Callies Menagerie

The Emerald Jewel

The spring ballet season has started and so has the costuming for our ballet companies production Aladdin. Its so exciting making things from old dresses, brocade fabrics, and treasures unearthed from estate sales or thrift stores. The first costume I made was an example of reusing an old dress and giving it new life. This costume is the Emerald jewel. She one of the many jewels that appear in the cave of riches that Aladdin is locked into, towards the beginning of the story. When I think of an emerald, especially in this setting, I think of flashy, sultry and rich colors. When I spotted this dress on the rack of kindly donated dresses for costume purposes, I knew that it would be a great base to start with. I converted the top part of the dress into a bra top. Seeing that the olive green was a bit dull, I sewed on sequins, bugle beads, and jewels to give it more depth and intrest. The tassles were salvaged from an old curtain. By adding beads and glitter glue, I was able to create a more luxurious look. The dancer that was going to be wearing this costume is tall, and the straps that came with the dress looked flimsy with her long body. By adding chiffon sleeve/straps, it balanced out the top and added the much needed emerald green color.

The other half of the dress was used for the skirt. I added 2 emerald colored chiffon skirts and attached them to the dress with a trim covered waisted band. I also added the same beads used on the top to the beading on the skirt. For extra shimmer, I sewed on sequins and beads to the edges of the skirts to give the appearance of being dipped.
The headpiece was my own design using a necklace found while thrifting. I used tecniques that I learned at a headpiece class taught by Tutu.com in North Carolina. Their facebook page is inspiring, just search tutu.com.

Up next is the Diamond jewel. I will post when it is finished.

Where I've been and what I've done

So I have been a busy little person this past week....making tiaras! My Mom and I traveled to North Carolina to learn the proper techniques on constructing a ballet tiara. I used the Snow Queen pattern and added and altered it to make it unique. My Mom made the Arabian pattern. I love all of the swirls on the side of the head! The other tiara shown is the basic pattern that I made before I left to go to the class. It is incredible how light the tiara is. If you're curious the tiara wire is millinery wire shaped into a tiara shape. Next adding the crystals and shaping it to the head makes the headpiece complete. The tiara is attached to the head by sewing a piece of woven horsehair ( I haven't done that step yet ) spraying it to match the dancers hair, then by pinning it in place it will stay on your head.

We thoroughly enjoyed the class and getting inspiration from other costumers sewing tutus and costumes in the same room. Mom and I had planned to go fabric shopping and heard about Mary Jos, a 32,00 sq foot fabric store only 30 minutes away. Taking the scenic route cut our shopping time short, but I don't think there would ever be enough time to spend in there. From the trim and lace walls to the fabrics, it was magical!!! Joann's does not compare to this place!

So I will be absent from blog land this coming week because I will be in Eureka Springs, Arkansas doing a week long piano camp. This upcoming month will be busy because after piano camp a week later I will be on a family vacation. Enjoy the photos of Mary Jo's and be sure to take the virtual tour on their website!

Of course I got fabric at Mary Jo's but I will show you what I got and even photos of the recent estate sale. See ya in a week!

Trims, trims, trims!!!

I want this lace on my wedding dress! The fern design is all beads.

The lace wall!

The 3 photos are only a sliver of the HUGE upholstery section!

Making tiaras in class!

A Gingham Picnic

Outfit details

Shirt- Thrifted Vintage

Skirt- handmade via Goodwill

Belt- Thrifted

Shoes- via Savers

Whenever I wear this shirt I think of an afternoon picnic.
Here is a poem that describes a beautiful picnic.

After the picnic,

evidence of red and white plaid table cloths

lie on the grass,

tossed carelessly,

accompanied by bones of chicken

in empty plastic containers,

as the radio plays the lullaby,

for two people cuddled up in a fetal position,

sleeping in the open air, trusting and naive,

and in love,

on a lazy, summer afternoon,

as the wind moves their hair and tablecloth slightly

while the sun goes down, over the fields they lie in

after the picnic.

Written by Madi Rose via Helium.com

This outfit is also my first completed thrifted outfit. I usually have some kind of thrifted or vintage item on my, but to have all of the pieces be thrifted.....it is an accomplishment for me!

My new favorite item to buy is

Vintage swimwear!

