Holy Moley, Sensory Overload 2011!!!

Just got back from Tribal Fest last night and my head is still spinning. The workshops! The vendors! The performances!!! It's gonna take just a wee bit to sort everything out that I saw and did on the trip, but until then, here are some pieces for new costumes I acquired and a couple other random photos from the trip.

A lovely hip wrap


The perfect metal piece for my next headdress


This amazingly sparkly scarf that I think I'm going to make into skirt panels


But the best thing I got, my new pride and joy, is this:

So beautiful, I can hardly believe it's mine and I get to wear it whenever I want!

And now for some silly trip pictures!


Andria pointed this out, I think she was hoping Ash was inside


This is the first day of performances and I think I was a little over excited to have my wrist stamped to get in and see some amazing dancers.


We went out Saturday night to a bad, bad bar that was very dark and kinda skeezy - but I had fun.

So dark! Who are these ridiculous people?

The only good thing about the place was a random old dentist's chair - it might've been a barber chair, but I'd like to think it used to belong to some cranky old dentist. It does look like it made me a little uncomfortable (might also have been the flash)

but Krista was very comfortable in it


Yeah, I'm pretty horrible when it comes to taking trip photos - I'm kinda lucky I remembered to take any at all.

Final thought of the night before I go to sleep, enjoy!

What a frakkin' crazy weekend!

Performing on Friday, helping supervise and herd nearly twelve tweens for a sleep over on Saturday, very little sleep both that night and last night, mother's day (which was actually relaxing just hanging out with the moms and puttering around the yard when the sun decided to come out for a few minutes), a little secondhand store shopping. I certainly didn't get to do everything I wanted to this weekend, and on Sunday I made the hard decision of choosing much needed alone time instead of hanging out with awesome people - but sometimes I just need time to be a hermit!

On the bright side, I found this at the Goodwill near my parents' house (the one on 52nd, just off Woodstock in SE):

Which will probably be incorporated into the next headdress.

I also started the shirt for my squirrel costume


P.S. I totally looked up frakking to make sure it should be spelled with two 'k's and not one. Yeah . . .

Plan B!

So, neither the bra nor the belt I was planning to wear on Friday were what I actually wore. The bra is structurally dangerous and the belt is still in its proto-planning stage.

Good news is that plan b was in full effect! Here's some action shots of what I actually wore:



Dancy dance!


Oh and here's the headdress that one of my teachers made, so beautiful (I won it in a class raffle).


More detailed shots to come of the individual pieces!

Starting today it's full steam ahead for Halloween costuming - especially since I *just* fully comprehended that I will be a bit preoccupied the week before Halloween since that's the week that Arkham City comes out. (Thank you Andria and Krista for having no faith whatsoever in my ability to resist playing it until after Halloween.) Yeah, so everything needs to be set up and ready for October 31st by October 18th because this is what I'll be emerging myself in:

(Yeah, that's the old teaser trailer, but it's still my favorite. If you're interested in the latest: Batman: Arkham City - Official Gameplay Trailer)

Trying to concentrate on things other than Halloween

So, I've started my next dancing bra - nope it's not the one I showed last time. Instead, it's a basic striped covering I'll be able to build on and make more interesting in the future, but for now it's just something I can wear under a vest that goes with the next costume.

So it begins:



In non-bellydance, not even Halloween, related news, I'm making a new cropped hoodie for myself. I found a button up cardigan-type shirt at Goodwill that I liked the buttons and unfinished hem on, but the cut was all wrong. So, I took off the bottom of the thing and am making it into a hood.


Hope this will be a quick project so I can start to wear it as the weather turns more and more Spring-like (alright, maybe I'm getting a little bit excited about it).

While I work tonight, Igor and I are watching a classic: Leon, The Professional. Jean Reno, one of Natalie Portman's good roles, and a drug crazed Gary Oldman - yes, please! My only question is: why do they make such crappy trailers for such awesome movies?

