Voodoo Carnival

Last weekend I went to the Voodoo Carnival, a one night extravaganza put on by the local event group Pandora Promotions. They always throw a decadent night filled with music, side show acts, dapper costumed men and scantily clad women.

The event was held at the beautiful Redmoor, in Hyde Park Ohio. The art deco building has an interesting past, opening in 1938 as a state-of-the-art theater. In fact the building’s current owner was one the first ticket holders at 10 years of age. After the theater closed it had new life as a restaurant and now as an event location.

Today, the Redmoor is a little deceiving from the outside. If you are from Cincinnati you see plenty of these art-deco tile buildings – however once inside you are treated to the lush decor of a time gone by. The doors opened into a nice sized bar area, the night of the event the bar staff were really wonderful, even putting on masquerade masks, they also made a good whiskey sour. There was plenty of seating along a central walkway that emptied out on to the dance floor in front of the stage.

There was good entertainment, Marmalade Brigade, a wonderful New Orleans styled jazz band. Robin Marks Magic they do great magic, large and small. I mean when’s the last time you saw a chicken in a magic act! The Pickled Brothers Side Show act always pleases and leaves the crowd feeling good and squeamish.

But on to more important things – like the costumes and clothing!

I designed three outfits for the evening, they were inspired by Day of the Dead costuming. I was lucky enough to have two good looking friends willing to dress up and hit the town with me.

The first look was part Day of the Dead, part Gypsy. The show piece of the outfit was an embellished tuxedo jacket. The back of the jacket was hand painted with a calavera and roses. It was further accented with faux rhinestones and vintage buttons.

The front of the jacket was also embellished with vintage buttons, jewels and brass and silver accents.

Paired with a top hat, belts and vest the look was complete. I was very happy with the end result.

The second look was a dark blue taffeta corset and skirt. The design was more Lolita in style, with the right accessories it went from

Lolita to Modren Messo-American inspired.

The overbust corset was paired with a layered and ruffled skirt. We added two layers of petticoats under the skirt to give plenty of flare. My model added all her own accessories, including brightly colored feathered earrings, necklaces, rings, and bracelets. They made the inspiration complete. This lovely lady also entered a contest with this outfit – you should go vote for her by following this link.

The third outfit was my own. It was what started the whole idea, my love for not only the holiday Day of the Dead, but also the style it inspires.

I have wanted to do a Day of the Dead corset for a while now, I knew I wanted the rib cage to be an applique or embroidered onto the corset front. I ended up making a lace rib cage applique. Because like all things, I put my own oufits last and ended up throwing the rest of the outfit together from pieces of other costumes. I’m lucky I have a huge costume closet!

I layered two bustled skirts, and pinned red, orange and yellow flowers in my hair and on my skirts. I had intended on doing full skull day of the dead make-up, but after a few trial runs I went with the concept of a jewel mask – if only the glue I had used was a little better quality I wouldn’t have lost jewels throughout the night.

All in all it was a great night. I got to dress up, have a few drinks and catch up with people I don’t see all that often. If you get a chance to check out an event put on by the lovely people at Pandora Promotions – the next one being on St. Patricks day you really should. At the very least it’s a great excuse to put on your finest and hit the town!

*some photos in the gallery are by Joe Herbert*

TempleCon – The Frist Convention of the Season

My intrepid convention helper and myself have braved the drive to and from Rhode Island last weekend for TempleCon. For those that might not know, TempleCon is a rapidly growing gaming/alternative history convention. I’ve seen a lot of changes in the 3 years I have been with them, some for the better – some not so much. I do have a special place in my heart for this con, it was the first con where I was a vendor, sent designs down a runway and made some good friends. It’s a great way for me to kick off my convention season.

I was a little disappointed in the traffic. It seemed that people just didn’t realize there were two vending areas (floor vending and room vending) we room vendors experienced lighter than expected numbers. I also didn’t participate in the fashion show this year, it made the convention much less stressful!

I did get to see some wonderful customers and friends from the last few years – it is always a delight to see them and share a few moments catching up. My regulars make my conventions, so thank you, each and every one of you.

I also shared the vending hall with some of my lovely vendor friends. Big Bear Trading Co, who carries just about anything a time traveler or re-enactor would ever need. Emrys Handcrafted Fynery, who handcrafts the most gorgeous jewelry! R.H Mardigan, makes amazing leather goods. I have one of his special made tailors assistant bracers and a custom piece for my vintage tape measure. Ursula And Olive who makes geeky goodness full of Doctor Who and Sherlock Holmes. I am always happy to share vending space with them and you should check them out too.

 

 

 

 

All in all it was a good weekend, there was plentiful cups of mead, and a few parties – thankfully I have had this week to rest up before I begin sewing for the next convention.

Bones and Owl Vomit

When I was in middle school we dissected a lot of things, frogs, eyes, but my all time favorite was the owl pellet. It’s this little pellet filled with bones and skulls and to the 10 year old Angie is was so cool!

