A Hat like a Confection

Birds.  Flowers.  Big!  These were the only instructions I received when I was asked by my good friend, Lisa, the costumer at Stages, to create a headpiece for the upcoming musical, The Sound of Music, that she is costuming at the Charles Finney School.

And, naturally, I jumped at the opportunity for a decorating challenge!  I haven't costumed for a show in quite a few months, deciding to take a break for the year as I'm plenty busy with the internship and now college classes.  In fact, I even, sadly, had to turn down the chance to be the lead costumer for a Stages' show because of my schedule...well, the theater bug has bitten me again!

Funny thing is I actually have some history with The Sound of Music:  not only was it a favorite growing up with my sister, Maria, but I had the chance to play second violin in the pit orchestra for Our Lady of Mercy's production in 2011.  Oh goodness, all of the fond memories of three hours of tremolo without a bathroom break...fast forward to the present, let's just say being asked to create an over-the-top headpiece for the musical was a little more up my alley.

Decadent headpieces from Marie Antoinette (2006), directed by Sofia Coppola.
(Image via: http://www.imdb.com/media/rm848269824/tt0422720?ref_=ttmi_mi_all_pos_96)

That said, instead of starting from scratch, I decided to be green and reuse a hat (the Lavender puff hat) that was badly in need of sprucing up.   Inspired by the heavenly creations from the movie, Marie Antoinette (2006) directed by Sopfia Coppola, I wanted to create a confection of my own!

A delicate confection with cascading purple flowers.
(Image via: http://www.cakecentral.com/g/i/2986603/a/3338333/same-cake-different-view/)

After reshaping the hat, I added purple ruffles, a perching bird, feathers, and flowers big & small - and, ta da!  The finished result:

(The tulle is there to act like the up-do that will keep the hat at its tilt.)

Ta ta for now!  And, as always, thank you for reading!