Like Decorating Christmas Trees!

This Dress came to us with the embroidery already part of the bodice, but we needed to bling it up!!

First, I went and hand stitched pearls to the centers of the bigger flowers. Then, I took a stupid little tool and placed each rhinestone, one by one, to enhance the embroidery.  The tool heated each rhinestone and was supposed to melt it to the fabric, but it would never let go of the rhinestone, so I would have to take a straight pin and hold the stone down before I removed the tool.  

To start building out the bustle, we took a skirt from a second dress (made of satin and tool) and split open the seam, to allow us to wrap it around the bustle.

Now that the base has been set, the decorations cat start being attached!  Fabric from stock is being manipulated into ruffles and flowers.  Reclaimed roses and bows from a wedding dress add dimension and "fluff".

Here is a side view.  The middle layer of the bustle, is made from a clever use of a Mother of the Bride dress jacket that was donated without the matching dress.

There still is a lot of trim  and finishing work to go...
























Below, Ellie models the jacket/bustle