Who is this, anyway?
Is it Carmen Miranda, risen miraculously from the dead?
I wish! Sorry to disappoint, but it's only...
little ol' me.
I am, however, honoured to be in very good company indeed respecting my tribute to Ms Miranda - including Angie Pontani, who inspired this creation with her article in Craft Mag Vol. 4. I will admit that Angie looks far better in her version than I.
(If you are too young to remember Carmen Miranda (as, technically, am I - but in some respects I am an old fart trapped in a not quite middle aged woman's body!), you may well recall some other tributes to her: including Bugs Bunny and Chiquita Banana)
But actually I don't think I look half bad! At any rate, I look happy.
And, speaking of fancy dress - isn't this a great outfit? The dress is called is the Rhumba. I acquired some years back at Price Roman (which sells absolutely fabulous clothes) to wear to a wedding. I don't want to admit how much it cost... suffice it to say it was roughly equivalent to 20 Value Village sojourns or 50 dollar store runs.
The headdress, on the other hand, cost only $30... er, $42. $20.00 for this stuff:
... and $10.00 for this:
(Except that, ahem... the glue gun pictured perished last evening at my cruel and impatient hands. And if you've been reading this blog for any length of time, you have probably already surmised that there will be a future post on this topic alone. I'm fairly predictable in my lunacy. A basket also perished but it was ugly anyway so I really don't care.)
I should note that JJ gave creative input to this project (he is a big fan of Carmen Miranda, having seen this flick when a young lad. And, by the way, it is highly recommended viewing for all ages. I loved it!). Most specifically, he proposed that I weave the orange flowers in with the purple - which worked perfectly.
I made a couple of modifications from what Angie suggested:
- mixed in some vegetables with the fruits and flowers
- added two scarves, one to wrap the basket and one to drape over the spandex tie
- omitted the sparklies and fake pearls, for now, anyway
... in the bedroom drawer - together with some other stuff which will be the subject of yet another post, I'm sure you'll be glad to know. Again I digress... I did try stringing these onto the headpiece but they didn't quite work. I'm sure they'll do for something else, though... stay tuned!)However, I think that mine is taller than hers (hell, it's taller than I am!). heh heh. I had to duck coming through the doors to make my grand entrance, which kind of detracted from the grand aspect of the entrance. (The headpiece is 30" long from tip to bottom and about 10" wide.)
Oh well. The fruit look tasty anyway, don't they?
I will confess that I was not able to tie it properly to stay on my head unaided (I could have asked JJ to help, but wanted to surprise him). I could walk when holding it and even did a little samba for JJ (for at least 20 seconds!).
If I make another one (and I don't see why not) for actual wear, I think I'd try to go with some styrofoam fruit.
But, all in all, I'm very happy with this creation and it will make a great table decoration to match the Liquorice Allsorts.
In parting, here is a photo that I think represents the spirit of Carmen.
I do hope that she is resting in peace... either that, or having a ton of fun wherever she is now.And, for the living, I wish you a happy St. Michael's Day. If you know any Greeks called Michael, try to crash the party. It will be a good one.
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