First off, I plan to be around a bit more.  Today was the official First Day of being self-employed full-time–no more part time gig to fall back on!  No more hours spent doing things that are, quite frankly, deadly dull.  No more wishing I was home, sewing.

Now for the panic.

Noooo.  I’ll be fine.  Pass me that paper bag, would ya?

I’ve been sewing, tearing, ripping, painting and dyeing my little heart out for the past week.  I’m working on costumes for an upcoming Halloween shoot with AHB Hair and Make up.  We shoot Thursday!

First up, Voodoo Queen from the swamp.  I first made a beautiful gown and underskirt–mismatched on purpose, as a voodoo queen living in the swamp probably doesn’t buy matching gowns.  In fact, she probably takes what she can get.  So, after sewing it all up, brand new and lovely, it looked like this:

The material for the overdress is actually a home decor fabric that I’ve been hoarding for years.  I purchased it with the express intent of making this very type of dress.  The tatted apron/draped portion of the skirt was made by my grandmother.  It’s stained and torn, but I’ve kept it around, knowing I’d come up with something some day to do with it–and that day finally came!

Since this character lives in the swamp….well, she couldn’t be too clean, could she?  So, it was with an aching heart (and, lets be honest, a little bit of glee) that I set to the dress with dye, fabric paint, scissors and a cheese grater.  Hours later:

I’m extremely proud of the outcome.  I’d have to put this in my top 5 favorites of all time that I’ve created.  I really cannot wait for the shoot!

I still have some accessories to create–some necklaces and hair bits.

This will be up for sale after the shoot, and I’ll be offering it as a custom order, as well (though I’ll never be able to re-create it exactly).

What do you think?