Isis and Osiris Ball I Was a Major Success!

Now that the Mystic Society of Isis and Osiris has completed their first ball, Miss Ginger can share the festivities with you and show you some of the magic that was produced!

First, look at the room when we first walked into it: 

Plenty of space, but not exactly an elegant environment for a black tie affair!  No worries, however, as the professionals from Townsley Designs of Austin arrived with 4 truckloads of glitz and glam, and in no time flat had transformed the room into this swanky environment:

Now THAT'S a room for a Mardi Gras celebration like no one's ever seen in Houston, TX! 

Once the space was set, the costumes were loaded in, and the Ball was ready to roll! And roll it did, with a never-stopping soundtrack provided by DJ Dylan Barnes that kept guests dancing and mingling! 

The first costumes out were Ball Captain I, followed by Isis I and Osiris I, dressed to the theme as "Venetian Red." 

After a couple more costumes, some dancing, and lots of beads flying, Miss Ginger appeared as "Murano Glass Chandelier:"

The chandelier's arms were made of 1 1/2" clear tubing, reinforced with a length of metal shelf strapping to provide stiffness without extra weight.  The globes of the chandelier were made from gallon-sized plastic water bottles, melted into shape with a heat gun.  Of course, a chandelier has to light up, so the power was provided by 7 led puck lights.  It was a very fun costume, easy to make and wear, and the audience seemed to love it! 

Next on Miss Ginger's Mardi Gras social calendar is Houston's "Mystery and Fantasy Mardi Gras Party," another black tie/fancy dress event, which this year falls on Miss Ginger's birthday, February 22nd.  The theme is 'The Mystery and Fantasy of Sci Fi," so Miss G is thinking she may get a little more use out of that gold morph suit!  Miss G is not much of a Sci-Fi buff, so she's looking forward to some great suggestions from all of her 'snaps!  leave your ideas in the comments…. who knows, she may just bring it to life! 

WTF is It?!

Not JUST a hoop skirt, dear DD!!

It's a pannier, an 18th century petticoat worn in the times of Marie Antionette to show the details and embellishments of an elaborate skirt. This motherfucker has consumed the Queens life for the last several months, and she is QUITE pleased to be finished with it, at last!

The inability to find a pattern , especially in the required "jumbo petite" is just the beginning of the difficulties!  In ancient times, they were made of linen and whalebone.  Have you GingerSnaps SEEN the price of whalebone lately, if you can find it at all? Joking aside, the polyester boning sold in fabric stores wouldn't begin to hold the structure of a hoop skirt this large, so the clever Queen found rolls and lengths of sprinkler pipe at the Home Depot that would provide the rigidity, flexibility, and light weight that the project required.  Muslin is more practical than linen for something that's not to be seen, and trust, it breaks the Queen's heart that she has worked so long and hard on something that is to be covered up!  Without a pattern, there was a lot of trial and error, cutting and recutting, and shoving and unshoving of those pipes so the whole thing could go through the machine!  But now that's it's done, Queen Ginger couldn't be happier!  It hangs straight and floats like a cloud, and at almost 9 feet from port to starboard, that's a feat in itself!

The whole thing will be covered in a gorgeous gown that Queen G has on one short month to create!  Wish her luck- she's going to need it! And, if postings are light for a while, you'll know why! But if you can't stand another day with the Queen's snarky wit and humor, just check her out on Facebook- that's where you can usually find her, when she's not at the sewing machine!

Queen Ginger's First "Diplomatic" Function

Miss Ginger is so excited that she and King Tony, along with Captain Bill, are headed off on our first tour of duty as ambassadors for the Krewe of Olympus!  We are going to Galveston this weekend to mask with the Krewe of Bacchus!  The Bacchus ball is a more traditional bal masque, so we will be wearing our coronation vestments once again. Queen G hopes to get some better pictures for you this time, and because she will have a bit more time to get ready,  she's hoping to have a better face painted  this time,  too!


Bacchus is a new Krewe, and their very first King and Queen will be reigning over the ball!  Queen Ginger and King Tony are VERY excited to be welcoming a "sister" Krewe to the Texas Mardi Gras landscape- hopefully, there will be more to come!!

