Tentacle Testing

Last weekend, I went to Jo-Ann's and picked out my tentacles. I decided to go with maribou boas, even though not 6 months ago, at the same store, I rejected the idea when my daughter suggested it!

I originally had grand visions of sewing tentacles, even wiring and stuffing them so they were 3D.  Later, when I realized I couldn't really sew that well, I thought of a 'skirt' type overlay on top of my Sparkle Skirt.

As our fall trip to Disney, and then the holidays, came closer, costume creation was put on the back burner. It got so pushed back that somehow, it was JANUARY already!!!  I began thinking again about what could be done easily - and cheaply! - when I had a vision of my daughter prancing around the craft store, covered in feather boas.

So, feather boas it is!

I stopped by Joann's before doing my weekly grocery shopping and after a coupon and tax, I got 12 feet of black maribou boa for $7.93.

 

Now.... How to I cut them without making a huge mess?

Apparently, not gonna happen....

 My desk, my floor, my clothes, ME.... Everything was covered in teeny-tiny black feathers. Of course, having my space heather on (and oscillating) certainly didn't help matters either!  

Luckily, I come prepared with a lint roller!!

After Feather-geddon, my next task was to seal the cut ends so I wouldn't lose any more feathers!. I dabbed a bit of Aleene's craft glue (the best stuff in the world for crafty gals) on the ends of each piece of boa and set them to the side to dry for the night. 

The next morning, the glue was dry and it was construction time!  I pulled out my thread and needle, but stopped.  I really should test running in these before sewing them on permanently!  I safety pinned each tentacle where I wanted them and realized immediately that they were WAY too long!!  Since the boa was 6' long, I took the easy way out and cut them into thirds, which gave me 2' tentacles. My skirt is only about 15" long, so my tentacles were 9" longer than my skirt and went down to my shins!  Good thing I tested 'em, huh?

WAY too long!!

As I climbed onto the treadmill, I debated the idea of just pinning them all to the skirt and calling it a day, rather than sewing them, but one fell off after only 5 minutes of walking, so that idea was rejected!

When I started running, I knew that my placement was perfect!  I had been worried that the tentacles would get 'sucked' between my thighs, but they didn't!  They kind of floated off to each side of me as I had hoped they would. I have an image of an icebreaker ship in my head, shoving glaciers and icecaps around in Alaska when I try to describe what the boas are doing. Not the most glamorous description, but kind of fitting. They didn't annoy me at all. They didn't get in the way of my headphones or my pockets. They didn't get tangled in my arms or legs. They were perfect!  I adjusted the front two (on my hips) so that they would be the right length, and kept running. Still, nothing was annoying! I had a winner!

I got in about 3 miles before I had to go pick up Hubby from work. Not the 10 miles I said I was going to do this weekend, but I knew that time was flying by, and costume testing was needed!

After picking Hubby up from work, I went back to my skirt. I chopped off 9" of boa and sealed the fresh ends and laid them out to dry. No more boa for tonight!

Next step is FINALLY sewing on the boas! Until then, I leave you with a photo of my eye makeup!

Teal Liquid Eyeliner and Waterproof Mascara

p.s. - how many times did you read "testicle" instead of "tentacle"? Me? A LOT!