As usual, the costumes were not as complete as I would have liked and I was still working on them until about an hour before departure. I know some people said they wanted to see pictures, but the low light level made it difficullt to take them. Most of them were blurry and didn’t come out well.
The other day, I put up my Halloween mask. In the comments, Noel suggest that I not add any more. Well, I didn’t on mine, but my sister phoned and said, “Don’t listen to him. He’s an architect. He probably thinks ‘less is more.’ I want bling!”
Sissy wants bling, then Sissy gets bling!
Now here’s another part of the costume. I’ll leave all of you to guess what part.
Now I need to make a silver one for my sister. My sister’s will probably be better since I think I’ve gotten a little better with the technique. This is my first time making a mask. Considering that I was making it up as I went along, I’m pretty satisfied with the result. The gold is imitation gold leaf. I put a coat of acrylic gesso over the traditional gesso so the whole thing doesn’t melt if there’s a light rain. Needless to say, it wouldn’t hold up in a down pour.
I’m tempted to do a bit more embellishment, but we’re on a countdown until the big day. I’ll probably wait to put on some varnish in case I decide to add more. Originally I thought I’d add some rhinestones and glitter, but at the moment I’m thinking it looks sufficient as is and I should spend time on the rest of the costume.
Just a quick update on how my Halloween costume is coming.
I have six layers of gesso on it and have been sanding furiously.
Right now, I’m up to me eyebrows in thread, rhinestones, fabric, trimmings and all sorts of other goodies to make an outrageously wonderful Halloween costume. Or maybe just a big hot mess. Who knows. I’ve been having a problem getting the thread tension right. We’re not talking a little off and the fabric is puckering. This is so loose that you can just pull the threads out by hand. My sister said, as she has said a couple of times a year for the past several years, “Just buy a new sewing machine.” I might do that. The main reason I haven’t already is mostly sentimentality. This was my mother’s sewing machine.
My mother received this portable sewing machine for her thirteenth birthday. It was used when my grandparents bought it for her. We’ve sewn so many things on it.
I’ll try to remember to pause for some photos so I can post the progress on my costume.
“Au secours!”
fojap 