The weekend begins at Galveston's historic Tremont House Hotel, where Queen G will take residence beginning Friday night.  This FABULOUS hotel,  built in 1879, is also the starting point for Saturday evening's events, with a cocktail party in the hotel bar.  Then, at 6:30 pm,  a saxophone band will parade to the Railroad Museum, with the ball guests falling in second line behind! A "second line" is an impromptu group that follows behind a parade,  with the original, permitted group referred to as the "main line".  "Second lining", as it has now been verbed,  is quite common in New Orleans,  where parades often disrupt one's route on a regular basis during Lent.  Often, the only way for one to get to their destination is to fall in "second line" and tag behind the parade until it leads to where you are going! 


Anyho, Queen G and King Tony will join the second line and parade down the streets of Galveston to the historic Galveston Railroad Museum, where the ball will take place.  Miss G has never been to this museum, but as you know, she loves her some choo choo's, so she's really looking forward to it! 


Other than Saturday night, it should be a relaxing weekend, which this old Queen really needs!!  Maybe a mani and pedi on Saturday, and perhaps a massage, but that's about the extent of her planning!  


What are you GingerSnaps doing this weekend? 

So the Reign Begins!

Queen Ginger is rested up from a VERY busy and exciting weekend,  and has taken the time to snag a few pics from various facebook albums to let some of you far flung Ginger Snaps see what Mardi Gras is all about!  So, here's a recap of the night:


Unlike a Bal Masque, where guests participate in the costuming- much like a British "Fancy Dress Party- the Krewe of Olympus stages a Bal Tableau for the pleasure of the reigning King and Queen. The "official" purpose of the party is to entertain the royalty, but it pleases them to share this with their subjects, so guests at a Tableau Ball, in formal attire, are seated at the extravagantly decorated tables of their Krewe Member hosts. 


The Olympus Ball, by tradition, begins with the blowing of the Captain's Whistle, signalling the start of the Ball. The Captain's Whistle, by the way, has been passed down from Captain to Captain since 1970, and is a special treasure of the Krewe.  Having survived so many drunken parties, it is as temperamental as some of our members, so now we always keep a spare handy in case it chooses not to blow! After the signing and signing of the National Anthem, the opening chorus takes to the stage to set the theme for the ball.  


This year,  "museum guards", with their obligatory flashlights, were so busy scanning the audience looking for trouble, that they failed to notice a band of notorious "art thieves" trying to abscond with their collection.  Upon trying to take the biggest prize, an enormous pink jewel, they are foiled by it's protective systems, the alarm sounds, and mayhem ensues as the guards try to thwart the theft. Ultimately, however, the guards are tied up by the thieves, just in  time for their leader, the Pink Panther (Captain Bill) to take to the stage to assess the progress of his minions.  

The jewel is freed from it's protections so the Pink Panther can easily grab what his minions were unable to obtain! Once he has the jewel, he quickly leaves the stage as the guards return from their capture, discover the loss, and begin the search for the missing treasure.  Captain Bill returns to the stage as Inspector Clouseau, jewel in hand, and returns it to it's vitrine so the ball can continue!

Once the  Ball Captain is seated in his place of command,  the Reigning Royalty returns to enjoy the show. King Dwane and Queen Randy, as Nicholas and Alexandra, greet the masses, and then take their thrones onstage to enjoy the show.

During the Ball, the reigning Royalty and the Captain are the only Krewe members seated to see the show.  Everyone else is backstage, either preparing their costume for presentation, helping others get in costume, or managing curtain calls, sound cues, and all of the other details it takes to create such a production. Per the Krewe's bylaws, each member is allowed to present one "major costume" in the ball, although they may play "bit parts" to support other presentations, and most participate in the chorus numbers,  as well. Some member choose not to present a major costume, but participate as stage hands, set builders, and seamstresses.  Every person contributes something to make the show a success!

The only Krewe members that present 2 major costumes are yours truly and her consort, the new royalty.  Because our identity is a closely guarded secret that is only revealed to the Krewe members the morning of the ball, the new royalty are required to create "decoy" costumes keep Krewe members from surmising our identity because there is nothing being built in our garages!

King Tony's decoy costume was the Chasing Rainbows Museum at Dollywood in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee.  

