![\"\"](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.davina.us\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/Screenshot-2025-09-21-at-1.30.32\u202fPM.png?resize=427%2C535&ssl=1\")
<\/p>\nThis week, the costume I dubbed “Blue Mermaid” is on the move.\u00a0 I boxed the costume up and sent her winging away to her new home on the East Coast.<\/p>\n
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This costume arrived at Studio Davina last November.\u00a0 I did some quick renovations to the bra and belt to get them onto the stage and in motion.<\/p>\n
The bra is magical. The skirt is a dream. Unfortunately, the belt was lovely, but a bit of a mismatch. While impeccably made, the stones were sparse.\u00a0 It was a match between a professional Egyptian imported bra and a more amateur level belt.\u00a0 ![\"\"](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.davina.us\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/Blue-Mermaid-First-Belt-2.jpg?resize=580%2C436&ssl=1\")
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Shalimar of North Carolina and I had a deep consultation. With enough time, I could bring this belt to a new layer of doneness to make a better stylistic match. The design brief included:<\/p>\n
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I’ve been sharing this project over in my Facebook Group throughout the summer.\u00a0 The most two asked questions are “What glue do you use?” and “Where did you get the rhinestones.”<\/p>\n
First, if I were to use glue, I would reach for a bottle of Beacon 3-In-One Craft Glue<\/a>. But all the pearls, stones, and sequins on this belt were sew-on.\u00a0 Although I sewed slowly over the summer, it was only about 12 hours of sewing. To save time, I choose larger embellishments that covered more territory with fewer stitches. The rest of the supplies were pulled from my inventory and were primarily leftovers from past projects.\u00a0 In my community, few places sell bulk quantities of surface embellishments. Amazon helps me access materials I simply cannot source locally.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.davina.us\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/Rhinestones.png?resize=580%2C186&ssl=1\")
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