Insourcing....a week of craft, cooking, and chaos...

 

This week was the leadup to my daughters final Dance Night at high school. As she has danced for 15 years, 5 of those at school, and has been both Junior and Senior Dance Captain, this was a highly anticipated event. Sadly for her, her recent Appendectomy meant that she could not actually dance. However, she copped that on the chin, and contributed as much as she was able.

 

I helped with costuming and props as I always have. Above you see a mask I painted for a Fairy Tale Villains routine. Never one to shy away from a challenge, I purchased the blank mask, found a suitable image to copy, and off I went. I added a few embellishments along the way, and I'm pleased with the way it turned out.

 

Black garbage bags were wound and scrunched and stapled to an inexpensive mirror frame, the mask was added, and Voila. Evil Magic Mirror.

 

 

A Day of the Dead routine was on the cards as well. Far from being morbid, this is a Mexican tradition of honouring the dearly departed, and features vivid costumes, floral headbands, and celebrations for the lives moved on from this existence to the next.

 

 

Corsets were embellished with ribs, red velvet hearts and satin roses. Tulle skirts were made (thanks to some wonderful helpers!) using fluorescent tulle strips and the no-sew method.

 

Headbands were made using hand embellished Halloween skulls and vivid silk flowers, hot glued to inexpensive headbands.

 

 

 Each headband slightly different...

 

And being my daughters last year, the teacher felt moved to reward my thousands of hours of crafting and sewing as a volunteer, with a pair of Angel wings. A beautiful gesture on her part.

 

 

So of course, with all this happening, and hot on the heels of an Appendectomy, simple meals were the order of the day.

 

Pizza Mushrooms one night...

 

 

...followed by walnut and ginger brownies for a couple of days...

 

A fresh batch of home made Ricotta for me to enjoy with Corn Thins to offset the pizza mushrooms and brownies...lol...

A pork belly roast enjoyed for Fathers Day...

 

Served on a bed of vegetables roasted till soft, then mashed with a splash of sparkling wine, if you please...yummy...

...the leftovers served for dinner for a couple of days running..no complaints!

 

A hectic few weeks for sure. I'm hoping like blazes that things settle down for a bit. Too much excitement for lil ole me I'm afraid!

 

Money saved, daughter happy, husband spoilt for Fathers Day, one step closer to the end of my years as a school and dance Mum.

 

Just 39 school days left in the school calendar. What will I do with myself?

 

So many options...lol!

 

How was your week?

 

...Mimi...

 

All things homespun....Wispy Victoriana Frou-Frou...

All things eerie and wispy have been the order of the day here for some weeks, with a request from the Dance Teacher at our school for ethereal and wraith-like Victoriana style costumes for a Contemporary dance item this year. Sort of Miss Havisham-like, as I mentioned in my post here.

Remember Miss Havisham? She was the bride left at the altar in the classic novel, Great Expectations, and many of the great actresses of our time, have played the part with varying degrees of success, over the decades. Miss Havisham spent the rest of her days in decay and despair, pining for her lost love. Our brief was for a troupe full of Miss Havishams.

 

Materials were sourced including dresses in muted neutral hues, cobwebby yarn, ribbon, sequins, pearly buttons, tulle, silks, satins, chiffons, georgette and French script 'love letter' style fabric.

 

Mixed fibre bodices were fashioned using these elements and some trusty embroidery stabiliser. We loved the cobwebby look the yarn lent to the embellishments.

 

 

 

 

 

Rosettes were made utilising three strips of toning fabric, gathered at the base and hand stitched into simple rolled roses, which were then sprayed liberally with water and ironed with a pressing cloth, to flatten. These were attached as elements of the bodices, or as bustles on the backs of dresses and skirts. Wispy trails of shredded tulle, silk, satin, chiffon and French script created a great effect in motion.

 

 

A Highly Commended was achieved by the girls for this dance item, placing them sixth in a field of nearly 30 groups. No mean feat!

 

The costumes are now carefully packed away, a tribute to the hard work of a special handful of Mums.

 

Please note: I have had technology problems in the last fortnight, leaving me without computer or phone, so all posts and linkups were impossible. I'm looking forward to a return to my normal routine as of next week. Thankyou for your patience.

 

...Mimi...

 

Insourcing #31...Frou-Frou, Frills and Finery...

Oh my goodness.

