My head is in the clouds today. (Well, not just today, if we’re being honest.) Today I’m honoring hot air balloons and the vast sky in which they float.
Before I go on, though, I want to be honest about this
costume. The idea of using a Chinese paper lantern for a hot air balloon is one
I saw online sometime within the last year. Usually my costume ideas come to me
out of nowhere, but I found this idea while searching for something else. Funny how I feel such a need to explain this. Every other costume I’ve ever made has been 100% my idea, so I’m a little uncomfortable using someone else’s idea as a launching pad. Except for the paper lantern, everything else about this costume is my
own idea. I added clouds to the balloon, put characters inside the basket, and made my own sky and clouds shirt. The earrings are my own idea, too.
The shirt is one I found at a thrift store. It had a logo on
the front and back, so I turned it inside out so they wouldn’t be seen. Then I
started painting clouds on the shirt so that it would go with my sky theme.
The grand total to create this costume is as follows:
Blue shirt, thrifted
$2
Chinese paper lantern
$1
_________________________
Total spent: $3
Everything else I used was stuff I already had on hand, and
some of it is recycled material. My earrings are made from plastic Easter eggs, paper, wire and hot glue.
The basket under the balloon used to be a drinking straws box, and it is wrapped in paper that was used as packing materials. (Thanks, Mom! I love this stuff. It may pop up in future costumes, too.). The supports between the balloon and the basket are wooden kebab sticks inside plastic straws. The brave passengers inside the balloon’s basket are toys from our own giant toy collection.
The basket under the balloon used to be a drinking straws box, and it is wrapped in paper that was used as packing materials. (Thanks, Mom! I love this stuff. It may pop up in future costumes, too.). The supports between the balloon and the basket are wooden kebab sticks inside plastic straws. The brave passengers inside the balloon’s basket are toys from our own giant toy collection.
Hot air balloons are beautiful with the sun streaming
through their brightly-colored, patterned shapes. They’re cheerful. But truth
be told, I’m scared of heights and I don’t think that climbing into one of them
is on my bucket list. Likewise for skydiving. So unless I have a major change
of heart, you won’t see me up in the sky under a balloon or a parachute. I’ve
painted murals that included hot air balloons. And I’ll wear them on my head.
But I have my limits. My head may be in the clouds but my feet are happiest on
solid ground.
https://instagram.com/sarahconleyartist
Is that a sheep or a cow hitching a ride in the basket? I might want to enlarge and frame the pic of the balloon in the cloudy sky--so lovely!
ReplyDeleteKim, wow, thanks! It is a zebra, but in truth the photo does make it hard to know that. Accompanying the zebra (since a zebra riding solo in a hot air balloon would be unlikely) are a girl, Buzz Lightyear and Gonzo the Great. FYI.
DeleteThe earrings are my favorite part. 😊
ReplyDeleteThanks, M! I tell ya, Easter Eggs have more potential the other 51 weeks of the year than people realize...
DeleteAaaahhh a hot air balloon!!! It's so perfect! Such a creative way of going about it's execution! I 💗 it!!! (I bet you couldn't wear the hat while driving tho? Unless had a sunroof!)
ReplyDeleteThanks, L! No, driving with it did not happen. I tried but it was not meant to be. I never seem to think of this before climbing in my car but hey, my ideas come as they do and tiny details like fitting in a car can be worked out...
DeleteI feel the same way about the head in the clouds feet on the ground thing. I really liked the cloud you painted on the shirt. It's all about the small details. You seem to have a lot of stuff hanging around like the easter eggs and kabob sticks. Is all of this stuff packed into your studio room thing?
ReplyDeleteKy, thanks! Oh yes, this place is packed with potential art supplies. The Easter eggs were in the garage with my seasonal decorations, and the kebab sticks live in the kitchen for grilling days. But my home studio is packed to the gills with supplies waiting their turn to become costumes!
ReplyDelete