Dear Constant Reader,
Happy Friday! It’s starting to feel like spring out there.
When working with glittery fabric, store the fabric and any resulting garments away from, well, everything else.
It will shed glitter, but by keeping it separated, with a storage box or bag, you can minimize the mess.
These writings and other creative projects are supported by my 19 Patrons. Thank you so much! To become a Patron, go to my Patreon page. Or you can just tip me if you liked this.
Dear Constant Reader,
It’s Friday again. Given my druthers, this is not a tip I would choose to write, or would even conceived of before this year. We’re getting into high season for festivals and…
Maybe don’t come to the US.
If you live outside the United States, this might not be the best time to visit.
There’ve been plenty of incidents in the past with burlesquers being refused entry, usually because they were suspected of coming here to work. The repercussions these days could be a heck of a lot more drastic than just being turned away at immigration. We’ll miss you, but stay safe.
Sorry for the downer, but it’s scary out there.
These writings and other creative projects are supported by my 19 Patrons. Thank you so much! To become a Patron, go to my Patreon page. Or you can just tip me if you liked this.
Dear Constant Reader,
Happy Friday! Here’s your tip!
Check your elastic before you sew with it.
Old elastic loses its, well, elasticity. Check your stash and make sure nothing has gotten crunchy or stretched out. If so, you should toss it. Get some fresh elastic so your garment has a long, useful life after you’ve gone to all the work of sewing it.
If this happens with a costume piece or even regular clothing, see if you can replace the elastic without completely deconstructing the item. If it has a casing, that makes an easy fix.
I make my g-strings in such a way that the elastic is incredibly easy to remove and replace (like 5 minutes easy). You too can learn how from my Little Costuming Book or Patreon-exclusive tutorial.
These writings and other creative projects are supported by my 19 Patrons. Thank you so much! To become a Patron, go to my Patreon page. Or you can just tip me if you liked this.
Dear Constant Reader,
Happy Friday! It’s so windy here at The Manor. It makes me terribly sympathetic to my Australian friends expecting Cyclone Alfred. Stay safe!
I’m currently testing a pattern for a designer and it made me think of this tip:
When working with interfacing, whether it’s fusible or not, make sure you catch it in the seam stitching to secure it, then trim away any excess to reduce bulk before you press the seam.
These writings and other creative projects are supported by my 19 Patrons. Thank you so much! To become a Patron, go to my Patreon page. Or you can just tip me if you liked this.
Dear Constant Reader,
It’s been pretty cold here. I hope where ever you are, you’re keeping warm! Or cool, for my friends in the other hemisphere.
Today’s tip is about keeping warm, or really, not so warm.
Keep your hot showers short.
Like most of you, I love to relax in a hot shower, especially when it’s cold out or to ease sore muscles. However, the hot water can dry out your skin. Counterintuitive, right? If your skin is red when you get out, you haven’t done it any favors.
I’ve seen some dermatologists say you should only keep the water really hot for about five minutes, or about the time it takes to fog up the mirror. Most of your bathing should be done in warm water and then use some lotion after you gently towel off.
A reward for your virtue, here is my bathing ritual…
These writings and other creative projects are supported by my 19 Patrons. Thank you so much! To become a Patron, go to my Patreon page. Or you can just tip me if you liked this.
Dear Constant Reader,
Happy Valentine’s Day! I hope to see you in the audience at True Lust tonight! When February 14th falls on a Friday, I like to share a quote about love:
Love recognizes no barriers. It jumps hurdles, leaps fences, penetrates walls to arrive at its destination full of hope. — Maya Angelou
These writings and other creative projects are supported by my 19 Patrons. Thank you so much! To become a Patron, go to my Patreon page. Or you can just tip me if you liked this.
Dear Constant Reader,
It’s the first tip of February! This winter has been a lot already and there’s more to get through. I was reminded just the other day of this piece of wisdom.
Whether you believe you see the darkness or the light, you’re right. — Groundhog Day proverb via Breaking Cat News
These writings and other creative projects are supported by my 19 Patrons. Thank you so much! To become a Patron, go to my Patreon page. Or you can just tip me if you liked this.
Dear Constant Reader,
As you know, if you’ve been a Constant Reader for a while, we have a long-standing relationship with Deacon Giles Distillery and Speakeasy Lab in Salem. In fact, our next show is February 14th! After our shows I often get asked if I teach anywhere on the North Shore. So, we decided to give it a try!
I created a new routine, something I could teach in two hours to complete beginners. This, as always, was a challenge. Choreography is not something that comes quickly or easily to me. I wanted to give the students something fun, yet easy to learn. Something that would let them sample a variety of moves and still make sense with the music.
Because it’s January and Valentine’s Day is not far off, I picked “I’ve Got My Love to Keep Me Warm”. Then I needed to pick a version. That’s the nice thing about standards — there are a lot to choose from. After listening for tempo, musical interest, song length, &c, Ella Fitzgerald was the winner!
I had the basic outline and was filling in the specifics, but got stumped during the instrumental section. I wanted to use the boas there (we were wearing boas like scarves with winter coats), but the music was very jazzy (no surprise) and I couldn’t come up with something that wasn’t too complicated to learn in the short time we had. Scratch suggested I let the students improvise. Brilliant! It’s jazz, after all. So, I picked a bunch of moves to teach and let the students use them as they chose or just flirt shamelessly with their audience.
I love teaching in general, sharing my knowledge about things I am passionate about. Teaching experienced burlesque performers is its own kind of joy. We have a shared vocabulary and experience, so I can use some shorthand and also get pretty granular.
However, there is nothing like a group of eager novices. I adore welcoming them into the world of burlesque and watching their excitement as they see what they can do. Everyone who came to the workshop was enthusiastic and engaged. Two hours absolutely flew by!
The fabulous students!
One of my mottos is “no choreography survives contact with reality”. I’m prepared to change things on the fly if something doesn’t work when students are actually doing it. That’s my error, not theirs. So I was delighted that everything went as writ. *pats self on back*
All in all, I was very pleased with how the workshop went and hope to do some more in the coming months. Big thanks to everyone at Deacon Giles who made it possible!
These writings and other creative projects are supported by my 19 Patrons. Thank you so much! To become a Patron, go to my Patreon page. Or you can just tip me if you liked this.
Dear Constant Reader,
It’s Friday again! I’m excited for my upcoming class, ValenTease, starting Monday, and our upcoming show, True Lust, on February 14. What are you excited for?
Here’s your tip:
If you’re in a show (or similar situation) and something you do (or failed to do) causes a problem. Accept responsibility and work with other folks to solve the problem.
Don’t try to deflect blame. Don’t leave it to others to fix the problem. Learn from the situation so it doesn’t happen again.
These writings and other creative projects are supported by my 19 Patrons. Thank you so much! To become a Patron, go to my Patreon page. Or you can just tip me if you liked this.
Dear Constant Reader,
January has been a rough month for many, so today’s tip is:
Do something nice for yourself. And then do something nice for someone else.
These writings and other creative projects are supported by my 19 Patrons. Thank you so much! To become a Patron, go to my Patreon page. Or you can just tip me if you liked this.
Oh, The Glamourous Life! 