As you know by now, Miss Ginger appeared as Elvis- the fat postage stamp Elvis that appeared in Vegas, not the young movie star Elvis that Miss G could never pull off.


I'm sure the irony is not lost the the Queen went as "the King", and the King appeared as 'The Queen of Country Music"!














After the Elvis presentation,  Miss G had about one hour to transform from "the King" into the Queen of pre-revolutionary France! 


Meanwhile, what visit to a museum would be complete with the requisite field trip children, being corralled by a group of frazzled teachers? 

Being the coastal South, and Mardi Gras, of course our school is Catholic,  and our rainbow nuns had their hands full as they tried to prevent their screaming schoolkids from giggling at the appendages on the various statues!

After the museum visit,  the school children grab their lunchboxes and take to the audience to collect donations for our designated charities!

Meanwhile, it's almost time to reveal King and Queen Olympus XLI to the world!  Just a few more costumes are being presented as we are getting suited up for our reveal to the world!

We first appear in a cloud of fog, with Swarovzki-crystalled masks concealing our faces.

Representing le Chateau de Versailles, we are wearing costumes inspired by the artworks featured on our backpieces.

This painting of Marie in her coronation robes was created by Jacques-Fabien Gautier d'Agoty, who, interestingly enough, was most famous for his morbid paintings of human anatomy!  A glittered representation adorns the backpiece, and the dress was custom made by an Easter European seamtress with hand-stitched details!

By another Krewe tradition, the Royalty select attendants to serve them on stage, as well as to ensure we don't become entangled in those 16 foot trains!!  It is considered to be an honor to attend the new royalty, and I was thrilled to have 2 of my dearest friends in the Krewe onstage with me!

After the reveal,  we proceed down the ball floor to greet the Captain who crowned us, and receive toasts from him in the beautiful jeweled crystal goblets that are his gift to us.

Once the toast is complete,  we return to our positions to receive King and Queen Olympus XL as they step down from the throne and greet the audience for the last time as King and Queen.

When they leave the stage, our reign begins as we receive members of various community organizations, many of whom bring gifts to show their esteem.  They are each presented with a gift from us, as well.  Then entire Krewe then comes to be received in the Grand March, and then in open court we receive members of the community at large.  


Because we get to do whatever we want, and because we had not had an opportunity to rehearse court positioning anyway,  the "ceremony" just sort of deteriorated into a big l party on the ball floor at that point, with lots of hugs, a few tears,  and many well-wishes from the crowd!  It may have seemed like bedlam to Marie, but to Queen Ginger it was exactly the way she wants to receive her subjects-  at a high-sprited party with a cocktail in hand!!


There was a bit of confusion about the scheduling of the after party, but it all turned out fine as King Tony and Queen Ginger arrived at the Hilton Hotel to discover many of their well wishers right there in the lobby bar.  So Queen Ginger,  in hoop-skirt drag with whiteface makeup and a pompadour on her head,  continued to hold court until midnight, at which point a very tired queen retired to her chambers!!


There's lot's more to tell, and lots more to show,  but Queen G suspects you GingerSnaps need a rest from all this Royal talk for a bit!


PS:  How do you like the new blog header?!


Love to all!!!    QOXLI  !

Elvis Has Left the Building!

The ball is over and the cat's out of the bag. The theme this year was museums, and Miss Ginger was inspired by Nutwood Beth's post about the Googie Signage museum in Las Vegas, and this was the result! The sign lit and the star flashed, and everything was controlled by switches in the microphone.  It was a fun costume and the crowd really seemed to like it.  Miss G brought it home intact, so she's going to wire it to a 12 volt transformer and use it as garden art! 




As always, King and Queen Olympus are revealed at the end of the ball.  So here is QOXLI:

That's right, dear Ginger Snaps!  Your own Miss Ginger Grant has been named Queen of the Mardi Gras for the Krewe of Olympus, Texas, Inc!  This is her reveal photo as Marie Antionette!!  More later- the Queen's presence is required at her first state event- brunch in her honor!  More later!!

T Minus 3 and Counting!!

 Miss Ginger can't believe there are only 3 days left until the Coronation of King and Queen Olympus XLI!!   It seems like just yesterday she had "Barcelona" looming large in her living room!

