Officially!

I was officially 30 weeks pregnant as of last Wednesday...

The Burly Q Babies Burlesque and Cabaret show is officially booked for June 27th at The Martini Bar...

I will be officially putting in my notice to move tomorrow...

I have my first fluish/cold thingie since I've been pregnant and as it took over 7 1/2 months I believe that is officially the longest I've ever gone without getting a case of the sniffles...

I can officially say that church rummage sales on a Saturday morning are the best and cheapest flea markets ever and I always love them...

and...I am officially and obviously, blindly carrying on with these new random posts and I can say for sure that I'm not sure why, or when this all may go back to normal if ever. At least you can be grateful of the fact that I don't seem to be as much of a sorry sack as I was last week.

Picture: Feather fascinator and red flower pasties. I know I know...what's that got to do with anything ....nothing silly.

Cracking!

In the next couple of months I will be producing a burlesque show, moving to a new apartment and then topping it off by giving birth. These are all things I feel like I can handle I'd just really prefer they weren't all happening at once. I was sort of forced into producing this show and as much as I know it will be great and a lot of fun, I would avoid all production work if I could. The move is also not so bad, cheaper rent, bigger kitchen (for baking!!!), I will still have a small studio to teach in, all good things but it's really shagging up my ability to nest. I am a nester by nature anyway and of course that instinct is now being compounded by being close to 30 weeks pregnant. I will survive and I have to say I find a lot of joy in packing things away in boxes for some reason so I'm hoping that will help keep me satiated. It just would have been nice to do a little pregame decorating. I'm not going to get into the pro and cons of birth because well that just doesn't seem to be a good idea does it? I guess the point of this post has been just to vent. I've been feeling more then a bit stressed and panicky and haven't been able to relieve this knot in my chest so if burdening the blog land peeps will help then so be it!

Picture: Hula girl pasties and fascinator. Inspired by my love of Hula Girls and my own Hula burlesque routine. Even though we all know I'm not going to take off my coconuts I guess I'd just like to see you do it :)

Letting go

I'm looking to find ways to let go and no I don't really mean relax. How do you let go control over things that you have no control over anyway? Typing that out makes it sound rather redundant.

I worry about the baby, about my choices, about how everyone seems to have an opinion about how things should be done and I'd much rather it was the same as mine...at least when it comes to carrying, birthing and raising a child. I have to say I think this is something I'm normally pretty good at. I believe it takes all kinds of opinions and people to make the world go round. I'm normally not bad at seeing the other side and never needing to bring you on to my team. Saying that, since I am now magically and bizarrely two people at once and all those motherly protecting my young instincts have kicked in, I'm having a much harder time when the world and I don't see eye to eye. I know that this will always be the case and maybe it's more about not feeling supported while I'm making such important decisions.

So for now I'm searching for my mommy zen...it's no where to be found right now but I'm sure it will pop up somewhere.

Picture: White Flower pasties. These unrelated pictures are making me feel a little insane but they are probably the best way to represent my life right now...so completely at odds with it self.

Practicing

Patience, self awareness, Buddhism, yoga, empathy, compassion, kindness....

There are so many things that I believe belong in my day along side breakfast and brushing my teeth but somehow I have so much more trouble implementing them.

Picture: Sequin Pasties with blue feathers. I own and have made so many sets of these but getting to see me in them is like getting a glimpse of a once thought extinct animal, not entirely impossible but extremely unlikely.

Good Morning!

After a long night of techno music pumping through the floor in the bedroom I am miraculously rather bright eyed and bushy tailed this morning. The sun is pouring in the studio windows, the cats have each found a sun beam and I have the place all to myself, which if I'm honest I quite enjoy most of the time. It's mornings like this, when I will have my orange juice and english muffin on the patio, that I can really let everything go...even if it is just for the morning.

Picture: Flower fascinator and matching pasties. Not everything means something.

Things that make me happy

incense, fresh air, CBC radio, sheep, buttons, clean sheets, blank canvas, matching hangers, going out to eat, live music, paper dolls, old furniture, second hand stores, JO lying on my open book, pictures of people kissing, a good poet, wanting someone badly, finding things, stop motion, yoga, painting...........................