Already? Really?

The last couple days I've felt a little wistful for Fall. For those who worship the sunnier seasons, this probably sounds crazy. Maybe it's all the costuming I've been doing the last few weeks, maybe it's because I've been doing some Halloween 2011 planning and purchasing . . but I kinda wish it was the beginning of Autumn instead of Spring. I know, I know, winter's just ended and here I want crisp winds and decaying leaves already. I'm sure I'll change my mind on the first truly glorious day we have, but for now I'll dream of Fall.

Speaking of which, Halloween costume stuff!

This mask will become part of Igor's evil gnome face once it's painted up right.


This is the fur I just purchased to make my take and ears

It's almost mangy enough, maybe if I rub it around in the dirt a bit . . .

Bra



Skirt




Belt





Headdress




Underneath I wore these nice subtlety sparkly pants and the vest I wore is currently undergoing modifications for another costume. Speaking of which, I have to finish the next dance costume by May 5th because I perform again on the 6th! Woohoo? What happened to my promise to myself to not perform again until August? Oh well.

It's been a while - but I have a good excuse!

Ok, so I've been MIA for how long now? Yeah, but I do have a really good excuse and I have been busy. In addition to starting to draw up solid plans for Halloween, I've recovered an entire bra, half re-covered another, completed the rest of an entire dancing costume, headdress and all - *and* danced in it!!!

Ta-da!

Better lit and more detailed pictures to come.

I already have a pretty good idea of what I'm going to do for a second dance costume, but still have to gather all the materials. I'm thinking lots of silvery, shininess. Oooooo-ahhhh!

Now, onto Halloween. I've made a list of everything I need for the costumes and hope to make an initial run to the secondhand stores to see what I can get. Both costumes will be pretty simple except for two parts: my mask and my tail. Have NO idea how to do the tail, but for the mask it'll most likely be paper mache and fake fur using good ol' balloon based construction.

I'm thinking something like this:


crossed with this for the mask

but using fake fur to make it into a full head mask.

Zombie squirrel here I come!

The posting here may be intermittent, but I am bursting with productivity like a salt baked slug in the summer sun!

Progress! Kinda . . .

So, I am getting there on the dress for my Halloween costume, Igor's pants just need the zippers (that's right, plural) and I have almost everything else I need except for the gory effects. Still, progress has been slow. I do have a good excuse though: I'm belly dancing! I made my first performance costume and actually danced in public (scary and awesome!). Also, my best friend had to go and get married and I decided the best thing to do was to make her something for her wedding night. So it's not like I've been lazy, just distracted from finishing the Halloween costumes.

First, a few picture of the headdress I made for dancin'. It's mostly lace and a flayed bracelet with two beaded appliques (not made by me) all set securely on a headband.





Here are a couple shots of the headdress (and me!) in action.






I also made myself some *huge* and quite comfy harem pants. They will get a lot of use in the future! As soon as I get a good pic of them I'll post it.

For my hitched friend, I made her what I've since dubbed a "bedroom bustle". This is a fluffy, frilly, frothy bit of silliness that is meant to be worn over something, under something or without anything else at all.




I'm not usually a frilly person, so this was hilarious to make. Yes, it's hard to sew in a straight line when you're giggling.

It can also be worn as a wrap!

With all that done, and it being nearly mid-August(!), it's time to return to the Halloween costumes. My plan is to have the garments done by the end of this month and then spend September perfecting makeup and prosthetics (which may involve working with real pig intestine casings, we'll see as I'm still looking for an alternative for Igor's guts).

Today it seems easy to start thinking about Halloween as it feels like fall. The air is brisk, the sky is a mesmerizing molted gray and I can almost smell the woodsmoke and falling leaves. This summer's been wonderful, and I'm learning to appreciate the sunny season, but I'm getting giddy for autumn to return.

P.S. Finally saw Zombieland - love!