Whatever Weekend – Shoes and Tattoos!

Today, I fell in love.

With these:

 

Gipsy Dharma has some of the most beautiful, handmade, leather, festival-style boots I’ve ever seen!

I’ve wanted a pair of boots like this for years now, as the hubs and I frequent our local Scarborough Faire, and see handmade shoes like this on the regular. It doesn’t hurt that I secretly want to be a fairy. (Shh…) I’m also a lover of shoes that keep me close to barefoot, which is hard to find in a boot. If you’re curious about why going barefoot is so good, check out this link. As for me, I’ve always enjoyed going barefoot, and continue to do it for health reasons (as someone with FMS, it’s important to me to walk consciously to put less strain on my body,) but I am a girl, after all, and this girl loves her shoes! Could it get any better than custom-made by hand?

The designer is based in the UK, but she’s obviously accustomed to selling internationally. There’s no shortage of detailed info on her shoes and clothing, including measuring and sizing tips to help you avoid returns. She’s also eco-conscious, which, of course, I appreciate, and her customers are clearly very happy!

In other news, I’ve found a great tattoo artist who I’d like to do a tattoo I’ve had in mind for years now. Her name is Shanti (which means “peace” in Sanskrit, in case you were wondering,) and she specializes in Art Nouveau style. My idea is somewhat general right now – a celebration of life garden with specific flowers to represent specific loved ones and important events in my life, placed on my hip, and wrapping around to my lower back. I have plenty of notes on possible flowers, and would love a swirly, Art Nouveau style background to tie it all together. So, I need an artist with a good sense of botanical work, and I also want bold, rich color, and after looking at some of Shanti’s portfolio, I’m confident she’ll be able to provide just that. Look at this beautiful Iris (a cover-up, no less.) The color variation and attention to detail really drew me in.

 

I’m excited to work on sketching out some designs and meet with Shanti after I’ve saved up enough money to sit through at least an hour-long session!

Share the Love,

Chelsea

Whatever Weekend – I Turned Into A Fairy (Who’s Scandalously In Love With A Pirate)

Tom and I went to the ren faire yesterday and made lots of friends! Who doesn’t want to be friends with a fairy and a handsome pirate?

Here’s how my wings turned out:

My little wings! I took off some of the greenery, and replaced the elastic arm bands with wide brown satin ribbon. Much more comfy.

The final costumes:

Not to get too country on you, but is this what "buttin' a stump" means?

A coveted picture with Twig the fairy:

Her wings and costume are magnificent! I tried cellophane on mine, but couldn't get it to work. I'll definitely have to try again.

We ate renaissance pizza and baklava, and Tom drank all the rum.

I bought a sweet mini-parasol with scalloped edges and a hand-painted cherry blossom design. If anyone knows a way to water proof rice paper, let me know! I also bought a walking stick made of cedar from a man named Cedar (I’m not kidding. He lives totally off the grid in Oregon.) You can see both of them in the picture with Twig.

Tom and I both got henna designs this time – it’s usually something I do to relax while he walks around. For those of you who don’t know what henna is, it’s a natural plant-based dye used in Asia and the middle East. The paste is greenish, applied through a small tip, which dries on your skin. When you remove it, the stain of the design is left behind in a rich, terra cotta color. Mendhi is the art of henna, creating intricate designs on the hands and feet for everyday, but especially big events like weddings. It looks like this:

Tom's mandala design. I got a lotus design on my foot.

The designs have been Americanized, and henna is now an alternative to temporary tattoos, since the stain usually lasts one to three weeks.

We walked our butts off and watched the joust, the royal court dance, and acts like bellydancing, whip crackers, pub singers, and joked with the roving faire characters. When we just couldn’t walk anymore (plus, the faire was closing) we took the long trek out to the car and made the long ride back home, where we soaked our feet and watched an episode of ye olde Bones.

I hope you all had a great weekend!

Share the Love,
Chelsea

Whatever Weekend – New Blog! And Other Random Stuff We’re Doing.

Hi everyone! It’s a beautiful, sunny Saturday here in Texas, and I have plenty to keep me busy.

First is a new blog: http://patientsvoicewhocares.blogspot.com/. It’s a combined effort between my aunt, my mom and me. We’re writing about our (and others’) experiences in healthcare: what went wrong, what went right, and things you can do as a patient, friend, or caregiver to make a situation a little easier. When you visit, be sure to take part in our survey to the right of the page – “How do you feel about your current doctor/specialist?”

