Dance designs, the easy part. I think.

Day 1 of dance costume prep involved packing supplies, lugging costume in garment bag and gemming at my mother-in-law's dining table as we visited. (I have no time to slack off!)

Red gems line the bottom all the way around the legs. A few sparkly clears are thrown on the front for a bit of shine when she moves. That's all this part needs. Her shirt will cover the top of the shorts and her vest will be heavily decorated. Keeping it simple, right?

Ooooo. Simple but sparkly.

Okay, so I started with the easy piece. Hey, why not? I'm using a heat gun I've never used before and types of gems I've never touched. I'm no expert. As I quickly demonstrated with my first application of heat tool to gem to fabric:

Oopsies. Did I do that?

Yeah. Not so good. Apparently it can get so hot it melts right through the fabric. Lesson learned- I didn't do it again. But I do have a very attractive piece of cardboard now. Don't believe me? Take a look:

See the line of black around it? That used to be fabric. Did you know melted fabric makes for a REALLY strong glue? My cardboard does. Really, really, really strong glue.

I guess I need to learn the fine line between getting the gem good and set and setting the pants on fire good. I may go back to glue with the shirt. Who knows what I might do with that thin fabric! Vest tomorrow. Several evenings work await me on that. Wish me luck. Think I'm gonna need it.