lady in waiting (warning no tools used on this beauty!)

Earlier this summer I was at a pop up show event and and spotted a wire framed woman's corset.  It was just like the ones dressmakers / tailors would have used except wire.  It was love at first sight -- I had to have it.

my wire lady :)

I had dreams of beautiful flowers trailing out of it  and designing the entire outfit with plant material.  My teeth were sweating at the prospect.  I walked by it and stared  a dozen times, praying no one else would buy it.  NO one did, not even me.  The shop closed down  :(

But because I believe that if you picture it and wish hard enough, it will eventually come true -- I got it!  The shop reopened and had a sale on items left over!  My lady was waiting there for me Yayyyyyy!

I seized her and dragged the life sized form to my carruck.  An older couple looked on curiously, perhaps my fervor was seeping out?!  They asked what I  was planning to do with "that wire thing".   Grrrrrr.  Some people - the kill joy types - have no vision.  I pictured roses trailing from  the hem, I could almost smell them I was sooo caught up,  only  to have those people momentarily enter my reverie with that sour, pinched face, eyebrows at the hairline look, as if they smelled something bad.

I composed my face, remembering my school girl manners "Good afternoon!" I  crowed proudly,  "I will have flowers and the like trailing from it, it will be a garden decoration"  I chirped.

"Oh... well, I suppose we hadn't though of that... we couldn't imagine what on earth you would want that for,"  they replied smugly.  Grrrr... Forget them, fast forward, I have it at home.

First I run to my unkempt Chinese fan palm tree and grab all the mesh that I can put my hands on.  I will need quite a bit to create the dress and to hold the soil inside.  Luckily there was loads of material for me to use.  I stuffed it inside, creating a brown dress.

miniature wandering Jew

Next stop the lower garden where I had planted some form of miniature wandering Jew, hoping that it would  make a good ground cover - it didn't.  But like most invasive type plants it had spread like crazy (something else to address later :s )  Anyway for now it was a delicate almost lacy, purple and green leaf.  Just right for the interim period it will take to get those roses to materialise.

I  poured soil in the inside using the mesh as a make shift planter and poked the plants into it along the bottom.  In the top I put two small pots filled with the wandering Jew plants.

Perfect, easy and very pretty.    I purchased a few trailing roses and set them aside.  These will take months to do what I want  them to do and besides,  it's August...   Now I just have to spritz regularly and enjoy-- hopefully next spring when the roses are trailing I will see that couple again.  I will carry a picture with me, just in case!  I bet they'll wish they had found her first.  I bet they won't have that pinched face look at all .. HA! all mine :)

Hang in there - it will be beautiful, you'll see :)

TD