Getting Your Act Together Means Being Able to Find Your Music!

Before, a forlorn CD bookshelf, shared with the family, and oveflowing with CD's of all types.  When I get ready for gigs, I stand there thinking, "Somewhere in there is my music.  Somewhere . . ."

After, oh, about 10 years of dancing, I have quite a few numbers I have performed.  For each, there is a single CD (labelled appropriately); but, the problem is that they were all mixed in with my "listening music."  I couldn't find them quickly.  And, when a show mandates that my music be LESS than a certain time limit, finding "just the right music" is daunting.

After, saved by a shoebox and some index cards.*  Fancy, eh?  All I did was put my music all in one spot.  They were already (mostly) in paper sleeves to ID them as show music.  A quick run through allowed me to put the ones in sleeves that were not all ready in them, sort them by duration (less than 3 minutes, less than 4 minutes, etc.)  AND, it allowed me to pull aside the ones that were actually (gasp!) ROUTINES!  Being retentive, I did put them in order of length, shortest to longest within each category.

And in front, you will find the little CD cases I made with a label on them to make transport more secure.

And yes, for all you geeks out there wondering about my sort by time method, I was, in fact, channeling this:

*Well, at least my performance music is saved.  The rest will require another day.  ;)

The Difference Between “Organized” and “Pretty”

Someday, people will begin to realize that the media distorts a healthy perspective of what it means to be “organized,” almost as badly as they distort what it means to be “healthy.”  There are entire industries around organization, who, in their attempt to turn a profit, convince you that you are NOT organized unless you buy their system, use their tools, and read their books and watch their shows.

When you don’t, for whatever reason, you may feel depressed.  That you are supposed to have things just so, photo spread ready, so that the infamous Martha Stewart looks upon your attempts and pronounces it a “Good Thing.”  (If she still does that any more.)

I had to come to my own little nirvana that says that it is NOT important if your boxes are all of the same manufacture and style, it is NOT important if they are labeled in Chancery Italic font, it DOES NOT matter if they are not the same color . . .

What matters is that you can find things, and that things have a place to go.

Let me reiterate that: The only way to declare you are organized is if you (and you are the one that matters) can find things when you need them.

When I cleaned up my craft space, I waited until I had given a LOT of thought about what was and wasn’t working for me in my “system” of finding things.  I had fabric in bins.  I had papers detailing what fabric was in each bin.  I had bins of yarn.  I had .  . . stuff everywhere.

So, after some thought, I realized how *I* thought of my fabric.  There were these few, simple categories:

• Fabric leftovers from costumes I had made
• Fabric that I knew exactly how I wanted to use in a future costume
•  Linings and filler fabrics
• Fabric that I wanted to keep, but I wasn’t exactly sure how to use
• Fabrics that I could part with

The first four types went into bins, each paired with a bin that fit the amount of fabric on hand.  (It did not matter that the color or style of bin make a theme, that is what labels are for!)  The last bit was turned into an excuse to meet up with friends, let them pick through what they wanted while we visited, and then the rest went to Goodwill.

The bins were unceremoniously moved to the unconditioned part of the attic, after being padded with silica gel packets.  I know some of you are crying out at that one, seeing as how I live in a region battered by two straight weeks of 100+ degree heat; but, you know, if the fabric suffers then it wouldn’t hold up on stage.  It was more important to be able to USE my sewing room to sew than to use if for storage.  So there. 

This theme continued.  I sort by how I think of things.

Little boxes hold groups of like items.

 Open baskets hold ribbons, vaguely organized by color.

Cabinets hold loose things that could spill out and over if not contained by doors. (Top shelf, patterns I made. Mid shelf, patterns I bought.  Bottom shelf, elastic on the left, bin of random in bags in the middle, Velcro on the right.)

Close up of the random bags, where each baggie holds trimmings that will be used in future projects.  There are bags of short bits of elastic, ribbon, cord, etc., all slightly sorted by light or dark color.

Having lived with this for a few weeks, it is working for me.  By that, I mean I spend a LOT more time sewing because a) I don’t have to fret about the piles surrounding me, b) I can find what I need to work on any given project, and c) I have learned a very important lesson about being organized:

You don’t need fancy, color-coordinated “systems” to be organized.  You only need two things:  1) permission to put things together the way you and only you think about them, 2) containers of any variety that group them.

Now, let’s sew something pretty, ok?

