Okay, so I know it’s been a while since I last posted. I’ve been quite busy living a nomadic life, but I’ve finally settled back down in Tampa, FL.

One benefit to moving all over the place is taking in all the sights. It’s sort of like an extended vacation where you get to be a tourist in your own city. Last year, I was living in Midtown Atlanta, GA for a few months and was ecstatic to see that The Center for Puppetry Arts was throwing a Dark Crystal Ball. Of course, I had to go in celebration of my favorite film of all time. I only had two days to put together a costume, but I was able to commit myself entirely to it.

A few trips to the local Goodwill, costume stores, and craft store provided me with ample materials for my costume. The biggest score was a pair of Tinkerbell wings for 99 cents and a bag of mixed fabrics for stupid cheap. I was able to reshape the wings and cover them with the fabric so they looked more like Kira’s. My boyfriend, Jared, even helped me with the spray adhesive when it got down to the wire. I then doctored-up a Doctor Doom costume with some scissors, safety pins, fabric glue, and a some embroidery from a thrift store pillow. Of course, I already had some elf ears. Add to that some old hippie clothes and makeshift arm and leg gauntlets (made out of a bubble shirt! remember those?), and I was a bona fied Gelfling.

Going to the event the first time was such a last-minute decision. My dad suggested I get business cards for Fanciful Quill and pass them around, so that’s what I did. Unfortunately, picking them up made me unfashionably late for the ball, so I missed the costume contest and the raising of the crystal; but I don’t think I would have had a chance anyway, as the other costumes were out-of-this-world fantastic. If you see yourself in any of these pictures and want to be credited, please let me know! They aren’t all the best quality, but it’s my mom who’s the photographer of my family.

I was also astounded by the opulence of the decor as well as the array of refreshments. There were several Dark Crystal replicas at the event, and they were all great for photo opportunities. The Center For Puppetry Arts really outdid themselves.

My favorite thing about the event is getting to meet like-minded people who enjoy the Hensons and Frouds’ work as much as I do. I have made some lasting friendships while attending The Dark Crystal Ball.

Theresa and I have gone together to the past two Dragon Cons and Center for Puppetry Arts Balls. I’m a bit of an introvert, and I’m not sure I would’ve done all this cool stuff if it weren’t for her encouragement.

This year, I was also able to meet a fellow member of one of my Dark Crystal Facebook fan groups. Jen Eversole took lots of pictures; which was so nice, because I overestimated the number of free hands I’d have once the flower puppet and the beverages came into play.

The exhibit itself is worth the trip to The Center for Puppetry Arts. I believe it is going to remain there until January 2020, so definitely go see it if you get the chance. Unfortunately, this year, I was so invested in ensuring that my costume did not fall apart (more on that later), that I did not take many pictures of it.

Another perk of The Dark Crystal Ball is getting to meet some of my heroes and also learning about other talented people to admire and hopefully someday emulate.

Which brings me to the piece de resistance: my costume for this year. I spent one month conceptualizing it and one month building it. I knew I wanted to look like a Gelfling going to a ball, because I was so inspired by all the gowns from 2018. I also was inspired by the aesthetic in the trailers that were coming out for the much-anticipated new show The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance. Anyone who knows me, knows that I’ve been waiting to return to Thra for most of my life. All that anticipation made me pretty grumpy, and I’m afraid I came across as whiny when I wrote about it five years ago. I really need to learn not to bite the hand that feeds, especially after now knowing about how difficult the creative process can be in this corporate world.

Anyway, after pausing each trailers half a million times my costume needed to have some elements of the Caves of Grot, and I had to have that gorgeous Sanctuary Tree flower. I asked myself if I could personify Deet and the Sanctuary tree becoming one, as it was in her vision scenes that were giving me Game of Thrones/A Song of Ice and Fire weirwood vibes.

