Beautiful Bows

We found a stash of silk ribbon that I had bought while visiting New York. Even ballerinas have to accessorize!

NCDT School of Dance Benefit Performance

At the end of every school year, North Carolina Dance Theatre School of Dance puts on a Benefit Performance, and this year is no exception. The performance is at 7:30 on Thursday, June 3rd, at the Booth Playhouse. This isn't the school's recital - it is an opportunity to see pieces the older students (apprentices and trainees) have worked on throughout the year. It is a really fantastic show.

I designed this poster to help advertise the Benefit. The photo is by Peter Zay.



If you live in the Charlotte area, don't miss the opportunity to some and see it. If interested, you can call the box office at 704.372.1000.

Thirteen

A friend of Caitrin's from ballet turned thirteen a couple of weeks ago and we just had to make her a gift. Thirteen is a very special birthday and this is a special young lady. We made this little ballerina doll bag with a fabric yo-yo for a bun - we thought it was perfect because Caitrin's friend collects dolls.

It was inspired by the Boy Acrobat project in Omiyage, by Kumido Sudo. As you can see, we made some hairpins for her to use as well, but they don't fit inside the bag. Oh dear. We love them anyway.

Here is another hairpin we made for this lovely young lady with silk ribbon. The picture isn't as good since my camera and I weren't playing nicely. (I'm sure it was entirely my fault. Camera, I hope you are listening.)

A word about silk ribbon... Yes, it is expensive and it does fray a bit at the edges, but it takes fabric dye in a manner unlike any other material. The depth and luminosity of color in hand-dyed silk ribbon is incredible and just a small piece can make a project sing. The ribbons I used for these hairpins were from a trip to M & J Trimming in New York City a couple of years ago. They have an extensive online store - check them out!

And, since I just cannot stand to waste fabric, we used the last few scraps we had leftover from our Fabrilicious Eggs, Flower Coasters, and Yo-Yo-Pillow to make these pincushions.

The pattern comes from Anna Maria Horner's book, "Seams to Me" . They were easy to make. (I used very heavy-weight interfacing rather than posterboard for to mount the bottom circle to make for easier finishing.)

Have a great week!
Amanda

Cinderella!

"Cinderella", a ballet put on by North Carolina Dance Theatre, has consumed much of our lives this past week and will continue to do so next week - in a good way. Since our daughter and some of her friends are little animals in the show, I have seen it a few times. What a feast for the eyes! (And as a mom, I am not prejudiced, of course.) The costumes - the brocades and sparkley jewels - are unforgettable. And of course that's on top of the dancing. Gorgeous.

The parent guild mans a boutique during the shows. The proceeds benefit North Carolina Dance Theatre's School of Dance. Since it is, after all, "Cinderella", we went for a completely girlie look. Very pink and pretty. I designed some t-shirts for the show I thought you might want to see.

And every little ballerina needs a bag...

A very talented mom named Pat Ozmeral puts everything together into a great display with the help of her sister. Now, as much as I love drawing I do not have a decorating bone in my body. Pat amazes me. Look at her work...

I did design a display for the school - we went for bright and colorful. (Photos in the display by Peter Zay.)

A very happy weekend with happy kids.

In the meantime I did find a use for those yo-yos. Next time, hopefully, a free pattern!

Have a great week!