This year's endeavor, believe it or not, is not quite so large!  It is, however, somewhat "technical", so a lot of time and love has gone into it!!  She's also managed to keep it confined to the garage this year... at least the glittery, messy parts.  Indoor work has been held to sewing, stoning, and gluing, so there's not quite the mess she lived with last year!  

Can't wait 'till Sunday morning when she can let you all in on the secret!!

"My Minds a Blank!"

Miss Ginger has been so busy lately her mind's blank!!!

She's so busy, she doesn't know whether to scratch her watch or wind her butt!










She's got so much to do before this ball comes in 2 short weeks, she's not sure whether she's coming or going!!


Things are going okay with the costume- she just needs a few blocks of time to get some big stuff finished.  The invitations are kind of mess- cancellations,replacements, etc... she's just about got that straightened out, but she has to pick up more seating cards.


And that reminds her- she needs elastic. And buttons- shit- she forgot about those!


Damn, there's a lot to do!! No wonder she can't sleep!


She needs a personal assistant to go to work for her for the next 2 weeks so she can get all this shit together!  Any volunteers?! 

The Mardi Gras Madness Begins!!!

Well,  Christmas is finally over, and the greatest holiday of the year is ahead of us:  Mardi Gras!! This one's going to be particularly crazy for Miss G, as she has barely begun working on her costume!  As you may have seen in the past,  they are usually quite elaborate, and huge! 
But first, there's money to raise to pay for this shindig!  There Krewe's 12th Night Party, our final fundraiser of the year, is coming up January 8th, and it should be a real humdinger!!

Part of the fun that night will be a silent auction, and we're really excited to be able to showcase the art of one of our supporters, Houston's own Kermit Eisenhut! Kermit is an incredible artist and one helluva nice guy!  Miss Ginger has had the pleasure to come to know him through his work with Art League Houston, one of the Krewe's beneficiaries this year! Kermit is integrally involved in the League's Healing Arts program, and has worked with the group to create a couple of art chairs that he has donated for our silent auction!!

We're really excited to be able to offer an item from this noted artist, so you local 'Snaps make sure you come to the event and submit your bids!!  Hell, even if you're not local,  email Miss Ginger your bid and she'll submit it for you!

This is a "red letter" Mardi Gras for Miss G for a several other reasons, a couple of which she will note here!  First,  Miss G will return to the Crescent City to celebrate this glorious holiday, something she has not done for many, many years!!  There is NOTHING like Mardi Gras in the French Quarter, and everybody should see it at least once in their life!!

It's crowded and loud, but everybody is there to party and have a good time, so you hardly even notice it!  And, don't think it's too late to plan a trip to the Big Easy!  Miss G just made her reservations last night, so she knows for a fact there are still plenty of rooms available!  Let her know if you need hotel recommendations- she's stayed in most of them at some point or another!! She'll be at the Omni Royal Orleans this time... she's never stayed there before, but Momma G loved it so it must be nice!! And, it's a GREAT location!!

Another reason this will be a special Mardi Gras is because she will get the chance to meet the one and only, incomparable Amber LeMay!!  Yes, folks, the LeMay sisters are leaving all that snow in Vermont to vacation in the Big Easy for Mardi Gras, and Miss G certainly looks forward to meeting them!! 

Miss G has more to share, but that's for later!  She's got to get to bed, and you folks all have reservations to book!  Orbitz, Expedia, or whatever you have to do, but figure out how you're going to get yourself to NOLA for the big party!!  And, since Mardi Gras is so late this year,  you really don't have to worry about NOLA becoming SNOWLA and ruining your trip!

See ya there!! 

Getting Back to Normal?

There's a question mark because nothing is "normal" about Miss Ginger's life!

Regardez le "monstrosite" that has consumed Miss G's life, soul, and garage since October!

One side of the garage was completely out of commission, and the other side was in a constant glitter whirlwind mess!

But it was all worth it in the end, and Miss G is quite proud of the final result! She had an absolute BLAST on ball weekend, and she's so thrilled to have such great brothers and friends who attended the ball and made it all worthwhile!

Many have asked how Miss Ginger accomplished such a feat, so she's going to share her secrets now! The backpiece rolled on casters behind her, and was 14 feet tall.

