Tiara Under the Dog Star. Seriously

Tiara BC (Before Combs)

Tiara Finished. I think.

I've been dog sitting Martha and Jim Marshall's three dogs and two cats. Got some Sirius beading and sewing done under their watchful eye. Pieced together two of the four skirts I have for the play. Even cut out a big surprise for Cindy and a petticoat for Sky.

I was tempted to add more - some droplets above the tiara - but it's saying no, so I've stopped for the moment and will watch it to see if it barks. Did some fill in between the swirls to tighten up the design. Bought a ton more crystals and beads since I ran out, and the two tiara combs to hold it in place. Cindy will kill me when she sees how much I spent in OTHER beads, but I'm trying to spoil her and stock up while I'm able to see the eye of the needle.

I decided to shape it slightly like a Russian diadem pushing the center of the beaded net inward and bending the beaded caps at the top outward. Looking at the finished picture of it, I see some spaces that call for a few more beads, which I will add after I finish with the day's sewing.

I'm pleased with it. It conforms very to the shape of the sketch I did on the edge of a newspaper and is light and airy enough to be sure that Sky is comfortable without having to have a stage hand prop her head up as she does her lines.

A continuation of the casual style tute:

Leave the last 2 or so inches of your frame without fill wires. Position your combs (can be purchased or made with elongated bent wire loops wrapped at the top and secured to a length of bar metal or several head pins wrapped together).

You'll use 26 gauge wire to wrap the combs securing the bar between your base frame. Bend your ends in at the finish and tuck inside the wrapping. You can also string crystals or beads on the wrapping gauge to position on the front side of your tiara as I've done.

Shape your tiara with gentle pressure and you're finished! Wor-lah!

I showed the finished product to Reno, Abby, Boomer and cats Balentine and Blueberry Marshall as I enjoyed my work and a well earned glass of Marty's house merlot. They were interested in it with what I assumed was real interest, but then they reminded me that it was dinnertime. Sigh.

A nice thing about being a dog is that you don't have to load up several bags when you leave to go somewhere and need to take your work with you. It's all there. Built in.

The Zen of Tiaras With Florals

I'm starting on Sky's tiara to go with the Sleeping Beauty gown for the play. I'm including the first picture for artist Vikki North because she gets enthused seeing creative piles of possibilities in my gathering to start a new project. I hope it gets her going on her own sewing and making adventures in addition to her art.

There really is the base of a tiara in there! If you want to make your own fairy tiara, you'll need 16 gauge wire for your base, 20 gauge wire for the scrolls and wrapping, jewelry making pliers, and an assortment of crystals, gemstones and beads that will fit on your 20 gauge wire. I'm using gold wire to match Sky's trim on the gown.

Start with a cut length of 16 gauge wire about 34". Form a circle and join the ends by bending and wrapping, snugging up the wire with a flat nose plier. Bend your circle in half so that you have a shape that vaguely looks like the outline of a taco or half moon. (Don't you just LOVE my technical terms!)


Don't worry about it being wonky at this point. You'll stabilize the entire piece with the 20 gauge wire. I started at the center front of the tiara. Determine how tall you want the finished piece to be and cut several lengths of wire this length doubled plus an inch to allow for your swirls and curls and the wrapping at top and bottom of your basic frame.


Here's where it gets fun. Start slipping your crystals or beads on bending and coiling your 20 gauge with round nose pliers ....

(note here: My computer was taken over by a Trojan ZLOB while working on this post, published it incomplete, and caused 3 hours of down time while I fixed the thing. It should make a bit more sense now.)

....until you have a piece the width of your frame height coiled. Then wrap it on your frame top and bottom. You can get an idea of what I'm talking about in the picture above. The rough sketch behind is for another costume I'm making for the play. More pix and directions on the tiara later.

Frangipani/Lei Flower/Plumeria

Blue Skies from India

I know that many of you in the temperate climates are experiencing Autumn leaves changing color and thought that you might enjoy seeing my 'Fall' here at Dogpatch. I'm enjoying my frangipani - so fragrant it just puts you in a trance! The bottom shows one of the many living arches I have here complete with weeds. It's a vine from India and has almost covered the tree tops above my house in drifts of these gorgeous yellow-throated garlands.

If you look closely, you'll see the waterway behind my home. The ghosty gray thingy hanging beside a pannacle of flowers is Spanish Moss, ubiquitous in Florida. It was once used to stuff airplane seats with. My mother pulled moss in the swamps bordering Georgia when she was a girl in the early days of the last depression.

