wet drapery, much in the manner of classical works from the fifth century BC, while the cord worn just beneath the breasts recalls a clothing style that was popular beginning in the fourth century...the sculptor has been remarkably skillful in creating visual effects. The decorative richness, sense of volume, and intensity of movement are characteristic of a Rhodian style that prefigures the baroque creations of the Pergamene school (180-160 BC)."}

Wow.

The Louvre Pyramid is a glass pyramid commissioned by then French president François Mitterrand and designed by I. M. Pei a Chinese-American architect. Here is Gregg symmetrically synced with I. M. Pei and here I am!

Here is one of my favorite paintings at the Louvre, "The Intervention of the Sabine women" by Jacques-Louis David (1799, oil on canvas, 385 x 522 cm.) I got some flash-glare on the top, and it is obviously cropped, but otherwise I'm pretty happy with my image. According to Titus Livy. The History of Early Rome. The Easton Press. 1978., “This was the moment when the Sabine women, the origin cause of the quarrel, played their decisive part…. they braved the flying spears and thrust their way in a body between the embattled armies. They parted the angry combatants; they besought their fathers on the one side, their husbands on the other, to spare themselves the curse of shedding kindred blood.”

I don't need to be a mother to feel the deep maternal calling and instinct in this sculpture. I was profoundly moved by the fact that there once was a child on this mother's back and now only hand is left in it's place.

Burial of Atala, 1813 Anne-Louis Girodet-Trioson (French, 1767–1824)Oil on canvas; 81 5/16 x 104 1/2 in.

The Three Graces Click to see
Grand Odalisque by Ingres Click

On our way to Ladurée! What is Ladurée? Only one of the most amazing Patisseries in Paris. Apparently all those great cakes/pastries in Sophia Coppola's Marie Antoinette movie were ordered by Ladurée. The pastry packages alone are works of art!
Edible Art Click to See!
More Edible Art Click!
Laduree Edible Art
Laduree Counter