More pictures

I was just forwarded a couple of shots this week of myself and my booth at the Vampire Ball, from one of the roving photographers:





They were taken by Kiki Nelson of Naked Tree Photography. Her website isn't up yet, it will be soon, hopefully, filled with more wonderful images!

Pictures from the Ball

I was just forwarded the digital proofs taken by the wonderful folks from Domestic Bliss Photography a couple of weeks ago at the Vampire Ball in Portland. And wow. I feel pretty.





They were wonderful to work with, and the shots are amazing. And it's very nice to have a good set of pictures of my outfit, which is a rarity.

A scarcity of posting

The official word from the doctor is tendonitis in my left forearm. I have horsepill anti-inflammatories to take for the next 30 days, and a physical therapy appointment on Monday.

Between that and the laptop going off for repair, and also two major events in the next two weekends, the annual Vampire 's Masquerade Ball in Portland, Oregon followed immediately by Norwescon, things will be a little thin here for a bit. But don't worry, I'll be back! There will be reports to be made of places conquered and people met to come, I promise!

A Year in the Making, day 199

Some of you may remember I'd posted about a set I made where I accidentally "stole" a bead from my daughter. Well, I finally returned her bead to her, as I found a replacement pendant for the set this week!

Clear Faceted Glass Necklace and Earrings



I'm also playing around with some different backgrounds, a few different sheets of scrapbook paper I picked up today while we were stocking the munchkin up on craft supplies.

And a new set for the day, more Swarovski crystals. Have I mentioned before how much I love them? No? Well, really yes, I know. But I have to keep saying it. I am a magpie girl.

Sweetheart Romantic Fuchsia Swarovski Heart Earrings



I also began, and the husband finished (which is how a lot of these projects go) repainting a stand a friend found for me. I've been needing something on which to display my pouches at shows.



Here's how it looked originally, covered in glitter:



You know the saying about glitter, right?



Just in the 10 minute drive home after picking it up, it completely infected the back of my van. Poor van! It's had two turns with the shop vac and there's still some sparkle left. I sanded as much of the glitter off as I could, and then the husband primed it:



And then he painted it nice and black for me:



The stand will have its premiere with me next weekend at Portland's Vampire Ball:



That's six days from now! Eep!

A Year in the Making, day 150

Today, I worked on the dress I'm planning on wearing when I vend at this year's Vampire Ball. I found this dress, a vintage Gunne Sax wedding dress, at a thrift store a few weeks ago. It was a bit worse for wear, so ripe for alteration, yes? I added a slit in front, finished the slit with some nubbly trim from the stash, then put it in a black RIT dyebath. It's always a mystery how these dresses will react to the dye. I had two dresses once, that according to their labels were the same fabrics, that came out two completely different colors. One was more purple, the other bluer.

This one turned out a wonderful smokey lavender shade, with the lace turning a charcoal grey. The pearls and the trim I added stayed white.



Of course looking at this picture, my very first thought was "Good god, I need to redye my hair! Look at my roots!" Vanity, thy name is Goth.

I put together another bracelet today while babysitting the dyebath. I've had these beads for years. I fell in love with them at a gem show and spent entirely too much money for them, and haven't ever used them because I spent so much money on them. Silly kitty. They're discs of faceted smokey quartz that have been electroplated with an aurora borealis finish, truly stunning beads.

Aurora Borealis Electroplated Faceted Smokey Quartz Bracelet