Making Big Projects Seem Smaller

A while back, I wrote about some of the things my day job taught me that I wanted to apply to my costume making. At work, we use the "backlog" system to help take big projects and rationalize what needs to be done when. So, I started applying that to my projects. I made a table that looks something like this:

1. I list up to three projects that I really want to finish in the first column. More than that and anyone would go mad!

2. For each project, I list what I need to do in very simple terms. Example:

a. choose bra cups

b. build side panels

c. build straps

d. cut covering fabric

e. apply covering fabric

f. embellish cups

g. embellish side panels

f. embellish straps

g. cut lining fabric

h. line

3. Then, for each one, I GUESS how much time each task will take to actually finish each step and get to a stopping point. Note it by the item. Let's assume this is a SIMPLE, non-beaded bra, where I will sew on a few pieces to embellish, and I am sewing base pieces by machine. Times are GUESSES only.

a. choose bra cups - 10 minutes

b. build side panels - 20 minutes

c. build straps - 10 minutes

d. cut covering fabric - 5 minutes

e. apply covering fabric - 45 minutes

f. embellish cups - 20 minutes

g. embellish side panels - 20 minutes

f. embellish straps - 15 minutes

g. cut lining fabric - 5 minutes

h. line - 45 minutes

4. Now, to use this, you and I both know that there are some things that are dependent on other tasks -- you know I can't line the thing until I have finished everything else. But, I could build the side panels before I choose the cups. So, now I can say, "I have 30 minutes to sew, which task can I finish in this time?" and then I pick something that I can do in that period that is not dependent on another task. And, I can see where i can do some of these tasks in different environments, like embellishing or other hand sewing while waiting in a doctor's office (done it!), riding along on a car trip (done it!), or watching TV with your beloved (done it!).

I like this method because it makes me feel like I have accomplished something, and it really helps me to sort through which things I need to get done by X date, allowing me to re-prioritize things that are or are not important. (Do I really need to use THAT beading pattern that takes forever?)

(modified from comments on bellydanceforums.net)

The "scrap" book

I . . . am a fabric hoarder. There, I said it. I justify it by saying that I "need a full palette in order to exercise my artistic vision;" but, really, I hoard fabric. Because I one day hope to do something with it, I had to come up with a Simple, EASY way to keep it all straight.

Take:
1 binder notebook
several pieces of paper
clear protective sheet covers (with holes to fit your binder)
scissors
a stapler
a few minutes of your day
and a pile of fabric

Pick up the fabric, one piece at a time. Estimate the yardage (I use the nose-to-fingertips method of estimation), then lop off one corner of the fabric, staple it to the paper, and use the pen to note how much yardage you have. Fill up the paper with corners of fabric, then slide it into the page protector, and into the binder. Gradually work your way through the pile.

Finished a project? Move the corner to a new page -- one for skirts, one for bedlahs, one for veils -- you get the idea. Take this with you to workshops where there will be vending or when you go shopping for material. These few minutes of organization will help you make MUCH better decisions about what to buy.

And, all of your friends will marvel at your organization!

Double Duty

First, apologies from the Practical Dancer. I had lofty, ambitious goals of regular posts that conveyed useful wisdom, all perfectly organized and locked down in files saved to my hard drive, perfectly edited and back up copies ready in case of the catastrophic event of a blog move.

Sigh.

The Practical Dancer has a day job. I have a "second job" of being a Dance Student, Dancer, and troupe member. I am a Wife and a Mom. I read incessantly about dance online. I sew whenever I can, and I have a house to clean, bills to pay, and cats to pet. And, I have some lingering New Year's resolution about "priorities." Like you, I have "a lot on my plate."

It is more important to me that I get these ideas out here for you than that I get them captured permanently on my overstuffed hard drive. Welcome to the new me, fast and loose, and forgive me for being gone for so long.

Now, for the post.

What I have learned in my overstuffed life is that in order to do fun things like go to workshops, the beach, or to visit family for the weekend, you have to spend a fair amount of time traveling. Time one could spend dancing or sewing. I used to just use that time to *think* about dancing or sewing, accomplishing about 2% of good in the process. Then, I learned a simple trick from the Great and Powerful Ozma -- you can, under the right circumstances, multitask! Since a fair amount of my travel is with someone else driving, I began to take projects along with me. Most of our sewing is hand work anyway. Why not knock it out when you are sitting down in a fixed environment for a while?

I made a set of gorgeous beaded sleeves on the 4 round trips to Baltimore when we were buying our boat. That would have been about 30 tedious hours if squeezed in "at home;" but, captive in the car, it helped time to fly by. (Still need to dance in those darned things.)

I almost completely made two little ruffled arm drapes on the way to and from a workshop. (Had to make the pattern and cut them out ahead of time, and do some of the finishing at home on the machine.)

And, yesterday, I worked out the pattern for appliques on a bra and got them sewed on in the 5 hours it took to go and visit family.

The hardest parts of this are 1) breaking down your projects into tasks that can be done in a car (while someone else is driving!) and that also fit the time you will spend in the car; and, 2) knocking out the pre-work and carefully packing so that you have what you need. You will get better at this with practice, as I have. Next thing you know, you will look forward to road trips and waiting rooms as time to sew.

