I think, that deep down, everyone has a little bit of Peter Pan inside. We never really want to grow up properly, and we all want a chance to play at being princesses and princes and warriors and fairies and adventurers, now and again.
I'm always reminded of this when I pull out costumes and jewelry for friends, with the useful excuse of a camera in my hands!
This summer two friends and I seized the chance to transition from prosaic college students to spritely faeries and noble royalty for one glorious afternoon. I'd like to share a sampling of the day's gems!
(All of the jewelry is available for sale on my Etsy shop, and if it's sold I can usually make more!)
Of course, we started with an adventure.
"It's a dangerous thing, going out your door--" especially when fences are involved.
Thankfully, no one was hurt, and the fact that these photos of the fall exist make us very happy.
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All a summer dress needs is a cloak and some jewelry and it's fit for a princess!
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| C. is wearing my Aurora Rhinestone Circlet made with champagne colored silk-- inspired by Princess Aurora in the show Once Upon a Time. |
The splendour falls on castle walls
And snowy summits old in story:
The long light shakes across the lakes,
And the wild cataract leaps in glory.
Blow, bugle, blow, set the wild echoes flying,
Blow, bugle; answer, echoes, dying, dying, dying.
O hark, O hear! how thin and clear,
And thinner, clearer, farther going!
O sweet and far from cliff and scar
The horns of Elfland faintly blowing!
Blow, let us hear the purple glens replying:
Blow, bugle; answer, echoes, dying, dying, dying.
O love, they die in yon rich sky,
They faint on hill or field or river:
Our echoes roll from soul to soul,
And grow for ever and for ever.
Blow, bugle, blow, set the wild echoes flying,
And answer, echoes, answer, dying, dying, dying.
(from The Princess by Alfred Lord Tennyson)
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| The circlet is made out of braided wire, and the Enchanted Evenstar necklace was originally designed for a custom bridesmaid set. |
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| I was glad to get a close-up shot of this necklace. It's another Enchanted Evenstar design, and still carries a summery beach feel, even when we are in the middle of the woods. (Then again, another friend described it as a necklace for an Ice Queen, so to each his own). |
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| This rhinestone and white satin headband was on my workbench as an unfinished Aurora Circlet, but the three of us decided that it works very well as a simpler headband. |
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| "This picture is basically a movie poster." "YES I've always wanted to be in a movie!" |
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| Portrait of a Queen. (I think that some of these pictures need short stories to go along with them!). |
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| Once upon a time... |
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| "She's like Little Red Riding Hood, without the Red." |
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| "Now, an Elf." |
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| I told them to act like a dragon was flying towards them. Their response was not quite what I expected. |
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| The woods here are, to quote Frost, lovely, dark, and deep. But they are so dark and so deep that we were happy enough to stay on the paths at the skirts of the little forest. |
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| One of my favorites-- L. makes a wonderful princess.
The circlet is braided gold wire, the necklace has several flowers and bright green leaves, and you can even see the clasp I forged myself for the cloak. (Haha, you can also see how off the seams on the cloak are, but let's not talk about that, eh?)
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| A beaded bracelet, and one of the silver rhinestone rings. |
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| This is an armcuff in forest greens! |
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| No play-acting involved: this one IS a spritely fairy, with or without her costume. |
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| Braided cuff and Star Flower ring. :) |
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After an hour of exploring the woods and depleting the small box of jewelry I brought along, we did a brief "normal people clothing" shoot:
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| This ring is one of the most difficult pieces I've made. It began as nothing but strands of sterling silver and a stone. Several hours of soldering and polishing later, and it's almost exactly what I wanted! The stone has a tiny bit of wiggle, so it's definitely a technique I need practice on. But this is a piece of actual fine jewelry. ^_^ |
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| The park has these fabulous giant stone frogs. We had a Thumbelina moment. |
There is nothing quite like summer days and dressing up! Thanks so much to my lovely model friends!!!
