My Clara Bow Impression

Friday, January 9

My super stylish friend Chelia and I were talking a couple weeks ago, lamenting the lack of theme parties nowadays. I had just finished watching 'Fever Pitch' and told her how I longed for a 'Great Gatsby' themed party. And surprisingly, she totally agreed. In fact, she went a step further and started planning one. And now I'm giddy with excitement! Every time I see a fur or feather I'm inspired to make a costume, despite the fact that there's no date in sight. Here are the goodies at my local fabric shop that have been getting my wheels turning....

On a similar note....these stores have made me drool
:
NevaPlume & ban.do

Ban.do's prices are pretty ridiculous but in their defense they are also quite exquisite. But if you're living on a budget (like me:) you might want to take a look at the second photo, you'll see they sell similar feather pieces. For Christmas I bought a couple and made headpieces for Brian's sisters for under $5. Even better....they were beyond simple to make! Here's what I did:

1. Buy a simple (no embellishments) headband at the dollar store

2. Spray paint the band black (to match my hair) you can paint your's yellow or red or brown, whatever

3. Hot glue the feather to headband.
Glue from stem to middle of feather. Try to glue the stem as close to where the headband starts at your ear. See left pic. (For this to work the feather must already have a piece of cloth glued to the back to keep all the feathers in place. The ones I bought already had one but if your does not cut a piece of fabric in the shape of a wide leaf about half or 3/4th the size of the feather. Glue it to back so that none of the feathers can move.

OPTIONAL 4. Cut a piece of felt in the shape of a 2 inch leaf. Hot glue it to the underside of the feather and headband to hide the ugly hot glue for a softer finish.

5. VOILA!! You're done for about $30 dollars less than what you'd pay on etsy. Not to mention about $130 less than ban.do!

If you don't have a cool feather store down the street from where you live, you can find them for a reasonable price here and here. So go make your own!

4 comments:

Artfulife said...

What a great idea! So fun and certainly more affordable than the one store. Holy heck! Cute but very pricy. Hope you have a great weekend. Oh and have fun getting ready for this party.

Cheilita said...

i was going to ask you how you made yours and voila, a how to post! you are the best plus better. I can't wait to make some.

aaaaaa said...

I am a new reader of your blog! I love it so much I read every single post!

How long have you been sewing? Also I would like to compliment you on your photography and creativity.

It really inspires me to do more with my son and also encourages me to get ideas out of my head and on to some paper, fabric or in a picture! Thanks again.

Also my sincere thoughts are with your family regarding the passing of your grandma.

Anonymous said...

Oh it's a pity you don't live in London, white mischief make the best themed parties:) I just discovered your two blogs and love them! Thank you for sharing! Do you ever sell patterns?
Jo