Venetian Costume Ball

Here are photos of the costume I created for a Venetian costume ball I attended last February in Seattle. I was able to use the teal velveteen gown I made in high school (I was inspired by the movie, Camelot, which I saw 5 times). After studying the Italian costumes, I concluded that the ladies did not show cleavage so I folded purple organdy 4 times, gathered it with basting stitches, and held it together with a ribbon to make a "ruff." The glittered mask was embellished and the hat was definitely OVER THE TOP! Because the gown was teal, I had to use peacock feathers as the basis for the hat.

I found the skirt recently at a local consignment shop. I immediately knew it would be the one for the next ball. The fabric is sheer (will need an underskirt) with stripes of sage green, orange, rust, and the"dots" are actually splotches of gold threads spaced all over the skirt. So now I must design the top. The colors are so rich an luscious-velvet seems the only way to go...
I am open for suggestions for the top....any ideas? Help! The ball is Feb 2011.

I'm so excited-my cast was removed last week ! Now I feel that I have to move twice as fast to make up for lost time. I missed being away from blogging, but typing was just too laborious & time consuming.

Here is a photo of some decorations I made recently for a friend's baby shower. The hostess wanted black, white, and pink for the colors. The topiary was made with tissue paper flowers pinned into a styrofoam ball and the clay pot was spray-painted black. The 3-tiered boxes were covered with coordinating papers. Normally I can effortlessly whip out a gorgeous bow, but with an arm in a cast, I felt totally clutzy and like a beginner again. It was a good lesson in humility.