La Prairie Ghost Walk 2010

Last night we went to see Marie-Ange-the-Celt's annual Ghost Walk, Marcher dans l'ombre du passé, in her hometown of La Prairie, QC.

La Prairie and History Series by Marie-Ange-the-Celt

I love history, and Old La Prairie has some very nice sites.

La Prairie and History Series by Marie-Ange-the-Celt

The Ghost Walk is basically amateur theatre, but it is cute nonetheless, and Marie-Ange-the-Celt makes most of the costumes, on nearly no budget, so it needs to me mentioned here.

Unfortunately, I was running late and had left home when I realised I had forgotten my camera (I could have kicked myself). So the pictures here are either Marie-Ange-the-Celt's, or were taken last year, but either way, these are costumes I saw last night.

Skipping chores to dream by Marie-Ange-the-Celt

These two outfits are meant to be 18th century peasants. The patterns are not historically accurate, Marie-Ange-the-Celt says so herself, but the look is about right. The patterns were made by her and her co-worker and were based on images of the period. In any case, she whipped them up in a night each and they look descent enough!

MageKnightTerra as a Victorian Bather

Apparently, once upon a time in Victorian days, the St. Lawrence River came up much higher than today. To illustrate this, Marie-Ange-the-Celt made this outfit meant to be a Victorian bathing suit. It is far from accurate, but it gets the message across, AND she made two of these in one night.

Marie-Ange-the-Celt as a Victorian Lady

To play a Victorian character, Marie-Ange-the-Celt whipped up this outfit by mixing a white blouse with a laced bustier from a medieval store, an imitation shantung a-line skirt and a bustle and apron made of brocade she got in a fabric exchange at last year's Fall Harvest and based on Burda 1888.

Marie-Ange-the-Celt was also one of I believe three actors to play the role of the old Storyteller and you can see her here on YouTube (French only):

I do invite everyone to go next year; it's always a lot of fun. Just check out the Société d'histoire de La Prairie-de-la-Magdeleine's website for updates.

And next time, I'll think of my camera.

The Monster Gift

You may remember a Threadbanger video I posted a while back on how to make yourself a Monster Hoodie (see Costume Monster Hoodie, posted on January 16th, 2010):

Based on their instructions, I made one for my friend Stu. It was supposed to be a Christmas present, but we only got to visit this Week-End. So that is why I am only showing it to you now, even if it has been made for months. Stu was really happy with it. I can tell you that although it was horribly hot, he did not want to take it off.

Stu's New Monster Hoodie

For this project, I bought a hooded vest on sale at Walmart (can't tell you how much because the gift recipient might see it). The video suggests the use of felt for the teeth and eyes, but I had leftover pieces of Polar Fleece, so that is what I used. And of course, I used my sewing machine instead of fabric glue.

The Monster Hoodie's Sharp Teeth

I actually cut two layers of the teeth strip and used the zigzag stitch on my machine to assemble them together. Then, I fixed to the hood's opening by sewing over the original seam, making it as invisible as possible.

I see you!

For the eyes, I began by fixing the pupils to the whites with a zigzag stitch, than I fixed the eyes to the top of the hood, still with a zigzag stitch.

It was a very easy project to make. I'll have to make myself one eventually.

A Crown for Nancy-Raven

For her Birthday, Nancy-Raven had mentioned to me that she wanted to wear a crown. After all, as she put it, she would be Queen for the day! She showed me this crown from The Tudor Shoppe which she really liked:

French Royal Crown from The Tudor Shoppe

Unfortunately, I couldn't fit it in my budget as we were already getting her a somewhat pricey Espresso Machine (I know, boring, right? It was my Sweetheart's idea as she and he are both Coffee Aficionados, and she loved it, so I guess it was worth it... I'm just kidding - it was a great gift idea).

I still wanted her crown dream to come true, so as any Fairy Best Friend would do, I made her one.

Nancy-Raven's Birthday Crown

And of course, because of the recent heat wave, I was always too tired to do anything, so I waited until the night before!

I looked around on DeviantArt and Etsy for a good while looking for some inspiration. As I had a lot of different gauges of wire and plenty of beads for jewelry making, I went for a wrapped wire model.

Nancy-Raven's Birthday Crown - Front

Here is a list of the Materials I used:

• 14, 16, 18 at 20 gauge galvanized wire
• Pliers
• Red glass beads
• Black faceted plastic beads
• Faux tear drop pearl
• Sea glass piece found on the beach almost 20 years ago (I am somewhat of a hoarder when it comes to craft and costuming - I rarely throw anything away, to my Sweetheart's dismay.)

Nancy-Raven's Birthday Crown - Back

I am quite proud of the way it turned out, especially considering it my my first piece AND it was the night before (my fingers were so sore).

With Nancy-Raven, you never know what reaction to expect: she could have politely thanked me for the thought, but as it turned out, she loved it (which made me doubly proud).

Nancy-Raven wearing her Birthday Crown - Restaurant

She put it on her head as soon as she opened the box that contained it, in the restaurant...

Nancy-Raven wearing her Birthday Crown - End of the Evening

...and she still had it on when we left her parent's place (where we had delicious bite size cakes made at the Bakery where she works). She even drove her cousin's convertible from the restaurant to her parent's home with it on.

Nancy-Raven's Birthday Crown - A Photo Montage

Well Sweetie, I'm glad I could make your day (I know the Coffee maker had something to do with it too).