Resolve to repurpose – Christmas day edition!

A friend of mine says that when she was growing up, her Japanese Mother would always make them clean the house the week between Christmas and New Years. Her thought was that whatever way you start the New Year was the way the rest of your year would go, so a clean and orderly house was in order.

Thinking about this and about New Year’s resolutions we all struggle to keep (as I start up my own end of year cleaning cycle), I wanted to share some ways you can reuse everyday household items to support your dance habits. As I started writing this, I started looking at everything differently; and, I hope you will, too! These resolutions will be EASY to keep, and may save you some money. Let’s see how many we can rack up, starting with the leftover items from today’s gifts.

1. Save the RIBBONS from Christmas presents and use them as straps (or a strap base) on a costume bra.
2. . . . or, as side bands for a bra.
3. . . . or to sew sequins, beads, rhinestones, or other embellishments onto when covering a bra.
4. . . . or, sew them along the upper band of your hip scarves to stabilize them.
5. . . . or, sew them along the upper edge dance belts to ease pinning. To do this, hold the ribbon about 1” down from the upper edge of the belt. When sewing, sew along the center line of the ribbon, allowing you to pin above or below as needed.
6. . . . or, if they complement a belt that is a little too small, use them to cover filler material that expands the belt diameter.
7. . . . or, use them for wrist bands.
8. . . . or, for arm bands.
9. . . . or, for flutters that dangle off of arm bands.
10. . . . or, for a head band.
11. . . . or, for ankle bands.
12. Save the TISSUE PAPER from today’s packages to wrap your coins scarves in; the tissue will keep them shiny.
13. . . . or, cut the tissue into small squares to use as blotting papers for glistening brows after a show.
14. . . . or, use it to cushion more delicate props, like glass candle holders.
15. Save the BOXES from today’s gifts to stow your bedlah.
16. . . . or, for storing your beaded dresses so they do not stretch.
17. . . . or, for storing your beaded skirts so they do not stretch.
18. . . . or, for storing your hipscarves.
19. And, since silica gel IS your new best friend, you know you want to save those guys to store with your costumes, right?
20. But, did you know that you could also keep silica gel to store with your FABRIC to keep it in good shape, long before it becomes a costume?

This applies to costumes, too!

A recent blog post on CNN discussed whether someone could "catch" diseases from vintage clothing. Having worked in a thrift store during college, I can attest that the most delightful items can come from questionable sources. And, environments like thrift stores pile all of the merchandise together, allowing "icky things" to spread. While the likelihood of getting sick from a costume is low, there is a slightly higher chance that you will inherit silverfish or other little critters that like to dine on fabric (as opposed to dining on you).

You may be wondering how this relates to costumes . . .

Ever bought a used one at a workshop?

Ever bought one from a vendor?

Ever bought one, period? Or, bought the parts?

The sad truth is that textiles that become costumes tend to travel a LOT. They may come from halfway around the world. They may live in someone's basement for a few years. And, they may come with "friends."

So, the advice in Dr. Gupta's blog is sound: wash it if you can, isolate the item in a plastic bag for a few weeks, and take good care of your clothes. Periodically inspect all of your costumes and the containers you store them in, looking for little visitors. Keep them in a clean, conditioned environment. And, when introducing new costumes in to the mix, quarantine them for a bit!

Safe Fan Transport

About a year ago, as a door prize in a fan workshop, I won a gorgeous feather fan -- turquoise blue with peacock accents. I have wanted to dance with it since; but, one fear kept me from doing so: how could I safely take it to and from venues? After some searching, I found a relatively inexpensive solution that will repel water and keep the fan from getting crushed. I purchased a zippered portfolio case from my local arts and crafts store. It has plastic sides that will keep water out, the shape is a broad, skinny box with a handle for easy carrying, and the shape will keep the fan so that the weight is on the fan’s base, not the feathers. I got my husband to rustle up some out of date foam-board (dry mount) advertising from work and stuck a piece on either side of the case to reinforce it a little more. The case has big pocket on one side and elastic straps that cross in an X on the other (like some suitcases) – both of these features hold the foam board securely and act as more cushioning for the fan.

My gorgeous fan (a handmade Dorma original!) will finally make its debut next week.

Checklist for performing

You may have seen these on other middle eastern / belly dance / raqs sharki sites; but, it always seems to be quick list or product promotion event rather than a how to. So, here are some suggested questions to help YOU build YOUR list. Then, I’ll share my own.