Frontispiece/Bodice Beading on Sleeping Beauty Gown

Finished frontispiece of the bodice. I quilted details into the fluer to both define it and to make it lay more flat against the chest. I'm going to bone the bodice as well. Even though it doesn't call for it, there's a lot of weight being supported here. I'm making self bias piping to outline the pieces which helps to keep the edges crisp and defined. The color is actually a deep, rich sapphire blue, but the duchesse reflects the light.

Everything else has been put on hold - sorry dear Annette! - as the deadline for the first costume reveal is the 3rd. Fast approaching deadlines! I've also felt like warmed over you-know-what the past few days and that has slowed down my work.

This is the back of the frontispiece showing the cuts where batting was stuffed and then stitched closed using trapunto, the quilting stitches, and the grid work where I laid on the plated gold twist bugle beads. Each of the individual knot is where I stitched a 3 cut Czech Charlotte size 13/0 bead. I chose a pale blue lined with copper Charlotte which will pick up the blue velvet contrast and accent the gold beads.

There's at least thirteen hours of hand work here. Lots of ripping out to keep lines and proportions equal or it would have read like op art on stage. I showed this to Cindy and she was thrilled with it. I'm pretty pleased myself.

Recommendations: Always back this kind of work. Keep your slits narrow and small on the back of trapunto work and baste them closed with a medium loose stitch to keep the front from puckering and curving. Non-quilted trapunto does better in small areas. If your design is large, quilt it or anchor it with beads.

I worked this without a frame, but would recomment one if you have issues with keeping your work flat.

Use a waxed polyester or nylon thread for your beadwork. The sharper edges of the bugles won't cut the waxed surface as quickly without the microscopic thread fibers frizzed out to catch the raw glass.

Judiciously pad areas that are to be solidly covered with beads so that the surface is almost rigid. It supports the beads better.

If you really want the beads to stand up to vigorous wear such as a beaded belt or bra for a belly dancer or stripper costume, dab a bit of fabric cement on the back on each knot. There will be a lining to hide your work and add longevity to the piece.

More later.

Hooray Beret!!

Just finished a crocheted beret in purely grape cotton. The lace was actually finished months ago after a month of hooking, but I decided to use up some beads since I have one or two, and the beret was just sitting there. Still. Not moving or trying to get away. So I attacked. I started with a tight spiral and loosened up a bit as I worked towards the brim.

Used at least a hank of Czech beads in every shade of purple and shape and style of bead and finish you can imagine and every cut a small bead comes in. Used one whole strand of copper lined sapphire charlottes to bind the edge in a scallop.

And what do you do with the little umbilical cord that hangs out after you've netted your last stitch? Why, you bead that too! I used a Swarovski pear drop and a cobalt and silver barrel bead along with other bicones and vintage beads in a bullion button so this hat has its own jewelry. Will be very cheeky hanging in front of a shell shaped ear! And I bet that whoever this belongs to will HAVE to try it with the drop hanging on the center of their forehead at least once!

All my head mannequins have gone out the door with various elaborate head dresses or hats. The beret is being modeled with an iron sculpture that my friend Carol bought for me when she was at an art show. She said attitude and pose, it just yelled my name!

It's for sale in my Etsy shop.

Mother Lode In Progress

I'm feeling closed to finished with this piece. I've decided to expand Mother Lode into a triptych with two more 'nuggets'. I'm putting both pictures I took up for your to see. The first picture was taken with my finger obscuring half the flash. Try this sometime if you have something that is so bright it's barking back at you.

You can see the bead frame around the chalcedony cabochon, earrings, the three plated chains, and the imperial and mystic topazes I put on. Lots of sun sitara, amber, garnet, fire opal, lemon quartz and one pretty bronze pearl surrounded by carnelian. I love the one 18K gold earring and tiger's eye star.

I'll wait to do the final shaping on the outside when all three elements are finished.

Go For The Gold

Here's a progress report on 'Mother Lode', the second piece in my Good Earth series. First, I went through a lot of bead boxes and trays, gemstones, old jewelry, threads, and then found the perfect embossed 'cloth of gold' in my big stash room. It's in the upper right corner of this picture:


I've been manipulating it by needle-sculpting, stuffing and trapunto as I embellish. I want to keep the shape of a gold nugget with its rounded bulges and depressions. I'm using flat lame' for the depressions. This is the darker version of the pictures I took so you can see the gold chain I couched on with gold threads.




The photo with the flash will flat blind you! The shots of iridescent green and blue are actually refracted light from off of the laser cut and iris AB sequins. And of course, I'm working at my computer desk - the only relatively flat and barely cluttered surface at my house.

