I was Cleopatra this year! (I'm the tall one
) I'm not the svelte, young version, but the post-baby-approaching-middle-aged-and-enjoying-food-too-much version.
I made the tunic, which is also lined. The belt is made of gold lame and velcro, which I didn't have time to affix as well as I would have liked, the result being that the belt popped off with alarming frequency. ....sigh.... a few too many candied figs, perhaps?
I beaded the collar, but I'd like to redo it so that it's tighter around my neck. Other than that, it's done in authentic ancient Egyptian style, with the collar ending at the shoulders and a counter weight hanging down the back.
The shoulders are made of wood, painted gold and adorned with lotus blooms.
I really love the way the counter weight turned out. It's made of sculpey, with lead weights embedded in the back, then covered with more sculpey. It features a wedjat-eye, an ancient Egyptian symbol of wisdom and healing.
The headdress features the sun disc, made of a milk jug, painted and supported by a bamboo skewer. In the forefront is the royal cobra, made of sculpey and painted appropriately. He has emerald glass seed beads for eyes. He's attached to the sun disc with fishing filament and hot glue, and the whole works is glued to a gold wired ribbon. And I'd like to know how Cleo kept that thing on her head without it making her hair look ridiculous.
Not shown are my fabulous yard-sale find sandals - gold with colored stones set in the straps. Couldn't have found better shoes for this anywhere!
And the young lady in the photo with me is my friend's daughter- we were the only two Egyptians at a costume party and thought we should commemorate it!
