*A Nuffnang Sponsored post*

Some days are unforgettable. Unforgettable in the sense that you know you’ll be talking about them for years to come and that little snippets of that moment will colour decisions you make in the future. Last Thursday was one of those days.
Thanks to Nuffnang and Federation Square, I was given the opportunity to experience the Tim Burton Exhibition at ACMI. When they emailed to ask if I’d like to go, my response was only one word; “yes!” followed by many gratuitous exclamation marks.  Since my very first Beetlejuice Burton moment, I’ve been hooked on the colour, the style, the twisted carnival sensibilities of his productions.

So I raced around prepping up for the big night and (sadly) can only tell you what I wore as the greatest tragedy of the evening was only to be discovered the next day. Alicia and I had the unique opportunity to photograph some of the exhibition including posing with our favourite pieces, only to find that every single image was corrupted on the card! (One of those moments when you want to stab yourself in the eye with a fork.) So for those of you that care, I wore a black and charcoal striped hobble skirt over a tightly laced corset, black silk chiffon blouse and a midnight blue velvet tailcoat with silver buttons. Please engage imagination here.

Arriving at Federation Square as dusk becomes dark was an experience to behold. The pink cobbled pavement wends beneath your heels and carries you into the centre . There are students sitting close, chatting in plumes of smoke. Suit clad lads laughing over beer as a tall blonde flicks her hair and takes their order.  A crowd begins to gather in the shadow on the big screen with lap rugs and steaming coffee in paper cups, awaiting the upcoming streaming of Tim Burton’s Materslass. During Winter they are hosting a Solar Equation; a huge representation of a glowing pulsing sun, hovering in the darkness. I stood beneath it feeling like an extra in Dr. Who and wondering at the instant sense of community it created, as a crowd gathered beneath to take pictures and talk about the warm orange glow. I even videoed a little bit Fed Square Solar Equation

I had a quick jaunt around the ACMI store prior to meeting our chaperone, and found some serious reasons to take your credit card along, as they had a fantastic collection of Burton books and toys including Oyster Boy and Stainboy!

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Upon meeting our delightful ACMI host we were invited to one of the most coveted and thrilling highlights of the exhibition – The Masterclass with Tim Burton! I don’t think I’ve ever sat so close to the edge of my seat for a full hour and a half.  It was a moment where I tried to force my brain into record mode and hung on to every word, in spite of the waves of goose bumps threatening to topple me from my chair.

Heading into the exhibition in a haze of post-Burton chat honeymoon, gave the whole experience the sense of the historical and I knew then that this was something I’d never forget. Descending the stair case in a wash of scarlet lights, I turned to see one of the first things that had my heart in a handgrip. The full sized garden topiary from Edward Scissor hands. I was glad to be there in company and half dark or otherwise the tear that sprang to my eye would have made it into a complete stream.  For me, Edward Scissor Hands was a particularly powerful film, so to come face to face with such a stunning and beautiful symbol was almost a bit much. However, being the professional I am, I composed myself and went about the business of taking it all in so I can tell you about it now.

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I don’t wish to spoil the magic of the exhibition so I won’t tell you all the surprises and highlights, but I have to tell you that there is something so extraordinarily inspiring about this exhibition. Seeing the evolution not only of Tim’s work, but of the man himself- his life, his journey both emotionally and professionally, leaves you wanting to sketch till daybreak.  You don’t need to have an artistic bone in your body to appreciate Tim’s work, he’ll provide plenty of bones for you! (Ha!) It is music, song, touch, tears, dreams and nightmares.  It is all those parts of yourself that exist to give you a unique sense of self, and as such you’ll each take something different away from your experience.
Overwhelmingly, the first thing I wanted to do was arrange a date to take my daughters back to see it for themselves. At nearly three and just turned six, they already appreciate the humour, the dark and light, the love and tragedy of a Burton film. (Nightmare before Christmas gets great airplay at my house). It may be difficult to stop them from wanting to touch and feel, but the pay off in feeding their imaginations and letting them walk into a living fantasy is too great to deny them that opportunity.
To top off this amazing experience was a moment in which many of you will kick me over. Actually meeting Tim Burton and having not one memorable thing to say! I don’t often have fan girl moments, but this was something else. Other than saying something like, “I’m honoured”, was about as far as I got, as my brain lit up like a firecracker at the momentousness of it all. In fact, I am going in again tomorrow!  I took a little video snippet inside the Burton club to share with you, (it seems to be the only image of mine that survived!)

