Circus-a-Day Project Recap of Week 13

Day 85

We ARE the circus most of the time, and today we show it on the outside. We LOVE our circus costumes, even though most people look at us like we are crazy when we wear them. But we are certain this is how Steampunk Circus Folk dress. CERTAIN OF IT!

Day 86

Another day where we get to be the circus, We met the amazing and wonderful Mythica von Griffyn who was just itching to paint us up so on Sunday of AnomalyCon we let her! Look at the incredible work she did to match the themes of our outfits! It was kind of cool to sit still for that long and let someone else make us beautiful! Ooh, and the paint had cocoa butter in it so it smelled wonderful and moisturized our skin at the same time!

Day 87

We were all set to the visit the C.W. Parker Carousel (a must-see according to the highway billboards) for our circus today, but by the time we got to Abilene, KS and found the carousel (signage was virtually non-existent and the map we got from the Visitor’s Center was all sorts of wrong) it was closed, so we humbly submit this photo of a Carousel Bank that K found at an antique store we stopped at along the way. It turns and you put the money in a slot in the top and could see it inside behind the horses. That is kind of cool.

Day 88

We made a stop in Missouri at an interesting Flea Market/Antique Store to break up the drive home and found a plethora of circus goodness! (as well as some super creepy clown stuff!) Here is a small taste of the three-ring wonders we stumbled upon! We just LOVE antique stores full of weird cast-offs!

Day 89

Home again, home again, jiggity jig. We unloaded the van, unpacked, re-inventoried the warehouse, and did some fiddly organizing and prep for the next trip, then remembered we needed to make circuses! K’s collection of Clockwork Circus Denizens is awesome! We especially love the monkey and the Evil Kanieval stunt jumper. M worked on a hat band decoration using some bright orange feathers, some sparkle tulle and an old brassy clock key. It looks pretty awesome once it is on the hat, but kind of lame all by its little lonesome.

Day 90

We joined forces today and worked on a piece that will end up in production in the VERY near future (we’re talking next week, people!). K was a force for creativity today by opening M’s closet of fabric and pulling stuff out. M tried to ignore her, but just couldn’t let her go on unsupervised. We are very territorial over our respective spaces and supplies. So, we discussed the different fabrics and what they would be best used for and K got to cutting out patterns M had created so we could see if they would work. The end result is this lovely tie-around bustle skirt in a sheer and shiny striped silky fabric that is just gorgeous to look at, divine to touch, and has amazing draping and swishy-ness. Yes, swishy-ness IS a word (that M totally made up).

Day 91

K’s circus today is a conglomeration of many partial pieces. I was cutting out fabric for more of those great bustle skirts M will make next week, and I decided to make jewelry focals. I’m testing some new glues/epoxies, so I may have to fix some of these tomorrow, but I think they’re looking pretty snazzy! I used brass and silver plated filigrees, vintage chandelier glass, rivolis, foil cabochons, and resin roses.

M was working on a little hair fascinator, but sliced her hand with the X-Acto knife and so decided to take a break. She went out to dinner in Cleveland with a friend and ended up at an awesome store that sold lots of odds and ends from her childhood where she found three truly awesome children’s books about the circus: Circus Carnivore, The Circus is Coming!, and Sawdust and Spangles: The Amazing Life of W.C. Coup. These books are full of interesting art and actual historical facts about some truly amazing circus-obsessed people from the past. In other words, kindred spirits!