My First Blog Award!

I've been awarded the Very Inspiring Blogger Award!  :D

It's so pretty!  

To accept the award, one must:

1. Display the award and link back to the person who nominated you.
2. State 7 facts about yourself.
3. Nominate 15 bloggers for the award.
4. Notify the winners.

Seven facts about myself:

1. My hair is not naturally red.  Shocking, I know!  
2. I love dolls.  For a while they were my biggest hobby, and I even started a minuscule business making shoes for them.  I should probably shut down that website, though, as I no longer have time for it...  
3. I grew up in a movie theatre, and for most of my childhood we didn't own a TV.  
4. My hometown is less than three miles square, with a population of around 2,100.  I'm told this is impressively small.  
5. I'm a nerd.  I got into costuming because of Star Wars Episode I:  The Phantom Menace.  It's probably the worst movie of the franchise, but it has some of the best costumes!  I'm also into Star Trek:  The Next Generation, Firefly, Battlestar Galactica, Harry Potter, and Doctor Who.  
6. I was in a swing dancing club called Rugcutters in college.  I made some of my best friends that way.  :)  
7. I have been to 41 of the 50 US States (including Alaska and Hawaii), but have yet to travel outside the country - besides Canada.  

Now the really exciting part - passing on the award!  I would have nominated Thread-Headed Snippet, but she's the one who nominated me.  :p  Thanks again, dear Choll!  

15 Inspiring Bloggers:  

1. The Laced Angel - Amazing corsetry and fantastic costume creations
2. The Fashionable Past - Beautifully sewn costumes with easy-to-follow tutorials  
3. The Dreamstress - The mastermind behind the Historical Sew Fortnightly!  And her gowns are always lovely.  
4. The Broke Costumer - A woman after my own heart - making historical costumes as inexpensively as possible!  
5. Rococo Atelier - Incredibly detailed costumes with an emphasis on the 18th Century
6. Rebel's Haven - A fellow nerd with excellent taste and mad skillz
7. Mistress of Disguise - An impressively eclectic costumer
8. Maggie's Costume Wardrobe - It's all Maggie's fault that (sort of) that I'm into costuming in the first place.  :p  She makes beautiful dresses and maintains several movie costume research sites, as well!  
9. Diary of a Mantua Maker - She makes her own shoes.  'Nuff said.  
10. Chronically Vintage - An impeccably dressed vintage soul in a modern world
11. Classic Costume - An excellent resource of information on nearly every aspect of costuming, with beautiful gowns besides
12. Before The Automobile - A beautifully photographed blog full of exquisitely detailed costumes and helpful construction techniques
13. Arachne Attire - 18th Century and Victorian fashion with a touch of whimsy
14. An American Seamstress - A lovely costuming blog which also has excellent reference links and a library of costuming/pattern books
15. A Dedicated Follower of Fashion - Absolutely beautiful costumes with incredible attention to detail