Mermaid Costume--Log #1

Log #1: 10/14, 17 days

Well I’ve gotten all my supplies I think. Two days of shopping. I got a bra at Ross, gold web spray paint, pearls, ribbon, a starfish, and netting at Michaels, purple nylon stretch fabric and blue and green tulle at Hancock. Then from around the house I gathered up nail polish, seashells, glass stones, gold and pearl mardi gra beads, paint, needle and thread, a glue gun, and my gold spikes. I found a headband that I had previously purchased at the dollar store in a pack, and am going to rummage through some old chains. I still need to find or purchase large rhinestones and drop jewels or beads.

I proceeded to paint the starfish gold (both sides). It got super delicate with the paint, I think because the starfish soaked it up and got more sponge-like. I plan on spraying it with the gold webbing and then spraying it with a coat of modge podge so it’s shiny. Hopefully those sprays will also strengthen the starfish.

I test sprayed the gold webbing on some small seashells. It doesn’t stick very well, but once it’s glued down it should hold. The texture is also really interesting with the webbing. Maybe with a modge podge coat it will stick better.

I also took some of the glass stones and painted the backs. I did three purple with purple glitter, five blue with silver glitter, and four dark green. I’m thinking I’ll use these on the crown and on the bra.

I unfortunately could not start on the skirt yet, since I would like to wash the purple fabric first, just in case it shrinks. Hopefully it does not, but I do think I have a bunch extra, so it shouldn’t affect the project too much. I plan on using the dark green tulle around the top, down the back, and a little on the base. LIGHTBULB! I’ll do a very small, about 2-inch edge around the base in green, and then underneath that I’ll put the blue, and maybe underneath the blue I’ll put some of the blue that we got from Corry, the stuff you tape off to hem. Wow if I use that I’m gonna have to go over the whole edge in modge podge or glue. But make sure to use it underneath so that it’s not super obvious.

I need to make a trident out of polymer clay, and maybe I’ll make two small starfish out of clay too, to add to the starfish stuff going on.

The netting I was disappointed in, because it didn’t come in one piece. It came in several, and I’m not sure I can do exactly what I wanted to do now. I wanted to do off-the-shoulder strap hangy things, but I need to make sure that I can still move a lot in it. Maybe I’ll only do it on one side, so it’s more asymmetrical!

I’ve also made a sketch of what I hope the costume turns out to be. It’s my guideline, however, and I need to remember that. Art never turns out the way you expect it to, it changes to how the art feels. Art flows through you, you help it to shape whatever it wants to be.

I picked out a white headband with silver shiny glitter woven throughout it. I plan on spraying it with the webbing to make it a little gold-splattered. I’m extending the back with a piece of kelp. I’m not sure if I’ll connect the ends to the ends of the headband to make a circle or if I will make two pieces hanging down. But I’m using the picot green as the base, then the other ribbons as the kelp pieces. I’m gonna add some beads to where the kelp meets with the ribbon. I’m also gonna glue on four u-pins, two on each end, to help hold the crown in place when I wear it.

Supplies