Picture: Pink Puff Pasties and Pink Button Fascinator on a hairband. Random yes but happy looking so somehow related. Bare with me people!

Here kitty kitty kitty

It's time! Anyone who has been following this blog in the last couple of weeks will be happy to hear that I'm counting down to the craft fair tonight! I've got five hours and everything is already packed up and ready to go just like the good obsessive little girl that I am. Besides all the clothing and general randomness that will be coming in with me you will also be able to sign up for burlesque workshops as well. I'll be holding a beginners class on March24 and a chair dancing class on the 31st!

Sadly the pasties above won't be for sale. They were made last month for Kocaine kitty and I felt bad that their cuteness hadn't been posted about yet. I love love love them and their hotness in action was unbearably sexy.

I hope to see you at the fair tonight, Sunday March 1st. I'll be in the Avalon Mall UNICEF Craft/Flea market and my table will be near the Eddie Bauer store. Wish me luck!

Cherries... Yum!

I made these for Delilah Desire for her milkshake routine at the last burlesque show. We didn't get to see them in action because they were more of a safety precaution then part of the act but I knew they were there behind the well placed prop. I really love these! I always love the custom pasties and it's so hard not to make a second pair for myself just to keep. I remind myself that it's nice to keep the custom pieces special and not have too many similar things floating around and then I don't mind the idea of giving them up so much.

Just chillin at home

If you were to just randomly ring my door bell you're most likely to find me lounging in an evening gown, resting my feet while my over dressed friend reads antique books...or maybe this was just a one time thing.

These pictures were taken by Jared Reid and I was trying to put together an image that represented how I'd like at least the fashion/clothing side of Gypsy Witch Studio to be seen. The studio and my work is hard to put into one category but I think I will slowly be able to have things seen and represented in a way that's cohesive and not too visually bi-polar.

P.S. If "evening gown" really means bath robe and "resting my feet" means working then that picture is exactly what I look like when I'm home in the middle of the day.

Come on people it's sparkly hearts!

These were in the pastie bin for awhile and for some reason I had never taken a picture or posted them. I never seem to be able to give sparkly pasties justice in a photo. Most likely because they are sitting under a lamp in the middle of the night when the pictures get taken.

While getting ready for the first ever BurlyQ Babies show the girls started putting in orders for pasties that matched their costumes or theme of their dance. One of the girls, Smokey Lane, was doing her first solo (Candy Man) and was wearing the cutest white fringed bra and panties ever. One of those outfits that works by itself, you just need to show up in it and shake it and there is no going wrong. Fringe is good on everything...fringe and icing! I've gotten a little off track... what I was trying to say was I knew I had just the right thing already tucked away and I must say that they looked much better on her then they ever did in the shoe box they were being stored in, oh my!

Everyone could use a pair.

It's a shame that this picture is so dark and you are not getting to enjoy the greatness that is a sequined pastie. I will for a moment let your mind wonder and imagine the lights hitting the stage and the glitter shine back at you... A little dramatic yes but I'm sure that more then one audience member felt that way when they saw these little babies in action on Ali Adaire.

A New Distraction

Do you remember a couple of years ago when all the posts where of paintings and crafts? I don't! A year or so ago burlesque took over ever nook and cranny of my spare time and up until a couple of weeks ago I was lucky if I got to post at all. So you would think I'd take some time to get back to my roots, focus on my craft, right? Nope not me! I took up belly dancing a couple of months ago and I can already feel is seeping into my work. It doesn't help that half the fun of belly dance is the great costumes, that you know I couldn't bare to buy, so I will be sewing up a storm even more often then before.

This top was a small men's white turtle neck sweater before it some how magically turned into a purple wrap top, how did that happen? The green bra underneath is a work in progress that I would like to cover completely in coins.

I'll leave this one up to you.

I don't think I need to say much about this. It's a bunny ear bonnet and bunny tail underwear to be worn together with a white corset. See! Like I said there is nothing left to say. You are already seeing this in your head and depending on who you are you are feeling a little dirty or laughing your ass off. Please also keep in mind figure skates are the foot wear of choice with this little number.

