New Etsy store!

My new Etsy store is here! Check it out and do a little Christmas shopping. I have much more inventory to add over the next few days so come back often.

My First Craft Fair

This weekend, I'll be vending my jewelry at a craft fair for the very first time. I'm very nervous and hoping that it will be a supportive crowd, since it is, you know, at an elementary school. I've only done trunk shows and commission work thus far, and I recently dipped my toe in selling at the neighborhood yard sale. That was a total bust. I didn't sell one piece of jewelry and I really hope that isn't a sign about this weekend. I know the economy is bad and this is the first time that this school is having a sale like this. Anyway, wish me luck! Here is the flyer and if you're local, come on out!

P.S. I plan on posting everything that doesn't sell on my new Etsy store. Stay tuned for a link and updates.

Craft Central: Making a belly dance overskirt in 10 minutes

Making a fun and stylish belly dance overskirt is a cheap and easy way to stock your belly dance wardrobe. It only takes a few minutes and there is no sewing involved. Wear your overskirt with or without a hipscarf, wear it to class, or even to performances. Follow this step-by-step guide to make your own overskirt. Click on the images for a larger view or visit the album.

1) You need a pair of scissors and 1 yard of fabric. Make sure your fabric is a 4-way stretch material. Pull it gently in all directions to make sure it is. Spandex and Matte Jersey are good choices.

2) Make sure your fabric has smooth, even edges and remove all printers marks.

3) Fold fabric over once, matching the short ends, not the long ends.

4) Fold fabric a second time, but going the other direction. There should be four layers.

5) Use the scissors to cut along the top fold. Be careful not to cut too much as your opening will double in size when you unfold it.

6) Check size of opening to see if it fits around your hips and there you have your overskirt!

Stage shots of the new costume

Carolina Casbah Pictures courtesty of Megan Freeman. August 22, 2009.



Ninth Street Dance Instructor Showcase. Pictures by Adam King. August 29, 2009.

Update!

Sorry I haven't updated in awhile. Things have been soooo busy!

Here's a quick run down...

I finally finished my glitterdot goddess costume! It was amazing. I even made a little flower for my hair. Such a minimalistic costume doesn't need many accessories, but this was perfect. I wore the costume on Sat at the Carolina Casbah and I felt so special in it. Here is an unexciting photo:

I hope to have more pictures of me performing in it at the Carolina Casbah next week. Speaking of the Casbah...It was a great success. All of my marketing worked! We packed the house. It was such a lovely venue and all of the performers were lovely. I wish I had more time to talk and socialize, but since I was in two dances that was kind of hard.

I'm also working on two freelance graphic design projects. One, my friend is opening an international dance studio and I created the logo for her. I can't post the link yet because she hasn't officially launched it.

I also created a new blog for the UNC Center for Maternal and Infant Health. It's called Mind, Body Mom: http://mindbodymom.com/. I hope to fill the blog with more posts and pictures soon. I am just waiting to hear back from the project manager.

Let's see...I've had several fun gigs lately. One was with Khahari and we had a blast. We performed as a troupe, we each did a solo and then we taught a lesson together. There was a lady with a camera walking around, so I have to figure out how to get in touch with her so I can see some pictures!

Other than that, I made Adam take some photos of me after a gig when I was already all dolled up. We live on the lake and at dusk the lake looks like glass. I thought they turned out well, despite impromptu nature of it.

So I'll leave you with the pictures. Falls should be a slow time for me, but I'll post if something cool happens!

The glitter dot goddess costume

About a month ago I started making a costume from scratch using some fantastic glitter dot and mystique lycra. I was going to blog about it once it was all finished, but well I am too excited and I've been home sick so I have nothing else to do. Here is what I hope to be a run down of the events thus far.

I was inspired while at JoAnn's by this fantastical fabric. I had to have it and I knew what I wanted right away. I think all the supplies and fabric cost about $50 or $60.




First I "sketched" out the design in Photoshop using a croquis I found online.


Then, I traced my L Rose skirt on some large white craft paper as the pattern. I cut out the design and I now I have a basic skirt pattern. The skirt is three panels, one in the front and two in the back.


Next, I traced the bra shape from my Great Loop--which fits me perfectly--onto craft paper to use as a pattern. I also had a bra from a Delta Burke body suit that I bought for $6 at Ross. I used the body suit portion for a tummy cover and was able to use the bra for this part.

As a result of my diligent tracing onto craft paper, I now have nice patterns for sleek skirts and bras. :)

Next, I needed to reinforce the bra. I knew that the bra wasn't going to be too heavy because of the design, so I decided not to line the original bra. Instead, I used a couple of layers of Aleene's fabric stiffener to help them maintain their shape. And because the purple lycra glitter dot was so fragile, I decided to use fusible interfacing on it. Well, it was a pain in the butt to get that interfacing to fuse onto the fabric. Such is the nature of a 4-way stretch fabric. You live you learn!

I also needed some strong fabric for the side-straps of my bra. I decided to use the heavy-duty outdoor canvas that I had used to recover some porch furniture. I stitched neatly around the edges and then went back and sewed the allowance down on the inside



While watching "A year in provence" (it's a four-hour film), I sewed the fabric onto the cups.




At this point it was really coming together...




Then, I had to make the rouched bit. That sort of left me scratching my head, but I used the tried and true gathering/ruffling technique and it looked pretty good.


Repeat on bra:


After showing this to Adam and Seher, we decided that the rouching was too long and that the zipper didn't match...



So, ugh, I had to redo the skirt, but I think it looks much better now.

All that was left was embellishments. Taking a break from redoing the skirt, I decided to bead the bra using iridescent sequins and reddish pink seed beads.




I decided that the red blended in too much with the pink fabric, so while at JoAnn's to buy a new zipper, I took a look at the beads. To my surprise they had a new stock of bead...no more red beads, but lots of purple ones! Well that settled it. I am much happier with the new color.



I also bought this awesome cotton fabric to line the bra with:


So here we are as of yesterday at 6:00pm or so:


As I mentioned, today I was sick so I spent all day beading and watching tv. Boring, yet productive.





All I have left is to finish the fringe, attach the bra strap, add hooks and line the fabric. I will be done in no time...Now if I could just get over my cold...

More pictures at http://s708.photobucket.com/albums/ww88/andalee-oriental/pink%20dots/ (oh and the thumbnails are clickable).

Carolina Casbah Belly Dance Showcase

The Association of Central Carolina Middle Eastern Dancers presents Carolina Casbah!

Date: August 22, 2009

Time: Doors open at 7:00 PM; performances start at 7:30 PM

Place: Halle Cultural Arts Center, 237 North Salem Street, Apex, NC

Andalee will perform a solo and a troupe dance with Khahari.