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?

Basic Cover-up Pattern

Christmas Greetings, all! A few months back, a member of Bellydanceforums.net asked about making a cover up. It took a few months to find the time to capture it in writing; but, here it is, my Christmas gift to you, in (hopefully) a printable pdf format.

Please let me know if you catch any errors in the pattern, and I shall correct them.

Regards,

Anala

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!

Took an AMAZING costuming workshop!

Folks, I just took the most wonderful costuming workshop yesterday with the lovely Christina from Black Lotus Clothing! I have to just gush -- she was informative, encouraging, clear, and so sweet! I had only seen her creations online, but you have to see them in person to truly appreciate her art. While I am admittedly not that Tribal, and not that Tribal Fusion, I found a lot of her design concepts are appropriate to all costuming needs. And, considering how much I LOVED the movie "Pretty in Pink" as a teenager, I really loved her work and her thinking.

She provided tips that universally apply: how to get inspiration, how to get to costuming quickly, how to repurpose and upcycle (my favorite), AND how to see beyond the surface when contemplating a garment at a thrift store in order to bring out the gold from the scrap hill (or, cover up the scrap hill with gold). She has only recently started teaching this workshop; but, I can assure you she is a natural teacher. She provided so much material in two hours that I need to go back and study my copious notes. I will never look at clearance rack or thrift store aisle the same way again -- and, I will NOT be afraid to rip rather than cut, to throw everything in a pile and see what works, to stand in front of a mirror and fit a garment that is hanging on me! She is fast and loose, full of infectious creative energy, and definitely someone that can inspire! If she is in your area (or, if you are close to her), you OWE it to yourself to study with her!