Bella was found on the doorstep of an orphanage in a tiny coffin shrouded with black lace….what a surprise for the nuns when they found the strange baby inside! The handwritten parchment note said simply “Bella Bara” in blood red ink.

Bella grew to be a odd girl, flapping around like a bat, avoiding the sun at all cost and insisting on watching Dracula at the cinema over and over, staring at the other children in a an oddly menacing Bela Lugosi-ish way that frightened them nearly to death. Bella was over the moon with joy when they showed old silent films of Theda Bara. She told all of her little friends she was a “Vamp”….they all just shook their heads and avoided poor Bella.

But somehow, Bella just knew she was the daughter of Bela Lugosi and Theda Bara…surely it must be true! Again, other orphans laughed and the nuns scolded Bella for such sinful imaginings.

Finally Bella could bear it no longer….she put on her nicest black velvet frock and climbed out of the window and down the old rose bush, and ran off into the night to find her real parents. She walked in the lovely cool moonlight, so excited to find her fortune at last….but soon, the moon dropped low in the sky and the sun began to rise. There was nowhere for Bella to hide.  Her mystery may never be solved, and the nuns have forbidden the other children to speak of Bella ever again….but the all know the truth of the tale, the poor orphaned half-vampire girl knew just who her parents were after all.

What an amazing group of artists….i am so happy and privileged to be a part of the magic….i am still reeling from it all!

Click HERE to see tons more photos from last Friday’s Columbia Alternacirque show. Thanks to Joshua Beard for the beautiful photography!

xoxoxo

It’s been a mad week….friday night i have an Alternacirque performance and we’ve been rehearsing our bums off….i am totally feeling the Cirque spirit! I’ve been sewing and creating and workinglike a happy bee in preparation to set up my vending table at a wonderful Bellydance/Sideshow arts workshop on saturday to boot! The days are flying by, but i had to stop for a moment to say hello and let you know what i’ve been up to!

I made this fun scrap fabric cuff , “The Ringmistress”…..

i love the vintage buttons so much!

Also, my immersion in cirque has inspired the creation of a new dollie…..

Meet Elle and Nannette, Belles of the Side Show!

Their parents were ever so protective of their special girls,  never wanting them to be seen in public, and kept them safely locked up away from prying eyes. But Elle and Nannette knew they were special in a way that they wanted to share with everyone, and longed to travel the world and live a life of wonderment. Putting their heads together, they devised a plan..to run away and join the Circus!

The girls had a marvelous time,  meeting all kinds of people and seeing the world. They were such sweethearts, everyone loved them and they enjoyed themselves immensely, never taking a single magical moment for granted. Unfortunately, while making it’s way across the the French countryside, the Circus train derailed and all were lost in the terrible crash, but rumor has it that the young ladies were joyful drinking champagne and laughing with the clowns and fire eaters right up to the very end.

Hoping you are all having a marvelous day!

xoxox

Fabric cuffs are one of my favorite things to make….i love to stitch them, i love to wear them…..i love that they only take small scraps and pieces of this and that to make something lovely and unique……

“Treasure Hiding” cuff(also the title of one of the most beautiful Cocteau Twins songs…swoon)….

Treasures can be hiding in lost and forgotten textiles….Maroon velvet recycled from a thrifted small girls dress, lace rescued from old torn up vintage slips that are too far gone to use for anything but scraps, black frog loop closures from an old blouse, and  embellished with hand stitched pearls and buttons. Who imagined those old useless leftovers could come together and have a new life of adornment.

It’s soft and lovely, and seems full of stories to me. Who wore that little velvet party dress. Was she a little girl that hated scratchy uncomfortable dresses with those slippery patent leather mary janes and frilly socks? Or was she less of a tom boy, loving that fancy dress, spinning and dancing around the party like a living doll….

“Sweet Tea and Skeleton Key”….again, small scraps transform when you put them all together. A piece of a vintage drapery, some little bits of lace that i dyed in tea….

Stitched all together with buttons, ribbons, pearls and an antique key…i try to envision what door that key once unlocked and what might have gone on in that imaginary room i have conjured in my head.  A mad belle? A spinster with a cobwebbed wedding cakes? A medium holding seances? A closet full of skeletons?

I wish i lived in a house that had doors that could only be opened with skeleton keys!

What adornments are you adoring today?

xoxo

So a Doll maker, a Mad Scientist and his Igor team up to make life sized dolls…..shenanigans ensue….

Just popping in to to share a couple  shots from the March Alternacirque Steampunk show…..they make me giggle! I love working with this crew. Next show is coming up soon, hooray!!!!

xoxoxo

Cynthia was so excited when she found out she’d be getting her photo made! She tended to be a vain girl, always flirting with other girl’s beaux and flaunting her pretty lace dresses. A photograph would forever capture her beauty and charm, and the photographer was such a handsome man even if he WAS married and ever so much older than she…she made up her mind to steal him from his odd frumpy wife.

Of course her wily ways worked like a  charm, and the photographer fell head over heels for the beautiful frisky young “lady”…. forgetting all his vows and promises to his poor little wife. Off they ran, to Paris, leaving wife, photography shop and old life behind….

