A chilly and Faire day. (Costume reveal!)

Sorry for the belated post! I’ve been sick for the past week or so with some kind of super cold/sinus infection combo, and I’m just starting to feel like myself again.

Tom and I made it out to Scarborough Ren Fest on 4/5, and it was the coldest, wettest Scarby experience we’ve had yet. I’m not going to lie – we were huddled together and sipping on hot coffee and tea most of the time. We were dressed for warmer weather, but you just can’t rely on Texas to stay in season for too long at a time.

We got lots of compliments on our costumes, and were even photographed by total strangers! Here’s how they turned out:

Super Shaman!

Skye the Dragon Faerie

My headdress and scales

Making friends.

Guarding the dragons.

When we realized how cold it was going to be, we rushed to add some warmer elements to our costumes, like the sheep skin Tom is wearing on his back. The night before, I cut strips of cloth to hand sew to a rug we already own, so that he could slip it on like a backpack. He wore long johns under his peasant pants, too, since the fabric my mom used to make them is pretty thin. I wore leggings under my skirt, and I bought some tall socks at the dollar store on our way to the festival to cut into arm warmers for both of us. I, ahem, had to buy a very pretty velvet shawl as it got colder to help keep my upper body warm, which I ended up gifting to my mom at the end of the day.

I also bought some yummy smelling Fresh Peach perfume oil from Majikah Perfumery, which I love because it’s not alcohol based, and is chemical-free! I also found a dainty, hand-carved wooden wand to go with my fairy costume. We had good food, ran into old friends, and had an overall good time, but headed home early when the drizzle became rain, and the chill became downright cold. Maybe we’ll be able to go again when the weather warms up!

Gentle hugs,

Chels

 

Shamans and Fairies, Oh My! (an update on our Scarborough Costumes)

So, we picked up our tickets for Scarborough Ren Fest last weekend, and we’re planning on making it to opening day (for the first time!) this weekend. I’ve been working hard on finishing our costumes, and, fortunately, my mom agreed to make Tom’s peasant pants, so I could concentrate on the other stuff.

Now, they’re not your typical renaissance festival costumes, exactly. Tom is going as a shaman/green man combo, and I’m going as a dragon fairy. There are nods to renaissance attire, but they’re in no way meant to be historically accurate.

I finished Tom’s “breastplate” (for lack of a better word.) It went from this:

… to this:

I embroidered Nordic designs onto a pleather-y fabric (it’s felted on the back, which I hope will be comfortable for him to wear all day.) There are runic compasses, symbols for guiding you to a specific outcome or trait, and a border design I found online. I’ve hand sewn on faux fur trim, and leather fringe and trim, and added moss and acrylic paint for a lived-in look.

I also made antlers/horns from Sculpey clay to add to his headdress. I painted the antlers with various colors of acrylic paint, and sealed with Mod Podge. Then, I attached them to their own cord to be worn underneath the band of the headdress, which I cut holes into for the antlers to “grow” out of.

I tried out some makeup looks for my dragon fairy costume yesterday:

I plan on dyeing my hair purple before Saturday, hence the purple eyebrows. I still need some practice with using fishnets to produce a “scale” effect on my skin, but I like the way the colors coordinate with the headdress.

To view more photos of our costume pieces, go to this post. You’ll find more of my fairy costume, and some other in progress and inspiration pics!

Gentle hugs,

Chelsea

Are you going to Scarborough Faire?

Click to visit SRFestival.com

Next month begins one of my favorite times of year – the time we get to go to Scarborough Renaissance Festival in Waxahachie, TX!

This year, the hubs and I are dressing up. (In past years, we’ve dressed in costume, but not every year.) My guy’s going with a green man/wild man vibe, and I’m finishing up the dragon fairy costume I started making a couple of years ago.

Here’s the hub’s inspiration:

Luckily, between my mom and I, we happen to have a plethora of furry and leather trims and fabrics to use. I’ve made a couple of “found object” necklaces with things I had lying around. Now, I’m working on creating a headdress.

I didn’t want to pay for a bird skull, so I created one from some black Sculpey and whitewashed it.

Wire wrapped beads and arrowheads on leather cord make manly, rustic jewelry.

Here’s my costume so far:

My version of a rag skirt, with silk, taffeta, tulle, lace, and other fabrics. It has a bit of a bustle in the back to allude to a “tail.”

I’m also finishing a little choli vest to wear (and secure the wings,) and a matching utility belt for the essentials. I can’t wait to test the makeup! I’m going to try to create “scales” using fishnets as a stencil.

Reversible cropped vest with lace up front and sides.

Follow our Costume List Pinterest board for more inspiration on these and other costumes we plan on creating! 

Click this makeup inspiration image to go to our Pinterest board.

Are you dressing up for a fair or festival this year? Share in the comments!

Gentle hugs,

Chels

Too tired to write. Here are some pictures for you.

We had a good (exhausting) time at Scarborough Faire yesterday:

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Gentle hugs,

Chels

 

Hi, I’m a geek.

My husband likes to work out. I mean, he reeeeallly likes to work out. He lifts rocks and logs and scales walls and things like that, and it give him this crazed satisfaction.

I make stuff. All kinds of stuff, but especially costuming (cosplay) and making props and acessories give me the same type of crazed satisfaction.

Tom and I are going on our yearly trip to the local ren faire, Scarborough Faire, at the end of this month. When I checked the site for special events, imagine my elation when I read there’s going to be a costume contest! Not just any renaissance costume contest, though, but a time traveler costume contest. This means anything from Dr. Who to steampunk time traveler. Now, I love Victorian and Edwardian style, but I’ve never really done anything steampunk, though I’ve admired it from afar (drooling.)

So, that’s what I decided to go with, because I’m crazy and I like a challenge. So far, I’ve made my skirt, a couple of pairs of goggles, a mini tophat, put together our outfits, and started on some weapon props and a wearable time machine.

If you’d like to learn how to make the mini tophat, you can check out my other blog, Buy Me Love. It’s all there, with pictures and a step-by-step tutorial.

If you just want to oggle my goggles (I couldn’t resist,) here’s some DIY eye candy for you:

Mini Tophat

 

Baubles and beads on the back of the tophat.

 

Guns and goggles!

 

Tom's time machine repair goggles.

 

Tom's costume. I changed the buttons, and added a heart at the breast of the vest.

 

For quick, inexpensive costumes, using mostly things we already had around the apartment, I don’t think they’re half bad. We hit up my favorite thrift stores to find the skirt I’m using, his scarf and belt, went to the dollar store for swimming goggles, and Wal Mart for the knockoff “Nerf” guns. All in all, we spent less than $25. The rest of the stuff we found in our toolboxes and my and my mom’s craft rooms. (For instance, the “bolts” on the goggles are actually furniture tacks with the tack cut off. Tom did that part.) Believe it or not, the tophat is a plastic cup and a circle of wire covered in fabric. I can’t wait to wear it all to the faire! I’ll post pictures of the finished costumes later.

Gentle hugs,

Chels