Codex costume

Some of you might remember last November when, thanks to Sciath, I couldn't stop singing "Do you want to date my Avatar?" (see The Guild: Do you want to date my Avatar, posted on November 6, 2010). If you've never heard the song, let me introduce you; if you have forgotten it, let me freshen your memory. And for the rest who love it, just watch with us:

So, now that we're on the same page, let's have a look at the main character's costume, Codex:

Felicia Day as Codex, The Guild (2007)

Not only is that costume super cute, Felicia Day looks awesome in it (forget what the song says about the game character being hotter than reality!).

Of course, it was bound to happen: someone else fell in love with that costume and made her own version of it:

Be Anything You Want Me To Be by FireLilyCosplay
Photographer: LJinto

No, this is not Felicia Day: this is Fire Lily in her amazing recreation of Codex' game costume. Here is what she has to say about it:

This costume was an absolute must for me. I saw the video "Do You Wanna Date My Avatar?" when it came out back in August 2009 and I fell in love with Codex's costume. I was going to try and make it for Dragon Con, but we ended up not going, so I took my time with it and made this costume for AUSA in November.

Ah!! Codex is so adorable!!!! The corset is made from red corduroy with steel boning, front busk closure and a separate front panel that snaps on on top of the busk. It laces up with red leather lacing in the back and is adorned with gold bias tape and red jewels. The skirt is three circle skirts: one lining slip, one Casa satin and one sheer overlay.

Do You Wanna Date My Avatar? by FireLilyCosplay
Photographer: Anna Fischer

The top is ivory ribbed knit fabric that I sewed into a tank top, then overlayed the bust and shoulders made from Casa satin, craft foam, gold trim and jewels. That was probably the hardest part of the costume! The gauntlets are craft foam and Casa, with gold trim and lacing.

The necklace is a 6mm gold torque band purchased from Ebay, and I made the frames from gold vinyl and glued on all the rhinestones. The headband is also from Ebay, painted gold and adorned with jewels. The knee pads are red corduroy and gold lame with fleece filling. I used brown felt for the leg wraps, and modified a pair of shoes I already owned and sewed up the shoe pads from the red cord.

The staff was pretty easy, though it gave me a lot of trouble while in the making. PVC pipe, cardboard, red jewels, foam, a big clear ornament ball and lots of paint when into it!I am so in love with this costume!!!!!! I love every part of it and I'm so freaking happy that I made it! I can't wait to wear her more ^.^

I am impressed. At first (and second) glance, I cannot see a detail that is missing. It looks perfect. Who else has made a costume from The Guild? Please come forward so you can be featured here.

Project: Sherbet Striped English Dress – Finished

I made it!

Sherbet Striped English Dress by Gwenyver

The contest closes at midnight, and I have sent in my submission with 15 minutes to spare. To think that a week ago I thought I would have more than enough time to finish without stressing. Pfff! I should really learn to know myself better.

Sherbet Striped English Dress - Front

Sherbet Striped English Dress - Back

Sherbet Striped English Dress - Bodice Detail

Sherbet Striped English Dress - Skirt Detail

Sherbet Striped English Dress - Sleeve Detail and Hat

Isn't it lovely, colourful and summery? I am quite happy with the result. I will have to pull out a few extra threads from the trim to make it look cleaner, and the lining is not completely sewn to the bodice, but these are minor details. The important thing is, I finished it in time.

For those of you who might wonder about my hat and hair do, I tried making thread loops inside the hat to pull bobby pins through and stick the whole thing to my head, but it is not the best solution. I think in the future, I will add ribbons to tie the hat to to my head. As to my hair, I tried using a Bumpit to fake a little poof, but I need more practice using it.

Do check out my submission page (in French only) here. Now I can't wait to see if I win! That would be nice, but there are many impressive entries, so I will have to wait and see.

Project: Sherbet Striped English Dress – Tricorne

You might notice from the date that I was supposed to be done with this project yesterday, yet here I am with another progress report. Something(s) came up: Nancy-Raven wasn't free to do a photo shoot after all and I had a small emergency to attend to (nothing bad, I assure you). So since the limit to enter the contest is April 30th, I let my Sweetheart convince me to take another week and have a smaller photo shoot in the back yard. I’m almost done, really, but a few extra days can only be a good thing.

In the mean time, here is the Tricorne, which I made last night.

Small Tricorne for the Sherbet Striped English Dress

The trim was machine sewn to the edge of the hat, but the tacks were done by hand.

I originally wanted to add a cockade, but I’m no longer sure. Maybe I should go for feathers instead… I watched Marie-Antoinette (2006) again yesterday and it seems all of the hats we see are decorated with ostrich feathers. I’ll see. Perhaps I’ll just leave it at that too.

Now the real question is how the heck am I going to stick it to my head; where will I stick the pins? Hum…

Project: Sherbet Striped English Dress - Change of Plan

I was ready to start making the buttonholes to lace the back when I had a sudden doubt. Was lacing accurate for an 18th century dress? I know it wasn't exactly common, but I had this vague idea that I had seen one, perhaps in a movie… All I found in my recent research were child’s dresses. So…

I decided to change the closure. I sewed the back close and cut the front open in order too use hook & eye tape as closure. I tried on the dress before I cut and I have just enough give for it to work.

This also means that trim placement will be changing. I want to add more, both on the stomacher and on the skirt.

Sherbet Striped English Dress - Line Drawing

It’s going to look awesome! And yes, it will be done in time, even if I have to forgo sleep!