For those of you who aren’t familiar with these little gems, they are little pellets made from fur, feathers, and bones. You see owls eat their prey whole, of course they can’t digest all that so as soon as they eat the juices in their stomachs start to dissolve the good stuff and well they vomit up the unneeded stuff. They can hold the bones of mice, rats, shrews, frogs, voles and even small bats and rabbits. You might also find insect exoskeletons.

Turns out adult Angie thinks it’s still pretty cool. I’m not the only one who thinks these little things are so cool either, at least I don’t think so. So new to my product line and debuting at TempleCon – Owl Pellet kits! After TempleCon they will be featured in my Facebook Shop Everything you need to take apart these little pellets of awesomeness. I know all you creative peoples out there will find some amazing stuff  to do with the little bones you uncover.

I couldn’t resist taking apart a pellet and seeing how much goodness these guys can hold, and I admit I also wanted to see if was still as much fun as I remember it being. The pellet was about 1.5 to 2 inches in size. This is a standard/Medium pellet. The outside was covered with a bit of red dirt and grass. Which is a good indicator that these are wild pellets and not ones gathered in hatcheries. There are a lot of information that you can learn from such a small item.

So I picked one, and gently pulled it apart, using my hands, tweezers and a wooden pick. Little bones could be spied as soon as it feel into two pieces and a skull! I keep pulling apart the pellet gently and slowly and carefully. There were so many little bones, ribs and tail bones. I was kinda giddy.

  I set the skull in warm water to soak. While it was good for getting out the impacted hair from all the little nooks and crannies of the skull it was not so good to smell. I used the water sparingly after that and did all the fur removal with my tools. I’m pretty sure, do to the pelvis I found later that it was I had found a shrew skull. I started to tackle the other half of the pellet when I am surprised by another shrew skull! I was pretty happy with the fact that such a small pellet had yielded two mostly complete skeletons. I carefully gathered all the bones, into a container.

You can bleach the bones, with diluted bleach or peroxide, or you can leave them naturally colored. Then the sky is the limit. I’ve seen people make jewelry, or pendants with the larger bones and skulls. I’m not sure what I will do with mine yet. But I do know one thing for sure, I think that you will find as much excitement and education in these as I do. I am excited to share these with you and see what you will do with them!

Corsets can be Comfortable

So some of you may have seen this article today, “Everything you Know About Corsets is False” by Lisa Hix. It is a good article and touches on many of the things I find myself answering while at conventions. You should read it.

I appreciate many of the things she brings up in her article. I find that so many women and men don’t really understand corsets. They look at them like a costume piece, not as an actual garment that has a purpose. Add to that, the ill fitting badly made “corsets” that are sold at lingerie stores, most people have never had a good corset experience. Many people approach corsets as instruments of pain, or at the very least something they want to spend as little money on as possible because they aren’t going to wear them for very long. I hear those reasons and so many more for why corsets are frightening. I answer all their questions, and I always feel like I’m giving a testimonial about my life in a corset. I’m happy to do it, because I believe in it.

I convince them to try on one of the corsets I make. I watch their faces change. Their shoulders are back, spine straight. As they look at their figure in the mirror, as the realize that a corset made for your body, made well, and made with the right materials is comfortable! That they look fantastic, everything is proud and curvy! I actually love that moment. When someone has an amazing experience with something they were kind of afraid of.

So if you have yet to try on one of my corsets, stop by my shop at a show. We’ll chat, we’ll lace you up. You’ll look fantastic.

We Are Now Live

Hello new readers. Welcome to Festooned Butterfly’s new blog.

I’m excited to share my experience as a creator and business woman with you. There will be rants and raves, photos and peeks at up coming projects, maybe even some tutorials along the way.

This month I have been preparing stock for my convention season. I’ve had to think hard this year about the cons that I am going to. Last year was a “the more the better” approach, that did not work. While I met amazing people, the costs of going to a lot of tiny cons never balanced out with the bank account! So this year I have cut down my schedule to mostly large cons with less traveling to get there. Hopefully the math and the stress balances better. It also means really starting to focus on my online stores – starting up a shop outlet on facebook, and etsy (and keeping on top of them!).

I am happy to announce that I will now be offering ready to wear corsets, skirts and something I am most excited about I will now be selling Lolita fashions! I will still carry vintage and new men’s wear, I love my men’s wear and wouldn’t give it up. Now my shop will have something for everyone.

It’s the start of a new year and a new season and I’m happy to have you along with me.

 

Weekend Adventures

The weekends are my time to search for new items. I love, (well most days), I love searching the racks for treasures.

All my senses are alert, my hands run over the fabric cataloging wear and condition of the fabric, the smoothness I covet, the rough pill-balls I can’t stand. My eyes search for new colors, for the right cut, something better, scrutinizing dirt. My nose wrinkles and twitches as I smell decades old cologne, smoke, life caught in the fabric of these jackets and shirts. Perhaps taste is connected here, as sometimes the scents so strong linger between the nose and the mouth. My ears are bombarded with vast extremes of music, dialects and the sound of fabric on hangers and against my hand. It is as I search that I know I am truly doing something I love.