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

Mermaid Stalactite Ballet in the Mexican Cenotes

This summer I spent some time in the Yucatan Peninsula, Mexico with a group of mermaids. We visited the various Cenotes - Sinkholes in the jungle that the Mayas used for sacrificial purposes.
The photos turned out amazing but it was extremely difficult to achieve them.
We drove around to the various Cenotes trying to get permission to swim in our tails and use photography equipment. Even if we got permission and paid an additional photography fee, sometimes we'd get kicked out mid-shoot by some other official who changed his mind but kept the money. There was a lot of corruption. Then, once arriving at a Cenote we trekked through the jungle with all of our equipment and our mermaid tails (mine weighs 39lbs/18kg) in the stifling heat and humidity.
At first the very cold waters felt nice, but after a few minutes the temperature difference was extreme. This photo doesn't show how cold the water is and one of our mermaids almost got Hypothermia. Nevertheless, the end results are amazing.
This one was taken at Cenote Dos Ojos - the sinkhole of the two eyes. It is a famous cave scuba diving location and the stalactite formations under water are haunting.
The photo was taken by the master of mermaid photography Chris Crumley (https://chriscrumley.com).

Cenote Dos Ojos: http://www.cenotedosojos.com/
Cenote description: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cenote

Mermaid Corinna - the first mermaid to visit the Little Mermaid in Copenhagen, Denmark!

CARPE DIEM!
Honor Thy Bucket List!
Mermaid Corinna - the first mermaid to visit the Little Mermaid in Copenhagen, Denmark!

Photographer: Brian Bales

www.facebook.com/mermaidcorinna

The M.C. Escher Museum - The Hague

Recently I visited the M.C. Escher museum in The Hague.

It’s a beautiful collection of M.C. Escher’s work and stories of his life (1898-1972).

As a child of the 80s and 90s, I grew up with his images everywhere in our pop-culture. It was an M.C. Escher renaissance and seeing his drawings live was like visiting old friends.

The museum is housed in the Lange Voorhout Palace, the former royal residence of Queen Emma.

Throughout the museum there are 15 unbelievable chandeliers by artist, Hans van Bentem, which are just as impressive as the surrounding art.

Escher wasn’t well known by art critics but rather admired by mathematicians and his work gained recognition through them in the 1950s. I wonder what he would think if he knew his works are displayed in the former Queen’s residence now.

It’s a great museum and definitely worth spending an afternoon there.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Escher_Museum
http://www.mcescher.com/

Photos of me by Brian Bales