I bought a sewing machine thinking I could quickly learn to sew a ball gown from scratch (ha!), but someone wiser than me said I’d be better off just altering an old dress from the thrift store. The hardest part was finding all the materials on the cheap while still keeping with my original design. Another struggle was having no idea what I was doing and just winging it. I probably spent too much time on things that would never be seen like painting and detailing my heels as well as hand-dying the secondhand wedding petticoat. Sponge-painting the skirt to the dress was necessary; because it had a huge stain, and I wanted it to look like the walls of a Grottan cave. Adversely, safety-pinning the LED lights onto the inside of one of the layers of the skirt turned out to be the easiest thing ever.

For the supersized Grottan flower, I purchased a pair of turquoise gloves to adhere the petals to, but I found it would not look elegant enough with my sewing skills or lack thereof. I ditched that idea and just threaded each flower layer through the squishy flashing LED ring I had bought for the center of the flower. I then glued fishing line loops to the back of the petals closest to my thumb and pinky finger. Like the original, feathers added some nice sympathetic movement.

I tried to detangle and restyle an old Daenarys Targaryen wig that I had lent out to friends, but she was unsalvageable. Running out of time and money, I was distraught that my vision may not become fully-realized. Luckily, my mom pointed out that I did not have to be both Deet and the Sanctuary Tree, I could just use the K.I.S.S. method and be the tree. Then, there was a eureka moment when a fellow fan pointed out to me that the tree has pink leaves once out of the caves. I had an old Nurse Joy wig from a previous costume that was salvageable after some fabric softener. I curled the wig with dollar store foam curlers and set it in boiling water. I brushed it out, and voila! Mr. Brightside video girl realness. It ended up being the most talked-about piece in my costume, so never underestimate the power of a well-styled wig.

That wise person I was talking about suggested I make the roots for the cage skirt out of pool noodles. Lo and behold, that’s a thing. I found a very useful YouTube tutorial on making pool noodle roots, albeit for Halloween decor. I did not think about how they would attach to the dress nor how they’d hold up whilst wearing them. Still, I now know how to “corpse” using foam, shrink wrap, and a heat gun.

It took me like two days to make the roots and figure out how to adhere them, and it took two minutes of sitting in my taxi on the way to the ball for all but the front root to rip off the dress completely. It didn’t help that I never use Uber or Lyft, so I had to chase down my taxi in the Georgia heat. Shout out to the kind stranger, Beth of Roswell, whose daughter cosplays, so she had the heart to pick up a dismayed weirdo dressed like Marie Antoinette in August. She helped me find another taxi and kept me from ruining my makeup with a nervous breakdown. Had I known then what I know now, I would have changed into the dress once I got to the venue.

Going to the event, I was worried no one would know what I was, seeing as the trailers for the new show had just come out, and my character was a new introduction to the world of The Dark Crystal. It turned out that was the judges’ favorite aspect. Artists who worked on the show knew who I was right away and were also skeptical as to how I could have pulled out an elaborate costume from a few seconds on a total of three short trailers. I guess being somewhat obsessive can pay off sometimes. Attached pool noodle tree roots or no, I did still manage to miraculously nab third place and get a sweet swag bag full of Dark Crystal stuff. I’d say the blood, sweat, tears, and couple months’-worth of concerned looks from friends and family were all worth it.

Sorry if combining both events into one post is confusing, but I have been putting off posting this for too long while I try to figure out what I’m doing with my life. For now, I’m going to try my hand at puppetry. I’m still also flirting with the idea of a YouTube channel, so stay posted you patient readers.

I’m just so honored to have been a part of The Center for Puppetry Arts Dark Crystal Ball both years. These people and events made me realize how I need to start nurturing my creative side. I mean, how often do you get to do The Time Warp with members of The Jim Henson Company? I can’t wait to do it again when I return to Dragon Con next year to see what the Beau Brown and the rest of the Dragon Con Puppetry Track has in store. I already have my weekend pass and hotel room booked. What are you waiting for?