The Tim Burton Club at ACMI Fed Square in Melbourne from super kawaii mama on Vimeo.

Both ACMI and MoMa have done such an outstanding job putting this exhibition together that you MUST go and see it. And like I said on Twitter, even if you have to sell a kidney to get there – go and see this! After all, that would be a rather Burton-esque way to do it!

Awesome stuff-

Do you want to go to ACMI and see the Tim Burton Exhibition for yourself? Of course you do!!
I have 2 for 1 passes to give away! Just leave me a comment telling me why you need to go and see this for yourself – the best entries will get a 2 for 1 pass. ( Open to Australian Residents only)

With all this delightful immersion in my favorite music of late, I’ve let my mind wander to a very fun place. A place where I get to spend the evening hanging with some of my favorite musicians, shooting the breeze over a drink or two.  Like any occasion this begs the question of what I would wear on such an imaginary date, and yes I would wear all this in real life too as you well know.

So I sat down with good ol’ Polyvore on the laptop and the tunes cranked up loud to put these few together for you.  As always, if you click on the image it will take you through to Polyvore where you’ll find the complete product list for everything used in the sets. But rather than being about the specific garments or brands, it is about the whole look, the feeling, the ambiance of the occasion.

Join me on some fantasy dates…

Jerry Lee Lewis Loves Me

A warm Saturday afternoon music hall review, sitting just off stage where the not- so- subtle amber hue of my heels catches a sliver of light from the rear window. Jerry Lee is rocking the ivories, working the crowd into a lather, flashing a winning grin ever so slightly skewed to stage left, that says,” How ’bout that drink?”

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Johnny Cash Baby

The phone rings it’s tin can bell sound. The man on the other end inhales slowly, drawing me in with a long breath. The crackle of the long distance connection keeps us from conversation but the message is clear; pack your bags baby, Johnny’s coming to town.

Swinging with Ella

Sometimes it takes a woman to know what you really need. Voice like a velvet gloved hand that runs slowly between your shoulder  blades, your skin warms and your lips curl into a cozy smile. Strangers sit, eyes closed as waves of smokey tenderness rock their heads and their hearts in unison. A flicker of fire light and I exhale past bitten berry lips, settling in for an evening romance with a golden silhouette.

Who would be your imaginary music date of the past?

This last week my life changed forever.

I believe that all the best stories have a sound track and without music, life is only a life half lived.  Yet, until now I’ve had to contend with playing my sound track in my head at most times as I moved from place to place, inside outside, in the car etc..  Then someone came home with a Sonos. I hadn’t even heard of these brand new fangled inventions, but I knew someone would get their act together and figure it out one of these days.  So what is it?  Without being a big promo for Sonos, (as I really don’t know or understand all the tech details) it is basically a wireless speaker system that I can move to any room in my house, my garden my porch.. etc.. and keep on adding speakers without having to wire anything in!

So now when I choose a soundtrack for my day it follows me everywhere! The whole thing is driven by my central music catalogue kept on my iPhone, so even if I leave the house and drive away I can still keep on listening and keep the same groove. Anyway, this means I am falling in love all over again with my favorite artists and getting goosebumps over new ones.

So what am I listening to this week?  Quite a lot of the amazing Johny Cash and his back catalogue.  His website actually has a radio station that is all Johnny all the time (which I’m listening to as I type this).  I’m also listening to the soundtrack to Walk The Line, which has become a staple for my drive time I just can’t get enough of that one.

I’m also getting goosebumps over the music (and moves) of Nick Willett who I was privileged to see perform live at Wintersun. I cannot tell you what an experience that was. Nick is one man that could have stepped directly out of your favorite 50′s rock ‘n roll movie – A voice that rolls over you in waves, moves that should be illegal and a first class gentleman.

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Ms Carly and I snapped having a word with Mr. Nick Willett

I’m also very eagerly awaiting the first full album release of our very own (that is Victorian) Scotty Baker, as his fantastic music and highly amusing lyrics have been stuck in my head for the last two weeks.  But until then I have to content myself with his singles..  Go here and listen to Scotty Baker - he’s full of awesome! (And he’s also seriously stylish!)

The Re Chords are also particularly fantastic and are Melbourne based too!

Check them out here.

