Episode 2: Pet Project

Unlike the season 9 designers the distraction I had at the pet store was 2, 4 year olds. Okay so one is still 3 weeks shy of 4 but close enough.

They were absolutely enchanted by the turtles. That being said I had the most time to really look and price things out in the aquarium department. So it is no wonder that most of my supplies came from there. Remember I only could afford a tenth of the budget that the season 9 designers had of $300, I set myself a budget of $30 and ended up spending $18.73. I found clearance things and let that really lead what I was buying. The gal at the checkout is also a Project Runway fan so when I explained why I had such random items she actually understood.

I'm getting ready for a craft fair this weekend here on O'ahu, so my sewing time has been divided. It's been so divided infact that I let my "helpers" help me add the glue and sand to my bodice. I used puppy wee pads, yes I know they were over used, but I didn't use any muslin. The foundation of the bodice was the wee wee pads. I took the blue plastic backing off and it was a nice white quilted fabric looking pad.

Probelm one became coverage. Since the wee wee pads were soo absorbant I used 3 whole bottles of glue and then had to let it sit in the sun to bake and dry. My "helpers" were also not so good at making sure that I was done putting on the glue before they started dumping sand, but over all they were actually helpful and we got the bodice done. Then after bedtime my Hubby and I watched a movie while I burned the tips of my fingers repeatedly to add the aquarium rocks to the neck line and straps. Then it was time to put all the pieces together.

 What I used:

4 puppy wee wee pads

1 bag vita sand for reptiles

1 bag aquarium rocks

1 aquarium decoration

3 feet of aquarium back drop plastic paper

Glue

Hot Glue

thread

tape

In this shot you can see the aquarium decoration being used like a decorative belt buckle, and the detail of the cutting I used on the skirt.

It's not my favorite design ever but it only had to be better than the dress eliminated so I hope it is in your eyes. I think if it wasn't like armor (that much glue baked in the sun makes a rather nice pinata but not a bodice) it might actually be a pretty cute dress on me. I like the way that the blue stripe comes together in the center of the skirt even though the pieces are flipped and juggled. It gives it a really nice look.

I'm hopeing the next challenge is a bit less expensive.