Being in Texas, it usually is just a few weeks after Carnaval that we start to see the first new buds in the trees. For that reason, as well as some more personal ones, I decided on a theme of "Spring" for my costume. After deciding on a theme, I sketched this concept drawing to use as a guide and to solidify the ideas in my head.
Kearson and I pose at the hotel. As you can see, once the creative process got going, the costume drawing became more of an artifact than a pattern. I ended up not liking the modified "toga" I'd drawn when I tried making it with the material I purchased. I really liked the look of the ferns and flowers I'd picked up for my headress, and thus, the floral bikini was born! Kearson went ALL OUT and got into the spirit of Carnaval this year. He actually made a special trip to get this wild shirt and put on the beads he is wearing of his own volition!
Below is a good shot of my WHOLE headdress, which was, uh...what's the word here...I think GIANORMOUS about sums it up. Many folks have asked, so here are the official headdress stats:
Height - from top of my head to top of headdress - 2 ft, 3 inches
From lowest leaf to uppermost leaf - 2 ft, 10 inches
My total height with shoes and headdress - 8 feet!
Weight - surprisingly light, only about 1.5 pounds
Construction - A baseball cap, wire used to build chainlink fences (you should seen the look on the guy's face at Lowe's who asked me what it was I was "building"), 2 foam floral forms (one cone shaped and one wreath shaped), clear bra straps, a yard of fabric, and a WHOLE BUNCH of silk flowers.
Looking at the pictures retrospectively, all of the weird looks and headshaking that Kearson gave me as I worked on it kinda make sense. :) But hey, it's Carnaval - there's no such thing as "too big" when it comes to a headdress for Carnaval! Right??!! Although it would have been nice to be able to stand in the hall of the hotel for pictures instead of having to scoot around on my knees or adjourn to the stairwell. (Really - I'm not kidding. I couldn't stand up in the hall of the hotel with my headress on.)
I was so pleased with how my makeup turned out - here's a good close-up! I made a drawing of the concept first, and then Dana came over one night with her makeup and helped me experiment and get the general idea going. The color was all done just with different eyeshadows - not airbrushed. I'm wearing two pairs of orange and silver false lashes that give a flower effect around my eyes. The green "vine" over my cheeks and nose is a piece of cord used to tie Christmas packages. It gave a very cool 3D aspect to the final look. Many people thought I was wearing a mask and were surprised to see it was actually makeup upon closer inspection! About an hour into the party, after I'd been on the dance floor for a while, a few of the items glued onto my face started to slide around. But, thanks to previous year's advice from Dana, I had plenty of "emergency glue" on hand to reattach any wayward sparkles!!
With Lila just a few months old, Dana and Lane decided (understandably) not to attend. Luckily, Sondra had the best idea at the last minute and suggested that Dana get "just a bit fabulous" and bring Lila and come see us off and be in pictures. Of course, there is no "just a little fabulous" in Dana's world, and she looked fantastic in her pink braids and even made a matching outfit for Lila. Lila looks ADORABLE. I cannot stress enough, be sure to visit Dana's site for more photos - if only of Lila!! And even Lane got a little snazzy, too! Go Lane!!
As has become her M.O., Sondra threw together an amazing costume at the last minute, and looked absolutely gorgeous. Meanwhile, the rest of us wonder why we have to spend months getting ready to look as good! :) Her bikini is chainmail handmade by Rob, who dressed as a pirate (again, visit the other sites for photos of Rob and others!!). The leaves in her hair were from some pretty pink plants in her yard that she'd sprayed gold.
Sondra and I making a Hot Cara sandwich! Cara went as "Fire" this year in all black and red and was scorching all night! Her sister went as "Ice" in blue and white! Doesn't Cara look amazing in my black and red wig? Dana was telling me that Cara's mom has very dark hair, and that Cara looks just like her when she goes dark with her hair.
Jon looks somewhat less glamorous than Cara in my wig - but he's certainly having at least as good a time! Jon and Kearson work together and he's a really cool person (and I'm not just saying that because he has a hottub)! :) He's a food-o-phile like us and we hope to all check out the upcoming Hill Country Food and Wine festival together! This was Jon's first Carnaval. Something tells me he'll be back next year!
The four of us fabulous girls! See Lila's tube-top??!! All together now....."Awwwwwwwww"!
Well, there you are, just a few photos to get you started! In case you didn't catch it the last hundred times, be sure to check out Dana's Carnaval 2004 page and Jon's Carnival 2004 site for more complete photos.