Masquerade

Tags

bead embroidery, beads, beadwork, costume

I am working on a beaded mask. I thought this would be a fun challenge and it is! It’s still in progress and further updates will come. This is fun because it has a different feel to what I have been working on – more painterly and opens a lot of doors creatively!

I am using a thick interfacing that holds up fantastically under the weight of the beads. I attached the “jewels” with E-6000 glue. Holy cow that stuff is great! Easy to work with and holds like a charm. I am extremely happy with E-6000!

Mask Beaded Just Started

I tried it up against my face and realized that the bottom centre (over the nose) was too far down. Luckily I had only beaded it a bit, so I took the bottom beads out and cut the nose part higher. In shaped masks they usually have this bit jutting out over the nose. I’m not sure I can shape the interfacing. I may need a different kind of material if I want to get into shaping.

Beaded Mask About 3/4 Complete

When I am finished beading, I am going to sew/glue wire around the outer edge to hold it firm and so that I can bend the mask a little to curve around the face. I think I will have this the kind of mask that you hold up to your face with a stick, so that will have to be attached too.

I think this will look pretty fancy when I’m done! Make sure you click on the photos to see a larger version. It looks great IRL.

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Fantasy Headdress

Tags

bead embroidery, beadwork, burlesque, costume, Headdress

Who doesn’t love fantasy costuming? I mean crazy, over the top theatrical fantasy?

Well I like it and I want to see it.

So I thought I had better put my hands where my imagination is and make something. Of course it’s easy to say but harder to do.

I found an Indian neckpiece that was partly broken. It was so pretty… but I knew I could save it in a FANTASY HEADDRESS.

Logistics were something new on this piece for me. How do I make it fit? Trial and error. Re-dos. Rethinks.

But it turned out just fine for a first go:

– “Pearly Fantasy” (Front)

To balance it out physically as well as design-wise, I made an appliqued pendant for the back of the piece that more or less reflected the front centrepiece.
This really helped out on a lot of levels.

– “Pearly Fantasy” (Rear)

The pendant pearl strings are a reference to the same feature on the Byzantine Empress Theodora’s head piece.

I wore this to a gala arts fundraiser with the theme “Arabian Nights”. There is nothing remotely Arabian about it, except for the love of decorative elements.

I like the beaded wire arch with pearl drop at the top. Working with wire is fun but you need wire gauge and bead hole widths to be compatible.

I can see this being the first in a line of kewl headdresses!

Continuing Fascination

Tags

bead embroidery, beadwork, burlesque, fascinator

With my new shaped fascinator as a starting point, I made two more: “Lilac Lust” and “Andalusian Pink”

Lilac Lust uses purples and lilacs (rare hues in beads) and with some lilac sequins and a soft coloured feather I was happy with the result. For a little movement, there are some larger beads on wires in the centre of the disc that wiggle when you move. This is a subtle effect, but it’s an idea I will develop in the future.

– “Lilac Lust” Fascinator

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Then I thought, why just do a circle? So I made an organic shape and sewed in into a dart as I do with the pasties. I used a pink fabric on it and thought it too soft for what I had in mind, so I decided to use black and red with it! I love love love these colours together. I wanted it rich and vibrant – like flamenco dance. A stiff black tulle netting finishes it off with a dramatic touch. Happy with this one…

– “Analusian Pink” Fascinator

I made some bead stacks that stick up along the top. You just have to get the right sizes so the stack stays strong and pull a little tighter on the thread, making sure you knot off every time.