Next, I’ve been trying my hand at painting, which I’ve always enjoyed, but it’s never been my art of choice. I was asked by a pregnant friend if I would paint letters (that spell out her baby’s name) to match the nursery. He has a vintage sports themed nursery, so I copied the style of the bedding to match:

Letter painting attempt numero uno!

After posting this picture on Facebook, two more of my pregnant friends asked if I would paint some for them! I figured the letters could be my baby gifts to them, so I’m working on a Texas Rangers themed set (6 letters) for a friend who’s due any day now. The other couple decided to wait on letters until their little girl can decide what she wants on her own. The momma got an IOU and a nursing necklace at her baby shower. 🙂

In other news, I have some housecleaning to do. Boring.

I’ve also been working on our costumes for the ren faire next weekend! The base of my fairy costume is complete, and the wings are halfway done. I’ve still yet to find cello wrap for a decent price. I may have to suck it up and go back for the $5 roll. Tom’s pirate costume is complete! (Unless we find something that will work as a cool vest.) I found unlined khaki color linen pants for about $4 at a thrift store, and a large women’s matching linen tunic for $3 at another thrift store. I cut the pants legs jaggedly just under the knee, and I’m going to muddy/stain them and the shirt. We added his black and white checkered bandana (it’s huge – turban sized – he got it in Afghanistan,) his own worn leather belt, a sash made from dark grey Halloween netting, and various pieces of jewelry like shell necklaces wrapped around his wrists, hoop earrings, extra rings, and a feather in his hair (made by – who else? Mom!) Plus, we have a fake “bottle o’ rum,” with a skull on it, and he has a wooden waster (sword.) It’s all about the details. Here’s what it all looks like now:

Things you'll find in a fairy's closet.

I don't think most pirates have closets ...

Oh! One more thing – this is a cool site to check out the walkability of your city/neighborhood: walkscore.com  Our city doesn’t rank very high, but our neighborhood is 80% walkable!

Hope you have a fatastic, safe, and relaxing weekend!

Share the Love,

Chelsea

Make It Monday – (Fairy) Makeup Magic

Okay, so, in case you didn’t know this about me, it’s Halloween in my head pretty much year round. 🙂 I love costume design and makeup (warning – I’m not an expert!) so I love the freedom of expression Halloween promotes. This week, Tom and I decided we’re going to Scarborough Faire, the renaissance festival in Waxahachie, again this year. We’ve been several times, but don’t get to go every year because of time and money constraints. We also decided to do something we haven’t done yet, and that’s dress the part! This is a pretty last-minute decision, so we’re working with what we have. I’m going to be a faerie, and Tom’s going to go either Celtic or pirate, we haven’t decided yet.

Now, I understand if you’re not into dressing up for renaissance festivals, or even Halloween, but it’s a great hobby to have if you’re looking for an something artsy to do in your free time, or if you’re looking for a project to keep your kids busy. I’ve found some amazing tutorials on making wings, doing makeup, and costuming, so I just thought I’d share my faerie costume with you guys!

This is the dress I’m going to use for the base of the costume:

I stole it from Tinkerbell's closet. She'll never notice - she's got a million of 'em!

I lucked out and found this at a thrift store. Of course, it was instantly in plans for a costume. I’ll probably add some fabric pieces cut from scarves around the waist and hem to create more dimension and give it a flowy, ethereal feel that’s indicative of the Renaissance period.

Then, I’m going to find some large leaves (hopefully at the dollar store!) to create a waist cincher. I’ll also need smaller leaves and/or flowers for my hair, which I’ll wear in a messy updo – it’s going to be warm – and maybe some little forest friends, like bugs or butterflies.

Obviously, I’ll need some wings! This is one of the better tutorials I’ve found:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6YAUxeopgNw

I think I’ll make mine smaller so that they don’t get in the way of all the fun to be had at the faire.

There are TONS of fairy makeup tutorials to choose from, but I think this one by kandeejohnson is great because you can modify it to match your outfit:

http://www.youtube.com/user/kandeejohnson#p/search/4/pjqLqJbgars

I have plenty of gold and green makeup that I could use, but I haven’t decided how sparkly I want to be. Earthy or sparkly? Decisions, decisions.

Anyway, that’s my inspiration for the costume! I’ll post pics of the finished product and do a real tutorial.

Share the Love,

Chelsea