"No. No, what have you done?!" -Mother Gothel

So, I chopped off my long flowing locks. It wasn't as nerve wracking as the first time I did it, but it did take a couple glances in the mirror to (a) realize it was me and (b) get used to the lack of hair. Alice Cullen was by far my favorite character in the books and the movies and I loved her hair in Breaking Dawn, ergo the picture above was what I was aiming for. Y'all may not know this about me but I don't like spending money, especially if I can make it/do it myself. No, I did not cut my own hair. I asked my grandmother to. I think I made her day....
     Obviously there are pros and cons to going short once more. I get kind of depressed when I watch hairstyling tutorials on YouTube. Just the other day I watched a Laced Fishtail braid tutorial and decided I would ask my mom to braid my hair that way the next time I went swimming (it wasn't one I could do on myself).... And then realized all my hair was gone. I literally almost cried. So I'm just gonna have to spend a lot of time with my long-haired friends this summer so I can braid and twist to my hearts content. I am also having to get used to using less shampoo and conditioner. Silly, I know, but it's not really something that I think about; just habit. On the bright side, I don't have as much trouble sleeping because my hair isn't getting caught up under my shoulders or tickling my nose. To be honest though I'm really looking forward to playing with the cut and figuring out different ways to style it, and getting in the habit of styling it every day because if I don't I guarantee I will look like a 12 yr. old boy. With heat fast approaching not having hair on my neck is going to feel FABULOUS.
     So far I've only tried out two different styles for my hair. Sunday morning I styled it like the picture I got the cut from and then Sunday evening I threw on a ribbon headband with some flowers on it, hippie style. I'm gonna try something a bit preppy and sophisticated today but I'm not sure my hair is quite long enough.

Maybe I'll start a series on styling short hair and post little tutorials on how I style it each week.... We'll see.

Stay Beautiful <3

Peter Pan Amidst Friends and Enemies

 This was our Neverland crew that went scavenging for sweets upon all hallows eve.

 Tinkerbell, Peter Pan, Tiger Lily, and Captain Hook.

This picture just about sums us up ;)

Stay Beautiful <3

Black Swan

I finally found pictures of me in my black swan costume!!! It turned out pretty well if I do say so myself ;)

Stay Beautiful <3

Tinkerbell: Wings

What I used for the wings:

16 gauge wire

Duct tape

Floral Tape

Vinyl

Cellophane

Wire cutters

Scissors

 I sketched these wings so that they would be one long piece of wire and therefore more stable than if made from multiple pieces of wire. At any point where wires met I added a small piece of duct tape to strengthen the juncture.

 I then wrapped the junctures with floral tape and if I had had more floral tape I would have wrapped the entire structure. The woven looking thing below the wings is what will be inserted in my dress/bra to secure it to my person.

 I then proceeded to layer my wings. First cellophane, spray glue, vinyl, spray glue, wings, spray glue, and then cellophane again. I pressed the layers together as best I could with my hands and then cautiously ironed them together both inside and outside the wire frame. I urge you to be more cautious than I. I damaged a portion of one of my wings. I didn't worry too much though because of The Secret of the Wings when Tink breaks a wing...

 I just trimmed around the edges of the wings being careful not to get too close to the wire in case the adhesive decided to no longer adhere. Then I bent the entire wing portions so they stuck out diagonally from my back rather than straight to the sides.

 And voila!!

Stay Beautiful <3

Tinkerbell: Dress

I used the same sheet set for Tink's dress as I used for Peter's tunic. As always I doubled the fabric, laid it on a flat surface and then I lay on top of it and had my mom trace the outline of my torso and thighs. After adding seam allowance, I cut the shape out through both layers. I then sewed the side seams and cut down about half the back to insert a zipper.

I ended up sewing the zipper in by hand because I couldn't be bothered to figure out the zipper foot...

 I used the cheat method for creating a sweetheart neckline and just did a small gather stitch on the center front. I also cut triangles out of the hemline. It's not great quality but it served it's purpose.

Stay Beautiful <3

Peter Pan

I only made two pieces for Peter's costume, his tunic and his hat.

For Peter Pan's tunic I used a t-shirt as a template and just lengthened it, cut out two (front and back), and then sewed them together. A lime green sheet was the fabric I used. Then I cut out triangles from the hem and the sleeves. I also attempted to create the collar although I didn't do a good job so good luck with that.

The iconic Peter Pan hat. I used a thick forest green material from an old blanket. Measure the circumference of your head and divide by two. That is the length of the bottom edge of the shape you will create. Mark it on your doubled fabric.

 Then sketch out your shape. This is what I came up with.

 And the same for the brim (folded up portion).

 Don't forget to add seam allowance when you cut them out.

 Sew....

 Sew....

 If you can find a red feather go for it but I was out of money so I painted a black feather with acrylic paint.

 

And this is how it turned out. The feather is on the other side...

Stay Beautiful <3

Twilight Fairy: Wings

http://www.freewebs.com/faeriemuse/constructiontutorial.htm So, that's the link to the tutorial I used as the basis for my wings I tried to use her methods while not stealing her designs (I think I succeeded). Because it has taken me so long to write this post the construction pictures have been lost :(. Lesson learned. I did, however, manage to find this picture....

So basically I just sketched out the main veins or framework for the wings and then within a 4'x4' square on my tile floor I drew the wings with a wet erase marker. Over the course of a couple weeks I then shaped my 16 gauge wire to the sketch on the floor. I had three veins in the top wings and three in the lower wings. The three veins in the top right wing crossed down and became the lower left veins. Top left veins crossed down and became the lower right veins. When put together the two halves made an X. I then wrapped all of my wire in floral tape. I would suggest for those making wings with this method to wrap each wire individually and then wrap them together to add stability and hopefully the wires will be more inclined to stay together. Wrapping the wire took FOREVER. So start a show you've been meaning to watch and wrap away. I would also suggest that in your design stage you figure out a way for each wing segment (top right, top left, bottom right, bottom left) to be connected to each of the other wing segments. For example, the top right wing segment has three veins, take one vein and carry it over to the bottom right and carry another to the bottom left and the third to the top left. That will strengthen your wings greatly and insure that they stay together. I didn't do that and my wings are fairly flimsy.

There really isn't much to say about the cellophane and vinyl sandwiching step so just follow Faerie Muse's instructions but be very careful with the iron and make sure the layers really adhere to one another!
Here are pictures of my costume minus the wings. Enjoy!

Stay Beautiful <3