Geode I is Finished!

Geode I 9"X21" Textiles and
Gemstones Mixed Media $3250



Finally finished the edges and final details on Geode I while I dog sat for Martha. I will put it on the back of a cradle board with Velcro before it goes in a gallery show or sells. I also decided that Velcro will help it be hung in any orientation as is pleasing.

You can tell the progression from the first pictures I posted. The binding/backing is a silk linen weave with a heavy slub that reminds me of the texture on the outside of geodes. The little pocket on the side was an afterthought that turned out well. I like the idea that it can be in the process of growing.

I'm really pleased how it turned out. There are multiple amethyst gemstones including light pink Cape Amethyst, grape amethyst cabochon, faceted amethyst beads, loose diamonds and a diamond tennis bracelet, druzy, quartz, tourmaline, tanzanite, fluorite, some lapis, fiber optic cat's eye, glass beads, vintage rose montees, opal, fire opal and opal glass, leather from a fashion belt, vintage beads from my stash of 1800s jet and rocailles, vintage sequins, hologram sequins, carnival beads, mirror, Swarovski crystal, hand dyed brocade from Cindy's stripper costume, square bent silver wire, ivory salt water, gray and peacock fresh water pearls, iridescent blue rhinestones from a 1950s cocktail dress, and a lead crystal cube.

I know I'm OCD.

And The Geode Part of 'Hat and Geode'

This is an update on the Good Earth Works piece I'm working on. As you can see from the photos, there's lots more work done on the canvas. I'm still not sure what to do with the blank white corner. It may be something that has to ferment for awhile.

So. Here are the views I have. As with Sheree Rensel's summer beret jpegs, I haven't the benefit of a photo editing program so they're rough. But I think you can see the real gemstones: Cape amethyst (lighter shades of pink and lavender), diamonds - including a broken diamond tennis bracelet, real pearls, druzy quartz with a tormaline on top, silverwire, the large dark purple amethyst cabochon seated on a chunk of sugalite, and large faceted amethyst beads, faceted white topaz, fire opal, flourite, Swarovski crystals and onegorgeous lead glass cube.

On the small round mirror, I anchored a princess cut pink tanzanite and a diamond. My friend Carol, a jeweler told me the glue to use. Look for the pointed quartz wand, the iolite, and carnival glass beads with copper wrapping.

I was telling Martha that the most sparkle amongst all the high dollar glitz comes from the sequins - inexpensive glitz! I love the 'river' of magnesium green sequins that unites everything and pay homage to the fact that amethyst gets its purple color from the interaction with the magnesium atoms present with the silicates.

One of my fave repeats are the hologram glitter sequin and beadv 'fans'. And my secret in this piece is that most of the ground under and atop the canvas comes from the brocade I dyed for Cindy Miller's Tesse Tura stripper costume. A fitting tribute to one of my angels! I'll think of her every time I see this piece!

Next issue: Framing and presentation. I need me some Martha Marshall advice for this.

Skirting the Issue

"Gypsy" is set in the 1930s, so I took my cue from the old Busby Berkeley musicals of the day. Check out the majorette skirt!


The result is a little pleated skirt with 30s sensibilities out of the dyed brocade. I set in pleats with the iron before applying the hologram sequins around the hem. Be sure you use a press cloth and test your iron on fabric scrap to see if there's melting or shrinkage before you hit the real thing!

You can start to see the finished shape of the costume now. The beaded fringes will go under the butterfly and will be backed with a Flexifirm underlining so it will stand straight without bending towards the curve of the body. We love our 'kitty bellies', but we want to keep them to ourselves!

The butterflies are creased severely, but it's hard to see it in a straight on view. I'll be adding the spring posts so they 'twanga' and two small pieces of elastic will hold tension on the wings so that they flitter a bit.

Today I'll finish the skirt back with a placket, Velcro and a button. Two small lengths of elastic will go in place in the sides to keep the skirt in place and allow for the acrobatics dancers do onstage. I'm also cutting the gauntlets, sewing the shoe laces, and will chalk out the wing designs and cut the skirt and bra backs.

They Are Airborne!

I'm almost finished! Just need to put the backing on the butterfly appliques, heat set the center press with the iron, and attach them with springs. The picture above shows the beaded edge. This is an easy and effective finish to do with small beads and a whip stitch. You can use a sharp instead of a beading needle if you're driving it through Trimtex or Flexifirm because beading needles tend to break. Just use a bead that you test with the eye side of your needle to be sure it slides over.