Questions to ask yourself:
1. Where will I be performing? (Can I finish getting ready there or should I leave my home in full costume? Will you need shoes? Was there a special request that requires something I need to bring, like zills, extra hip scarves, etc.?)
2. What will I do when it is my turn to perform? (Do I have my music? Do I have a backup plan? So I need props like a veil, cane, etc.? Is this a group number that requires specific costume parts or accessories?)
3. Am I in charge? (Do I need to bring a CD player? What about an extension cord? Will I need glasses to read those nicely labeled CD’s the dancers will bring? Do I need to bring anything for my dancers, like water, band aids, etc.?)
4. What will I do after the show? (Do I need a change of clothes? Oh, yeah – do I need a real bra, then? Do I need a bag to hold all of this stuff? And, do I need a UHAUL to carry it?)

Ask yourself these questions every time you get ready to perform and you will cover 90% or more of what you need.

Then, one time, allow yourself an extra 10 minutes to get ready for a gig. As you get ready, have a way to write down EVERYTHING that you use or need for the performance. I put my list on the last page of my student notebook, which I take with me when I go to classes, to out of town workshops, etc. This list will help you not only when you are getting ready for your ordinary halfa, it will also be very useful if you have to pack to travel for a performance.

Here is my comprehensive list, which reflects my priorities, now that I look at it!

Costume items:
Cover-up
Bra / top
Belt / scarf
Skirt / pants
Veil
Shoes
Underpants that don’t show
Bra that doesn’t show
Earrings
Necklace
Bracelets
Rings
Anklets
Zills
Hairclips / bands
Hair accessories
Props: cane, sword, fan, candles

Cosmetics:
Powder
Mascara
Lash comb
Eyeliner
Brow makeup
Lipstick – base
Lipstick – top coat
Glitter
Hair brush
Hair spray
Styling paste
Styling tools
Eyelashes
Lash glue
Tweezers
Toothpicks (for the item below and the lashes)
Bindis
Mirror
Eye shadow
Eye makeup remover
Qtips
Cotton balls
Baby oil (the only thing that takes off my lipstick!)


“Insurance Items”
Double stick tape (a wonder on a roll!)
Sewing kit
Safety pins
Bobby pins
Does anything need batteries? (for cameras and candles, people!)
Music
Backup music
3rd choice!
Bag to hold it all
Hangers
Bodystocking
Lint roller
Razor scissors
Pain meds
Bandaids
Nailfile
Sharpie marker
Camera and film
Change of clothes and shoes
Tampons or pads

Now, I don’t use every item every time, but I do review this list and the questions above every time. Make your own list that works for you – it is the creation and the review of the list that makes the difference, not just what’s on it!

Happy dancing!

Your Performance CD

“Wait,” you say, “I thought this was a costuming blog!”

Well, it is; but, it is also a blog about organization and saving money. And, when you take a whole CD full of songs (store bought or burned) with you to perform, you will not appear organized and you will risk losing money (especially if it is a CD you purchased).

So, let’s talk about the CD you take with you when you perform. Please do not take an original. Performances are tense for everyone – and, the person who runs the music gets the jitters, too. Any of the following things could happen:
- you are so full of adrenaline after the performance that you forget to get your CD back after the show
- you get it back, but then lose it while you changing out of your costume
- the person running the music keeps it
- or, they accidentally give it to someone else
- someone takes it (intentionally or not)
- it breaks
- it gets stuck in the player (This happened to me the FIRST time I performed at a hafla. The venue came with a player, but no one knew how to use it. 2 CD’s got stuck in at the same time – luckily, no permanent damage happened!)


If you take a COPY versus the ORIGINAL, then you will still have the ORIGINAL at home even if something happens to the COPY. That is how the advice below will save you money.

Now that we have covered the virtues of using a COPY, here is why it is important to label it: If you do not label your music, it looks like everybody else’s music. And, that means the emcee could put the wrong disc in, causing another dancer to hear your CD when it is their turn and just keep dancing. (I have seen this happen!) Or, you hear the wrong song from your multi-track disc and just keep dancing. (I have seen this happen, too!)

Labeling ensures that your music is ready when it is your turn. Having only one song on the disc helps, too, because the more songs on the disc, the greater the likelihood that the wrong one will be queued up. On your COPY disc, include ONLY the song you are dancing to. Then, label the disc with the following information, in this order

1. YOUR DANCE NAME
2. (Your real name)
3. The song name
4. The duration of the song

Here is why:
1. YOUR DANCE NAME should be in all caps, large font, so that it can be read in dim light through false eyelashes.
2. (Your real name should be in parentheses, in case that is the only way others know you and so you don’t get introduced that way.)
3. The song name is there because you will develop a collection of these and you want to quickly sort through and find the one you want when a last minute opportunity arises.
4. The duration of the song should be there because sometimes you want a longer number, and sometimes you don’t!

These simple steps will help you be (and appear) more organized. A little organization prior to the performance will greatly contribute to how your actual performance goes!

- this post was inspired by recent events. ;)