Tutu Mania!

So everyone on Pinterest has been seeing the adorable homemade tutus that are "so cheap and easy" according to every pin description. 

And, I can tell you, they are pretty easy to accomplish. It doesn't take a lot of skill. What it does take a lot of is:

Time

Patience

Tulle

First:

Determine what you want

Do you want a tutu that stands out like a ballerina? 

Do you want a knee length tutu skirt? A full length one?

Do you want a tutu dress?

Do you want a tutu table skirt?

Second:

How big of an area are you covering?

Is it a baby?

Toddler?

Child?

Small adult?

Large adult?

Side table?

8' round?

12' rectangle?

Third:

How do you want it to attach?

Do you want it on a ribbon you can tie?

On elastic you can slip on?

A "tutu" top or headband?

Fourth:

Materials

Ok. So. Once you've answered your core questions you get to start to look for materials. I will tell you personally I've gotten things from China (eBay), save-on-crafts, & Joann fabric.   There are TONS of places to look. Those are just my go-tos. 

To give you an idea of how much tulle it truly takes I'll post my completed tutus below with approximate yards and time. 

Custom "ballerina style" tutu skirt for infant and headband. 

1 bolt of pink tulle

54" x 25 yards

1 spool of 2" zebra ribbon

1 baby headband

Time: about 2 hours

My neice's 1/2 birthday baby carrier skirt

This started out as an attempt at a table skirt. I ended up running out of tulle. 

1 bolt (54"x25 yd) white tulle

1 bolt sky blue tulle

1 bolt pastel blue tulle

5 yards of 1/4" thick elastic. 

Time: about 2 hours

Flower girl skirts

1 6 month floor length flowing skirt

1 6 year old floor length flowing skirt

2 yellow knit headbands

1 bolt (54"x25yd) stiff burgundy tulle

1 bolt normal burgundy tulle

2 large spools (6"x100yd)

2 yards burgundy lace cut in strips

Time: about 6 hours

Adult tulle skirt

4 bolts (54"x25yd) light pink tulle

2 bolt (54"x25yd) taupe tulle

1 large bolt (60"x40yd) ivory tulle

1 spool 2" ivory satin ribbon

Time: about 8 hours

This guy was a beast. I'm 5'7 and it was knee length. I'm a size 16 and it went around me. It was a MONSTER. 

But it turned out beautifully for my boudoir shoot. ((Warning almost nudity. Covered boobs in hands.))

**********

******

********

******

Close if you don't want to see my hold my boobs in my hands!

*******

****

*********

*************

Ok you were warned. 

Good luck in all your tulle adventures!

Tell or show me your tulle tales in the comments!

So freaking busy!

So between trying to find a job, moving, writing for myself as well as blogs over at Biscuette.com and still for Lyrics Undercover, I am FREAKING BUSY!

In between packing I've started frequenting goodwill for new stuff for baby girl Johnson, who (I am still tickled pink) is a girl. Had someone tell me this week I really needed to be using Ebates for all of my online buying. So, I signed up, and it seems pretty cool. Unfortunately, I can't buy my ebay goodies through it, but for normal shopping, it's great.

While doing my constant Goodwill trips I found a serious gem! An almost complete set of "My Book House" children's anthology.

These are the "white and rainbow" 1971 version. I'm missing book 3, actually, but otherwise, I have the whole set. $1.50 per book, so $16.50 for the set, and as best I can tell they're worth between $70 and $150. So...THAT WAS A GOOD BUY!

Also started on my Dragoncon costume (assuming I get to go. If not, It'll be halloween). 

http://pinterest.com/marlipaige/costumes-sewing/

That's my link to the costumes that I'm working on, want to work on, find adorable, etc. But I've decided upon Rapunzel from Tangled. I love doing kid-inspired things because I just love how little kids want to take pictures with you. So...I decided to go the disney route. 

Got a wig, 150 cms, and then some extra "extensions" to try and make the braid big enough. Have a pink daisy chain, and I've got ebay offers in on lots of blooms to do the hair. 

The coloring may be different on my dress. I already have a dark purple corset I'm going to use for the corseted part...so the top and bottom will probably be reversed color scheme wise. I've been working on a light purple bottom, dark purple corset, and I'm going to get gold or tan cording for the lacing of the corset. Then I'll just need to make the poofy sleeves, lace around the collar, sheer sleeves, and lace at the end. I will update as I get it put together. 

I waited almost too long to get started on it, but I think I can pull it together pretty effectively in the next month.

In addition to all of that I still have to finish packing, move Sunday, and find a real job.

I also (can't help it) have been starting planning toward Aliya's baby shower. 

http://pinterest.com/marlipaige/showers/

That has not only her bridal shower stuff, but also the stuff for the baby shower. Her theme for the nursery is "Flower Fairies" so...there's a lot of that in there. 

So that's my life at the moment.