Category: leather crowns

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Halloween 2019 Ordering Info

day of the dead mask with red roses

Hi friends! Here’s my Halloween 2019 ordering info, to assist with your costume party planning:

Availability –

“Ready to Ship” items are in stock and ready to ship quickly

“Made to Order” listings for existing designs from my catalogue can take 1-3 weeks to create, before shipping. These listings will be available until October 1st, 2019.

“Custom Work” designed to your specifications can take 2-4 weeks to create, before shipping. An estimated timeline will be provided in advance.
* Very limited availability ~ Halloween commissions close 9/15/19 *

Suggested ordering dates for probable delivery by 10/31/19 –

✫ USA:
1st Class Mail – order by Oct 22nd
Priority Mail – order by Oct 25th
Priority Express Mail – order Oct 28th

✫ INTERNATIONAL:
1st Class Mail – order by Sept 20th
Priority Mail – order by Oct 15th
Priority Express Mail – order by Oct 22nd

USPS 1st Class Mail is the default shipping method. Expedited shipping options are available at checkout.

Click here to see typical transit times for each shipping method.

 

 

 

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Snow Angel in July

beaded leather winter crown

I recently crafted this snow angel headpiece for beautiful Leonie of Nova Star Productions. It felt a bit strange to be working on a winter themed piece in the dead of summer, but since my client lives in Australia, it actually makes sense! I think this is the 3rd or 4th headdress that she has commissioned for her stilt walkers performance troupe. They perform at festivals and events down under, and their job is essentially to spread magic and make people smile!

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Lady Trieu Custom Headpiece

Well then! This one was a difficult birth, but I’m happy with the end result and so glad that she made it to her new owner.

Lady Trieu leather headdress
Golden wing headdress

The first time I worked with Miss K was 6 years ago, when her mother commissioned me to create custom Halloween masks for her and her sister (K is the peacock). This family was lovely to work with. Their mother let them design their costumes, and it was a lot of fun to try to actualize the kids’ ideas. I was honored to learn that mom had special shadow boxes built for these masks so that the girls can enjoy them year round.

custom leather bird masks
custom bird masks circa 2012

So when mom approached me recently for this project, I was happy to oblige. Especially when she gave me the background story: Miss K had a school report that required her to dress up as a historical figure and tell their story. She chose Lady Trieu, who is often called “the Vietnamese Joan of Arc”. She was a fierce rebel warrior who lead her people in to battle. I LOVE that K chose such a powerful role model for her school report! It was a pleasure to craft this headpiece based on her vision of this historical figure. The design was inspired by a crown worn by Miss Vietnam, as well as her mother’s tattoo. Her report was a hit, and her smile makes the costume.

 

Lady Trieu leather crown
Lady Trieu headpiece

 

 

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Halloween Ordering Info 2016 (or “he who hesitates is lost”)

leather masks in progress
leather masks in progress

As this photo suggests, I’m already up to my elbows in Halloween prep! I’ve had several requests for custom costumes, so it seems like a good time to let everyone know that commission spots will be very limited this year. Like, extremely limited. So if you’re hoping to have something made from scratch to your specifications, you should definitely contact me soon! To order a one of a kind costume piece, please visit the “Custom Work” section of my website, and fill out the inquiry form there. This form outlines the info that I’ll need in order to understand your project, and it will really streamline the process for both of us. My commission spots fill up quickly, so please don’t put this off!

If you’re simply hoping to have one of my existing designs painted in your colors, I can usually be a bit more flexible. My turn around time for these types of orders is generally around two weeks before shipping, though that wait time gets longer the closer we get to Halloween. You can check out my “Made to Order” section to find mask styles that can be made in your choice of colors.

If you’re in a hurry, please visit my “Ready to Ship” section, for a selection of masks that are in stock and ready to ship quickly. 

Last but not least, I’ll be adding a small selection of unique, one of a kind masks and costume accessories this year. Keep an eye on my website, as well as my Facebook fan page, in order to see these pieces as they’re added.

And just to reiterate: Halloween commissions will be very limited this year. If you’d like a custom costume, now’s the time to get in touch. Please don’t be one of those silly people who contacts me three days (or even 3 weeks) before Halloween in hopes of commissioning a one of a kind piece!

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An assortment of leather circlets

beadmask-circlets-2015Here’s an assortment of filigree leather circlets that I recently completed. They’re fun little costume (or everyday) accessories, especially nice for folks who wear glasses. The smaller ones work nicely as chokers, too.

I’ll be adding them to the site over the next few days; you’ll find them listed with my leather crowns.

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Weird Scenes Inside the Gold Mine

A pile of leather masks & wings in progress…

School has been taking a lot of my focus and energy of late, so my creative time has been very limited. It’s somewhat uncomfortable, since being creative is really how I process the things that are going on in my life. I tend to think a lot (sometimes to the point of over thinking) so making is a very soothing process for me; my hands get moving and my mind begins to still. It helps me to relax, to sift out my ideas and to find solutions.

Without this outlet, I get a little high strung. That feeling has been hitting critical mass lately, and I’ve been out of sorts. Irritable, restless and generally feeling unproductive and uninspired. I was really starting to get stressed out about this, when I took a second look at my studio.

I began to realize that I haven’t stopped being creative, I just haven’t been able to complete as much with the limited studio time. I’m able to peck away at a variety of projects here and there, I’m just not finishing as many of them. As you can see by the photos here, I have quite a lot of  pieces “in progress” that are piling up. The masks above and the hair toys below represent just a fraction of the projects in my studio right now.

Assorted hair toys awaiting completion

A quick count tells me that my unfinished projects include at least 12 odd masks, 7 pair of wings, 6 or 7 crowns and headdresses, and more hair toys than I can count. That’s not even counting beadwork or leather jewelry (let’s not even go there). It’s typical for me to have several projects going on at once, since I tend to group things in “stages”. For example, I’ll cut out several patterns at once, then shape, then paint, then embellish them in “groups”. Groups of this size are unusual, though. I’m thinking this may be where some of my restlessness and dissatisfaction is coming from.

It’s ironic how often the state of my studio parallels the state of my head and heart 😉 I think that the clutter in my creative space is cluttering up my head! So I’m making a commitment to whittle this pile down by at least half within the next month. It’ll clear up some work space, and hopefully open up room for some fresh attitudes and ideas as well.