The skeleton and back panels were made of Styrofoam boards. Just so you know, "styrofoam" is a trademark of Dow Chemical for it's brand of extruded styrene building sheathing. That cheap cooler you put your beer in is not "styrofoam", it's molded polystyrene. Just so you know!

On top of the skeleton is a layer of paper-faced polystyrene board. Miss Ginger's favorite brand is Fome-cor, but there are many!

One of Miss G's "trade secrets" is her method for securing the sheets of styrofoam into their 3-dimensional shapes. Hot glue will melt styrofoam, and white glue isn't strong enough, and doesn't dry well on non-porous surfaces. Plus, the angles need to be braced against lateral force. Many krewe members cut bracing pieces from styrofoam scraps and glue them in place, but Miss Ginger has found it much easier to "floam" each corner with Great Stuff to create a rigid, custom fitted brace for each corner.

Finally, the surfaces have to be decorated with paint,glitter, fabric, jewels, and God knows what else. None of that stuff sticks readily to styrofoam. So, enter #4 of Miss Ginger's "must have" products, 3M Super77 Multipurpose adhesive.

Honey, this shit is the Holy Grail of crafts and costuming! Sprayed on 1 surface, it creates a repositionable bond with a long work time, which dries with reliable adhesion. Sprayed on both surfaces, it creates a "death grip" that is impervious to moisture, water, steam, fog, and abrasion. And when used in an enclosed room, it sends Miss G to her "happy place"!

So, for this particular endeavor, Miss G used:

12 sheets of Styrofoam

6 sheets of Fome-cor

13 cans of Great Stuff

15 cans of Super 77 adhesive

and enough craft paper, bamboo skewers, and hot glue to build an aircraft carrier!

Our ball is a blast, and our gift to the community! Let's just ignore it's carbon footprint, okay!

Look What The Mailman Brought Miss Ginger:

JEWELS! Glorious jewels!! Aren't they just GORGEOUS!???

Unfortunately, they are not real, but neither is Miss Ginger, so what do you expect?

She got a big FABULOUS box and she's so excited she could just pee!!

There were almost 2 pounds of assorted craft quality flatback jewels- these are sold in bulk real cheap and can be glued onto craft projects and the "disposable" parts of Mardi Gras costumes, etc. They have to be sorted, and you get no choice in what you receive, but it's a lot of sparkle for not much money!

She also ordered an assortment of costume quality sew-on jewels. These are ordered by color, shape, and size, and can be stitched onto permanent costumes that will become part of Miss Ginger's fabulous stage and party wardrobe. And, they give our girl a chance to exercize her favorite OCD trait: organization!!!

Is it pitiful that a plastic box of acrylic faux finery can bring a gurl such joy?

Good Day!

Miss Ginger had a great day of costuming! The motor worked. The lights worked. The feathers worked. The faux bois worked. Everything worked! What a relief- that really buys Miss G some time! If any of those functions had not worked, it would have been back to the drawing board. But they all worked, so we move from the engineering phase to the decorating phase! Yippee! That means Miss G can get really elaborate this year, since she won't be pressed for time!

Papier Mache

Those of you who have seen Miss Gingers banana know that's she's accomplished at the art of papier mache.

Today, she FINALLY got started on this year's Mardi Gras costume, and she decided to start with the papier mache.

Miss Ginger LOVES papier mache! It's kind of odd that such a messy craft is one of her favorites, but she realized today she loves it because it's a chance for all of her OCD and anal retentive tendecies to exercize their right to flourish! She spent the afternoon in the garage, starting with the big strips, criss crossing them, and the moving to ever and ever smaller pieces as she smooths the surface with her hands. She can't tell you what she's making- you can't see that until after the ball- but she is glad to finally have begun! Now that's she's taken the plunge, she should be able to keep moving on it and be finished in plenty of time. The papier mache will form the headpiece, and there's probably another day's work on that. She's going to order fabric tonight to create the actual garment, and the huge backpiece will be the last piece to be created, due to storage implications. You'll never guess what she's going to be, so don't even try!

And to continue her "Drag Queen Martha Stewart" day, she'g going to attempt grilling lobster tails tonight for dinner. That will be a new adventure- I'll let you know how it goes!

Hope everyone has a great week! Love to all! ....G