The following two images show a before and after bustle. This dress had layers of voluminous tulle 'fluff', as I call it! Bustling it to get it off the ground was a huge challenge. We came up with quite the creative solution, ending up in an unusual, but beautiful, point in the back where the two outer most layers of tulle are brought in and meet in the center with a pearl button. The bride loved this alternative to the tulle just poofing out on the sides and back. Looks like a neatly wrapped package!
This is an up-cycled grandmother's wedding gown! We
removed the neck-high lace, made a lining for the bodice, narrowed the
sleeves at the shoulder, and made a button strip in the back (from the
lace that was removed) to cover the top portion of the zipper in the
back.
Author, Octavia Randolph, has commissioned me to make her some custom dress ensembles that depict the time era that her historical fiction novels are set in. Below are photos of her final outfit, designed from scratch, in front of her house in Gotland, Sweden. Currently I am working on ensemble #2. Ms. Randolph lives at a great distance from me, so we have done this project from start to finish long distance successfully!
Below is pictured the same dress ensemble, but with an added wine-colored apron panel that can be taken off. The embroidery was done by a very skilled embroiderer who volunteered her time and skills to embellish this outfit!
Below is outfit #2 completed, and worn by Octavia Randolph at the
2018 Dragon Con event! She was on several panels and did a reading of
her new book 'Sidroc the Dane'! She looks great and time-period
appropriate!
Below: 2018 project GOT season 5 cape-sleeved copycat gown!
Miss Washington Princess Pageant 2018! Little Tyler Venable has been a client of mine since she was 4 years old. This dress was designed by her mother and herself, and created/patterned by me. There is a custom petticoat underneath, which she can wear with other dresses. (If you scroll down, you will see a picture of Tyler in the dress she wore when she won her category at age 4!)
Custom 'Zelda' wedding dress! This was custom made for a bride who met her husband while playing the video game Zelda! So this theme was very meaningful to them. She was so very happy, which made my heart smile so big! <3
Custom wedding gown modeled after the red cosplay dress shown below. Sleeves were eliminated and a halter was designed. The corset was exquisitely beaded and swarovski crystals applied by the bride, herself. Professional pics will be posted once I receive them.
Pictures of this dress published in a bridal magazine:
Emerald City Comicon April 2016 - A project to duplicate this dress worn by the 'Evil Queen' in the hit TV show Once Upon a Time.
Nearly 100 hours of work went into the dress, from planning to construction. Most all the lace and embroidery was digitized in-house, which was the only way to get as close as we could to the original dress. Reini, herself, did ALL the sequin-work on the lace. This is an absolutely stunning gown!
The 'Evil Queen', Lana Parilla herself, gave a HUGE approval for this dress! She remembered Reini from a previous convention and knows her to showcase the most accurate Evil Queen dresses to date! Below is actor Sean Macguire, Reini, Malorie McDonald (Reini's cosplay partner), actress Lana Parilla, and Reini's fiancé Justin Kawabori.
May 2015 cosplay project: To copy this costume (on the right) from the Evil Queen on the TV show Once Upon a Time This is to be worn at the Regal-Con Convention in L.A. in May 2015. Tons of research, trial and error, and more time than I care to admit, and we came up with a pretty close copy (on the left). Pictures featuring the stunning details are below. The vast majority of beading was done by my daughter, Reini, who this dress was made for. I will post more pictures later of the costume being worn with hair and makeup done up.
My daughter, Reini, with actress Lana Parilla (aka: Evil Queen on TV show Once Upon a Time). Lana called Reini up on stage to show off 'the dress'. Lana told Reini that this was her favorite dress at the convention and the closest replica to date that she's ever seen of this dress!
Exquisitely beaded corset, collar back, and sleeves. Sleeve and corset lace was made in-house, from the talents of SueBox.com. Of course no Evil Queen is complete without her matching draw string pouch and poison apple!
Beaded tassles, 3-point bustle and a well deserved late night toast!
Custom wedding dress, complete with over 2500 swarovski crystals! The lace was all machine embroidered (over 50 hours of embroidery time on the train alone!) The computerized files for the lace on this dress came from from www.SueBox.com. This was a labor of love for my daughter! You can see this dress in person at my studio.
This is 4 year old Tyler. She won the Miss Washington Princess pageant in 2013 (her 1st pageant, too!) Her dress was too long, so I had to hem this fish-line-ruffled fluffy dress, as well as take in the side seams. She looked perfect! What a great personality this little one has!!! Good luck in your future endeavors, little Tyler! <3
We took the look of two dresses and combined them into one. We took off straps and added boning to make it strapless, and added loops and laces in the back. Also, body of the dress was too long for the bride so that was shortened too. The bride beaded the dress with gold beads...a nice touch!
Emerald City Comicon April 2016 - A project to duplicate this dress worn by the 'Evil Queen' in the hit TV show Once Upon a Time. 
May 2015 cosplay project: To copy this costume (on the right) from the Evil Queen on the TV show Once Upon a Time This is to be worn at the Regal-Con Convention in L.A. in May 2015. Tons of research, trial and error, and more time than I care to admit, and we came up with a pretty close copy (on the left). Pictures featuring the stunning details are below. The vast majority of beading was done by my daughter, Reini, who this dress was made for. I will post more pictures later of the costume being worn with hair and makeup done up.
My daughter, Reini, with actress Lana Parilla (aka: Evil Queen on TV show Once Upon a Time). Lana called Reini up on stage to show off 'the dress'. Lana told Reini that this was her favorite dress at the convention and the closest replica to date that she's ever seen of this dress! 
Exquisitely beaded corset, collar back, and sleeves. Sleeve and corset lace was made in-house, from the talents of SueBox.com. Of course no Evil Queen is complete without her matching draw string pouch and poison apple! 
Beaded tassles, 3-point bustle and a well deserved late night toast!
This is 4 year old Tyler. She won the Miss Washington Princess pageant in 2013 (her 1st pageant, too!) Her dress was too long, so I had to hem this fish-line-ruffled fluffy dress, as well as take in the side seams. She looked perfect! What a great personality this little one has!!! Good luck in your future endeavors, little Tyler! <3