Satin Jail House Uniforms?

I don't know how it worked out that I ended up being the fresh faced innocent girl in the Headline Honeys Jail House routine, even though it did seem like the most logical choice at the time. Lately I'm feeling like the "bad one" of the group and that I might want to take a bit of a departure from the rosie cheeked girls next door I've gotten used to playing. I'm also having a bit of a hard couple of weeks so maybe I shouldn't jump to change too quickly.

The little number above was a black bra in it's original life but I needed a cute 1940's inspired top to wear with a pair of high waisted satin undies, under my jail house uniform of course, so I covered it in green satin and added a bow for extra girlishness.

For those of you who haven't seen the jail house dance I apologise if this whole thing was really confusing.

Oh Shiny!

I have a new thing for blue and I'm not sure where it's going. I started collecting light blue bits and pieces for costumes about six months ago and I now have many tiny bags of feathers, beads and ribbons. They have no real clear plan in store for them yet nor have they even decided if they even get along with one another but my need to bring all the little bits of blue together will I'm sure overcome this situation. The first of the finished pieces that has no purpose or home right now is this blue bra, that was just calling out to have beads put on it. I wonder if there is some sort of strange blue bird burlesque dance lurking underneath all these little bits of blue

Living in a dye vat frenzy!

I'm guessing I'm going to start kicking myself when there isn't a single white item left in the house, but as with most of my creative bursts this too will pass and make room for another temporary obsessive outbreak of some other kind. The waist cincher underwear came in a pack of two and I promised I'd leave the other one white, wish me luck. I imagine I'll keep dying gloves for as long as I need them because once you break away from the standard black, white and red gloves you can't ever go back.

Addictions!

So it looks like I am forming this new addiction. I tried it once about a month ago even though I'd never felt the need to do it before and now I can't stop. It was Innocent enough, small and pink. I thought what harm could it possibly do? But now they are everywhere, on everything and I can't live without them. Oh dam you bum ruffles dam you!

Old School

I was looking through the beautiful burlesque book Pretty Things and came across a bunch a pictures of performers dressed for their Boston or less risque versions of their performances. One of the women was wearing a small, round, pink pastie with a little button where her nipple would have been and I thought it would be the perfect fit for my fan dancing costume. I settled on making a heart shaped pastie due to the fact that I've got more to work with then the dear little thing that was wearing the tiny round ones in the book.

Ruffles for Everyone!

Original Bra: $15.97

Fuchsia Dye : $2.99

Fuchsia Thread: $ 1.75

Sequined Lace: $30.00

Ribbon: .50 Cents

Rhinestone Charm: $2.50

Having glittery ruffles all over my breasts: PRICELESS!!!!!!

I found the perfect pair of ruffle bummed underwear in the perfect shade of fuchsia but a girl can not go out in just her underwear, can she? My next performance is in a little over a week and I was starting to panic a little about what I was going to wear and everything I tried just wasn't working out. I'm normally way more frugal then this but I think the end result was worth it. I wish you could have seen my face when the girl rang in the lace purchase at fabricville and the tiniest little puddle of ruffles came up to $20. That was bad enough and then I ended up running out of the lace before I was finished and having to go back for more.

Swept up in the bump n grind

I know I know I'm not around as much as I used to be. I'm trying. I really am! It seems the more work I feel like I'm doing the less I have to post pictures of here. I can say for sure that there are many goodies being worked on here for craft sales and the like. I will be sure to post about them all. Of course there is always another dance to plan for. A Christmas show will be sneaking up on us in no time at all. In my blogging absence I have managed to get a few lovely things done. The best of which was that The Vaudeville for Daffodil show was a great success on all counts and a wonderful start to The Headline Honeys production career. Buttercream Babies was also represented at the show with not one crumb of cake left after intermission. One time that it's good to have nothing to show for all your hard work.

So I'm promising right now to slow down the burlesque train....just a little. Enough anyway to get some good crafting done and come back here to share it with you. I miss posting here all the time and I miss the crafting even more. I'll be back!!!