Even though I have been to the pool once or twice this summer! haha!

This red cotton beauty came from an Estate Sale

The last trip to Saver unearthed this treasure!

My favorite 2 dollar swimsuit from Starr's Moving sale!

Vintage Tie giveaway winner!

The winner is DogsMom!

She wrote

My Favorite is the one you call Purple and Green,

but I'm not sure where the green is.

It is the tie in the middle picture above

Congrats!

A Guest post from SockMonkeyandGee

Hi everyone! Here is a guest post from the lovely Gee of SockMonkeyandGee blog!

How did you come up with your blog name?

I had the hardest time coming up with one and so I started to think about all the nicknames I have had and Gee was my family nickname and then sitting next to me was my favorite stuff animal from childhood..my sock monkey. So, Sock Monkey and Gee was born! :P

Your photography is so beautiful, do you have any tips?

I wish I did. I have a cheap camera and am a horrible photographer ..I do not use one of those wonderful DSLR camera's or anything. Thankfully my husband take my pictures when he can. The only thing I would say is, when posting on your blog make sure you use big pictures so people can see what you are wearing and make sure they are not dark. I always take my photos outside. You can never look bad in natural light.

What is your favorite fashion era? (50's, 60's etc)

I would say the 60's. All the patterns and colors are so beautiful. I wish I lived in the 60's sometimes or wished my mother kept her clothes from the 60's! :P

If you could indulge yourself in a food, what would it be?

It would be a tie between mac n' cheese and bagels and cream cheese. I obviously love carbohydrates and cheese. haha

If you could go anywhere in the world, where would it be?

Paris ... hands down. I want to spend many hours wandering around in The Louvre

If your house was burning and you could grab only 1 clothing item, what would it be?

My wedding dress. It is irreplaceable.

What blogs are inspiring you right now?

Oh goodness, a lot of them. Here is a few.. The Hummingbird Girls, Here's looking at me kid, Busy Bee Lauren, Steffy's Pros and Cons, Lost in the Haze, etc.....

Dont forget to enter my vintage giveaway! I pick a winner this Saturday the 23rd!

Homemade peach icecream:::the recipe

What sounds good on a hot summer afternoon? Mmmmm ice cream. Got me thinking about all of the peaches getting ready to spoil on the counter from my peach picking adventure. Why not make ice cream? If you are using fresh peaches, cook them a bit to make their sweetness come out. Combine lemon juice, whipping cream, sugar, and vanilla in a big bowl. Add the peaches and if needed add more sugar to taste. Chill. When thoroughly chilled churn in your ice cream maker. Enjoy! Makes 1 gallon.

Dont forget to enter my vintage giveaway! Winner will be chosen on Saturday July 23rd!

Peach Picking and Estate Sale Shopping

Outfit::: Shirt- Target::: Shorts- F21 ( Old! )

Early Friday morning I was off to go Peach Picking. My family and some of our friends went with us to a nearby orchard to pick our own fruit. Since the weather has been hot it was nice having an overcast sky and a bit of a breeze. Grabbing bags and a wagon the orchard people provided we walked eagerly towards the fruit trees. To our surprise there were plenty of hard peaches and the good ones were near the top. But when I found a good peach, oooooohhh it tasted so good. Biting into a warm peach right off the tree and the sweet juices running out of the corners of my mouth, it was divine. After paying for the peaches we carted our full stomaches and the bags of picked fruit to the car and headed towards their local veggie and fruit stand. Mom was hoping to find sweet corn but instead brought home a watermelon.

Later that day our plan was to go to two Estate Sales. But we didnt look at when they closed so that when we were ready to go *sniff sniff*, they had already closed for the day. As soon as the sale opened we were there trying to find vintage treasures. The first sale we popped by had a lot of sewing things and clothes. I picked out a partially finished polka dot dress, which I will complete, a 70's striped shirt, vintage patterns, a very cool vintage umbrella, vintage ruler, and a pair of 60's eyeglasses! The other sale was like I walked into an 80's time warp. Everywhere I looked I saw 80's, from the decor to the clothes to the knickknack, even the overall house itself hadnt been updated since that era. Anyway I did end up getting some fabric, and 2 childrens clothing pieces.