Dear Constant Reader,
Happy Friday! Today’s tip is a little something I picked up from The Queen of the Quake, Kitten DeVille!
To instantly make your arms look toned, turn your palms to the back wall.
And here’s Miss Exotic World 2002 herself, demonstrating:
(Photo by Don Spiro)
Dear Constant Reader,
Happy Halloween!
A couple of seasonal tips for you.
Classic edible stage blood is light corn syrup and food coloring.
Use both red & blue coloring to get a realistic color; red alone is too pink. Personally I think it tastes disgusting and is godawful sticky. I prefer to use chocolate syrup tinted with red food coloring. I’m told you can also use red Kool-Aid powder for coloring, but I haven’t tried it yet. There are also all sorts of fun things you can use to thicken your blood, like peanut butter and cocoa powder. Make sure you like how it tastes!
For washable stage blood, mix liquid dish soap and poster paint.
If you’re going to get blood on your costume, this is the stuff to use. One caveat, it will lather if rubbed, so be careful on stage, unless you want a laugh. When you’re done performing, rinse your bloody garments in cold water as soon as possible and then launder.
And always, if you’re using blood on stage, please be respectful of your fellow performers. Make arrangements to protect the stage during your act and clean up well afterwards.
Enjoy the holiday!
Dear Constant Reader,
One of the great things about events like BurlyCon and The Expo is that my stock of tips gets replenished!
This week’s tip comes via Siren Santina and her class on merch.
Take credit/debit cards at your merch table.
Now I’m a cold hard cash sort of gal, but so many people rely on the magic plastic these days. You don’t want to miss out on a sale!
It’s gotten very easy to accept cards these days, you just need a card reader and a smart phone. Lots of places offer CC services (Square, PayPal, Amazon, &c. I just heard Etsy got in on the racket). Do your research and find one whose terms & fees work for you. At B.A.B.E. we use Square, which Brigitte just loves*.
Set a minimum price for using cards, because the processors do take their cut. That way you don’t lose all your profit to fees on a small item and if the patron really wants that item which is under your minimum, they’ll end up buying more.
* She loves the selling part. I don’t think she cares what happens after she swipes that card.
Dear Constant Reader,
Tonight is Out For Blood in Brattleboro, VT and at this moment I’m hauling lights and other gear into the theatre, but I would not forget your Friday tip.
Swarovski is not the be-all & end-all
Can’t break the bank on rhinestones? It’s okay. Use a variety of stone quality and you’ll actually make a more interesting visual. The crystals will stand out like a showgirl against a chorus line and really sparkle.
Dear Constant Reader,
I’m at BurlyCon right now, but not so busy as to forget your Friday Tip!
No act is every completely finished.
Even if you’ve been doing it for years, there’s always room for improvement. Add a flourish to the choreography. Upgrade the costume. You can tweak it in small ways to make it even better.
Dear Constant Reader,
Before I get to your tip, I bet you all want to know what the finished Super Screen looks like! Well, you’re going to see it anyway.
You can see one of the old screens looking on enviously from behind.
And here’s your tip!
Know the story behind your act.
Why are you taking your clothes off? If you know your motivation, it makes for a more interesting number. No need to explicitly act out a skit, just understand how and why you get from the beginning of the number to the end. If you know, the audience will see your clarity of purpose.
Dear Constant Readers,
I’m off in New York today, having performed at The New York Burlesque festival last night. But I wouldn’t forget your tip!
Measure twice, cut once.
It’s a good rule for anything: fabric, wood, metal, paper, whatever materials you might be using.
And don’t forget the corollary:
Measure once, curse twice.
I am all too familiar with this situation.
Dear Constant Reader,
Happy Friday! Here’s your tip!
Life is too short to eat cheap chocolate.
Dear Constant Reader,
Back when we started B.A.B.E. we needed a logo quickly. Scratch threw together this image:
I like the laurel wreath (some of you know why) and that there was a Latin motto, as there should be, but I wasn’t crazy for the motto itself. It translated to “Life is too short to dance with ugly men”. Cute, funny and true, but not really the philosophy B.A.B.E. espouses. Still, done is good, as the sage said, and we used that image for a long time.
Recently, I decided it was time and put my Classicist training to work and created a new motto. Armed with that, Scratch created us a new logo:
I’m quite pleased with it.
Dear Constant Reader,
It’s National Sewing Month! (or at least so Red Snapper tells me…)
Here’s a Sewing Friday Tip!
Use a Post-It as a sewing guide for large seams
Most sewing machines have stitch guides on the throat plate at 1/8″ increments, but they are only the width of the plate. My machine only has marks up to 6/8″, but I sometimes need to sew wider seams that that.
Measure out from the needle and put a Post-It down at the desired distance. I set it so the near edge of the paper (where the sticky stuff is) is the guide. Make sure it’s straight!
Here’s my machine set up for an inch and a half seam.
Of course, you can also use other low-tack sticky items, like masking tape or painters tape to create your temporary guide. I always have Post-Its on my desk (in a very attractive holder, I might add) in my sewing room, so that’s what I grab.
Happy sewing!
Oh, The Glamourous Life! 