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Anyway, what has become abundantly clear is that I need to update my music catalogue with a whole lot of new stuff , (particularly each and every band I saw perform at Wintersun and will link you to as soon as I can) so even though I’m no music reviewer I’ll be telling you about which sound track is playing in my life at any one time. A word of warning though, it may be classic Rock n Roll, it may be new local Rockabilly or just as likely, a little bit of mad J-Pop! Just like my wardrobe, my music is all about what moves me that day – so let’s see if we can give your day a new soundtrack too.

Today I finally got my act together and have started listing some of the bits and pieces from my wardrobe that need new homes. But before you go wandering over to that section I wanted to share with you another super cute dress being sold for a very good cause.

The lovely Bernie Dexter has created a special edition dress to raise funds for her best friend, Kitty Von Purr, who is suffering breast cancer. 100% of the proceeds of the dress go directly to the fund and support Kitty through a very tough time.

The dress is a soft, stretch jersey and having seen it in the flesh I can say that it looks spankable on!  So it is a very good reason to need a new dress – look hot and do a good deed at the same time.

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So yes, finally I have found a little time to start clearing out my closet (which is in desperate need).  Last time I did this and sent it all off to the op shop many of you asked why I didn’t sell it here, so I decided that it was a good way to share some of my most loved things and find new homes for the best pieces.  Everthing you’ll find in my shop comes either from my own wardrobe or the occassional piece I may sell for a friend.  I don’t buy in, I’m not a vintage dealer and I’m not sourcing items on request. What you see is what you get and I’ll be adding more and more over time – either that or my wardrobe will have put me in the poor house!

I have still to finish the accessories section which will appear in the next week, but given the enthusiastic response so far, I decided to open it up as I keep on adding things.

SKM’s Wardrobe Shop

Now, I’m off to photograph some more!

This year’s Wintersun held the first inaugural 1950′s Cake Bake Contest, and what a hit!  All the Ladies, and Gents, were invited to enter a cake of their own creation to be judged on looks, taste, presentation, as well as their own personal presentation. We had no idea what sort of reception such an event would receive, but it was such a hit it has already been made a part of next year’s calendar.

I was honored to be asked to judge this year’s heat and made sure I brought my best CWA judging criteria to the table.  Each cake was cut and prodded, tasted and tested, contestants grilled about secret recipes and outfits appraised with a critical eye.  But what a difficult job!  These contestants brought their ‘A’ game, and without a complicated points system I never would have been able to determine the winners.

It was a very windy day down by the seaside, so precautions had to be taken to ensure we arrived looking our best. Mistress Chrissy was there to whip the contestants into line and keep proceedings moving along.

All the contestants arrived to set up their creations and present them to an eagerly awaiting crowd.

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All the best dressed at the festival turned up to either participate or simply to watch and hope for a taste.

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This lovely lady had on the most gorgeous Eiffel Tower print vintage frock!

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We began with a little coffee to set the mood.

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But the competition was fierce! Play nice girls.

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The entries were all unbelievably good, with this stunning entrant even matching her cake’s colour to it’s flavour, to her outfit, to her car!!

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And so the judging began. Knowing I had to slip into a swimsuit in the next hour I kept my taste tests small, but what a job!

So, who won this test of sugar, eggs and will?

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3rd Place went to the delightful Mz Vicki and her rather ugly
(by her own admission), but unbelievably good Marshmallow Cake. Made to an original 1950′s ladies magazine recipe, this was one tasty delight!

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2nd Place went to Amanda and her “Flamin 57 Chev” which was a work of art inside and out. Layer upon layer of vanilla and red velvet on the inside, with each flame and a total car created entirely by her, by hand!

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But the 1st Place Winner?.

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Mimsy of Mimsy’s Trailer Trash Tattoos, created a replica of her trailer right down to the Flamingo’s on the lawn and the picket fence!

It looked amazing and tasted out of this world!

So Ms. Mimsy took home the winner’s silver cake server and added another title to her string of talents.

It was such a highlight of the weekend for me, as my childhood memories of the wonderful cake competitions that used to be seen at the Royal Melbourne Show, came flooding back.  The bar has been set so high by the contestants this year that I can hardly wait to see what next year has in store!

A big Thank You to Nicole Jenkins of Circa Vintage Clothing and Miss Kim of Vintage Charm by Kim, for providing these photos, as once again my hands were otherwise occupied.