How do I get myself into these things.

It's Dance Eisteddfod season here, and my daughter simply refuses to tire of the craziness that surrounds this time of year. Truthfully I love it too, but I love the deadlines less!

In the next eleven days, me and my hardworking team of Dance Mums, have to complete 32 bustles to purchased costumes to make them look more tribal, adjust 11 skirt waists for peasant girls (we'd already completely altered these AND made 23 peasant shirts from scratch!), add pastel tulle to 16 black bustles to fluff them up and make them pretty, and embellish 16 ivory and pearl grey lace dresses with mixed fibre bodice panels, rosettes, and these multi-layered neckpiece style necklaces.

Using this bag full of beads, ornate crucifixes, pearls, shells and other varied amulets, I'm trying to create a neckpiece resembling this one below, thus saving our Dance families big money on similar accessories.

 

 Ours will not be this ornate....mostly because our dancers may struggle to not get tangled in them as they weave their elegant web across the stage. But a little of something lavish and lush will just add to their Miss Havisham look, I think.

Here's the lady in question, played by the inimitable Helena Bonham Carter...

 ...and here's Miss Havisham the modern day performer...

 ...somewhere betwixt the two, lays the seed of an idea for our Victoriana Ghost Brides.

That's about all I'm doing to save money for me or anyone else this week.

Realistically, I'm saving each family at least $200 if not more. There are sixteen families. That's a saving of $3,200. I call that one good week!

What did you do to save your own family or other families, big dollars this week? 

 

...Mimi...

Tutu much....

  I was recently asked to design and make some costumes for The Divas' school dance troupe.   This was the prototype. This one is not perfect, and the subsequent costumes were finished properly and had other accessories added, but this gives the general idea.   A Geisha Girl Ballerina look was requested, and this was the idea I came up with.   A red tulle tutu, covered with a Chinese Brocade overlay which purposely doesn't quite meet at the back. This is to give the illusion of a bustle and is enhanced by the addition of a bright red, oversized Japanese Tissue Lame` bow. I manufactured the bow by simply drawing a half metre length of the Lame` through a brushed bronze buckle with inlaid diamanté. A fluffing of the bow and neatening of the tails was all that was required to make a rather gorgeous, doll like embellishment.   The teacher and the students were thrilled with the costumes, which elicited gasps of admiration from the audience when all 22 of them marched, in doll-like fashion, on to the stage.   I love making costumes, and I never thought I would. In fact, when The Diva started dancing at the age of 2 1/2, it was the one thing I vowed I would never do. I was happy to hand over the money for someone else to do all that fiddly stuff.   But that was back when Mr A, who has Cerebral Palsy, was still living at home and my days were a blur of work, home, Mum/carer duties and chauffeur duties, as well as tutor, confidante, and sometime sports fan, whilst still fulfilling many of the same roles for The Diva. There was no time for anything as frivolous as making costumes.   Mr A has now been living independently for 3 1/2 years, a milestone we only registered recently when filling out some fairly routine paperwork and what a whirlwind it has been. He's as happy as the proverbial pig-in-mud, he has a fab team of carers and things pretty much run like clockwork.   The Diva is older too, and can fend for herself in many areas that would have required my time and energy way back when, and I find myself with time to dream and imagine.   So this is my creative outlet. Costume design and making is not bound by the same rules as day to day garment sewing, and you can really let your imagination run wild. It's a lot of fun.   I don't know what the next project will be, but I'm looking forward to the challenge.   Is there something you've vowed you'd never do, and then found yourself doing and loving, somewhere down the track?   Do share....    

Each day is a little life...dancing...

  Well I don't quite know how it happened, but I've been seconded to make dance costumes.   Not these ones, thank the stars. These were a Spanish ballet costume worn by The Diva last Christmas.   These are for the school dance troupe and are Chinese inspired, not Spanish.   I completed a task to design a Raven inspired costume earlier this year, which appeared daunting at first, but when I broke down the elements, really only consisted of a black leotard, a feather and fabric bustle, a headpiece and gloves. And whilst that might sound LasVegas showgirl, it was anything but.   It actually ended up looking sinister and dark and everything a Raven should be.   I've always avoided making dance costumes, but now that I've done one or two, I see that it's actually a creative outlet like no other. You're not constrained by what's been done before, or how things should be done. You just make it up as you go along.   I like it.