What they did not know was that the photographer’s wife was a witch, and hell hath no fury like a scorned witch! She gathered all the photos of Cynthia and chanted a dreadful curse over them, that Cynthia’s soul would slowly be drawn into the sepia likenesses, that she would fade and age just as the photos did. The witch-wife left the box of photos in the darkest, dampest part corner of the abandoned shop and very soon, the rain and the rats and the dark beasties that live in shadowy corners of places abandoned by love took their toll on both the photos and poor little Cynthia. Her skin took on a faded tone, her gowns all became brownish and musty, and before long,  the photographer felt no passion for this pale listless creature. Very soon, she wasted away entirely. Before the very end, she felt very very sorry for her bad behavior, alas, it was too late.

Always remember to be good, little girls!

xoxoxo

They say you never forget how to ride a bike once you learn…maybe that is true. The same CANNOT be said of blogging, however! I was reading back over past post and marveling at how once upon a time i had so much to write about each and every day!  After my blog-break, i just never could get back into the swing of it…and that makes me sad! I know i always say i will do better this time, but THIS time, i really mean it!

It’s not as tho’ i don’t have plenty of things going on…i am still making stuff and having a fantastic time working with the Columbia Alternacirque…still bellydancing and  having wonderful little adventures like attending TribalCon and taking a fabulous workshop with Zoe Jakes, still having the occasional catastrophe (Buying our house! Termites! Shingles! Life-Changes Galore! Wheeee!) I guess i just closed myself up in my little bubble and stopped communicating. Will try harder.  I swear! So here we go…today is the first post of the rest of my life. Har.

First of all, the Alternacirque opening performance was awesome and we persevered in spite of bad weather, a nasty case of Shingles and Scarlet Fever. I so wish i had photos to share, but i went alone,  so i did not have anyone to be my photography bitch for the evening. Next show i promise to have photos, because the costumes are amazing and it’s SUCH a cool act. We went with a steampunk theme, very creepy and amazing. I play a dollmaker that teams up with a mad scientist to create life-sized living, dancing dolls. So fun! My character has to carry around a basket of dollies that i am trying, constantly and with NO success, to sell to my castmates. So, i had to make some little dead girls for the show, of course!

This is Miss Scarlette Fever….so named when we discovered that our director did indeed have a case of scarlet fever, and i just had to do it.  My sick sense of humor remains intact. Everyone keeps asking me if i’ll make one to commemorate my super-awesome bout with shingles, but frankly i’d like to forget all about that unpleasant experience, thankyouverymuch!

And here is little Molly Malaria…so many mosquitoes  tend to bite a girl when one hangs around in the swamp too long, and you certainly can be sucked nearly completely dry……  and eventually Molly succumbed to the terrible fever and massive bloodloss. RIP, Molly!

There are a few others, but i am saving them another post

I am also still in love with slips….

Fun with freezer paper stencils again, using that wonderful bird woman image! It is killing me that i am not sure who the original artist of the papercut is…i thought it came from Ulla, but it turns out that it’s not…. I want to credit the proper person but my attempts to find out who it is have been unsuccessful. I do so love it, tho’!

I sewed on tons of extra lace trims and embellished it with an antique skeleton key and a  faux pearl from a vintage necklace…fancy!

Of course, i am still crankin’ out the old standards, too….soaps and candles make me happy!

So there you have it…..my first wobbling attempt to get back on the old bike, ummm, i mean BLOG.  I did miss it, and i hope everyone in blog-land is well and wonderful, as always!

xoxoxo

I’m packing up for a marvelous adventure,

A place full of beautiful exotic creatures,

They will be dressed in all sorts of lovely costumes, adorned with sparking, jingling gems and baubles, with flowers in their hair…

I will shimmy and undulate with them, laugh with them, spin and learn and play…

I am leaving for TribalCon today! Hooray!

(The “Little Dead Bellydancer” graciously posing for this post is  a portrait dolly that my wonderful instructor Natalie Brown commissioned. More on HER adventures later….for now, i must finish packing up my goodies and get to Atlanta! Wheeeeee!)

xoxoxo

Have you ever visited the beautiful Ullabenulla blog? It’s truly a place of wonders and inspiration galore! A while back, i found an amazing silhouette that i could not resist…it called to me and sang a song of stenciling…

I am going away on an adventure soon and i needed something comfy to wear, so i delved into my teeshirt drawer and pulled out an old one. It was worn and soft, but completely lacking any cuteness. The birdlady  knew she belonged there, to accompany me on my little journey.

An old old shirt becomes new and and wonderful! Freezer paper is magical stuff! It’s so easy to work with, and i am really enjoying getting back to simpler crafts in between the big, elaborate long-term projects i have going on. Freezer paper stencilling fits the bill perfectly.

So does Mod Podge!

Some pretty, cheeky new icon candles  for Valentine’s Day!  Another long-forgotten craft that filled my day with low-maintenance joy.

I hope your day is filled with low-maintenance joy too!

xoxo

Oh dear…is it REALLY February already? Time does fly!

All is well in the buttonbox….i’ve been busy doing this that and the other, but i have been very lax in photographing it and sharing it. In my efforts to get back in the habit of blogging, i will share my progress on a vintage slip that i’ve been playing with for a while now…

It’s still not finished…i am still trying to decide where to put the various embellishment pieces…alot of pinning, un-pinning, moving, and re-pinning going on. Hoping to have it all done by Valentine’s day, and to have it properly photographed on a real live model! It’s all very exciting, but alittle nerve-wracking as well!

As you can see, it’s craziness as usual around here!

I hope everyone is well and wonderful….and i hope i can keep on posting here l bit more consistently! Spring is coming, Cirque season is quickly approaching and  will have all kinds of fun tales to share. Think steampunk, little dead dollies, fire tricks and bellydancing ! Wheeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee! Life is grand!

xoxoxo