I used some lavender and turquoise clear rocailles that Cindy and I found on eBay. I also added a row of the hologram sequins anchored with a rocaille to tie it together with the bra bead and sequin pattern. There are AB celendon green bugles used as accents. If you click on the pix you can see a larger picture and maybe a bit more detail. The long beaded strands you see are the ends of the long tassel which will go over center front of her 10" long beaded fringe. I'm still working on it.

I opted to use feathers and am really pleased with he results! I used colors from the brocade and the airbrush paints that I'll be painting her wings with. I think the feathers add a wonderfully tacky background to the wings and give them that outre' that Cindy's character Tessie would have her retired seamstress make her. Bottom left corner shows one of the appliques turned over so you can see the feather application to the back - again with good ole Aleene's Super Fabric glue. Click on it for a better look. I'll trim the quills when I've let them set a bit more and then make a back lining of the brocade. Should have the pantie skirt finished and think I'll make it a separate piece so that she can wear a clean pantie while washing the other pair.

Her character shoes came in yesterday along with the lace body suits. And hallelujah, they fit her tall frame! Always an issue with one-size-fits-all pieces. But the net and lace stretch just enough.

Her shoes will go to the shoe maker to have two industrial grommets placed into the sides so we can thread ribbon lacing through to emulate pointe shoes lacing. She bought some hologram ribbon just tacky enough to do the deed.

What do you think about the feathers?

Butterflies Are Not Free

But they are almost ready to fly onto the costume. Spent the past hours beading, setting stones, and embellishing the butterfly appliqués with additional glitz. I glued them to a Flexifirm backing with Aleene's Super Fabric glue, turned over the edges and glued then pinned them down to dry as you can see in the first picture above. Flexifirm is a very thick interfacing something akin to craft plastic or styrene and can be heat shaped when I'm happy with the look.


In the close up you can see the stones I used to shape and trace the wings and body. I used AB faceted crystals in a medium amethyst and pale turquoise blue pillow beads on the wing halos, rim set AB crystals in two colors to compliment the silver and gray iron on studs that form the rest of the butterfly and then used silver lined rose violet rocailles to outline the top and bottom of the wings. The smaller butterflies have a modified version of the beads and stones.

I will do more embellishment, put a on beaded edge, and am trying to decide whether or not to use feather tips around the edging before I put on the back lining lining. I like the different finishes of the stones.

There's A Bead In My Mouse

So. I know that doesn't sound quite upright, but it's true. I've been sitting in front of my computer, watching Dexter reruns, and beading the front fringe for the stripper's dance pants. Using your mouse pad as a bead surface has disadvantages.

Last night, after I put my work away, I hear this rattle every time I use the mouse. It's a bead that found its way inside via a tiny hole on the plate - and I can't get it out. It'll have to stay there and become half of a high-tech set of maracas.

I'm using strands of all of the bead colors we bought online. Anchor your beaded fringe on a substantial twill tape or horsehair braid as I did in the picture. Waxing your thread makes beading easier and adds to the longevity of the strands. I use regular top grade polyester sewing thread so that I can choose the color to match the bead. I double the thread and wax the ends to glide through the eye of the needle.


The trick to threading a tiny beading needle is to find the 'sweet side' - there's one side of the needle that is kerfed like a sewing machine needle with a narrow channel around the hole which helps guide the thread in. Moisten the eye of your needle - not the thread. The moistened needle eye wicks the thread towards the eye making your job faster. I pinch the very tip ends of the thread between my thumb and forefinger and press the needle down over the thread. Works better than a wire threader for me.


Also. If you're making beading fringe, hank beads work faster than loose beads. You can use the temporary hank threads to guide the beads onto your waxed thread.


More bead work tonight and lots of fiesta shaking of my mouse maracas!

Finished!

Finally got all the handwork done on the purple kimono. As I may want to show this garment in a show someday with Cindy's permission, I made the frog artsy as I do on many jackets such as the kimono.

You can see from the closeups all the beads and gemstones I used. The 'button' is a mother-of-pearl tooth used as a toggle through a nephrite jade ring. I left the end of the bias tube unfinished because it reminds me of a peace lily. Bead and crystal calyxes of course! You can't see all the sparkle but I guarantee you it's there!

I dyed the fabric for Cindy's practice wings just because there was a vat of dark cedar green pigment dye on the back porch left from Jeannie's gown. The fabric is quite a bit heavier than the silk gauze I'll be using for the real things, but I figure that they'll simulate the weight of the real thing after I finish piling on beads and bling. Also bought an extra set of dowels for the practice wings. I suppose I should put a picture of them up as well as I go.

The kimono just needs a final press before it goes on a hangar and in the bag.