The Butterfly Queen - Monarch Butterfly Wings Costume Tutorial

Since it's Halloween today, I will post another one of my costume tutorials.
This one is for a gigantic set of Monarch Butterfly wings that I made for the Lifeball, a ball to raise money for AIDS research in Vienna, Austria.

(Photos by Paul Allan Ballard)

1. The Idea

2. Wire hangers and duct tape (after trying several different types of wire I discovered that wire clothes hangers were the strongest). 

3. Putting it all together with duct tape.

4. Then hot glue a sheer fabric on both sides and trace and fill in the outlines of your desired wing patterns.

5. Fill in the white dots.

6. Add fiery colors...almost done. Now we just need glitter and sparkly details.

7. Add sparkly details.

They sparkle when the light hits!

8. Then hot glue and/or sew shoulder straps to wear them and Voila! They are finished.

Some more pictures of the wings in action at the Life Ball in Vienna. It was lovely how they sparkled and shone like stained glass under the spotlights.

(Photo by Christian Ha)

Happy Halloween!!!

Bat Wings - Vampire Queen Costume Tutorial For Halloween

I made these vampire bat wings and Vlad the Impaler accessories for the Vampire Ball in Heidelberg, Germany.

Here are the steps for making the vampire bat wings:

1. The Idea:

2. Wire hangers:

3. Masking tape for "the bones" of the wings:

4. Mod Podge and tissue paper to create the "membrane":

5. Once it dries (I used about 5 layers of Mod Podge), cut the bottom of the wings into the shape you want and wash off the tissue paper.

7. Paint the bones:

8. Paint the wings black:

9. Use a glue gun (and sew) to attach straps for wearing:

10. Finished. This is what the back looks like:

The Vampire Queen in action:

    (Vampire Queen photos by Paul Allan Ballard)

Now for some Vlad the Impaler accessories.

The bat scepter:

Notice Vlad Tepes' glowing, ruby eyes....muahahaha

The Vlad Tepes fascinator:

The Vlad Tepes brooch:

More Vampire Queen photos:

The Vampire Queen's Kitty Cat snack:

And finally some pictures of the Vampire Ball in Heidelberg, Germany:

Happy Halloween & Guten Appetit! Muahahaha